HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier

The 2017-built/2019-commissioned HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier is the second unit (ship pennant number/hull R09) from the UK's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft supercarriers - Britain's largest battleships ever constructed. The sistership HMS Queen Elizabeth (hull R08) was completed in 2014 and commissioned in 2017.

The Combat Vessel (IMO number 4907907) is UK-flagged (MMSI 235118002) and registered in Portsmouth England.

The UK's new aircraft carriers project was initially titled "CV Future", or simply "CVF" (Future Aircraft Carriers). The CVF project was for the design and construction of only two units (the UK's largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy). Eventually, the CVF project cost Britain GBP 6,2 billion (US$ 10,5B).

Each of the CVF ships has 2 large propellers which together are able to output ~80MW/ megawatts of power. This is enough energy to run ~1000 family cars, ~50 of the new highspeed trains, or to power ~5500 households.

Each of the CVF ships has an overall height 184 ft / 56 m (from keel to masthead, or 13 ft / 4 m taller than Niagara Falls), draught 36 ft / 11 m, overall width/flightdeck beam 240 ft / 73 m (128 ft / 39 m waterline beam). There are 9 decks beneath the flight deck, plus two "tower decks" positioned above. The ship's total deck space is ~170,000 ft2 (~16000 m2). The max range/endurance without refueling is 10,000 NM/nautical miles (11500 mi / 19000 km).

The cruising/service speed is 25 knots, while the tested max speed is 32 knots (37 mph / 59 kph). The expected lifespan/max service life for the vessel is 50 years (planned decommissioning in 2069).

Each of the two Queen Elizabeth-class warships is capable of carrying 40+ aircraft (surge capacity is 65x units, theoretical max is 72x units), with max load 36x F-35s (Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II) and 4x helicopters. The hangars are designed for storing military helicopters Boeing CH-47 Chinook (without blade folding) and Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey (tiltrotor).

The Prince of Wales aircraft carrier was assembled from 9 huge hull sections. Construction works were conducted at 6 different British shipyards - Rosyth (Fife/Scotland), Portsmouth (Hampshire/England), Glasgow (Govan/Scotland), Appledore (Devon/England), Newcastle (Tyne and Wear/England), and Birkenhead (Merseyside/England). Then the preassembled parts/mini-sections were transported/ferried onto sea-going barges to Rosyth's Babcock Marine yard (drydock No1) to be welded together. A similar method is used to build the largest cruise liners.

At Rosyth (one of the cruise ports to Edinburgh), Babcock Marine yard's Drydock 1 was specially extended to fit the CVF warships. The dock's entrance was enlarged, and dredging was done at Portsmouth (their home base) to make the existing channel deeper and wider.

British Navy fleet's flagship (Britain's current main warship) is HMS Queen Elizabeth. The Navy's previous operational aircraft carrier was HMS Ark Royal (hull number R07, Invincible-class, 1981-built/1985-commissioned/2011-decommissioned/2013-scrapped).

Vessel details, specifications, statistics

Builders: BAE Systems Surface Ships, Thales Group, Babcock Marine (see the ship's WIKI section for more details).

Cost to Build: GBP 3,5 billion (USD 5,520 billion), which is exactly GBP 7B for both QE-class units by the 2008 contract. The money went to (related to the construction of both ships): GBP 1,325B to BVT Surface Fleet/BAE & VT Group joint venture (for building the hull sections at Govan and Portsmouth), GBP 300M to BAE (for the sections at Barrow-in-Furness), GBP 675M to Babcock Marine (for the bow section/final assembly/completion at Rosyth), GBP 425M to Thales UK (design/engineering), GBP 275M to BAE (design and supply of Mission Systems (Insyte), plus spending on additional contracts for the steel, diesel generators, aircraft lifts, key electronics.

Jobs created: hull section (Portsmouth - 1200), hull sections (Govan/Clyde - 3000+), hull section (Barrow-in-Furness/400+), BAE Systems Insyte (Frimley, Surrey/145), Thales UK (Bristol and Crawley/250), for the assembly of both ships (Rosyth/1600). In the end of 2013, 10,000+ people were involved in the process of building and providing equipment for the UK's newest warships.

Size Comparison: QEC/Queen Elizabeth-class warships are 3 times the size of HMS Indomitable/Ark Royal (UK's last aircraft carrier of the Invincible-class) and are second only to the USA's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the Nimitz-class. In comparison to Nimitz, QEC are manned by ~80% less crew, partly due to automation provided by a computerized IPMS (Integrated Platform Management System) with CORE software and a dedicated SIF (Shore Integration Facility) ashore that receives and processes in real-time all the transmitted from the warship data.

The "food statistics" (fun facts regarding the catering and food supplies onboard the aircraft carrier) say that the dishes are prepared by 40 chefs (among the kitchen staff) and served by 67 catering staff. The ship's food storage rooms are loaded with 12000 tins of beans, 64800 eggs, 66000 sausages, 28800 bacon rashers. The ship's Bakery produces ~1000 loaves of bread daily. The ship has 6x galleys/kitchens. The biggest dining room is for Junior Ratings and has capacity of 960 seats.

