A huge section of HMS Prince of Wales’ hull has arrived in Rosyth as the dockyard gears up for the final assembly of the second Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier which will begin in September, Bae Systems said.
The section of the hull for the second aircraft carrier being delivered to the Royal Navy, departed BAE Systems on July 28th in Glasgow embarking on a 600 mile journey to Rosyth.
The 8,000 tonne section, known as Lower Block 03, weighs more than an entire Type 45 destroyer and forms the mid-section of the aircraft carrier’s hull from the keel to the hangar deck.
The block was transported by a sea-going barge. Upon arrival in Rosyth, the barge submerged allowing the block to be floated into the basin.
Iain Stevenson, Programme Director at BAE Systems, said: “This delivery is a significant milestone in the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme and marks the beginning of HMS Prince of Wales taking shape. The same section for HMS Queen Elizabeth was delivered just three years ago and it’s now a seamless part of the UK’s largest ever warship, so there is huge momentum behind the delivery of the second ship as we embark on the assembly phase once again.”
The departure of Lower Block 03 comes less than a month after the naming of the first aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, by Her Majesty the Queen and days after the ship was successfully floated and undocked for the first time. Source: worldmaritimenews