HMS Prince of Wales is a small step closer towards her maiden voyage.
The Royal Navy say that more than 62 tonnes of supplies have been moved on to the ship as the flat-top prepares to sail later this year.
“A 21-strong team from the aircraft carrier’s supply department spent two weeks working around the clock to move the stores on board – a task rather more complicated than it might sound.
The majority of items were provided by the military depot at Crombie, just three miles up the Forth, to a building at Rosyth Royal Dockyard, where HMS Prince of Wales is being completed.”
Lieutenant Commander Alex Pelham Burn, Deputy Commander Logistics, said:
“In preparation for sailing for the first time, the supply chain department have been busy loading the first outfit of stores on board HMS Prince of Wales.
Working 24 hours a day for the past two weeks they have been embarking stores from body armour to ball bearings, firefighting gear to cups and saucers and everything else required to maintain, feed and fight on an aircraft carrier at sea.
As we approach our sailing date, we will start embarking the victuals needed to sustain us during sea trials until we get into our new home port of Portsmouth later this year.”
No suggestion of mothballing there! Hopefully there is little truth in the rumour. Fingers crossed.
Unfortunately, the stores are ‘mothballs’!!!
So that’s why they fly with their legs apart!
Yeah fingers crossed!. Gladly It doesn’t seem like they’ll mothball or sell it now. But wasn’t HMS Prince of Wales supposed to be a little different from HMS QE, for Royal Marine amphibious operations ect?
Well, it won’t have any moths!
Hopefully, moths won’t be the only thing to fly from her!
RGR, You talking Bollox again ? Good man, Keep It Up !!!!
They had stupidly floated the idea of using her as a helicopter carrier but that was ruled as delusional. The QE Class will never operate close to shore. They are to expensive to risk in shallow waters.. The will operate as fighter aircraft carriers hundred miles out of a conflict zone.
It’s Fake News, and really Old news at that. (I Hope) POW will be Retained and Used In her Intended Role ( with the Mods She has had due to the Selling off of Ocean ) for at least the first part of her 50 year Life.
Unless of coarse there is a second vote on it. sic.
If anything surely they would work up POW and mothball QE as POW offers further adaptations for amphibious operations etc?
Obviously we all wish for neither but if it arose?
Yeah, and they’ve six of them….errr legs that is!
Ah but Yeah but no but, We sank their flag ship with a Yorker !
Please excuse my ignorance but is this ship named for Prince Charles? If so why?
The position of Prince of Wales has been appointed to many royals over the last 800 or so years. I believe it is a position rather than a person.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales are traditional RN names. They refer to classes of ships and historical figures long before the current incumbents. POW was sunk by Japanese aircraft in WW2….Charlie was not a glint in a Greek sailor’s eye then!
Can’t use Hood it was sunk in the WW 2 and it would be deemed extremely bad luck…. Oh hang on a minute. As said above its pure Coincidence that out of the hundred odd names they could have selected they accidentally settled on two that just happen to reflect the present and upcoming monarch. I am sure that had we built more all the other monarchs that never get a look in would have got their turn too. I quite fancy a William the Bastard or Henry the wife killer myself to grace our fleet both of which names could be equally deniable as reflecting any particular monarchs.
What about Richard the 3rd ?
Well, bearing in mind the ships that sank the Bismarck, and updating one of them… I would have called them, King George VI (KG6) and Rodney.
But then I would have had to built a 3rd and call it HMS Victorious.
Our wartime King ought to have been commemorated
Surely if we are to have a Rodney, we have to have a Dell Boy?
dan, Not Personally, Nor Is QE named after our current Queen.
Maybe the names made them just a smidgen more difficult to cancel?
That is a point.
I’m Hoping they might name the Local Genealogical department after me !!!!!
Do you mean ‘Gynaecological’ department. I will resist making any anatomical reference whatsoever!
Ah…’Genitourinary’ ….what a poxy job that must be!
