The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology,
Peter Luff MP, today witnessed preparations for the start of the
assembly by Babcock of HMSQueen Elizabeth, the first of two new
Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, as he visited the firm's
Rosyth dockyard. The first centre block section will be
lifted onto the lower mid block on Friday (23 September), marking a
major milestone in the build programme and setting the datum point
for the rest of the ship.
The Royal Navy's massive new aircraft carriers are being
delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) - an alliance
between Babcock, BAE Systems, Thales and the Ministry of Defence -
and are being built in large individual blocks at six shipyards
around the UK, which are then transported to Rosyth for final
assembly and integration.
The huge mid hull section, known as Lower Block 03 (LB03),
arrived at Rosyth in August, having been shipped from Govan where
it was built by BAE Systems. This was followed by the arrival
this month (September) of the four sections making up Centre Block
03 (CB03), from Newcastle where they were built by A&P
Tyne. The sponsons for this section (which form part of the
ship structure to provide a wider flight deck), constructed by
Babcock, are already in Rosyth following delivery of the components
from Babcock's Appledore shipyard in Devon.
The massive 8,000 tonne LB03 section is over 20 metres high, 60
metres long and 40 metres wide. On arrival at Rosyth the
barge transporting it was sunk to float the block, which was then
towed to the main basin and winched into No.1 Dock using a capstan
system and alignment aids in the dock, where it was lowered on to
the pre-prepared dock blocks. Once in place, the dock gates
were closed, the dock drained, and services connected to enable
work on the block to commence.
The first of the four CB03 sections, weighing some 850 tonnes
and measuring 40 metres by 26 metres by 7 metres, will this week be
lifted onto the LB03 block. This will be followed by the
remaining three CB03 sections, each weighing in the region of 600
tonnes, as well as the sponsons for this centre block.
The lifting of the block sections involves further
challenges. Finite element analysis (FEA) has been used to
study how the individual blocks will perform when lifted to ensure
this is executed safely, and the crane's lifting attachments have
been highly engineered to ensure stability and balance of the load
across the hoists.
Assembly of the aircraft carrier will take place in three
cycles, A, B and C. The assembly of the sections LB03 and
CB03 and associated sponsons to create Block 03 makes up Assembly
Cycle A, which has now begun and will continue to summer
2012. Assembly Cycle B will see the joining of Lower Block
02, which will arrive from BAE Systems in Portsmouth next year, and
Lower Block 01 (comprising the forward sections from the keel up to
the flight deck, including the bulbous bow) which was built by
Babcock at its Appledore shipyard in Devon and shipped to Rosyth
last year (April 2010). This will take place between summer
2012 and spring 2013. The remaining blocks, including the
stern sections and island structures, will be assembled in Cycle C,
with the hull fully assembled by 2014. Progressive outfitting
will see electrical cabling, mechanical pipe systems, ventilation,
and fittings and equipment installed.
Babcock Project Director Sean Donaldson commented: "After
meticulous planning, seeing the first lift and the assembly of the
first carrier actually beginning is very exciting - a key milestone
and a major achievement in itself. Having the facility and
infrastructure ready and able to support the assembly and
integration process is also the result of a massive programme of
work in itself that has taken over three years, including the work
to the docks and main entrance and the installation of the crane,
but also many more less visible elements. We're now focusing
the team on delivering Assembly Cycle A successfully and
on-schedule, in line with the programme plan set two years
ago."
Peter Luff, MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and
Technology, commented: "This is an exciting week for the carrier
programme and it is a great privilege to witness what can only be
described as history in the making. The job of building these
truly formidable carriers is a big challenge. We are very
fortunate to have such a dedicated and skilled workforce able to
rise to this challenge."
The ACA's Programme Director, Geoff Searle, said: "After many
years of engineering design, planning and block build, it is
fantastic to see the assembly of HMS Queen Elizabeth starting in
Rosyth. This marks the start of the next important phase of
the programme to deliver the Nation's Flagships and is a testament
to all of the hard work across the ACA to reach this point."
The 65,000 tonne QE Class aircraft carriers, at some 280 metres
long, 74 metres wide and 56 metres high, will be the UK's largest
and most powerful warships, each providing the armed forces with a
four acre military operating base which can be deployed
worldwide. The versatile vessels will be the centre piece of
Britain's military capability.