HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08)
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HMS Queen Elizabeth is the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carriers and the Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy. Capable of carrying 60 aircraft including fixed wing, rotary wing and autonomous vehicles, she is named in honour of the first HMS Queen Elizabeth, a World War I era super-dreadnought, which in turn was named after Queen Elizabeth I. The carrier Queen Elizabeth carries her namesake ship's honours, as well as her Tudor rose-adorned crest and motto.
HMS Queen Elizabeth, February 2018
Queen Elizabeth alongside Illustrious on the day of her naming ceremony
Queen Elizabeth at sea on 28 June, two days after her departure from Rosyth, in company with frigates Sutherland (foreground) and Iron Duke (background)
A pair of Super Hornets from USS George H.W. Bush overfly Queen Elizabeth during Exercise Saxon Warrior in 2017
Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier
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The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy consists of two vessels. The lead ship of her class, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was named on 4 July 2014 in honour of Elizabeth I and was commissioned on 7 December 2017. Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, was launched on 21 December 2017, and was commissioned on 10 December 2019. They form the central components of the UK Carrier Strike Group.
HMS Prince of Wales (foreground) and HMS Queen Elizabeth (background) on 19 May 2021
HMS Queen Elizabeth, July 2014
While the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are closer in length to a Nimitz-class carrier (left), they are only about two-thirds the displacement. But they have three times the displacement of the Invincible-class ships they replace (right)
F-35B of 617 Squadron takes off during Carrier Sea Training in 2020