Engineering news
The largest warship ever built in the UK has produced power from its on-board diesel generators for the first time.
Firing up one of four generators on HMS Queen Elizabeth was described as a significant milestone in the programme to bring the 65,000-tonne Royal Navy aircraft carrier into service.
It is being assembled and fitted out at Rosyth Dockyard in Fife ready for handing over to the navy in 2017.
The diesel generators will be the main cruising engines for the ship, but when higher speed is required two gas turbines will also be used.
The vessel and the under-construction HMS Prince of Wales are being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence.
Each carrier will provide the armed forces with a four-acre military operating base which can travel up to 500 miles every day to be deployed anywhere around the world.
Jim Bennett, power and propulsion director for the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said: "There is something particularly special about the starting of the first diesel engine on any vessel. The gentle vibration, reassuring hum and first smoke appearing from the funnel creates a heartbeat and breathes life into a new ship."
Rear Admiral Henry Parker, who represents the MoD on the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, added: "To get our own power on board the ship actually working, get the electricity into the veins of the ship, so we can then start commissioning all the other systems is a really big day and it's the culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people over many months.
HMS Prince of Wales is now almost half complete, with the forward island installed last month.