Weighing in at 65,000 tons it is unclear whether she is too big for the Port of Palma and will have to anchor in the Bay. She is equipped with two squadrons of F35 stealth jets, one is a joint Royal Air Force/Fleet Air Arm unit of 617 squadron “the Dambusters”, one of the most famous units in RAF history and the other is a U.S. Marine Corps squadron. Apart from that she has a number of Merlin helicopters on board. Parts of the vessels were built across Britain and assembled in Rosyth in Scotland. Not only is the largest Royal Navy vessel ever she is also one of the biggest ships to be built in Britain.
But the Queen Elizabeth doesn´t travel alone. In her Task Force there are two Royal Navy Daring class destroyers, each costing one billion pounds, two Type 23 frigates and two support vessels. It is unclear how many of these vessels will be coming to Palma. The combined crews of all the vessels in the group is in excess of 3,500 people and obviously they are looking forward to their stay in Mallorca after a long deployment which has been hit by the Covid pandemic and has meant that they have not been able to go ashore in some places such as Singapore and Tokyo.
The Queen Elizabeth, unlike U.S. aircraft carriers, has two towers; one to control the ship and one to oversee the aircraft operations which take place on board. She will remain in Royal Navy service for at least 50 years and will form the spearhead of any future Royal Navy operations. Her F35 jets are capable of vertical take-off and landings like the Sea Harrier which they have replaced. According to the Royal Navy the Queen Elizabeth is the most capable vessel to fly the white ensign.
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