Thread by @Telegraph

🚢 We look back at the inception and development of the £3bn warship as it sets sail on a 28-week deployment to more than 40 countries

telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/0…

🇬🇧 More than twenty years after the idea was conceived and double the estimated price, HMS Queen Elizabeth has set sail on her maiden voyage as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group Deployment, the biggest deployment of UK naval firepower since the Falklands War

Weighing 65,000 tonnes, travelling more than 26,000 nautical miles and visiting a total of 40 countries over seven months, HMS Queen Elizabeth will sail through:

⚓ The Mediterranean Sea
⚓ Arabian Sea
⚓ South China Seas
⚓ Indian Ocean
⚓ Pacific Ocean

🇬🇧 Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary:

“The world is a much more insecure and anxious place than it was 20 years ago and it is our duty to join with other like minded states to uphold the values we share and to promote British prosperity and partnership"

🚢 Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair:

“My sense now, even more so than in 1998, is that the UK needs the capability to project its strength around the world in a dynamic, impactful and highly mobile way. Aircraft carriers remain vital in this regard”

👑 In 2009 Princess Anne marked the beginning of the construction work of HMS Queen Elizabeth by ceremonially cutting the first piece of steel for the hull of the warship.

She pushed the button that instructed the laser to slice through the steel at Govan Shipbuilders

The aircraft carrier was built piece by piece in six different shipyards across the UK, including:

⚓ Tyne
⚓ Rosyth
⚓ Appledore

⚖️ The largest section of the ship weighed 11,000 tonnes alone, which is staggering when compared to the fact a Type 45 destroyer weighs 8,500 tonnes.

Building the largest warship to ever enter service with the Royal Navy employed 10,000 people at 100 firms all over the UK

👑 In July 2014 Queen Elizabeth travelled to Rosyth to lead the ship’s official naming ceremony, which saw her press a button which smashed a bottle of Islay malt whisky on the vessel’s bow.

It was only the second time in the Royal Navy’s history that whisky has been used

👑 In an address to the crowd, Her Majesty, who was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, said:

"In sponsoring this new aircraft carrier, I believe the Queen Elizabeth will be a source of inspiration and pride for us all. May God bless her and all who sail in her"

✈️ As part of the naming ceremony, the Red Arrows performed a flypast, which was followed by a procession of three generations of Royal Navy aircraft, as well as a historic 1950s de Havilland Sea Vixen fighter

In June 2017 she sailed into the North Sea for six weeks of trials in order to test her:

⚓ Speed
⚓ Manoeuvrability
⚓ Power
⚓ Propulsion

🇬🇧 Former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones, said:

“This is a hugely significant moment for the Royal Navy, for all our Armed Forces – and for our island nation. Once in service, Queen Elizabeth will be the largest aircraft carrier in the world outside the United States”

🚁 In April 2017 a Merlin helicopter became the first aircraft to ever land on the carrier. The 4-tonne Merlin, from 820 Naval Air Squadron, had a four-acre flight deck to land on

🎉 With the Portsmouth seafront flanked by thousands of wellwishers the aircraft carrier made her debut into Portsmouth on 16 August, 2017. While sailors lined the flight deck as she passed Portsmouth's Round Tower, a flypast from the Fleet Air Arm also took place

On December 7, 2017, the Queen and Princess Anne attended the commissioning ceremony of the aircraft carrier in Portsmouth. For the first time the Ensign flag was hoisted at the stern while a specially installed lift raised them to the hangar

Speaking at the Commissioning, the Queen said:

“As the daughter, wife and mother of naval officers, I recognise the unique demands our nation asks of you. I will always value my special link with HMS Queen Elizabeth, her ship’s company and their families”

✈️ In October 2018 flight trials were conducted off the coast of America. The F35B Lightning II fighter jet made the first shipborne rolling vertical landing. It approached the ship from behind, before using thrust from its nozzle and lift created by air over the wings to land

🌙 The F-35 Lightning jets completed their first night-time landings. Night-vision was tested, with pilots initially flying in using only ambient light and the lights on the carrier’s deck. They later conducted landings using the night-vision capability in their helmets

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 In April 2019 the carrier returned to Rosyth, sailing under the iconic Forth bridges, for planned maintenance. As she sailed into Scottish waters, Commanding Officer, Captain Nick Cook-Priest said: “A lot of water has already passed under our keel since we left Rosyth in 2017"

In October last year the Royal Navy's Carrier Strike Group formed up for the first time with HMS Queen Elizabeth at the centre. She was joined by:

⚓ Eight other ships
⚓ 15 fighter jets
⚓ 3,000 military personnel from the UK, US and Dutch forces

🚢 In January of this year the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the carrier strike group had achieved initial operating capability. The announcement meant that fighters, radars, air defense systems, pilots and crew members were now deemed officially ready for deployment

🇬🇧 Jeremy Quin, defence procurement minister, said:

"This achievement is a testament to the determination of our service personnel and industry workforce who have delivered this first-rate military capability, a capability held by only a handful of nations"