Lol Hero, I got Infected on the way to the Spell Checker Clinic !!!!
Ironically QE 1st thanked her sailors for defeating the Armada by keeping them locked up on their ships until they dies rather than pay them! So a great name for a RN ship. Still the history commonly taught remembers her as a hero.
Good new that POW is progressing towards initial trials.
Died rather, sorry.
Yes it’s little known that the Queen Elizabeth Line is also named after the Cousin killer too… Or at least it is after all the delays made it a laughing stock. And that is sort of how these things work in Britain. Even more so if Rees-Mogg ever becomes Emporor.
Odd all that…why has it taken so long to run a railway between Paddington and Abbey Wood. It is totally discrete (independent of other lines). Of course, lines out to Reading and Shenfield could cause integration problems….but they should have been able to operate the former without too much of a problem. One DM I think!
Queen Elizabeth class of Super Dreadnoughts .
It’s worth noting that QE will receive the same mods as POW when she goes into her next large refit.
POWs mods extend beyond just amphibious stuff, for one she utilises upgraded deck lighting, specially tailored for her aircrafts. I believe it’s another carrier related British innovation, but bugger me if I can think of its name.
Bedford Array?
Oh God! Not red lamps on port-holes again!
Herodotus, I’m loving your Posts lately, just sayin.
Cat’s n Traps Eyes ?.
There Is a special Export version for the Japanese Navy’s new Izumo class too, It’s called the “Japs Eye”.
A Contingent of there Seamen have been looking into this for a few years and they are hoping to pull It Off Soon, by all accounts.
‘Rosyth Royal Dockyard’? I wish it still was
Can someone with better info than available to me explain how the crewing for both carriers simultaneously can be achieved with current RN manpower without robbibg Peter to pay Paul?
I thought the QE was already established and much of the crew for POW come from Ocean?
Perhaps the Navy is thinking about pressing again! Watch-out Brixham fishermen
Are there Any Left ?????
One of the few fishing communities that is still around….a robust lot in South Devon!
South Devon fishermen always had a spot of favoritism over their south Cornwall rivals, for some unknown reason. Might have something to do with the Cornish desire to break away and become Independent from England.
Either way, I preferred the North Devon lot, So nice and accommodating and their catch was so much less money too.
Spent 4 years In and out of Plymouth as a young lad, most of the shore time spent on Union Street truth be known. Unbelievable fun was had when the Yanks were In Town. Specially In the “Prince Regent”. and outside on the Pavement.
How about HMS Ark Royal and HMS Eagle. Two very good carrier names
How about HMS Ark Royal and HMS Eagle
Well, POW was sunk in 1941 and the Ark Royal also went to a watery grave….but there were reincarnations. So, it can’t be bad luck!!
If we were to stay In Europe, the Type 31’s would be named, Merkel and Macron. That’s probably all We’d have.
Don’t be silly, when it comes to food Europe has much to offer….especially the Italians!
By the way, I think that one of our new carriers should have been named Ark Royal! What a name, and what a heritage!
I would have preferred HMS Furious or Warspite both names with a lot of history
Arc Royal, Has been done to death.
Hermes would be top of my list. The single most amazing standout ship of the last 60 Years. And she Punched way above her Weight when she was asked the biggest question of her.
A Ship that was Loved by many In a Conflict that was never Planned For. Fondest Memories “Old Rust Bucket”.
A lovely name, but also that of another type of carrier these days! I refer to them as My Herpes! Herpes is from the Greek to creep or to crawl…very apt, n’est pas Rachel?
Herodotus, Yes, “My Hermes” Is a Courier or delivery Company with a patchy History of Reliable Delivery.
Whereas HMS Hermes, Delivered On Time and Above and Beyond her Promises.
Go watch YouTube when She Left Portsmouth In 82. Wave at her and you might get a wave back from me too.
Note how low she was in the water, That’s an indication of just how well she was Designed. There were ore than a few times we were Grateful.
