100. The fog horn is 162 decibels and can be heard from more than two miles away
99. The first HMS Queen Elizabeth was completed 100 years before the launch of the new one
98. The design of the Queen Elizabeth Class began in 1999
97. The Queen Elizabeth Class have their own fitness suites and cinemas
96. Designing, building and delivering the Queen Elizabeth Class involved more than 800 apprentices
95. The Queen Elizabeth Class displace 96 tonnes per crew member, which is the most of any major warship class
94. As a maritime nation, 95% of the UK’s economic activity depends on the sea
93. The Long Range Radar above the forward island can track up to 1,000 contacts in the air or on the sea in a 250 mile radius
92. The Artisan 3D radar above the aft island can track a tennis ball travelling at three times the speed of sound
91. The take-off ramp is officially called the ‘ski-jump’
90. The Queen Elizabeth Class will fly the F35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, as well as any type of helicopter used by the UK Armed Forces
89. Reflecting the strength and ingenuity of British industry, 90% of our suppliers are here in the UK
88. The Queen Elizabeth Class are the first aircraft carriers in the world to incorporate a twin-island design, which separates command of the ship from flying operations and increases survivability
87. Both islands have floor-to-ceiling (or deck-to-deck) windows, offering unprecedented visibility, while also designed to withstand a major impact
86. And these windows require windscreen wipers up to 2.4 metres long. We’re not aware of any others in the world that are larger!
85. Such is the scale and complexity of the Queen Elizabeth Class that we had to develop our own handheld indoor navigation device for employees
84. The Queen Elizabeth Class are assembled in Britain’s largest dock by Britain’s largest crane
83. The Goliath Crane has a 1,000 tonne lifting capacity, which means it can lift an entire Royal Navy mine hunter vessel
82. The F35B Lightning II can fly 1.6 mach
81. The Queen Elizabeth Class have a range of 10,000 nautical miles
80. The Queen Elizabeth Class generate 80MW of power in their propellers. That’s equal to 50 high-speed trains
79. Each ship has two propellers weighing 33 tonnes each. Together, they are heavier than entire patrol boats operated by the Royal Navy
78. The propellers are fitted underwater by divers so that the shaft line can first be tested without generating thrust
77. The first sea-going Captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth will be Commodore Jerry Kyd, the former Captain of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious
76. The Captain’s day cabin is located in the forward island, which also contains the ship’s main bridge and observation deck
75. …while the ‘brains’ of the ships, known as the mission systems, are designed, built and developed in facilities across the UK ranging from a naval base to a field on the Isle of Wight and even within an office block on a busy high street outside London
74. In fact, the design, build and development of the Queen Elizabeth Class has been a truly national effort, involving every region in the UK
73. The masthead reaches 73 metres in height from the keel
72. The Queen Elizabeth Class can fly 72 fast jet sorties per day, which can be increased further for limited periods
71. The ships have their own bakery, which can produce 1,000 loaves of bread per day, as well as other items such as scones, donuts and éclairs
70. The flight deck is 70 metres wide and 280 metres long, which is enough space for three football pitches
69. The Queen Elizabeth Class can operate on a crew of 679, which despite the ships’ size is fewer crew members than for the Invincible Class aircraft carriers that they replace
68. The Queen Elizabeth Class can accommodate up to 1,600 personnel, which would include a full air crew, but also provides space for embarked personnel such as Royal Marines or refugees
67. 67 catering staff are needed to keep the galleys running around the clock for them
66. ..And each of the ships can keep 45 days worth of food in their stores. A typical deployment would sail with 66,000 sausages, 28,800 rashers of bacon, 64,800 eggs and 12,000 tins of beans
65. The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers each weigh 65,000 tonnes
64. Each of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers is made up of 17 million parts
63. There are more than 700 businesses involved in the programme across the whole supply chain
62. The Queen Elizabeth Class will bear the pennant numbers R08 and R09. The Royal Navy always use R for aircraft carriers.
