THE largest ship in the Royal Navy spent several days off the North East coast and could be clearly seen from the shoreline.
One of the most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK, HMS Prince of Wales is a modern aircraft carrier designed to carry both vertical take-off aircraft and helicopters rather than conventional planes that require a catapult and arrester wire.
With a flight deck 70 metres wide and 280 metres long, there is enough space for three football pitches. Although the crew do hold the occasional park run, football may pose problems if the ball goes overboard.
The ship has a crew of approximately 700, which increases to up to 1,600, when she carries up to 36 F-35B aircraft and four Merlin Helicopters. Fortunately she holds 45 days’ worth of food in stores.
In recent weeks she has been in the North Sea deploying aircraft. Last week they flew off and she held a joint operation with helicopters flown from RAF Leeming. The action could be clearly seen from the nearby beaches along the coast.
The ship then spent last weekend anchored off Hartlepool Headland before slipping away from view into the North Sea.
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