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Apollo11 -> RE: THE THREAD!!! (5/1/2012 1:43:52 PM)
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Hi all,
Interesting...
Alhough I don't understand why retaining "ski-jump ramp" on such large ship and why no angled flight deck... [&:] perhaps the artist's imperssion image is wrong...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137418/HMS-Queen-Elizabeth-Stern-Royal-Navys-new-3bn-aircraft-carrier-leaves-Portsmouth.html
quote:
Stern of Royal Navy's new L3billion aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth leaves Portsmouth on its way to Scotland
By Daily Mail UK
The rear of the Royal Navy's new L3 billion aircraft carrier dwarfed everything around her as she took to the seas today.
A 300ft barge battled 30 knot winds as it carried two sections of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 1,820 tonne stern out of Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire.
They will now make a four day, 500 mile journey to Rosyth, on the Firth of Forth in Scotland, where, along with other parts, they will be put together to make the warship, which is due to be commissioned in 2016.
The vessel will replace HMS Ark Royal, which was decommissioned as part of the coalition government's strategic defence and security review in 2010.
Two parts of HMS Queen Elizabeth's stern, weighing 1,820 tonnes, are towed out of Portsmouth today on their way to Rosyth in Scotland:
[image]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/30/article-2137418-12D7C4EB000005DC-749_966x403.jpg[/image]
Aerial photographs of HMS Queen Elizabeth's stern sections leaving Portsmouth Naval Base in Hampshire today:
[image]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/30/article-2137418-12D7B000000005DC-879_472x499.jpg[/image]
[image]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/30/article-2137418-12D7B026000005DC-543_472x499.jpg[/image]
A few dozen people braved the appalling weather at the Round Tower in Old Portsmouth to catch a glimpse as the first blocks of the warship left the historic port.
Projects manager Claudia Roberts, who works for the ship’s maker BAE Systems, was among the crowd.
She said: 'This is huge for Portsmouth.
'It shows what we can do and when we do it we do it well.
'This has been my baby for the past 15 months and now I’ve handed her over.'
The stern section, called Lower Block 05, will be combined with parts from five other sites across the UK to make HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Its sailing marks the latest milestone of a 1,300-man project in Portsmouth to build the sterns, parts of the hulls and flight deck towers.
The dockyard is making these parts for the 65,000-tonne warship and her identical sister ship, the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
Both vessels will be based in the city once they are complete.
HMS Queen Elizabeth, two parts of the stern of which are pictured here, is set to be commissioned by the Royal Navy in 2016:
[image]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/30/article-2137418-12D7AE97000005DC-798_966x363.jpg[/image]
Portsmouth South Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock said: 'Once again the dockyard has responded to the demands placed on it.
'They have produced it on time and now she’s on her way to be put together.
'It’s a fantastic achievement.
Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for neighbouring Gosport, said: 'It’s a huge tribute to the shipbuilding skills this area has become so famous for.
'This is why we must continue to fight so hard to keep these shipbuilding jobs in our area.'
Fred Attwood, 70, and his wife Ruth, 72, from Old Portsmouth, were among those who saw Lower Block 05 go.
How it will look: An artist's impression of HMS Queen Elizabeth:
[image]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/30/article-2137418-12D931DF000005DC-143_964x614.jpg[/image]
Mr Attwood, who served in the navy from 1957 to 1969, said: 'It’s good to see shipbuilding thriving in Portsmouth.
'I’d like to see more of it.'
Taxi driver Sam French, 43, from Portsmouth, waited for more than an hour to see the barge.
He said: 'It’s definitely a good thing for Portsmouth.
'I take quite a few customers into the dockyard and I’ve been seeing how it’s been going.
'It’s impressive.'
The next part to leave Portsmouth is a massive 6,000-tonne section of the hull called Lower Block 02.
It is scheduled to set sail for Rosyth on May 25.
Leo "Apollo11"
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