Royal Navy Gallery

HMS Ambush

Astute class submarine HMS Ambush is pictured during sea trials near Scotland.
Ambush, second of the nuclear powered attack submarines, was named in Barrow on 16 December 2010 and launched on 5 January 2011. Having now completed her initial dive, she is in the final stages of fitting out whilst preparing for an extensive programme of sea trials. She will sail for her home port of Faslane in 2012.
The seven Astute Class boats planned for introduction to the Royal Navy are the most advanced and powerful attack submarines Britain has ever sent to sea. Featuring the latest nuclear-powered technology, the vessels will never need to be refuelled and are capable of circumnavigating the world submerged, manufacturing the crew's oxygen from seawater as she goes.
The Astute Class are also quieter than any of her predecessors and have the ability to operate covertly and remain undetected, despite being fifty percent larger in size than the Royal Navy's current Trafalgar Class submarines

HMS Ark Royal

HMS Ark Royal is pictured operating off the coast of the UK. The Portsmouth based carrier was undergoing the next phase of her workup in becoming the Nations Strike Carrier in 2010.
She is the fifth vessel to bear the proud name. Ark Royal was built by Swan Hunters Ship Builders yard at Wallsend in December 1978 and launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. HMS Ark Royal was accepted into service on 1 July 1985 and finally Commissioned, again by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 1 November 1985.
HMS Ark Royal is larger than her 2 sisters, Invincible and Illustrious, at 211.4 metres (693 feet) long. She has a maximum beam of 35 metres (114.7 feet) and a displacement of 20, 235 tonnes.
4 Olympus gas turbine engines (like Concorde's) propel the ship, which give a maximum speed in excess of 30 knots. A steeper ski jump than in the other ships of this class is fitted at the forward end of the flight deck.
The ship's motto is Zeal Does Not Rest

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Hms Queen Elizabeth Leaves Portsmouth for Helicopter Trials

HMS Queen Elizabeth (accompanied by her support craft), sailing from her home in Portsmouth for the first time since being officially commissioned into the Royal Navy in December.
The 65, 000-tonne future flagship will spend the next month conducting further sea trials, which will include testing with rotary wing aircraft, learning about their behaviour flying to and from the ship in a range of conditions.
Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, Captain Jerry Kyd, said: After the excitement of our commissioning ceremony in December, my ships company and our industry partners are looking forward to taking the ship to sea to conduct First of Class Rotary Wing Flying Trials.
The Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers are the biggest warships ever built for the Royal Navy - four acres of sovereign territory, deployable across the globe to serve the United Kingdom on operations for 50 years.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be the most advanced warships in the Royal Navy fleet.
They are the future flagships of the nation. Initially the ships will carry helicopters. The vast flight deck and hangar can accommodate any helicopter in Britains military inventory.
From 2020, however, our punch will be delivered by the F35 Lightning II, the worlds most advanced stealth fighter-bomber