The HMS Queen Elizabeth, Great Britain’s new aircraft carrier, sailed beneath the Verrazano Bridge yesterday on a weeklong visit to New York harbor. The ship which cost £3.1 billion is 932 feet long, displaces 65,000 tonnes, and is the largest warship ever built by the Royal Navy.

As the new carrier sailed into the harbor, the Royal Marines band and a bagpiper played as many of the more than 1,000 personnel onboard stood at attention, lining the rails and walkways.

During her stay in New York, the ship nicknamed, “Big Lizzie,” will host a major forum on cybersecurity. The UK Defence secretary Gavin Williamson will be announcing a joint drive with the US to counter cyber-warfare. Gavin Williamson is visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth, where he will make a speech during a special Trafalgar Day dinner held on board.

Officially accepted into the Royal Navy fleet in December, the ship left her home of Portsmouth Naval Base in August and sailed across the Atlantic to begin her maiden four-month deployment, dubbed Westlant 18.  The carrier has been testing two versions of the multimillion-dollar stealth fighter F-35B Lightning jets, landing on the flight deck and taking off from the ship’s ski-jump ramp. The ship has successfully logged more than 98 ski-jump take-offs thus far.

Coincidentally, the arrival of the Royal Navy’s newest ship of war overlapped with the arrival of a warship of a much older design — the Draken Harald Hårfagre – the largest Viking ship built in modern times.  For a wonderful photo of the two ships together, taken by the New York Media Boat, click here. 

Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives in NYC for first US visit

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.