Babcock Marine completed the integration of the bridge section, onto the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth
The island is a crucial component of the ship, containing the main bridge and around 100 vital mission systems compartments. The event was witnessed by the Secretary of State for Defence, Phillip Hammond, MP.
The circa 600 tonne forward island – which arrived at Babcock’s Rosyth facility (where the carriers are being assembled) from BAE Systems in Portsmouth on 11 February – was lifted into position on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s flight deck by the massive Goliath crane,which had a special 78 tonne lifting frame attached for the purpose.
The lift process began with the attachment of the crane to the lifting frame, and application of a percentage of the island weight to the crane to confirm the predicted centre of gravity.
After some minor adjustments the crane took the full weight of the Island, lifted it over the aircraft carrier flight deck and located it in its final position.
Although not the heaviest lift of the project, the island’s geometry and shape presented significant challenges. Also demanding was the alignment of the 2.4 metre diameter gas turbine exhausts which were pre-fitted in the island and below in the ship superstructure.
The 22 metre high by 13 metre wide and 27 metre long Upper Block 07, as the forward island is known, already has all consoles installed, as well as 43km of cables and 3,101 pipes.
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the main bridge are up to two metres high, providing an exceptional level of visibility.
With the island in place, the Long Range Radar (LRR) will now be installed on top. This will be closely followed by a period of consolidation when the island will be welded to the superstructure and mechanical and electrical systems installed.
The later phase of the project will see the LRR set to work and fully integrated with the ship systems.
Uniquely, the QEC carriers will feature two islands. The second ‘aft island’ is due to arrive and be installed by the end of July 2013 and will operate as an airport control tower to co-ordinate aircraft movements. Both islands are designed with the ability to carry out each other’s role in an emergency.
Nearly two thirds of the ship has now been built and the structure is due to be completed by the end of this year.
The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy.
The carrier is then expected to leave the dockyard in 2014 before beginning sea trials with the Royal Navy.
The forward island, houses the bridge where the captain and navigation crew will operate.
The enormous steel section was built in Portsmouth and transported by barge to Fife, where the carriers are being assembled.
Both HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, will have 2 island sections which will provide independent control of navigation and air traffic control operations.
The two Queen Elizabeth Class will be utilised by all three sectors of the UK Armed Forces and will provide eight acres of sovereign territory which can be deployed around the world.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will have increased survivability as a result of the separation and distribution of power generation machinery through out each ship.
The class has been designed with twin islands, which separates the running of the ship from the flying operations resulting in greater visibility of flying operations.
The vessels will displace about 65,000 tonnes(64,000 long tons ), be 280 metres (920 ft) long.The projected cost of the programme is £5.9 billion.
It will carry a mix of 40 helicopters and fighter jets.Initially the ships will carry only helicopters, until the F-35C stealth fighter arrives in 2020.
It will use an 110MW electric propulsion system that enables the prime movers to operate more efficiently.It has an 10000 nautical mile range, with a 25+knots speed.
Both ships are expected to serve for up to 50 years.
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