Article Posted on : - Feb 15, 2011

Pictured here is construction of the first of the two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth, as workers at BAE Systems’ Govan yard moved two giant sections of the hull together for the first time. Photo: BAE Systems.

GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM (BNS): Construction of the first of the two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth, took a huge step forward recently as workers at BAE Systems' Govan yard moved two giant sections of the hull together for the first time.

The construction of the Queen Elizabeth is one of the biggest engineering projects in the UK today.

According to a BAE Systems' news release, the structure is so big that it fills an entire hall at Govan and now extends beyond the doors onto the yard, providing a spectacular view from across the River Clyde.

It took a team of 20 workers and remote-controlled transporters just one hour to move 1221 tonnes of steel more than 100 metres across the shipyard. The hull section was then manoeuvred carefully into position to line up with the rest of the block of hull.

"Seeing the mid section of the carrier come together brings into sharp focus the sheer scale and complexity of this engineering feat," Steven Carroll, Queen Elizabeth Class Project Director at BAE Systems’ Surface Ships division, was quoted as saying in the report.

Workers will now continue to outfit the block, which on completion will weigh over 9,300 tonnes and stand over 23 metres tall, 63 metres long and 40 metres wide. She is set to embark on the next stage of her journey to Rosyth in the latter part of this year, where HMS Queen Elizabeth will be assembled in the dry dock.

The company is also constructing the main stern section at its yard on the Clyde, which is the largest and most complex section of the carrier. At its Portsmouth facilities, work is well underway to construct the forward and lower stern sections of the hull, as well as the pole mast, whilst integration and testing of the ships’ complex mission system is underway at the Company’s Maritime Integration and Support Centre. Another team of BAE Systems engineers on the Isle of Wight is testing the advanced communication systems. The Company is set to begin work on the two island structures, which house the bridge and traffic control facilities, towards the end of the year.’

Each 65,000 tonne carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.