Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth sails up the Yorkshire Coast

The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has been exercising off the Yorkshire Coast for the last few days, and headed north past the North Bay in Scarborough early this morning.

The ship is undergoing a period of sea training and carrier training around the UK, required as preparation for further training later this year and which together will ensure that she is ready for deployment in 2021.

The project to build HMS Queen Elizabeth and sister ship HMS Prince of Wales cost more than £6 billion.

The aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed of 25 knots. It will have a crew of around 700 when operational.

It can carry up to 72 aircraft and its flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide - enough space for three football pitches.

On these photos, kindly supplied by Stuart Baines, who runs the Facebook group Scarborough Porpoise, F-35B Lightning fighter jets can be seen.

On HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, the F-35B takes off via a ski jump ramp. It also has vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

The two ships are notable for having two islands instead of the usual one on an aircraft carrier.

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