9J, a logistics compartment deep inside HMS Queen Elizabeth, will serve as a temporary training facility for the Damage Control Officer.
This is the first of just over 3,010 compartments on Britain’s new carrier handed over for the crew of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Over the coming weeks, this compartment will be populated with equipment and training will commence.
According to the Royal Navy, “9J is very deep in the bowels of the 65,000-tonne flat-top (eight decks down from the flight deck) and roughly midships (compartments are labeled A to Z bow to stern).”
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.
This comes as new modular accommodation to house sailors working on the new supercarriers has been completed almost one month early.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is supporting the carrier programme by providing site security, messing and recreational facilities and accommodation for the carrier’s crew. A total of 302 new cabins are now ready to be occupied by service personnel based at Rosyth.
DIO Head of Establishment Peter Bush said:
“I am delighted at the completion of this project and that we are able to offer the crew of the carrier this great accommodation which fits their needs.
These new modular cabins were the best choice for the job as they can be set up quickly and considerably more cheaply than building new accommodation from scratch in the traditional way and can be removed on completion of HMS Prince of Wales.
It also allows the sailors to live close to the ship which makes a big difference to them.”
Speaking after the handover of the first phase of the accommodation in August, Capt Simon Petitt, Senior Naval Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth said:
“The accommodation is both modern and practical, and more importantly offers a real sense of home comforts for our sailors who are looking forward to moving in and being in one location so that we are all of one company.”
The last units were handed over 3 weeks ahead of schedule ready to welcome members of the carrier crew.
Crew move aboard the first carrier in May 2016, sea trials begin in August 2016 and Queen Elizabeth moves to Portsmouth in 2017.
I’ve seen conflicting dates about sea trials for HMS Queen Elizabeth
Will they definitely happen this year?
Yes
One small step for a man, one giant leap for the Royal Navy.
Looking like she won’t have destroyer protection when she’s at sea tho for a while. What a bloody joke!!
She will.
How they keep having complete power failure and it’s not going to be cheap or quick to fix them.
Media over hyped the issue dramatically… Yes, they keep blowing fuses, but they are fixed very quickly. Its not something that happens all of the time, and has sailed months between breakdowns. A war machine needs to be reliable however, which is why it needs extensive repair.
They are still performing their duties well, and will be incrementally fixed to ensure we still have destroyer cover…
They’ll probably all be fixed before Prince of Wales is commissioned so we only need cover for 1 carrier until that time anyway.
Not ideal, but hardly apocalyptic for RN.
Outrage bus alert!!! All aboard.
Bring back Harrier ,we should never have scrapped the ark royal oh and while I’m at it bring back the SLR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only joking I can’t wait to see these ships
The holy slr! So sayith the daily mail!
Interesting article – appalling grammar!!
Only having a maximum of 6 destroyers available at the best of times, means the carriers will need to rely on partner nations most of the times anyway, so whether the type45’s are there or not, is not a major issue, just a bit embarrassing.
The truth hurts -)
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.
Was this a dig?
I’d also said previously we should have built an additional 4 type 45’s and relevant ships for carrier protection.
As an island nation consisting of four nations I think our forces are undervalued and short changed.
Our Navy is a joke for our needs and demands.
The planning assumption for 6 X T45 was one carrier. It is the decision to keep both carriers, taken after T45 production finished that caused the problem. To be solved in the longer term by more frigates.
Sure, more 45s would be nice. But you will have the second most powerful carrier force in the world. That’s not bad.