HMS Queen Elizabeth is the lead
ship of the Queen Eizabeth class of supercarrier, the largest
warship ever built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom
and capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft. Based at Portsmouth
Naval base, she is the 2nd naval vessel to carry the name, and
is due to be commisioned by the Queen in December 2017.
Capable of carrying up to 40
aircraft, her complement is set of consist of Merlin
helicopters for anti-submarine warfare, and F-35 lightning
aircraft which will use VSTOL and as such arrestor cables and
catapults are not required. The design emphasises flexibility,
with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to
support them with attack helicopters and troop transports up
to Chinook size and larger.
This image
was shot just a couple of hours after she entered Portsmouth
Harbour and docked within sight of HMS Victory. The approaches
to Portsmouth Harbour are closed for up to 90 minutes each
time she goes in or out, as the 65,000 tonne carrier takes up
a lot of room in the narrow entrance which had 3.2 million
cubic meters of sediment removed in preparation for her
arrival.
The
vantage point for this shot was in the middle of the Millenium
Bridge in Gosport, next to the Royal Armaments Museum
'Explosion'. Again I have chosen to present this image as if
it were a painting, as I wasn't happy with the way the picture
looked as a photograph. With the dynamic range extended in
Photomatix the colours were too harsh, without it just came
out flat, and I couldn't find a happy medium. It perhaps wasnt
the best viewpoint but I am pleased with the final result and
it does look good hanging in the living room. |