Yes, I was there…at least in spirit. As a young engineer involved in precession navigation that included mine sweeping activities in the western approaches, a bunch of us volunteered to go to the Falklands to help out. We were conducting a hydrographic survey in Saudi at the time. However. the Argies didn’t lay sea mines and we were not called upon to help out. I do remember the emotions involved at the time…and how quickly my civilian colleagues readily volunteered to take part. We all knew there was more at stake than just a few forgotten islands…in 1982 it was about Britain’s survival as an influential nation…our credibility was at stake. I’ve loads of stories about those times. Particularly the reaction of other nations, where I was working, to our victory! One thing that upset me was a woman on the front in Portsmouth proclaiming that she felt British again! After a thousand lives lost….. stupid bitch!
Only Just, but not of the same name.
RGR – Retired now from service,served 1959 – 1984 Royal Navy,1986 -2016 Indian Navy,thats pretty impressive by anyones standards.
Technically speaking, the previous HMS Sheffield was sold to Chile in 2003. The Sheffield before her was sunk during the Falklands War.
It’s good she’s getting ready, it won’t be long to Scotland’s Independence after the Westminster shambles. And I’ve been reliably informed that as the Union of 1707 was between equal partners, and still is, we’ll be taking half the military assets.
The POW will of course be renamed the Princess Royal or Princess Anne, as we’re kidnapping her – home matches at Murrayfield wouldn’t be the same without her. Crew could be a problem, I might have to volunteer as cook – I do a great cheese on toast. Or as skipper, I dare say I’ll get the hang of this left right bit. Or just keep a bit of paper in my desk drawer – “Left is Port, Starboard is right”.
4 Astute as we’ll be leaving you the Vanguards, 3 x T45, 7 x T23, Bulwark probably rather than Albion, and sundry other craft. Not forgetting of course half of air and army assets.
It is possible this is an initial negotiating position, I wouldn’t dare to speculate …
Haha. Morning Dads Army. “Left is Port Starboard is right”- How about Hay Straw in Gaelic? The Westminster shambles should be rushed through in about another ten years, then you can start the process of Scottish Independence! Don’t think the exhausted peoples of Great Britain would be able to handle the two splits in parallel !
Cheers from the Colony of Natal
Hi Geoff. I couldn’t resist a little shot across the bows, there’s been a few disresepctful comments about Scotland recently. As an Indy it’s all grist to the mill for me, but half of Scotland still wants to stay in the Union and it’s a bit unfair to them. There’s even SNP voters who’d vote against Indy, they vote SNP because they like their polices and performance.
Cheers from the Colony of Scotland! (though I don’t actually look at it that way).
A Scotland like that could have what they wanted, but they could not be able to pay the running of the half of it.
How many fast jets does Norway (a comparable nation) have? Pro rata the home nations economies, Scotland could manage 3.
Half the assets is a Sturgeon/Salmons argument. the reality is it comes with half of the liabilities (i.e.national debt including the bailout for the Royal Bank of Scotland !!)
I wonder if they have loaded on Indian flags? News yesterday in Portsmouth paper covered the visit of an Indian fleet commander to QE to see what capabilities the carrier can bring to operations. Let’s hope it’s nothing more than an intrigued look around and there was no sales pitch involved.
It will be interesting to see if India purchases the F35. The harriers can’t fly forever and Russias fast jet naval offerings tend to end up in the ocean.
More than likely just swapping notes – INS Vikrant is near completion,mind you if a customer was interested in a New Aircraft Carrier might the jobs it creates in building be just as important as the Ship itself ?
I think, could be wrong, all ships carry a full range of flags. Even some small leisure yachts carry a range.
RGR – HMS Sheffield will be a Type 26 Frigate,most of which seem to have inherited the Type 42 names,not sure how long it will be before the Type 31 finally gets started and their naming schedule appears.
the PoW is slightly different from learning and a change of mission; assuming those changes are successful QE gets a refit in Portsmouth to the same spec. It would be interesting to know the differences as they are now.