Sat, Jan 21, 2023
It's May 2021 and HMS Queen Elizabeth - higher than Nelson's Column, longer than the Houses of Parliament and weighing in at 65,000 tons - is about to set sail on her first-ever operational mission. Ahead is a gruelling seven-month voyage through the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, to the South China Sea.
Sat, Jan 28, 2023
While exercising her rights of navigation in international waters, HMS Queen Elizabeth is faced by Russian warships diverted from the Black Sea to intercept her, as well as Russian aircraft scrambled from their base in Syria to buzz the British task force. This leads to a amatic standoff near the coast of Syria.
Sat, Feb 4, 2023
Following a welcome break in Cyprus, HMS Queen Elizabeth heads back to sea. But after passing through the Suez Canal, it's discovered that one sailor has contracted Covid. By the time the ship enters the Indian Ocean, Covid is spreading almost out of control, with 400 sailors in isolation.
Sat, Feb 18, 2023
After travelling over 20,000 miles, HMS Queen Elizabeth heads from Japan back to Guam for vital maintenance. After the sailors relax on a longer run of shore leave, the ship and her escorts sail in convoy with the American, Japanese and Australian navies for a show of strength in China's backyard.
Sat, Feb 25, 2023
After six months at sea on her first operational deployment, HMS Queen Elizabeth departs the Pacific for the long voyage home. Although it will be two months before the ship arrives back in Portsmouth, most are already thinking of family and Christmas. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, the F35 jet pilots have to maintain a strict round-the-clock programme of launches and landings to ensure combat readiness - until, one morning, an F35 on a routine launch loses power at a critical moment.