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Displaying items by tag: Queen Elizabeth class

#AircraftCarriers – The Royal Nay's last 'Invincible' aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious (R06) affectionately known by her crew as 'Lusty', which these days serves as a helicopter commando-carrier, docked on St. Valentine's Day at Liverpool Cruise Terminal, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported, during her five-day city courtesy call, she is to be open to the public this weekend. The call to Merseyside could be her last as the 22,000 displacement tonnes vessel is due to pay off in early 2014. She was launched in 1978 from Swan Hunter on the Tyne and over the next 32 years the 209m long vessel has served an illustrious career including her role in carrying 'Harrier' VSTOL jump jets.

The Portsmouth based HMS Illustrious is one of four Royal Navy core amphibious vessels, and in her place are a pair of Queen Elizabeth class 65,000 displacement tonnes aircraft –carriers currently under construction. However until delivered, HMS Ocean (L12) a helicopter carrier of 21,500 tonnes will replace Illustrious, after completion of a £65m refit at Devonport Royal Dockyard early next year.

 

Published in Naval Visits

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.