HMS Prince of Wales (R09)

HMS Prince of Wales, October 2023
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Prince of Wales
Namesake	HRH Prince of Wales[3]
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	20 May 2008
Builder	Aircraft Carrier Alliance
Launched	21 December 2017
Sponsored by	The Queen
Christened	8 September 2017
Commissioned	10 December 2019[2]
Homeport	HMNB Portsmouth
Identification	Pennant number: R09 Deck code: P IMO number: 4907907
Motto	Ich Dien ("I Serve")
Honours and awards	St Lucia 1778 Ile de Groix 1795 Dardanelles 1915–16 Bismarck 1941 Malta Convoys 1941–42[a]
Status	In active service[2]
General characteristics
Class and type	Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier
Displacement	65,000 tonnes (64,000 long tons; 72,000 short tons)[5]
Length	284 m (932 ft)[6]
Beam	39 m (128 ft)(waterline) 73 m (240 ft) overall
Draught	11 metres[4]
Decks	9 decks below the flight deck 16,000 square metres
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), tested to 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)[17]
Range	10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km)
Boats & landing craft carried	3 x Sea-class workboats[15][16] 2 × Pacific 24 RIBs
Capacity	1,600
Troops	250
Complement	679
Sensors and processing systems	S1850M long range radar Type 997 Artisan 3D medium range radar Ultra Electronics Series 2500 Electro Optical System (EOS) Glide Path Camera (GPC)
Armament	3 × Phalanx CIWS 4 × 30mm DS30M Mk2 guns (for but not with)[11] 6 × Miniguns[12] (originally fit; retired in 2023 and replaced by Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns)[13][14]
Aircraft carried	Current planned carrier air wing of up to 24 to 36 F-35 Lightning IIs plus helicopters (65+ aircraft surge capacity):[7][8][9] F-35 Lightning II Chinook CH47 Apache AH64 Merlin HM2 and HC4 Wildcat HMA2 and AH1 Maritime Airborne Surveillance Capability (MASC) – Airborne Early Warning aircraft[10]
Aviation facilities	Hangar below deck Two aircraft lifts Refuelling and rearming facilities Ski jump

HMS Prince of Wales (R09) is the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Unlike most large aircraft carriers, Prince of Wales is not fitted with catapults and arrestor wires, and is instead designed to operate STOVL aircraft; the ship is currently planned to carry up to 48 F-35B Lightning II stealth multirole fighters and Merlin helicopters for airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare, although in surge conditions the class is capable of supporting 70+ F-35B.^[9] The design emphasises flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them with attack helicopters and troop transports up to and larger than Chinook size.^[18]

The completed Prince of Wales began sea trials in September 2019 and first arrived at her new home base of HMNB Portsmouth in November 2019.^[19] The ship was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth on 10 December 2019.^[2] The ship's commissioning date marked the 78th anniversary of the sinking of her predecessor, a World War II era battleship which was lost in action along with HMS Repulse in 1941. She is the eighth Royal Navy ship to have the name HMS Prince of Wales. Construction of the ship began in 2011 at Rosyth Dockyard and ended with launch on 21 December 2017. She was handed over to the Royal Navy in 2019.^[20]

When on operations, Prince of Wales will form a central part of a UK Carrier Strike Group, comprising escorts and support ships, with the aim to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection.^[21]

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