On July 4th 2014, No1 dock at Rosyth shipyard in Scotland played host to a truly historical event – the official naming ceremony of the first of class aircraft carrier, the “HMS Queen Elizabeth”.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II completed the ceremonial honours with the breaking of a bottle of Islay malt whisky against the ship’s bow – a suitably Scottish tribute replacing the more traditional magnum of champagne!
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the first of two aircraft carriers and is the largest warship ever produced for the Royal Navy. Following the official naming ceremony, the dock will now be flooded to enable her to be floated for the very first time; her commissioning is due to take place in 2016/2017 with initial operational capability expected in 2020.
The completion of this remarkable vessel is a testament to the amazing achievement of 10,000 people from UK shipyards and suppliers.
We are extremely proud to have been an integral part of this project since the Aircraft Carrier Alliance contract was awarded to us back in 2009, for the supply of our advanced composite GRE Pipes and fittings for both HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales which is currently still undergoing construction.
1,848 spools were manufactured and supplied in total for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the pipe being utilised for Sea Water Cooling, Ballast, Waste Heat Hot Water and Chilled Water Distribution System
We were also contracted to design, supply and fabricate pultruded Phenolic grating for both vessels, a total requirement of 1400m² for the Flight-deck Walkways and 200m² for the Forward and Aft Island Walkways. It is the first time that we have supplied the Ministry of Defence with Phenolic grating on such a substantial scale for naval vessels.
Now the end of an era is upon us! The very last of the initially planned 1775 spools for ship 2 has completed its path of manufacture at our facilities in Plymouth, Devon.
Vice President Sales and Marketing for UK & ERCA, Bill Murphy, who was fortunate enough to be present at the naming ceremony, commented;Our special thanks go to both Brian, who has overseen and coordinated spool fabrication and site installation since October 2009, and our Site Supervisors at Govan, Portsmouth & Roysth, Denis McHugh, John McHugh, Warren Hedley and Kevin Gray their dedication and commitment has ensured the complete success of this prestigious contract. Additional thanks goes to Paul Bailey at our Plymouth facility for his coordination of the spool fabrication.
“We have been working on the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier for the last 5 years. To see the ship take shape and be named by the Her Majesty The Queen, was a fantastic moment for this UK flagship project. Our GRE pipe systems and composite flight walkways have been designed to outlast the life of the vessel. It is also, to my knowledge, the first time composite walkways have been installed on a UK warship, a great testament to the quality and integrity of our composites.”
We have been of assistance in many innovative projects, with our expertise in thermoplastic and composite manufacture, supported by a comprehensive range of Engineering and services, we are able to supply the complete “one-stop” solution. To find out more, or to speak with a member of our team please call us on 01752 581200 or via email at [email protected] You could only be a phone call away from your project solution.
