Photo essay: HMS Queen Elizabeth Westlant 19 deployment – Part 2
After departing Halifax on 16th September, HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Dragon and RFA Tideforce headed south towards the Florida coast and were joined by HMS Northumberland. They exercised off the eastern seaboard of the US before the aircraft carrier arrived at Naval Station Mayport on 4th October.
Building on daytime trials conducted last year, on 19th September an MV-22 Osprey from HX-21 Squadron, based at NAS Patuxent River, made 22 night landings. The trial evaluated lighting, deck configuration, motion, and handling qualities using landing spots 2, 3 and 4. The V-22 has now effectively been cleared to operate from the QEC carriers and the US Marine Corps aircraft can support the ship 24 hours a day. If an HRAS-equipped auxiliary (Fleet Solid Support ship) is unavailable, the US Ospreys offer another method of delivering bulky cargo such as complete F-35 engines.
With the arrival of HMS Northumberland, the baby UK Carrier Strike Group is fully formed – seen here on 23rd September.
It should be noted that Westlant 19 is not an operational deployment and is just another step in the gradual generation of the UKCSG. The planned RN escort for the carrier on its first operational deployment will be at least double the size, consisting of a submarine, two destroyers, two frigates and two auxiliaries.
Officer of the Watch manoeuvres – playing chicken…
Fine aerial view of RFA Tideforce. Deployed to a low-threat region she is not yet fitted with self-defence weapons and decoys. HMS Northumberland is not carrying any Harpoon missiles.
RFA Tideforce replenishes the carrier in fine weather and azure blue seas. One of the objectives of the trip is to test how well HMS Queen Elizabeth performs in warm weather conditions. (Photo: Emma Richards)Ships company relax with evening barbecue on the flight deck.Movie night at sea – “The Greatest Showman” shown on 40ft inflatable screen erected on the flight deck.HMS Dragon detached from the Westlant group to work with the USS Dwight D Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group for a week. Some personnel were exchanged for a couple of days with the air defence cruiser USS San Jacinto to get experience how the other navy does things.
Pure matelot… seaboat operations, HMS Dragon. 25th Sept.
HMS Dragon - defending the Carrier Strike Group
The mighty US carrier strike group – joined by RN and Dutch warships totalling 1 Super Carrier, 2 x cruisers, 4 destroyers & 1 frigate. USS Dwight D Eisenhower, HNLMS De Ruyter, HMS Dragon, USS San Jacinto, USS Vella Gulf, USS Stout, USS Truxtun and USS James E Williams (Photo: US Navy) 29 Sept.During the exercises with the USS Eisenhower-led Carrier Strike Group, HMS Dragon gained further experience of air defence operations in a US task group. Type 45 destroyers have already provided air defence for US carriers on live operations in the Gulf and for the French Carrier Charles de Gaulle.Captain Steve Moorhouse, CO HMS Queen Elizabeth and Commodore Mike Utley COMUKSSG were hosted onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower by Capt. Kyle Higgins – 27 Sept (Photo: US Navy)Watching a Super Hornet about to make an arrested landing on Ike.Merlin on Ike’s busy flight deck.
A second phase of rotary-wing development testing (DT-RW) was completed between 21 September – 2 October. A team from QinetiQ and the Aircraft Test and Evaluation Centre (ATEC), Boscombe Down oversaw an intense programme of 550 deck landings. 471 separate test points were executed by two frontline aircraft, one from 820 Naval Air Squadron (Merlin Mk2) and 845 Naval Air Squadron (Merlin Mk4) respectively.
Merlin Mk4 stowed on the forward flight deck onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth – showing the advantages of folding tail and rotor. (ex-RAF Mk3s were upgraded to Mk4 standard and given folding tails/rotors to equip them for Maritime operations) (Photo: Cdr Bob Bond)
Merlin Mk4s of 845 NAS collect personnel, mail and stores for the UKCSG at Naval Air Station Mayport.HMS Northumberland and Merlin helicopters on 820 NAS based on HMS Queen Elizabeth exercise with US Navy Los Angeles class submarine. Post-exercise PHOTEX, 2nd October.
Anti-submarine exercise - Westlant 19
The Role 1 primary care team which looks after the ship’s company general medical needs has been supplemented with a Role 2 medical team for the deployment. This includes consultant surgeons, anaesthetists & intensive care nurses and trains for dealing with more complex and serious casualties.Search & Rescue & Survival Training in very benign conditions. 845 NAS practice on of their secondary roles – rescuing downed aircrew.
HMS Dragon arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in pouring rain on 7 October for visit.A unique surfer’s view of HMS Queen Elizabeth entering Naval Station Mayport (Photo used with permission of Adam King).
