Uploaded June 2013 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The UK's biggest aircraft carrier has moved a step closer to completion after its 750-tonne control tower was lowered on to the deck.
The aft island of HMS Queen Elizabeth was built in a yard on the River Clyde in Glasgow and sailed on a barge to Rosyth, Fife, last week to join the other parts of the ship.
It took workers in Scotstoun nearly two years to build the section which will serve as the centre of on-board flight operations.
A huge crane lifted it into place on Thursday night, and it was then lowered on to the deck on Friday in a ceremony with representatives from the armed forces in attendance.
A plaque with the badges of the Royal Navy, the Army and the RAF was placed under the aft island before it was lowered the final few feet into position.
Part of the plaque will remain visible and reads: "Embedded within are the emblems of the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the British Army, the three services which together protect the United Kingdom, her overseas territories and crown dependencies across the globe."
Two apprentices, Gordon Currie and Chris McArthur, sounded airhorns to signal the start of the lowering.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and another aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, are the largest warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The first is due to be launched in 2016. They are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence.
Captain Simon Petitt, senior naval officer, HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: "This is a very significant moment in the making of the ship, particularly as it's an aircraft carrier, because the guys working in the aft island will be operating and controlling all of the aviation activity on this flight deck.
"Once we're fully operational, we will be flying helicopters and jets from all three services to use the power of the air and the freedom of the ocean to influence those on the land, and that's the advantage of an aircraft carrier."
MSN News:
news.uk.msn.com/control-tower-lowered-on-to-carrier
The UK's biggest aircraft carrier has moved a step closer to completion after its 750-tonne control tower was lowered on to the deck.
The aft island of HMS Queen Elizabeth was built in a yard on the River Clyde in Glasgow and sailed on a barge to Rosyth, Fife, last week to join the other parts of the ship.
It took workers in Scotstoun nearly two years to build the section which will serve as the centre of on-board flight operations.
A huge crane lifted it into place on Thursday night, and it was then lowered on to the deck on Friday in a ceremony with representatives from the armed forces in attendance.
A plaque with the badges of the Royal Navy, the Army and the RAF was placed under the aft island before it was lowered the final few feet into position.
Part of the plaque will remain visible and reads: "Embedded within are the emblems of the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the British Army, the three services which together protect the United Kingdom, her overseas territories and crown dependencies across the globe."
Two apprentices, Gordon Currie and Chris McArthur, sounded airhorns to signal the start of the lowering.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and another aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, are the largest warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The first is due to be launched in 2016. They are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence.
Captain Simon Petitt, senior naval officer, HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: "This is a very significant moment in the making of the ship, particularly as it's an aircraft carrier, because the guys working in the aft island will be operating and controlling all of the aviation activity on this flight deck.
"Once we're fully operational, we will be flying helicopters and jets from all three services to use the power of the air and the freedom of the ocean to influence those on the land, and that's the advantage of an aircraft carrier."
MSN News:
news.uk.msn.com/control-tower-lowered-on-to-carrier
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