
The next phase of work on the Navy's largest ever warship is underway, with the upper decks of the huge vessel gradually taking form.

Workers were seen on board HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth Dock in Fife, some seven months after being first floated on the River Forth.

She was unveiled by the Queen in 2014 after the ordinarily dry dock was flooded with water.

The ship is Britain's largest ever maritime vessel weighing 65,000 tonnes and measuring 918ft from bow to stern. At almost 230ft, she stands as tall as Niagara Falls from the keel to the masthead.

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Work HMS Queen Elizabeth continues, with the ship's nine-deck hull taking form. The project is expected to cost more than £6billion with the vessel, docked at Rosyth in Fife, the largest in the Navy's history

Work began on the ship in 2007. By the time work is completed, the ship will have enough space to carry 36 F-35 Lightning fighter jets

Once completed she will have enough room to transport 36 F-35 Lightning fighter jets, though only three of the 48 ordered from U.S. manufacturers have so far been delivered.

The ship's hull was beginning to take form today with some of its nine decks becoming visible.

The cost of fitting out the ship has spiraled drastically since plans for its construction were revealed. In 2008 an initial contract for its completion was priced at £3.2billion.

Two years later the bill was put at £5.2billion, with the most recent figures indicating it will cost more than £6billion to complete.

Last summer 80,000 tons of steel, 3.4million yards of cabling and 90,000 pipe spools had already been used in its construction. Among its features is a huge lifting platform which will be able to bring jets and helicopters to the flight deck in less than a minute.

But since work began in 2007 an estimated 10,000 people have been employed in building the ship. Once in use she will employ a crew of fewer than 700.

HMS Prince of Wales, a sister ship, is also undergoing extensive construction work.

The vessels have been heralded by the Royal Navy as future flagships for the Armed Forces. From 2020, their primary use will be in transporting 36 F-35 Lightning fighter jets.

Artists impressions of the ship's flight deck released before construction was underway. When completed the vessel will have enough room for dozens of aircraft

In July 2014 the warship was floated out of Rosyth Dock for the first time after it was filled with water. An estimated 10,000 people will have worked on her construction by the time it is complete

At 72,000 tons and 932 feet long, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is taller than Nelson’s Column and considerably wider than the M25 at its widest point

GIANT OF THE SEAS: ENORMOUS WARSHIP THAT WILL LEAD THE ROYAL NAVY FOR 50 YEARS At 72,000 tons and 932 feet long, the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is taller than Nelson’s Column and considerably wider than the M25 at its widest point. She generates enough energy to power Swindon, she can produce 500 tons of fresh water a day - and travel 500 miles a day, too. Above all, she will be able to deliver 36 F-35 Lightning strike fighters and 1,000 troops from the largest piece of British sovereign territory afloat. Her sister ship, the Prince of Wales, is already in production, though it has still not been decided whether she will be operational, mothballed or sold. Each ship, which has a life expectancy of around 50 years, will be fitted out with more than three million metres of cable and it will have enough power to light up a small town. This week, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, described the project as a feat of engineering to match the London Olympics. You could say much the same about the price - more than £6 billion for the pair. And that does not include the planes. Each 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four-acre military operating base, which can be deployed worldwide, operating the F-35 Lightning II and a number of types of helicopter. At full capacity, the carrier will be able to launch an aircraft every 30 seconds. They will be versatile enough to be used across the full spectrum of military activity, from war fighting to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. HMS Queen Elizabeth will have 679 permanent crew and capacity for 1,600 crew members when fully operational. The ship features a new style of 'twin island' command points - one at the front for steering and one at the back for aircraft direction. Thanks to the cutting-edge technology on board, commanders on the bridge will be able to see 250 miles away. The carrier's range is said to be 10,000 nautical miles and the ship is fitted with a long range 3D radar that is capable of tracking more than 1,000 targets at once or spotting a tennis ball travelling at 2,000 miles per hour. Advertisement

Until then however the ships, which each have 4-acre hangar decks, will carry helicopters. Sea trials are expected to begin next year, the Royal Navy's website predicts.

Experts at BAE Systems working on the carriers created an app - called Platform Navigation - to assist them in finding their way around the unprecedented scale and complexity of the ships, where even routine journeys can take up to 20 minutes.

Speaking before it was unveiled for the first time in July, senior naval officer Captain Simon Petitt said: 'What we will get as the United Kingdom is the most amazing piece of military capability that really will be flexible and be able to provide our politicians and our military planners with choice, depending on what comes in the future.

'They provide a real joint defence asset to deliver air power using the freedom of the world’s oceans to influence what happens on land.'

HMS Queen Elizabeth in all her glory: An artists impression reveals the decks of new 65,000-ton Royal Navy warship that will be able to carry 2,300 crew and enough space to transport 36 F-35 Lightning fighter jets

The massive vessel will be as long as twenty eight London buses which is three times bigger than Britain's previous biggest aircraft carriers

Since work began in 2007, an estimated 10,000 shipyard workers and engineers have been employed in building the ship which will employ a crew of fewer than 700 once complete

Reflecting on the construction work carried out to this point, he added: 'It’s just fantastic. I arrived here over a year ago and there was one relatively small block in the dock.

'The ship now is structurally complete and it’s been really exciting watching her come together. My crew are just as excited and proud as I am.'

The Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers are part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a joint venture between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Project manager Steven Carroll, the systems delivery director for the Alliance, said: 'It’s a huge undertaking, a UK-wide national endeavour involving up to 10,000 people, including multiple companies within the alliance and the supply chain.

'It really has been a long journey, a fantastic journey, to get to this point and there is a lot more work to be done as we get ready for the second ship, Prince of Wales.'

Six shipyards around the UK have been involved in the project to build the HMS Queen Elizabeth which is currently based at huge Rosyth Docks in Scotland

Last summer 80,000 tons of steel, 3.4million yards of cabling and 90,000 pipe spools had already been used in the construction of the ship and work is still underway to bring the project in on its estimated £6.2billion budget

The queen unveils HMS Queen Elizabeth with Prince Philip in a ceremony on the Firth of Forth in July. The ship will be launched for sea trials in 2016







