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Her Majesty The Queen has commissioned the UK’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth into the Royal Navy.

The Queen spoke at a ceremony in Portsmouth’s naval base this morning (December 7), attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and military chiefs.

In her role as the ship’s Lady Sponsor Her Majesty addressed guests before the Ship’s Commanding Officer, Captain Jerry Kyd, read the commissioning warrant. The iconic White Ensign was then raised, symbolising the commissioning of the nation’s future flagship into the Royal Navy’s fleet.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “It is an honour to witness the crowning moment of an extraordinarily busy year for the Royal Navy that has seen us name the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, cut steel on the first Type 26 frigates and launch the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

“Our new aircraft carrier is the epitome of British design and dexterity, at the core of our efforts to build an Armed Forces fit for the future.”

Having successfully completed her second stage of sea trials off the south coast of England, the carrier is back alongside at her home port of Portsmouth. Over 10,000 people across the UK have contributed to the delivery of the ship under the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.

According to the Ministry of Defence construction of the 280 metre-long ship (big enough to carry Kingsholm on its flight deck twice and still have room for a training pitch), would not have been possible without the essential work undertaken by small and medium sized firms nationwide.

You could say the ship would be going nowhere fast is it was not for a certain Gloucestershire business called Fluid Transfer International.

Fluid Transfer International, which serves world export markets from its plant in Nailsworth, secured the contract worth £5.9million for refuelling systems on HMS The Queen Elizabeth and yet to be launched HMS The Prince of Wales.

John Little, managing director of the Queen’s Award winning business, said: “We are very privileged to have won the contract for the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers. We started designing the equipment back in 2007 and it is only now that it is finally being installed on the carriers.

“It is an amazing project of which our team here at Nailsworth is very proud”.

Completing final build activity and preparing for helicopter trials in the New Year, HMS Queen Elizabeth will head to the United States for initial flight trials off the coast in autumn 2018. There are currently 150 Royal Navy and RAF personnel training in the US on our 13 F-35 jets.

The UK has worked closely on both the F-35 and carrier programmes with the US, our pre-eminent partner within NATO, enabling us to fly aircraft from each other’s ships. Both of the UK’s new carriers will be able to operate alongside NATO and coalition allies.

Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said: “In hoisting the White Ensign from HMS Queen Elizabeth today, Britain has confirmed her place among the world’s great maritime powers in the most majestic and muscular terms.

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"The Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will sit at the heart of a modernised and emboldened Royal Navy, capable of projecting power and influence at sea, in the air, over the land and in cyberspace, and offering our nation military and political choice in an uncertain world.”

In what has been termed, ‘the Year of the Royal Navy’ the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, was named in Rosyth and is structurally complete.

This year the Royal Navy has also had steel cut on the first of the Type 26 frigates and Dreadnought submarines, the launch of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, provisioning for a new class of frigate, the Type 31e, float out of the fourth Astute submarine, HMS Audacious, the naming of two Offshore Patrol Vessels and the arrival of our first two MARS Tankers in the UK.

Last month the Defence Secretary visited HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time while at sea, meeting the crew and thanking them for their work towards UK defence.

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HMS Queen Elizabeth facts

• She is the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth.

• At 280 metres long, and a flight deck of four-acres, HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain's largest and most powerful warship ever built.

• The ship weighs 65,000 tonnes.

• There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside the ship, and from keel to masthead she measures 56 metres - four metres more than Niagara Falls.

• The flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide.

• Each aircraft lift is bigger than a Type 23 Frigate’s flightdeck.

• Ship’s company regularly clock more than 20,000 steps during their working day.

Power

• HMS Queen Elizabeth has a top speed in excess of 25 knots.

• The electrical distribution network on board manages enough energy to power 100 ,000 kettles

• The ship has a range of 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles.

• The ship has 4 main diesel engines and 2 Gas Turbines Alternators which collectively can produce up to 110MW, enough to power Gibraltar, Swindon or Dundee.

• Each of the two aircraft lifts on HMS Queen Elizabeth can move two fighter jets from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.

• The warship has a range of 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles, and has two propellers - which each weigh 33 tonnes and together output 80MW of power - enough to run 1,000 family cars or 50 high speed trains.

• The fog horn is 162 decibels and can be heard from more than two miles away.

• There is over 250,000km of electrical cable & 8,000km of fibreoptic cable onboard.

Crew

• The ship has a crew of around 700, which will increase to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35B jets and helicopters are embarked.

• The ship's entire crew of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes. That's cut to 45 minutes when at 'action station'

Facilities

• Facilities on board include a chapel, a medical centre and 12-bed ward, currently staffed with 2 Royal Navy Doctors, a nurse and medical assistants, as well as a dentist.

• There are also five gyms on the warship which include a cardio vascular suite, two free weight rooms and a boxing gym.

• Regular fitness circuit sessions and sporting activities such as basketball and tug of war are held in the hangar and on the flight deck.

• There are five galleys on the warship - which is where the food is cooked and those on board eat their meals everyday. This includes two main galleys, the bridge mess and 2 aircrew galleys.

• A recent month’s food shopping bill for the ship came in at £110,000 as more than 3,000 meals were served each day.

• The ship’s bakery can produce up to 2,000 rolls or baguettes a day, enough to sustain a task group that will escort the ship.