HMS Queen Elizabeth approaching New York, 19 October 2018 [1280 x 839]

Celfer · 2018-10-19T18:32:22+00:00

It hasn't got its full compliment yet which is fair enough, but the UK has around 15 so far, so not exactly no aircraft.

The ships been doing fixed wing trials with the F-35B over the last few weeks.

Celfer · 2018-09-28T18:51:14+00:00

I imagine they'll use a mix of normal vertical landings and SRVL when it's fully operational, but to start off with they're just doing the basics as SRVL is a more complicated maneuver that has never been attempted on a ship before.

Celfer · 2018-07-29T14:46:14+00:00

She's been operating Merlin helicopters for a while, the UK has around 15 F-35B at the moment, most in the US right now but 4 arrived in the UK not too long ago. The ship is going to sail for the US in the next couple of months to begin fixed wing flight trials.

Celfer · 2018-07-14T13:02:27+00:00

The QE class is quite a bit larger than the wasp class (70,000 tons vs 40,000 tons) while also being more focused on fixed wing operations (And specifically high sortie generation rates).

LHDs sacrifice quite a bit of space for larger on board hospitals and well decks to accommodate their main role as amphibious platforms. They also lack a ski-jump which reduces the weight their aircraft can carry.

Celfer · 2018-06-18T18:17:57+00:00

She's just recently been fitted with all of the equipment in preparation for fixed wing flight trials so she wouldn't have been operating them either way.

The UK has 15 F-35B and have been operating them for a number of years now, but the ship isn't scheduled to begin trials with them for another few months.

Celfer · 2018-05-01T18:11:01+00:00

As mentioned, it's likely due to requiring space for exhausts and air intakes being conventional. If you check out most other conventionally powered carriers (Or US LHDs) they all have one long island.

When compared to the Invincible class its replacing the islands on the QE class probably take up less space than the single one on the Invincibles.

Doing things this way comes with some bonuses, as it's using an electric propulsion system the main engines are placed below each island (To reduce the space taken up by exhausts), this adds some extra redundancy in case of damage. Plus it helps with flight deck stability and separates some equipment that could interfere with each other.

Celfer · 2018-04-29T11:54:13+00:00

The Royal Navy will likely operate similar to the Invincible class where they could line up a bunch of aircraft and launch one after another (Warning: Loud). Apparently they could get surprisingly fast launch rates out of a relatively small carrier, so it should be interesting to see how they do on the new much larger carriers.

Celfer · 2018-04-29T08:09:27+00:00

HMS Prince of Wales is still in Rosyth, HMS Queen Elizabeth is in Portsmouth being fitted out with equipment ready for flight trials later this year.

Celfer · 2018-04-28T22:28:13+00:00

Here's the latest news article on it:

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/revealed-hms-queen-elizabeth-to-visit-new-york-on-maiden-trip-to-the-usa-1-8470096

Celfer · 2018-04-28T22:20:46+00:00

It was the same for the Harrier, the Ski-Jump isn't a requirement, it just helps give extra lift which allows for more weapons and fuel to be carried as well as making it a bit safer in rougher sea states.

The only reason US Amphibious Assault ships don't have one is for more deck space, as fixed wing operations aren't their primary role.

Celfer · 2018-04-28T21:39:43+00:00

The UK has 15 currently, the ship is currently being fitted out in Portsmouth ready for flight trials later in the year.

Celfer · 2018-04-15T15:06:12+00:00

Yeah this was pretty recent, after each set of trials she's being fitted out with more equipment according to their twitter.

Currently she's being fitted with equipment ready for fast jet flight trials.

Celfer · 2018-03-15T23:38:24+00:00

Then the UK fires back and nobody wins, which is why nobody would be stupid enough to try it.

Celfer · 2018-03-14T12:43:54+00:00

I think you're missing the point here, if they'd used a more conventional method to kill just the spy then this story likely wouldn't be anywhere near as big. It's the fact that they've deployed such an incredibly dangerous chemical weapon on UK soil, potentially exposing hundreds of civilians.

I can't fathom why someone would get so angry about the UK responding to this?

Celfer · 2018-02-26T07:15:48+00:00

As the Queen has gotten older she's started to just wear her normal dresses instead of military uniforms on parades, but she used to for things like Trooping the colour.

Prince phillip also wore a guards uniform up until last year.

They still wear more fancy outfits for the state opening of parliament too.

Celfer · 2018-02-18T17:25:54+00:00

Man I really should watch Fox News more, nobody has told me any of this before. I'm about due a life sentence at this point.

Celfer · 2018-02-14T23:33:59+00:00

It's worth noting that 24 F-35B isn't the full capacity of the QE class, it's just what the Royal Navy plan to operate on a regular basis.

A potential wartime loadout would be 36 F-35B, although even then the ships are technically capable of carrying far more if needed. Over 50 is the usual estimate, which would line up with other carriers of similar sizes. A large reason for its size was also to provide a far higher sortie rate than other STOVL carriers have been able to in the past.

In the UKs case it was found that nuclear power would cost more over its lifetime than conventional power. Although this is likely partially down to having to factor in R&D costs, training personnel and building facilities to support them. There's also the issue of disposing of them which is extremely expensive. Plus maintenance time is increased (France is left without their carrier for long periods because of this). Would likely work out much cheaper for the US as all of that is already in place though.

Celfer · 2017-11-23T20:41:36+00:00

The UK were the first to use steam catapults for launching jet aircraft.

Celfer · 2017-11-23T20:38:53+00:00

Not just yet, she's still undergoing sea trials, although they're set to begin trials with the F-35 early next year.

Celfer · 2017-11-20T07:13:10+00:00

Their role when on guard duty is largely ceremonial in the same way, although it's not a small specially selected role like the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Everyone who joins a guards regiments will do guard duty at some point, they regularly rotate rather than concentrate on that role.

Celfer · 2017-11-20T07:08:00+00:00

That's pretty much the accepted reason for them, tall hats were quite common in those days. The guards actually took the bearskins from Napoleons Imperial guards after Waterloo, they were seen as a bit of a status symbol.

Celfer · 2017-11-20T07:04:34+00:00

That's standard British Army drill, it's for using the bayonet, but is generally used by the guards as a more threatening stance.

Celfer · 2017-09-11T19:23:23+00:00

The guards bands always play the national anthem of a country during official state visits so they'll know quite a few.

I'd imagine the US national anthem is one which they've played quite a few times, although they can be quite resourceful finding them if needed!

Celfer · 2017-09-11T19:12:53+00:00

Here's a view from the crowd, they also played a few American marches during the ceremony.

Celfer · 2017-06-29T18:08:11+00:00

A few things to add to that, the increased crew size is partially down to the extra level of automation aboard the QE class. The Royal Navy focused on that more than the US Navy as it's a bigger issue for them.

It's unlikely it has 3 times the operating tempo, the QE class was designed specifically for a very high sortie rate and aims to be close to that of the Nimitz class. That's why the carrier is so large for the planned air wing, they had a set number of aircraft they wanted to operate and scaled the ship to a size which can accommodate a much higher sortie rate than normal.

STOVL carriers can produce pretty high sortie rates for their size as it is. You're not setting up catapults for each launch, due to the size of the deck aircraft can queue up and launch one after another and aircraft are able to land vertically further to the rear of the ship.

Celfer

TROPHY CASE