HMS Queen Elizabeth

Most will probably know the British are currently constructing two huge aircraft carriers (HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince Of Wales)

Here is a great video that was posted on youtube which demonstrates the sheer size and complexity of the project.

www.youtube.com...

What a monster!
What a price tag!
Budget cuts everywhere but not for MoD.
10Bn pounds for the pair and the price doesn't even include aircraft.
Cost overruns on these kinds of projects are a given so in the end to be realistic I would figure 12Bn pounds.
How the heck can they justify this kind of expenditure now?
The history of the super-ship has been inglorious at best.
Think of the HMS Hood / Musashi / Bismarck/ Tirpitz
One torpedo is all it takes to sink any ship, regardless of size.
if Churchill were alive he would sink this idea himself.

My my, Psycho carrier from hell.

Nice vid with C & C red alert remix

Very nice vessels... Super carrier class and all. There are already military discussions underway between the DoD and MoD about slotting british carriers into task forces (The canadians already do this with US / natio fleet maneuvers).

The US and France have also trained on each others carriers for landings and takeoffs.

To me it looks like the future focus of military hardware is moving away from the one country mentality, and moving towards joint military realms.

Either or, the Brits badly need an upgrade on their carriers. However, they wont be effective until the PM stops mothballing the British Navy.

Well the UK already had a joint defence strategy with France so we'll be seeing French sailors on these ships no doubt.

When these two roll out they will be supported by some of the worlds most advanced destroyers, frigates and submarines so you wont see any enemy forces within a 1000 miles of these.

Lets hope the argentines don't kick off too soon then

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Remember those were battle cruisers though, a class of ship which ended with the Yamato and made obsolete by carriers.

If its built anything like the Hood I'd be worried although the Bizmarck was dissabled by a torpedo it was still hit but a fair few after wasnt it? and it still took a pounding from surface guns before been (I pesonally think scuttled) sunk.

Originally posted by Trigger82
If its built anything like the Hood I'd be worried

although the Bizmarck was dissabled by a torpedo it was still hit but a fair few after wasnt it? and it still took a pounding from surface guns before been (I pesonally think scuttled) sunk.

The Hood went down because one of the tree sized shells from the Bismark hit a magazine storage area for the hoods shells.

TnT detonating inside a a magazine storage / powder storage area = loud Boom

Guys, Naval warfare doesn't work like it used to. Prior to WW2 the Battle Cruisers rule the sea but afterwards it was proved carriers were the real force to be reckoned with.

These days you have a large carrier which is escorted by Destroyers and Frigates, Minesweepers and various support vessels. These offer defence against threats both from the air and the sea. Destroyers and Frigates to some extent can also engage in ship to ship combat. You simply couldn't get anything near a carrier these days. Not to mention the defence systems that carriers have anyway. The carriers form the core of your battlegroup and at sea you would need a formidable force to destroy one.