HMS Queen Elizabeth is embarking stores and specialist personnel in Mayport to support F-35 operations which will commence shortly. The 3 UK-owned jets of 17 Squadron based at Edwards Air Force Base in California have flown to US Marine Air Corps Station Beaufort, South Carolina ready to embark on the carrier for the first time. Later this week 3 jets of 617 Squadron will fly from RAF Marham, crossing the Atlantic supported by air-air refuelling to land at Beaufort. The UK aircraft will then join the ship as she heads north and up to 4 more USMC jets will embark at some point.
Although much time will have been spent preparing in the simulator, most of these pilots have not operated from an aircraft carrier before and all will need to attain their carrier pilot qualification. The focus of F-35 flying during Westlant 18 was Development Trails (DT) but the jets will now begin the first Operational Trials phase (OT-1) learning to operate and fight the aircraft in a naval environment. In mid-November there will be a break from flying as the ship heads to Annapolis for a major diplomatic visit.
Awesome pics, I have a mate on 17, who’s embarking this week. Should be an interesting story when we meet up later this year.
Paul H
4 years ago
An excellent piece.
Challenger
4 years ago
Can’t wait to see 11 F35’s on deck! A full task-group with 24 jets and 14 helo’s lined up will be even better.
Anyone know why Northumberland isn’t carrying Harpoon? I know this isn’t an active deployment but i find any gaps in the RN’s already thin inventory of weaponry a concern.
It’s the normalisation of these gaps which is the problem. We all know the threat towards the current deployment is virtually non-existent, but having said that we can all also surely think of examples of vessels being rapidly redeployed in reaction to a crises?
HMS Defender has very recently been diverted to The Gulf instead of The Far East. OK so she was heading for a long, active deployment instead of a shorter training one…..but however remote there is always the chance that a general shortage of major surface ships leaves HMG looking to vessels like Dragon & Northumberland returning from something like Westland to respond to something unexpected.
Who’s to say it’s just Harpoon as well? I’d put money on them not carrying their full compliment of 32 CAMM & 48 Aster respectively.
Maybe it’s just me but i’ve always thought any Royal Navy vessel leaving UK waters should be ready for war.
I should imagine that for this deployment it makes more sense to keep the Harpoon sets in maintenance, apart from being old and outdated they only really serve a purpose as self-defence for ships operating without direct access to air support – if needed you could always fly them out, or borrow some from Uncle Sam. Frankly if you are escorting carriers with F18s and F35s the chances of needing them are zero to zero, which is presumably why the RN’s new interim missile specifies a land attack capability – as that is a much more likely operational eventuality – especially when the F35s have a credible anti–ship missile. Carrier escort is all about coordinated ASW and anti-air/anti-missile defence for the task group, and I’m sure that’s what the exercise will be about for the escorts.
The RN has a total of 17 Harpoon sets so it’s not like there is a shortage, even less so with a number of T23’s currently in LIFEX.
The threat may be minimal but the more they do it the more normalised these gaps become and RN ships are already woefully under armed by international standards.
There are lessons from history. Take Jutland 1916 for instance. There not only were Ammunition handling procedures thrown to the wind but the Fleet was significantly deficient in night fighting training and signaling capability. This cost the RN a chance to corner the enemy for fear of a night engagement but several opportunities were lost due to signaling errors. Lesson; you leave gaps and your opponent will become aware and gain the ascendancy.
Mike O
4 years ago
👍 great article.
Jonathan Saunders
4 years ago
Please can you attribute photographs to their respective sources rather than just plagiarising them! Thank you.
The majority of images used are official (and free to be used under Open Government License). Other images from private individuals are credited and usually used after seeking permission.
CannonballJunior
4 years ago
Great info!
BTW, HMS Dragon arrived in Charleston, South Carolina.
Paul Blake
4 years ago
Some great photo’s. I know it’s only a training exercise but still worrying to see how underarmed the RN vessels are.
Robert
4 years ago
It seems like the carrier itself is making good progress as a single ship, but the RN are a long way from having a carrier group in service.
Any ideas when we might see a carrier group formed up and working together?
Fully formed and worked up UK Carrier Strike group will go on first operational deployment in 2021
Gavin Gordon
4 years ago
Nice set of photographs. THANKS. See Forces Network quote that 7 x F35B have left RAF Marham today.
Cameron
4 years ago
I like the gaffer taped glass roof over the pilot on the merlin with folded tail and blades. And Why can’t we paint our Merlins a better colour, this colour makes them look cheap and nasty! And I’m pissed off that the commandos helicopters are all being painted that crap light grey colour! Dark grey camo like wildcat would look far better, and the green made them look far better, a junglie would look great but they ain’t doing that with their Merlins!!
