QUEEN ELIZABETH

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Fire on aircraftt carrier

An investigation has been launched into the cause of a fire which broke out aboard the HMS 'Queen Elizabeth' on March 8, while it was moored in Argyll and Bute. The aircraft carrier was en-route to Rosyth to undergo repairs when the fire broke out during a stop on Loch Long at Glenmallan. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service received a call at 11.50 p.m. to assist partners at Glen Mallan Jetty, Argyll and Bute. The operations Control mobilised three appliances and a height vehicle, and the fire was quickly put out. No ordnance was involved in the incident. Personnel in the vicinity were able to return to work. There were no reported injuries. Crews remained on standby to assist and left on March 9 at 2.15 a.m. The ship had to withdraw from a NATO exercise before because of an issue with a starboard propeller shaft coupling. The HMS 'Prince of Wales' was sent on the Steadfast Defender exercise instead, with the 'Queen Elizabeth' sailing from its base at Portsmouth to the Rosyth dockyard to fix the issue.

Aircraft carrier suffered issue with propeller shaft

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS 'Prince of Wales' was prepared to set sail on Feb 11, 2024, a week after its sister ship HMS 'Queen Elizabeth' was forced to cancel its deployment because of an issue with its propeller shaft. The fleet flagship had been expected to depart from Portsmouth Naval Base on Feb 4 to lead the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, involving more than 40 vessels. But the sailing of the warship was called off at the last minute after the problem was found in final checks with the starboard propeller coupling. Since the cancellation was announced, the crew and base workers have been busily preparing the HMS 'Prince of Wales' to take over its sister ship’s role in Exercise Steadfast Defender. As part of the preparations, scaffolding which was seen on the carrier’s flight deck has been removed ready for the sailing. The ship had been just beginning a planned maintenance period and among other projects, her flight deck was covered in tents and scaffolding in preparation for work to start on reapplying CAMREX (non-skid paint) and heat-resistant coatings (TMS – Thermal Metallic Spray) to the flight deck.