HMS Queen Elizabeth and elements of her Carrier Strike Group have arrived in Singapore.
The aircraft carrier announced the milestone in their deployment via Twitter.
Waving hello to Singapore 🇸🇬 👋
The super skyline of a magnificent maritime city. Good to see you from the sea 🏙 👀 🌊 #CSG21 #Singapore @UKinSingapore 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/DPsefkJnnc
— HMS Queen Elizabeth (@HMSQNLZ) July 26, 2021
The vessels passed the SIngapore Strait.
Passing the impressive Singapore skyline 🇸🇬
Not the best conditions for photos this afternoon, but a deployment milestone for @HMS_Richmond as we pass through the Singapore Strait.
Photo 3 is a distant waterspout off Malaysia today.#CSG21 #Singapore @UKinSingapore 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Vm7E1y7NbY
— HMS Richmond (@HMS_Richmond) July 26, 2021
An Astute class submarine belonging to the group was also spotted.
@RoyalNavy HMS Artful (S121), an Astute-class SSN, sailing surfaced through the Singapore Strait towards the South China Sea. That is a rare sight! Many thanks to @supbrow as always for heads up! @graham_euan @BDS_SE_Asia @jamescrabtree @MarSec_Bradford @BDHerzinger pic.twitter.com/qPcUdBwVmX
— Olli Suorsa (@OlliSuorsa) July 25, 2021
HMS Defender, a Type 45 Destroyer part of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Carrier Strike Group, recently entered the South China Sea.
What is the UK Carrier Strike Group doing?
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the deployed flag ship for Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), a deployment that will see the ship and her escorts sail to the Asia-Pacific and back.
The Carrier Strike Group includes ships from the United States Navy, the Dutch Navy, and Marines from the US Marine Corps as well as air assets from 617 Sqn, 820 NAS, 815 NAS and 845 NAS.
The Royal Navy say that the UK’s Carrier Strike Group will visit more than one fifth of the world’s nations. Led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, the task group will visit 40 nations including India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore in a deployment covering 26,000 nautical miles.
“While in the Pacific, ships from the Carrier Strike Group will mark the 50th anniversary of the Five Powers Defence Agreement between Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the UK by taking part in Exercise Bersama Lima. Joining HMS Queen Elizabeth on her maiden deployment are destroyers HMS Diamond and Defender; frigates HMS Richmond and Kent; an Astute-class submarine in support below the waves; and Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring.
More than 30 aircraft will also embark across the task group including F-35 jets from 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, and the US Marine Corps’ VMFA-211; Wildcat helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron and Merlin helicopters from 820 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons. Royal Marines from 42 Commando will also deploy with the carrier. Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen and American Arleigh Burke destroyer USS The Sullivans are also part of the strike group.”
Currently however, HMS Diamond isn’t with the group after suffering a defect. You can read more about that here. HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group will also undertake anti-submarine exercises whilst in the Pacific region.
Coming alongside or just sailing past?
Just sailing I believe because of COVID and what happened in Cyprus.
Thing is when in Sambawang the crew will not have the same fun as i had when back in the 70s (i think if i remember it was 73/74 )i was lucky enough to have two self maintenance periods there on RFA Tidespring that lasted 6 weeks each
Pity you wont enjoy the delights of Boogie St and the bars and stalls of Sambawang itself
I can still smell the aroma of the stalls even today
Happy times those where
And i was there many times on various ships
I was there in 74 as well. 8 weeks for Hot and Wet trails. Fantastic exercise finishing with a exercise at Asahan ranges with the Blazer Battery.
And I bet that’s all. Was there in 1971. Got filled in. Great run.
Sailing past or stopping over. Assume Covid issues mean Sailing past.
Yep. Sadly.
Guessing QE won’t be stopping and even if she did she wouldn’t fit in Sambawang?
Singapore is great but I imagine it would be have been a much messier and more hedonistic run ashore back in the 60’s and 70’s before it became so clean and wealthy!
As lo g as the ‘4 floors’ is open Jack will have a good run.
Sadly it’s not. The “Floors” aka The House of Fun has been closed since April last year.
What what what ! Ah, that was the disturbance in The Force I detected last April. 😉
4 floors… I don’t know what you mean…. Don’t forget Muddy Murphy opposite.!!
While Singers is a bit sterile compared to a lot of other parts of SE Asia (not done all of it right enough) there are still some good boozers and hawker markets. My missus flew out to meet me there one time and she loved it, felt really safe, a 10 day maintenance period turned into an 18 day maintenance period. Much as I enjoyed it I do like my SE Asia runs to be a bit more ‘SE Asiany’ if you know what I mean, Singers is still one of my favourite runs though.
Mrs Gunbuster has relatives who live there so when we have visited we get the locals inside look at Singers…It isnt nearly so sterile or as tight laced as the tourists get to see!
QE is able to fit at the deep draft berth at the Changi Naval Base. This was built especially to accommodate the US aircraft carriers.
4fow…..lol
So Defender held off conducting a fonops, as I assume that is her in one of the images, or, they just dropped a T45 photo in the press release?
Have Chinese media reacted yet to her FONOP or she held back and they will sail as a group?
Does this mean that the Covid outbreak meant that they missed stopping in India?
Don’t think that was ever planned. Maybe next time.
Shame they closed the naval base they had there, would be extremely useful nowadays, especially with the rise of China and the ’tilt’ to the Indo-Pacific.
There is still an MoD owned logistics and refuelling wharf at Sambawang on the northern side of Singapore Island.
Depending on the frequently of deployments to the Indo-Pacific going forwards we could perhaps justify a modest increase in its size and capabilities (if there is room?) but even our best effort of a full CSG every couple of years doesn’t really call for a full fat, across the board naval base as was present up until 1971.
I was aware of that, but would that be able to support the two new OPV’s that are heading there and may be based out of there?
I’d have thought so aside from deep maintenance. Can’t imagine OPV’s need more than the logistics, refuelling and basic maintenance the facility can already provide.
It would perhaps need a modest increase in stores capacity and accommodation. Again not sure how much space is available.
My thoughts are that the main anchors in the region will be Australia and New Zealand for the RN. If CANZUK goes the whole distance, that’s Canada, Australia and the UK with the type 26, our LRG, type 31s and the OPVs in the region. Not even counting India, Singapore, Malaysia and our US cousins.
50yrs ago nearly to the day (Nov 71) I was serving on HMNZS Otago when the Brits pulled down their flag in the Far East and had the sail past with the Admiral onboard HMS Hermes
Agree with Barry did a Boiler Clean on HMS Norfolk in Singapore AMP in 79. Not sure the run ashore will be as good as it was back then. Those were the days!!!
So will the ‘big boat’ be venturing into the SC Sea?
Yep.
Good novel from 25 years ago !! Enjoyed it at time and still relevant !!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSN_(novel)
Does anyone know if the HMS Queen Elizabeth has docked anywhere since departure, or if anyone has left or come aboard during this time?