Ron
4 years ago
Good article and good photos can’t wiat for part three with 617sqn embarked. I really think that the RN and MoD should think about installing TRAPS and a crash barrier on the QE class. The reasons are as follows, future development of aircraft and UAVs but also it would mean that in an emergancy US or French carriers could land their aircraft on board a QE.
We’ve been over this before, back and forth. No the decision has been made, we’ve gone with ski ramp. For better or worse leave it like that. Kershaw not waste more money revisiting something we’ve already revisited.
I think you’ve missed one of Ron’s points. The ship has no crash barrier, therefore, fixed wing aircraft that need to do an emergency landing cannot use the ship! We have raised the point before, of what happens when a F35B cannot do a vertical or short rolling vertical landing, due to a malfunction of its vertical lift system, such as the fan doors not opening? There should be an emergency crash barrier at the very least. This would allow damaged or broken aircraft to recover to the ship from any Nation. I appreciate they wouldn’t be able to take-off again, but who cares, especially when you’re flying over the middle of the oggie and fast running out of options. Much rather try to recover the aircraft to the carrier, than looking at ditching it.
Dern, I am not saying anything about the ski jump as for better or worse that is the choice we made. In some ways it might even be a good choice for future developement. What I am talking about is TRAPS and Crash barrier. First the crash barrier, it does not appear as if there is one. The F35b is a complicated aircraft and with a complicated landing system, if something fails how will the aircraft land, to ditch a £100 million aircraft because a nut failed in the lift fan is well stupid. As for TRAPS, it is more than likly that the QE will operate at some point with a US or the French, it can also happen especially in conflict that they could be damaged meaning that their aircraft could not land. If the QEs had TRAPS even a two wire system then we could at least land their aircraft. Possibly they could even take off again using the ski jump. Which ever way it is looked at the QE is a good ship for the amount she cost, The Americans could build five of these for the cost of one of their carriers its just that it appears to me that there needs to be some tweeking especially in the area of damage control/limitation to an aircraft.
Is it known for a fact the QE Class is not equipped with a crash barrier? Crash barrier is an inexpensive and simple piece of equipment. I would suppose they do, or will, have them for contingencies such as you described.
Dave
4 years ago
With the V22 trials did they also test shipboard handling? i.e. using the lifts and access to the hanger deck or was it all flight trials. It would be nice to know if the Navy won the lottery they could purchase some of these airframes for themselves.
OOA
4 years ago
This article is dangerous. I just got a telling off from Mrs OOA for watching Top Gun with my primary school age kids.
Another great read. Can’t wait to see lots of jets on deck
Awesome pics, I have a mate on 17, who’s embarking this week. Should be an interesting story when we meet up later this year.
An excellent piece.
Can’t wait to see 11 F35’s on deck! A full task-group with 24 jets and 14 helo’s lined up will be even better.
Anyone know why Northumberland isn’t carrying Harpoon? I know this isn’t an active deployment but i find any gaps in the RN’s already thin inventory of weaponry a concern.
I noticed that as well, Dragon doesn’t seem to be carrying any harpoon launchers either. Concerning indeed.
Why concerning?
Zero surface threat, no need to ship SSGW, why put fatigue on cannister and missile when you dont need to?
It’s the normalisation of these gaps which is the problem. We all know the threat towards the current deployment is virtually non-existent, but having said that we can all also surely think of examples of vessels being rapidly redeployed in reaction to a crises?
HMS Defender has very recently been diverted to The Gulf instead of The Far East. OK so she was heading for a long, active deployment instead of a shorter training one…..but however remote there is always the chance that a general shortage of major surface ships leaves HMG looking to vessels like Dragon & Northumberland returning from something like Westland to respond to something unexpected.
Who’s to say it’s just Harpoon as well? I’d put money on them not carrying their full compliment of 32 CAMM & 48 Aster respectively.
Maybe it’s just me but i’ve always thought any Royal Navy vessel leaving UK waters should be ready for war.
I agree. I have a son aboard HMS Northumberland. A warship, ready to go anywhere !
I should imagine that for this deployment it makes more sense to keep the Harpoon sets in maintenance, apart from being old and outdated they only really serve a purpose as self-defence for ships operating without direct access to air support – if needed you could always fly them out, or borrow some from Uncle Sam. Frankly if you are escorting carriers with F18s and F35s the chances of needing them are zero to zero, which is presumably why the RN’s new interim missile specifies a land attack capability – as that is a much more likely operational eventuality – especially when the F35s have a credible anti–ship missile. Carrier escort is all about coordinated ASW and anti-air/anti-missile defence for the task group, and I’m sure that’s what the exercise will be about for the escorts.