HMS POWLS carrier's first Captain was Commodore Ian Groom - with the British Royal Navy since 1986. In the period 2018-2019, the vessel's Master was Captain Stephen Mark Richard Moorhouse (with the Royal navy since 1991, promoted Rear-Admiral in 2019), and since 2020 - Captain Darren Houston.

Draught/Draft: 36 ft (11 m). Including the Flight Deck, the hull is 9 decks deep. Due to budget restraints, a number of hull armor features were dropped form the original project design (the armored bulkheads and the side armorplates). The hull design allows a future upgrade/conversion to accommodate a catapult launch system.

Weight/Displacement: 65600 tonnes (64600 long tons) at deep/full load. This is about 3 times the size of the Royal Navy's three Invincible-class boats (Invincible/1973, Illustrious/1976, Indomitable/1978). For the construction of both new warships were used a total of 80,000 tons of steel.

Deck area/facilities: 172,220 ft2 (or 16,000 m2, or by the words of one official "4 acres of sovereign territory" at sea), a huge hangar below deck (50,600 ft2 / 4,700 m2, volume 29000m3, max capacity 20x aircraft), flight deck (140,000 ft2 / 13,000 m2, with a ski jump/upward-curved ramp angled at 13 degrees), 2x aircraft lifts (capable of 70-ton loads, which means 2x F35s moving from the hangar to flightdeck in 60 sec), 2x engine rooms (forward and aft), Mission Control Center (war planning and coordination), various machinery rooms, water-treatment plant (producing fresh water from sea water daily), ammunition storage space, aviation fuel tanks, ballast water tanks, freshwater tanks (capacity 500 tonnes), weapons handling bay, a gym (fore-located, under the mooring deck and adjacent to the anchors), a room for the crew to play football (located in the passageways), accommodations for 1650 (berths).

As the ship has no catapult system/arrestor wires, its ski jump ramp aids jets' take-offs, thus reducing fuel usage and improving mission range.

The Brig/military prison has 1x police office and 3x cells and is managed by the Royal Navy Police Department (4x service policemen).

The crew/permanent personnel is 1600 and includes 679 (ship's company) plus 921 (air wing). In addition, the boat can accommodate 250x Royal Marines/troops.

A special mobile app was developed for the crew to find their way through the vessel's 3013 compartments. It was estimated that the app would save annually ~GBP 1,2 million from wasted manhours.

QE-class UK aircraft carrier armament (weapons, air arms)

Three Phalanx CIWS (automated Close-In Weapon System, against anti-aircraft/anti-ship missiles), 6 barrels (caliber 20x102mm), fire rate 4500 rounds/min (75 rounds/sec).

Four 30mm automated guns (DS30M Mark 2/small caliber, automated) plus six miniguns (for asymmetric threats).

The warship's weapons monitoring and handling-deployment system HMWHS ("Highly Mechanised Weapon Handling System") is about 6 times faster than the previous (Invincible-class) British aircraft carriers. HMWHS is operated with only 50 people (minimum of 12 personnel) and it moves munitions on pallets by remotely controlled electric vehicles/lifts.

(maximum) 40 Aircraft

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (stealth capability) - a single-seat, single-engine, 5th generation fighter for ground attacks, reconnaissance, air defense. Unit cost (in millions USD, data 2012) is as follows: F-35A (US$107M), F-35B (US$238M), F-35C (US$239M).

Boeing CH-47 Chinook (twin-engine, heavy-lift transport helicopter), average unit cost (US$35M), top speed (196 mph / 315 kph)

Agusta Westland AW101 Apache (med-lift attack helicopter) and Merlin Mk1 (submarine hunt helicopter), unit cos (U$21M).

Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat (aka Future Lynx, Lynx Wildcat) - a military helicopter (serving as utility, search and rescue, anti-surface warfare), entered service with the British Army in 2014 and with the British Royal Navy in 2015.

"Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control" (MASC), formerly known as FOAEW ("Future Organic Airborne Early Warning System"), to provide air and surface surveillance (detecting threat aircraft, missiles, sea surface targets (Over-the-Horizon-Targeting), also for Tactical Control and Networking (to direct intercepts of fighter aircraft, airspace management, air traffic control), speed 174 mph (280 kph), range 575 mi (925 km).

The ship has 4x PTBs/passenger transfer boats (by Alnmaritec), each with capacity 38 people (36x passengers plus 2 operational crew). Each boat has length 43 ft / 13 m and is davit-launched. The passenger boats are named Swordfish, Buccaneer, Sea Vixen, and Sea Harrier. There are also 24x RHIBs (rigid-hulled inflatable boats) plus inflatable liferafts (safety equipment).

