The Dambusters join Big Lizzie! F35B Lightning jets from historic squadron land on £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for first time

• F-35 Lightning Jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth as ‘Dambusters’ squadron join the aircraft carrier 
• The jets from 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship off the coast of Portsmouth 
• The aircraft will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment 
• The £3 billion warship has just completed a series of sea trials before it returned to Portsmouth last week 

By OLLIE LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 23:59 AEST, 10 June 2020 | UPDATED: 00:28 AEST, 11 June 2020

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F-35 Lightning jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth as the ‘Dambusters’ squadron fully joins the Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time.

The jets from the 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship which sailed from Portsmouth Naval Base on Sunday for flight trials off the south coast.

The aircraft that have landed on board will be the same that will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment.

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F-35 Lightning jets have landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth, joining the Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time+10

The jets from the 617 Squadron landed on board the 65,000-tonne warship in Portsmouth ahead of a series of flight trials+10

The jets will be the same that will sail with the carrier next year on its maiden carrier strike group deployment

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Commander Mark Sparrow, commanding officer of 617 Squadron, said: ‘We are excited to be on board the carrier and we have been training hard to be here.

‘This is the first time the ship’s operational squadron has embarked and worked together.

‘The F-35 brings next generation capability to UK Defence through its ability to find, destroy or avoid enemy air defences and enemy aircraft whilst gathering intelligence data.’

Commander Ed Phillips, Commander Air on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: ‘Today is a significant day for HMS Queen Elizabeth on the road to delivering carrier strike operations for the Royal Navy.+10

HMS Queen Elizabeth completed a number of sea trials last week before taking on pilots and jets for flight trials +10

The tests are aimed to demonstrate that the jets can successfully defend the carrier through combat air patrols+10

The squadron will join the carrier for a series of multinational training exercises with US, European and NATO partners+10

The Royal Navy is shaping up to be a force centred on carrier strike by supporting ships as well as imposing no fly zones +10

The £3 billion warship has ambitions to deliver carrier strike operations for the Royal Navy and today was a big first step

‘We are at the heart of a world-leading capability for the UK and will soon have on our decks two squadrons of F-35s – from the UK and US – plus the protection of a strike group made up of destroyers, frigates and support ships.’

The £3 billion warship has just completed a series of sea trials before it returned to Portsmouth at the end of last week to embark pilots, engineers and support staff for the flight trials.

The tests are aimed to demonstrate that the jets can successfully defend the carrier through combat air patrols and the ability to take off at short notice, as well as check their ability to work alongside the ship’s Merlin helicopters of Culdrose-based 820 Naval Air Squadron. 

The Queen Elizabeth is set to return to base by the end of June before embarking the jets again later this year for a multinational training exercise with US, European and Nato allies.

The Royal Navy is shaping up to be a force concentrated on carrier strike by supporting ships while they conduct carrier strike missions, position Royal Marine Commandos, send humanitarian aid, impose no-fly zones and construct international partnerships with allies. +10

The pilots of the F-35B jets, which can fly at 1,200mph, need to qualify to operate from the flight deck at day and night

Inside Britain’s most powerful warship, HMS Queen Elizabeth

At 280 metres long, with a lifespan of half a century and a flight deck of four acres, HMS Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s largest and most powerful warship ever built.

Here are the facts and figures behind the vessel which was officially commissioned into the Royal Navy December 7, 2017+10

HMS Queen Elizabeth, pictured, weighs some 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed of 25 knots and a four-acre flight deck

• The aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed in excess of 25 knots.
• A number of ship building yards around the country were involved in the build – these include Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow, Appledore in Devon, Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, Wirral, A&P on the Tyne in Newcastle and Portsmouth.
• A total of 10,000 people worked on construction of the ship, made up in sections at yards around the UK and transported to Rosyth, Fife, where it was assembled.
• It is the second ship in the Royal Navy to be named Queen Elizabeth.
• The ship has a crew of around 700, that will increase to 1,600 when a full complement of F-35B jets and Crowsnest helicopters are embarked.
• 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.
• Facilities onboard include a chapel, a medical centre and 12-bed ward, staffed with GPs, a nurse and medical assistants, as well as a dentist and dental nurse.
• There are also five gyms on the warship which include a cardiovascular 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, with weights and other items stored inside the flight deck ramp. 
• The Captain of the ship was Angus Essenhigh
• 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 an aircrew refreshment bar.
• The distribution network on board manages enough energy to power 30,000 kettles or 5,500 family homes.
• Its flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide, enough space for three football pitches.
•  The entire ship’s company of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes, 45 minutes when at action stations.
• Recreational spaces enjoyed by the crew feature televisions and sofas, as well as popular board games including the traditional Royal Navy game of Uckers.
• 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 – each weighing 33 tonnes and with a combined 80MW output of power – enough to run 1,000 family cars or 50 high speed trains. 

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