HMS Queen Elizabeth has returned home, bringing an historic global deployment to an end.

The Royal Navy say here that HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth today after her global seven month maiden operational deployment leading Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21).

The Carrier Strike Group sailed across three oceans and five seas, cumulatively covering around 500,000 nautical miles. The group has engaged with 44 countries, strengthening partnerships with allies including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Greece, Israel, India, Italy, Japan, Oman and the Republic of Korea.

Sailors, aviators, ships and aircraft have returned to their home bases in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States of America.

3,700 personnel from nine ships, a submarine, five air squadrons and a company of Royal Marines will arrive home in time for Christmas having departed the UK in early May.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

“Today we pay tribute to the 3,700 personnel in the Carrier Strike Group that have been our global ambassadors on this historic and ground-breaking deployment.

The personnel and their families have made considerable sacrifices to make this deployment the success it has been. We thank them for all their efforts in strengthening our relationships with our allies and partners around the world.”

Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said:

“Throughout the past seven months HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Strike Group have been furthering the UK’s interests and strengthening our partnerships around the globe. With involvement from across the Armed Forces, and our allies integrated throughout, this deployment has been a truly joint, truly international endeavour, which represents the very best of Global Britain.

I thank everyone involved for their efforts to make this deployment such a resounding success, and I wish our returning sailors, aviators, soldiers and marines a very happy reunion with their families this Christmas.”

The Ministry of Defence said:

“The most significant peacetime deployment in a quarter of a century, Carrier Strike Group 21 has been more than just a military endeavour, bringing together elements of defence, diplomacy and prosperity and flying the flag for Global Britain.”

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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42 COMMENTS

  2. Shame the BBC decided to focus on the loss of the F-35 when reporting the homecoming rather than the great and numerous achievements of this deployment

  3. It’s a real shame it happened. But as a result, I imagine the standard operating procedures will be updated so the likelihood of this happening again will be much smaller. And I’d prefer this happen in peacetime where allies were available to help, than under a wartime scenario.
    Cheers
    M@

    • Or not- since these things happen occasionally and are expected to happen occasionally, regardless of the sophistication of the platform. The fact that losses these days are so rare is what makes them newsworthy.

  6. The 44 countries the group engaged with will say very different. Carrier aviation Is dangerous. Have you made such comments every time the USN has had flight deck incident of aircraft crash?

    • Complete tosh Jay. Accidents whilst integrating a new aircraft on a new ship are regrettable but inevitable. Every carrier and aircraft type has suffered losses during the ‘getting to know you’ phase.

      BTW Admiral Kuznetsov has lost several aircraft simply because the arrestor wire doesn’t work so they circle and then ditch.

    • The Royal Navy has nothing to prove. We have been operating aircraft carriers for decades. And the tone of your comment says you are not of this land 🇬🇧

    • Wow, that’s a comprehensive and far reaching review into how the accident happened, and without even being there or examining all evidence, witnesses or procedures. Stellar work……

  7. Well done for the BBC news Red Button, “Hms Queen Elizabeth returns to Port Minus 100 million ” . Such great patriotism from the Lefties at the BBC

      • Only watch the BBC bandwagon jumping ,so diverse I feel like an outsider .So as I can put my Boot through the TV and send the BBC the bill as I Need a new one

        • Be grateful Tommo- here in NZ we now have regressed from mutli – culturalism to bi-culturalism. Maori and the rest of us. It is so divisive in fostering an us and them atmosphere. I am bewildered at how a modern progressive liberal government can be so short sighted.

          • Ironically , Maori were originally colonists too, arriving circa 300 year before Europeans. I simply cannot abide the hypocrisy.

            In truth, Australia is becoming an attractive option.

          • Thx fro the head’s up John. I’ll limit my aspirations to vacations in Queensland and the Great Barrier reef – my happy place. On a serious note, I admire Australia as a nation and have found them good folk to do business with on past cross tasman trips.

            On matters military, Australia does appear to successfully ring fence defence , with both sides of the political spectrum keeping budgets and not cutting

    • Ironically – I watch BBC World news her in NZ on Sky. Our local national network is a left wing f**k fest that makes Lenin and Trotsky look like pussy cats . Our labour government’s behaviour reads like an Orwellian novel. Please excuse the rant, but as age I see the parallels of and Animal Farm and 1984 at work.

      All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

    • Exactly! Should be nothing but pride! Naval aviation is a dangerous business as is all military service and the pilot is safe with no doubt thanks to the crew!!! Well done men and women of the Royal Navy! Enjoy Xmas with your families!

  8. I think the Anti British Broadcasting Corporation is no longer fit for purpose. Remember one program when on the BBC slated HMS QE when she entered Portsmouth for the first time. Could have been written by Sputnik. Sell it off and buy a few more F35s

    • The BBC has a grudge with the Navy after Brian hanrahan got slapped about ,after he informed the world that Argie bombs weren’t detonating on impact 24th May got slapped around late on the 25th May after the Cov took 4 impact detonations Thanks BBC

    • Laurence you are quite correct, apparently the BBC wanted to change their name to the Anti British Broadcasting Association, but it seems ABBA was already taken.

  9. Great article in the Telegraph tomorrow. Seems HMS QE consumed 22 miles of sausages and 30 tons of Angel Delight whilst on deployment. Hate to think how many egg banjos too. Who needs a nuclear carrier when you can have it powered by Angel Delight? If I was young I’d join up.

    • Hi Rob. I can see some sandal wearing plonker bemoaning the environmental effect of 22 miles of sossies. I do miss angel delight though , we don’t have it in NZ. That said, this country does sensational ice cream

    • Its was known onboard as Splodge.
      Not that the colour meant anything . The Chefs would to make it say orange in colour with a different flavor in it…like mint…

    • Shame that they didn’t mention 1 arrest for illegal filming and sharing on Social media the BBC equality department ,will probably pay the legal fee for the defendant if it goes to a Court marshal so as too get a first hand account, and interview

    • Apparently it’s basically in one piece too. Should be able to salvage at least some of it. Does raise a question though which is if it really did come to a peer-on-peer conflict in which losses, through combat or otherwise, are inevitable it’s going to be pretty difficult to keep the F-35s secrets locked up indefinitely. Even a few fragments would be enough for material analysis by an adversary, as was the case for the stealth helo the US had to destroy when they went in to get bin Laden.

  11. Congratulations to the crews and the wider teams who made this happen. We live in a cynical and suspicious age, but CSG21 has shown that the United Kingdom is still able to muster the kind of power and influence that matters on the world stage. The Royal Navy matters, and, through it, we all matter. And, lest the naysayers become too vocal, we matter because we are a force for good.

  13. dumb comment. aircraft lost in maritime ops is an occupational hazard. Sure you can say it was avoidable but it hardly makes the deployment a disaster. The pilot was recovered, the plane can be replaced in the next order

  14. Thanks too unrestricted access to Social media , As shown on various Media Platforms including RT and probable Chinese TV Nothing else will matter about the Deployment and the good work it did .Shame Keelhauling was made illegal The QE Hull is humongous

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