61. Every job on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, across industry and the Royal Navy, is open to both men and women
60. It takes just 60 seconds to lift four aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck on each of the two lifts
59. The name HMS Queen Elizabeth is both the continuation of an historic Royal Navy name and a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen
58. The Queen Elizabeth Class programme has directly created 2,500 engineering jobs
57. While many parts of the carrier arrive by road, the major sections need to be transported by barge around the coast of the UK
56. The barge is designed to sink on arrival so that the sections can be floated off into the dock
55. The F35B is a STVL aircraft designed for short take-off and vertical landing, but it can also take off vertically with a light load, which is useful for repositioning the aircraft
54. The aircraft lifts are strong enough to carry the entire crew
53. 250,000 litres of paint is used to apply seven coats over an area the size of Hyde Park. We’ve gone for ‘battleship grey’, in case you were wondering, which enables her to blend into the horizon
52. …we’ve gone for grey in case you were wondering! In all seriousness, the colour is chosen to best enable the ships to blend into the horizon
51. The ships are designed for deployments typically lasting nine months
50. The Queen Elizabeth Class have a 50 year service life. That means the last Captain is likely not yet born and there will be crew members whose parents are not yet born 49. Power generation machinery is separated and distributed across the ships, which increases survivability
48. …which is another reason why we have two islands in order as they house the separated exhausts
47. There are over 250,000km of electrical cable & 8,000km of fibreoptic cable inside each of the ships
46. Even while under construction, HMS Queen Elizabeth already has her first crew members onboard
45. The aircraft carriers will sail with an escort vessel, such as a Type 45 destroyer, which takes the lead in engaging threats
44. HMS Queen Elizabeth’s growing crew are led by Captain Simon Pettit who is responsible for the ship during construction
43. The F35 Lightning II has a wing size of 43 square metres
42. The Final assembly of the Queen Elizabeth Class can be seen from another great feat of British engineering, the Forth Bridge
41. The Queen Elizabeth Class are designed to accommodate upgrades during their service lift as technology, requirements and threats evolve
40. The crew will have access to email and internet onboard (when communications are not being used for operations!)
39. More than 500 UK companies, led by BAE Systems, are involved in the F35 Lightning II programme
38. The aircraft handlers are known as ‘chockheads’ in Royal Navy jackspeak
37. HMS Queen Elizabeth’s home berth, Sheer Jetty, has been in use since the 1600s
36. There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside each of the ships, which could stretch from Rosyth to Wales
35. The F35 Lightning II has a wingspan of 35 feet
34. Each carrier has 30mm guns and mini-guns to help counter asymmetric threats
33. The Queen Elizabeth Class are taller than the Forth Bridge, which separates the dock it is assembled in from the sea. Fortunately, the mast is designed to lower into a horizontal position for just such a scenario
32. The uniquely designed mast houses communication systems for flying operations and navigation
31. The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System can fire 3,000 rounds per minute at incoming enemy aircraft and missiles
30. There are also 30mm guns and mini-guns for asymmetric threats
29. …But as the aircraft carriers would travel in a task force, an escort vessel would take the lead for engaging any threats to the ship
28. 28 million hours have been spent designing and building the Queen Elizabeth Class
27. In order to enter Portsmouth Harbour, 1.5 million tonnes will be dredged in order to deepen the waters
26. The ships have their own police office and cells
25. The ships can travel in excess of 25 knots per hour. That’s an hour from Dover to Calais
24. There have been more than 20 ships in the Royal Navy named Elizabeth, but only one other called Queen Elizabeth
23. HMS Queen Elizabeth inherits the crest and battle honours of the first HMS Queen Elizabeth
22. The surrender of the German Fleet in WW1 took place onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth, close to where the new HMS Queen Elizabeth is being constructed
21. New navigational beacons are needed in Portsmouth Harbour to guide the Queen Elizabeth Class in and out of their home port
20. The home jetty for HMS Queen Elizabeth sits opposite HMS Victory, the world’s oldest commissioned warship
19. The Queen Elizabeth Class have a fully integrated waste management system
18. Flight trials with the F35B Lightning II will begin onboard in 2018
17. Each of the ships have 17 decks
16. The Queen Elizabeth Class have their own dentist, pharmacy, surgery and operating theatre
15. Each ship has 15 lifts, which are for aircraft & munitions, as well as people
14. 2014 isn’t just a big year for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the F35 will make its first international flight over the UK this year
13. The Queen Elizabeth Class are home to a network of ‘moles’, which travel around the Highly Mechanised Weapons Handling System to retrieve munitions from the stores and deliver them to the flight deck for operations
12. An F35 Lightning II squadron, which consists of 12 aircraft, will be routinely deployed with the Queen Elizabeth Class
11. The Queen Elizabeth Class can convert sea water into more than 500 tonnes of drinking water each day, which is for both the crew and providing humanitarian relief
10. There are 10,000 jobs across the UK supported by the Queen Elizabeth Class programme
9. There are 9 countries involved in the development of the F35 Lightning II
8. HMS Queen Elizabeth carriers the pennant number RO8, while HMS Prince of Wales will be RO9
7. There are 7 departments in each of the ship’s companies
6. The ski-jumps are 6 metres high.
5. The F35 is the world’s first and only 5th generation fighter jet
4. 4 jumbo jets can fit on each of the #QECarriers’ 4 acre decks
3. The Queen Elizabeth Class will be used by all 3 branches of our Armed Forces
2. The first steel was cut in July 2009, exactly five years before the launch of HMS Queen Elizabeth
1. The Queen Elizabeth Class will be the largest & most powerful warships in UK history and will be the affiliate ship of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity
HMS Queen Elizabeth
