Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier class ( Program CVF ) on active duty

Moose said:
The United States Marine Corps.
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And the Italian AF. It will serve as a NATO asset when there aren't enough UK F-35Bs to fill its decks. Although they are getting 80 of them. It's pretty rare for a carrier to be packed to full capacity at any one time though.
 
Forest Green said:
Moose said:
The United States Marine Corps.
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And the Italian AF. It will serve as a NATO asset when there aren't enough UK F-35Bs to fill its decks. Although they are getting 80 of them. It's pretty rare for a carrier to be packed to full capacity at any one time though.
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Yes and not. Italian Air Force F-35B (15 aircrafts) will also integrate the Italian Navy F-35B (another 15 of them) in order trying to fill Cavour's bridge as to operate with the future Trieste.
 
archipeppe said:
Yes and not. Italian Air Force F-35B (15 aircrafts) will also integrate the Italian Navy F-35B (another 15 of them) in order trying to fill Cavour's bridge as to operate with the future Trieste.
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Most of the time yes, but there is flexibility to move between carriers if one carrier happens to be elsewhere placed. It's not like the US lack carriers either.
 
It looks like one CSG will be reoriented to NATO.
Not sure what this does to the Defence White Paper since it was heavy on Indian Ocean deployments, presumably the LSG will keep that role? Though you could argue the LSG would be better in European waters.

www.theguardian.com

Britain to commit 1,000 extra troops to Nato’s defence of Estonia

Downing Street said it is almost doubling UK commitment to military support for Ukraine with additional £1bn
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
A report elsewhere mentioned only seemed to have 'wash' from one prop.

Whanged prop on an underwater obstruction ? IMHO, unlikely.
Prop fell off / shed blade ?? IMHO, very unlikely.
Gears and/or bearings ??

Given prior deployment, unlikely to be a dock-yard 'stoopid' such as connecting lube line feed to wrong end of shafts.
( A BIL once had to re-build a VLCC mega-diesel's lube feeds 'in situ' due design glitch... )

Which suggests either shaft's gears have 'thrown a tooth', or sudden increase in 'debris' prompted a 'WTF ?'

Please note 'Telegraph' is pay-walled...
 
Nik said:
Which suggests either shaft's gears have 'thrown a tooth', or sudden increase in 'debris' prompted a 'WTF ?'
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No reduction gearing, given the use of integrated electric propulsion. Since they are saying the problem is specifically with the shaft and something actually visible to divers, that narrows the possibilities down quite a bit. It's not a propulsion motor, nor the thrust block (an issue for QEII), but literally the shaft itself.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

HMS Prince of Wales suffers propeller shaft issue

Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is now at anchor off the Isle of Wight as damage to her propellor shaft is inspected.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk ukdefencejournal.org.uk

The shafts are pretty complex (hollow steel tube, bronze liner, carbon fiber overwrap), so there are several things that could be wrong, but if divers can see it, it seems likely it has to involve the overwrap -- maybe it's delaminating or something? Alternatively, allowing a slightly wider interpretation, could be an issue with the prop. If they shed or damaged a blade, that could explain things as well. But it's designed to replace the blades in situ, without drydocking, so that might actually be best case, compared to an actual shaft problem.

(Reference for design of the shafts and props: https://www.rolls-royce.com/~/media...uments/news/6-page-qe-booklet-tcm92-58802.pdf)
 
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Nik said:
Please note 'Telegraph' is pay-walled...
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Sorry, their paywall is very unpredictable indeed.

From the same source (hopefully the paywall will behave itself this time! I'll quote a bit of the article to be on the safe side.):
www.telegraph.co.uk

HMS Prince of Wales, the £3bn pride of the Navy, grinds to halt over ‘failure to grease propeller shaft’

‘Embarrassment’ as new aircraft carrier's landmark mission to the US hangs in the balance over major fault
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

The Royal Navy’s new £3 billion aircraft carrier may have ground to a halt over a failure to grease the propeller shaft, naval sources have said.

HMS Prince of Wales’s “landmark mission” to the United States is hanging in the balance and may have to be cancelled.

Specialist Royal Navy divers have been inspecting the ship since it broke down on Sunday evening, less than 24 hours after setting sail for the US.

Naval sources have told The Telegraph initial thoughts are pointing to a lack of lubrication on the starboard side at the point the propeller shaft leaves the interior of the hull.

Any overheating at this point due to friction could have damaged the metal shaft, sources have said.

A better understanding of the problem, upon which navy chiefs can make decisions, is not expected before the end of the week.

However, it is thought likely that a period in dry dock will be required, to have a proper look at the area and carry out repairs.


'Significant damage'​


The dry dock in Rosyth, Scotland, is thought to be the most likely base for any maintenance. The facility is owned by Babcock.

Suggestions the ship hit a submerged object have been discounted, added the source.

The 65,000-ton ship has been moved from the Sandown anchorage to nearby Stokes Bay, a more sheltered area that would allow divers to conduct detailed inspections.

It will take days to move the ship to Rosyth, should such a decision be taken - putting at risk training with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the US Marine Corps, including flight trials with F-35 fighter aircraft.

A senior defence source told The Telegraph that while they would have to wait for the divers to confirm what the source of the issue was, they had "a good idea what the problem is".

The source added: "We think there is significant damage to the starboard shaft. It's not working."

The source also said that this would prove a "major problem to fix" and said they would investigate how this had happened.
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In the fairness of accuracy, I have seen comments that the Telegraph article is not accurate.
 

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