The anchors on Britain’s new supercarrier have been tested for the first time.
The anchors are almost as the heavy as the F-35B aircraft which will operate from HMS Queen Elizabeth, the 13 tonne anchors were lowered into the basin at Rosyth.
The trial involved engineers from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance and the ship’s seamanship specialists who will be in charge of anchoring and mooring the Queen Elizabeth.
Milestones are passing quickly for the vessel, with her engines having been fired up, radars installed and soon the aircraft lifts will be tested.
Chief Petty Officer Jay Early, Queen Elizabeth’s bosun, responsible for seamanship, explained:
“Everything about these ships is on a larger scale and the anchors are no different. Moving the anchor for the first time is a huge milestone in the programme and it was fantastic to watch it in motion as it was lowered into the water and back up again.”
The Queen Elizabeth class mark a change from expressing carrier power in terms of number of aircraft carried, to the number of sortie’s that can be generated from the deck. The class are not the largest class of carrier in the world but they are most likely the smallest and least expensive carrier the Royal Navy could build which still have the advantages that large carriers offer.
Crew move aboard the supercarrier in May 2016, sea trials begin in August 2016 and the vessel moves to Portsmouth in 2017.
