THE COUNTDOWN has begun.
In 50 days’ time the Queen will arrive in Rosyth to christen her namesake, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy’s largest ever warship.
The naming ceremony, coming during the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s traditional week of engagements north of the border, will mark a significant milestone in the programme to deliver the biggest warships ever built in the UK.
Shortly after the Queen formally names the ship, in front of some of the thousands of workers who have come together to construct and assemble the vessel, HMS Queen Elizabeth will float for the first time.
Then she will move alongside Rosyth dockyard where work will continue on outfitting and commissioning before sea trials, anticipated to get under way in 2016.
The massive ship is the first of two 65,000-tonne vessels which will be delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.
This has been a busy time for the workforce a week ago the final piece of the giant jigsaw puzzle was put in place as the aft aircraft lift was moved into position.
At that time, Tom Niven, who is the head of assembly, said all those involved in this phase could take great pride in constructing the nation’s new flagship.
“We continue now to move forward in preparation for the naming ceremony and undocking,” he said.
“When Queen Elizabeth is afloat we will all get a great appreciation of the size and scale of the vessel we have constructed.”
Yesterday, as preparations for the July 4 naming ceremony moved up a gear, the alliance opened the doors to the first Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier to give a sneak peek inside the ship which will be home to 679 permanent crew members when operational.
leclark@thecourier.co.uk