Britain's Biggest War Ship

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Britain's Biggest Warship

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The behind-the-scenes story of HMS Queen Elizabeth and her crew.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. As she embarks on gruelling sea trials, we see ship and crew pushed to breaking point.

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Caroline Catz

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Britain's Biggest Warship: Series 1: Episode 3: Out with the Old, In with the New

Out With the Old, in With the New

Episode 3

Episode 3: Out with the Old, In with the New

Series 1

Out with the Old, In with the New

BBC Two - Britain's Biggest Warship, Series 1, Out with the Old, In with the New

As HMS Queen Elizabeth completes sea trials, her F-35 fighter pilots train in the US.

British top gun pilots train on the secret F-35 fighter jets in the US as HMS Queen Elizabeth nears the end of her sea trials in the North Sea.

HMS Queen Elizabeth approaches the climax of her sea trials in the North Sea. The automatic flight deck fire-fighting system is a major innovation on board but must now be tested for the first time. The new super carrier makes a special and poignant visit to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys to mark an astonishing naval centenary - it is 100 years to the day that an aircraft was successfully landed on a moving vessel but with ultimately tragic consequences. Queen Elizabeth then moves at full speed to rendezvous with American carrier USS George Bush and a major battle group of international warships.

In the US we visit the British top gun pilots training on the top-secret F-35B Lightening stealth fighter that will eventually fly off HMS Queen Elizabeth. Commander Nathan Gray, the Royal Navy's top test pilot, is preparing to land the first F-35 on Queen Elizabeth's flight deck in October 2018. Meanwhile, surprising events on board the warship conspire to remind First Lieutenant Bob Hawkins of his past. He recalls bittersweet memories that prompt him to divulge closely held feelings about the modern navy, his shipmates on Queen Elizabeth and his fears about going to war at sea.

Kirsty and Dickie, the captain's stewards, let slip a secret about the captain that his wife must never know about. And Dani Hobbs, a 24-year-old gunnery instructor, amazes the entire ship's company with a hidden talent that lifts everyone's spirits. Eventually, the gruelling sea trials over, HMS Queen Elizabeth heads south for a dramatic and emotional arrival in Portsmouth which will be her home port for the next 50 years. A few weeks later, we are privy to the ship's commissioning by her namesake - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

Britain's Biggest Warship: Series 1

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HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. As she embarks on gruelling sea trials we see ship and crew pushed to breaking point.

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Britain's Biggest Warship

Series 1

Episode 3: Out with the Old, In with the New

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