QE-class UK aircraft carrier technology

The BAE Systems Insyte Artisan 3D Radar is the most sophisticated in the RN fleet (~5 times more efficient than any previous in service), with a range between 656 ft/200 m and 124 mi/200 km). BAE's Artisan radar is positioned on top of Aft Island, weights ~700 kg, and can detect 800+ targets moving up to 1 km/s (~3 times the speed of sound).

BAE's Long Range Radar (model S1850M) is the same as on the Type 45 destroyers. It weighs 8+ tons (the antenna alone is ~700 kg) and is positioned above the Wheelhouse (on the Forward Island's top). The radar can identify a tennis ball-sized target traveling at 2000+ mph/3220 kph at distance 16+ mi/26+ km away. It can track 900+ targets simultaneously and can operate in a densely signal-populated environment, cutting through interference equivalent to 10000 GSM signals directed its way.

The Wheelhouse is equipped with the latest INBS (Integrated Navigation & Bridge System) - a multifunction console system incorporating electronic navigation systems and a marine radar/satellite tracking.

The ship's 2 propellers weigh 33 tons each (it's 2 1/2 times heavier than a double-decker bus). Both propellers together generate 80 MW of power - enough to run 50x high-speed trains. Two rudders are used for steering.

The ship has 2 anchors (fore-positioned, under the mooring deck portside/below the sky-jump), each with height 3,1 m (10,2 ft) and weight 13 tons. The anchors' cables are of shackles. The portside chain has length ~400 m (~1300 ft) and weight ~90 tons. The starboard chain is shorter (343 m/1125 ft) and lighter (75 tons).

Flightdeck is 919 ft (280 m) long and 243 ft (74 m) wide. It is coated with a metallic compound of aluminum and titanium (melted together and sprayed onto the surface). The special coating allows the open deck to withstand extreme temperatures of up to 2730 F/1500 C.

The vessel requires 1,5 million m2 of paintwork (which is ~16,5 million ft2, or an area of ~370 acres/150 hectares).

The ship's main body is called "Super Block 03".

The countries that currently have aircraft carriers include the USA, Russia, Brazil, India, France, Italy, Spain, China, and Thailand. The US Navy also has Ford-class supercarriers (10x planned units) which are nuclear-powered.

In comparison to the old designs, the new warship has two islands (on flightdeck) rather than just one - 1x forward (for the Navigation Bridge/Control Tower 1) and 1x aft (for air-traffic control/Flight Tower 2). Two heavy lifts (positioned starboard) are used to bring planes up from the hangar, while the older carriers had their lifts placed in the middle of the flight deck). HMWHS (Weapon Handling System) selects and delivers ammunition from two large magazines to aircraft in the hangar (saving on crew numbers).

Bulbous bow - just like on all the largest cruise vessels, both new UK aircraft carriers feature a "bulbous nose". It is a strange-looking protruding bulb positioned at the bow, just below waterline. It modifies the way water flows around the hull, reduces drag and increases the speed and operational range. The bulb also makes the boat more fuel-efficient (10-13%) and more stable (increasing buoyancy of the hull's forward part, thus reducing pitching motion to a very small degree). The "ER" on the bow stands for "Elizabeth Regina" - this is the warship's coat of arms.

Decks and cabins

The aircraft carrier has a total of 470 cabins (prefabricated modular units) with 1600 bunks. Of a total of 302x crew cabins, 118x are for Junior Ratings (6-bed cabins) are fitted with bunk beds and a foldaway sofa that gives 8 berths if required (944 total for the officers and the sailors).

There are separate/larger-sized staterooms for the ship's Flag Officers and Commanding Officers, and two exclusive accommodations/suites - one for the Flag Officer (naval officer above captain/admiral, vice-admiral, rear admiral, commodore) and the other for the Commanding Officer/General (has ultimate authority over the ship).

Common crew areas also include conference/operation briefing rooms, office complex, restrooms (with toilets and showers), Junior rates' exclusive recreational facilities (Messhall, Fitness, Dining Hall, Galley), Senior Rates' exclusive facilities (Wardroom, Dining Hall, Galley), Flag Officers' and Commanding Officers' exclusive facilities (Galley, Dining Room, Baggage Store), Bakery, Hospital (Infirmary, Ward area, Shopping area (NAAFI's naval canteen services- retail, hospitality, wholesale).

The Infirmary/Hospital complex groups all medical facilities and is served by 11x med staff (military physicians and nurses). The area houses an isolation ward, a 12-bed general purpose ward, a dentist's surgery, an operating theatre/surgical operations.

Next is HMS Prince of Wales' deck plan that shows the position of all main facilities and machinery - deck 1 (flight deck), as well as on decks 3, 5 & 8.

Even nowadays, aircraft carriers remain the ultimate symbol of a nation's naval power. By the words of Geoff Searle, the program director for the ACA, battleships like HMS Prince of Wales "are a significant diplomatic tool - they can go anywhere and do anything" - one colossal mobile airfield that you can park anywhere.