Thread: UK's Biggest Warship HMS Queen Elizabeth Sails into Home Port for First Time

Originally Posted by Switch

Let's hope the F35B comes on stream without undue delay.

Biggest (maybe not quite) the biggest sitting duck afloat.

My mate the council mechanic in Essex who has all the inside information leaked this information , the new recruits are being prepared for the next war, and it's Russia.

Gotta know when yer arse is on fire.

Originally Posted by CSFFan

Thanks Looper...I'm old stylee, I think having the two control parties (ship/flight ops)that far apart physically could be a problem.

I never served on big ships but twin gas turbines with an exhaust in each island facilitates better machinery layout and as an added safety feature to slow down/ halt catastrophic flooding.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Originally Posted by taxexile

you are wasting your time looper.

these brit hating, raghead loving, snide oozing, self loathing socialists are just so predictable in their comments.

Those of us who are British ( I have dual nationality), who have family connections to the Senior Service, who care about the country's position in the world, and who can see the clear decline over the past 30 years feel it is our duty to comment. Do you think that the RN has somehow improved over the last 30 years? How? A proper reply would be appreciated, why do you think this shameful reduction to a single aircraft carrier, after several years of no carrier at all, is anything other than an embarrassment?

I would agree to some extent, it is just a metal box full of wankers, designed for killing people. I thought there were two being built?
Amongst the many issues I have, it's the relevance of such a blob - most wars are about information and technology, large targets like this seem to go against the flow. Another issue I have is the structure of the military, which still clings onto this stupid feudalistic division between officers and men. Everyone should start at the bottom and filtered out for incompetence, instead of it just fostering and sustained cronyism. ...and let's not get started on that comedy outfit the MOD, one of the biggest mismanaged, conceptually flawed, anachronistic sinkholes of public money after the NHS.
On the other hand, it has created and sustained some jobs and training in engineering, but I return to point one... this should be more towards a high-tech and commercially inclined direction...

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

Everyone should start at the bottom and filtered out for incompetence

I think the military is moving in the other direction and looking at opening up more officer positions to civilians to try and attract leadership candidates who might bring something useful to the table.

At least it will be merit based rather than class based.

These aircraft carriers require a fleet of support and protection vessels when they go into action.if you want an example look at the US navy flotillas that accompany their carriers. The royal navy no longer has this capacity. The boat will never see action.

A deployment of one sub and two well equipped destroyers is a threat an aircraft carrier, support fleet and all, can not take lightly.

That's about the size of UK's Falklands Isles active naval defence fleet.

Originally Posted by Begbie

These aircraft carriers require a fleet of support and protection vessels when they go into action.if you want an example look at the US navy flotillas that accompany their carriers. The royal navy no longer has this capacity. The boat will never see action.

Idiotic comment.
The RN currently has sufficient warships and the RFA support necessary for the deployment of one carrier.
What is lacking is experienced personnel in sufficient numbers to deploy two fully supported carrier groups. The requirement for warships and support vessels for a second carrier is currently tenuous at best.
It's really best to keep stupidity to a minimum. You've just proved what a complete bellthronk you are.

Originally Posted by ENT

A deployment of one sub and two well equipped destroyers is a threat an aircraft carrier, support fleet and all, can not take lightly.

That's about the size of UK's Falklands Isles active naval defence fleet.

One nuclear sub somewhere in the Atlantic. One frigate, which is occasionally gapped and one icebreaker/research vessel.
Some RN vessels will make port visits just to keep the argentinians interested.
The main defense is currently a resident infantry company, RAF ground support and a few Typhoons and helicopters.

Doesn't take much, does it?

Originally Posted by Looper

Originally Posted by CaptainNemo

Everyone should start at the bottom and filtered out for incompetence

I think the military is moving in the other direction and looking at opening up more officer positions to civilians to try and attract leadership candidates who might bring something useful to the table.

At least it will be merit based rather than class based.

Yeah, that'll work. I hear they're trying that in the police force too. There's this odd notion that someone who scrapes through Fulchester polytechnic with a Desmond in Applied Fopology & Mincing Studies and who can't get an interview anywhere is going to somehow inject some refinement and judgement into proceedings.

Every senior squaddie I've ever encountered in each of the services is worth ten of the officers he has to manage.

...but despite this, they still defer undeserved respect to the dolts - they really ought to see what the selection test is like, they would be facepalmingly appalled at the criteria they select officers on.

...but then, it's not the senior squaddies that get to choose, just older dolts.

Originally Posted by Begbie

The boat will never see action

Unlike the Thai carrier

Originally Posted by ENT

Doesn't take much, does it?

Indeed. The entire Argie Air Force is grounded due to lack of maintenance and spares. Including the Super Etendards sold to them by France, and those pesky Pucara that proved so annoying in the war.

They only represent a threat to anyone daft enough to take off in one.

QE will make any number of foreign port visits, but I doubt that Stanley or Mare harbour is high on the visit list.

Originally Posted by Looper

At least it will be merit based

The prep and public school one attended would of course give no indication of "suitability".