Spectacular footage showing the HMS Prince of Wales travelling underneath the Forth Road Bridge has been shared online.
The footage, which was shared by BEAR Scotland, shows the monster aircraft carrier being tugged along the Firth of Forth. The highest element of The Prince of Wales looks to have been lowered so that it could pass underneath the Bridge at South Queensferry.
The 65,000 tonne ship had to travel north of the border for repairs after a specialist team of divers noticed that something was amiss. It was discovered that the battleship’s right propeller shaft was damaged just before it was set to travel across the Atlantic for joint military exercises with the United States Marine Corps and the Royal Canadian Navy.
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This meant that the broken warship had to travel from its base in Portsmouth to Scotland. In its place the HMS Queen Elizabeth was sent across the pond to America.
Hundreds of spectators are understood to have lined the coast of the Forth in order to catch a glimpse of the behemoth. The state-of-the-art ship is expected to serve the Royal Navy for at least 50 years where it will carry out strike missions, enforce no-flight-zones and aid Royal Navy forces at home and abroad.
It is understood that once HMS Prince of Wales is repaired, it will then travel to the US to take part in the planned battle exercises. The HMS Queen Elizabeth will then return to Europe to assist NATO with their efforts in the Baltic as tensions with Russia continue to rise after their illegal invasions of Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of the ship's journey to Rosyth last week, a Royal Navy spokesperson told Forces.net : "We are committed to getting HMS Prince of Wales back on operations, protecting the nation and our allies, as soon as possible."
The carrier was originally assembled between 2011 and 2017. Its carrier navigation team have trained on a simulator alongside Forth pilots and tug captains at South Shields Marine School at the South Tyneside College to practise the approach to anchorage and sailing under the three Forth bridges and into the dry dock.
Lieutenant commander Chris Poulson, HMS Prince of Wales’ navigator, said:“Returning the Prince of Wales back into the dock in which she was assembled will be a big navigational challenge.
“We of course know that she will fit, but it will be a huge team effort between the ship’s company, the Forth Pilots, the team ashore from Babcock and the towage company to get her into the dock.
“As well as completing the manoeuvre safely, I am looking forward to taking the ship under the Forth bridges and seeing them from beneath for the first time.”
The ship has sailed with a full complement of crew – 750 men and women – who will remain with the ship and continue training for renewed operations as well as supporting the maintenance package while in Rosyth. While alongside in Rosyth, they will continue to crew and train on the ships systems for their operational roles.
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