Most likely because they are deploying to America. No actual threat there. I assume the launchers were given to ships in the gulf, med or black sea.
The RN has a total of 17 Harpoon sets so it’s not like there is a shortage, even less so with a number of T23’s currently in LIFEX.
The threat may be minimal but the more they do it the more normalised these gaps become and RN ships are already woefully under armed by international standards.
There are lessons from history. Take Jutland 1916 for instance. There not only were Ammunition handling procedures thrown to the wind but the Fleet was significantly deficient in night fighting training and signaling capability. This cost the RN a chance to corner the enemy for fear of a night engagement but several opportunities were lost due to signaling errors.
Lesson; you leave gaps and your opponent will become aware and gain the ascendancy.
👍 great article.
Please can you attribute photographs to their respective sources rather than just plagiarising them! Thank you.
The majority of images used are official (and free to be used under Open Government License). Other images from private individuals are credited and usually used after seeking permission.
Great info!
BTW, HMS Dragon arrived in Charleston, South Carolina.
Some great photo’s. I know it’s only a training exercise but still worrying to see how underarmed the RN vessels are.
It seems like the carrier itself is making good progress as a single ship, but the RN are a long way from having a carrier group in service.
Any ideas when we might see a carrier group formed up and working together?
Fully formed and worked up UK Carrier Strike group will go on first operational deployment in 2021
Nice set of photographs. THANKS. See Forces Network quote that 7 x F35B have left RAF Marham today.
I like the gaffer taped glass roof over the pilot on the merlin with folded tail and blades. And Why can’t we paint our Merlins a better colour, this colour makes them look cheap and nasty! And I’m pissed off that the commandos helicopters are all being painted that crap light grey colour! Dark grey camo like wildcat would look far better, and the green made them look far better, a junglie would look great but they ain’t doing that with their Merlins!!
Good article and good photos can’t wiat for part three with 617sqn embarked.
I really think that the RN and MoD should think about installing TRAPS and a crash barrier on the QE class. The reasons are as follows, future development of aircraft and UAVs but also it would mean that in an emergancy US or French carriers could land their aircraft on board a QE.
We’ve been over this before, back and forth. No the decision has been made, we’ve gone with ski ramp. For better or worse leave it like that. Kershaw not waste more money revisiting something we’ve already revisited.
I think you’ve missed one of Ron’s points. The ship has no crash barrier, therefore, fixed wing aircraft that need to do an emergency landing cannot use the ship! We have raised the point before, of what happens when a F35B cannot do a vertical or short rolling vertical landing, due to a malfunction of its vertical lift system, such as the fan doors not opening?
There should be an emergency crash barrier at the very least. This would allow damaged or broken aircraft to recover to the ship from any Nation. I appreciate they wouldn’t be able to take-off again, but who cares, especially when you’re flying over the middle of the oggie and fast running out of options. Much rather try to recover the aircraft to the carrier, than looking at ditching it.
Dern, I am not saying anything about the ski jump as for better or worse that is the choice we made. In some ways it might even be a good choice for future developement. What I am talking about is TRAPS and Crash barrier. First the crash barrier, it does not appear as if there is one. The F35b is a complicated aircraft and with a complicated landing system, if something fails how will the aircraft land, to ditch a £100 million aircraft because a nut failed in the lift fan is well stupid. As for TRAPS, it is more than likly that the QE will operate at some point with a US or the French, it can also happen especially in conflict that they could be damaged meaning that their aircraft could not land. If the QEs had TRAPS even a two wire system then we could at least land their aircraft. Possibly they could even take off again using the ski jump.
Which ever way it is looked at the QE is a good ship for the amount she cost, The Americans could build five of these for the cost of one of their carriers its just that it appears to me that there needs to be some tweeking especially in the area of damage control/limitation to an aircraft.
Ah okay. I misunderstood you point. Sorry.
while a logical suggestion, the F35B is not equipped with a tailhook so TRAPS are not possible.
Is it known for a fact the QE Class is not equipped with a crash barrier? Crash barrier is an inexpensive and simple piece of equipment. I would suppose they do, or will, have them for contingencies such as you described.
With the V22 trials did they also test shipboard handling? i.e. using the lifts and access to the hanger deck or was it all flight trials. It would be nice to know if the Navy won the lottery they could purchase some of these airframes for themselves.
This article is dangerous. I just got a telling off from Mrs OOA for watching Top Gun with my primary school age kids.
Danger zone…
That Super Hornet is a Growler is it not? The wing-tip AN/ALQ-218 and AN/ALQ-99 pods.