British supercarrier on fire

The aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth caught fire after docking at Glenmallan to unload ammunition and prepare for repairs to a propeller problem.

British media reported that a fire broke out on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on the night of March 8 while it was anchored at Glenmallan port in Scotland. "There were no casualties, the ship suffered minor damage from the fire, everything is over," a source on the warship said.

HMS Queen Elizabeth docked at Glenmallan to unload ammunition and supplies, before heading to the shipyard at Rosyth for propeller shaft repairs and maintenance.

A British navy spokesman confirmed the information, saying that the "small fire" on HMS Queen Elizabeth was brought under control and quickly extinguished, stressing that the incident was not related to the ship's ammunition storage.

HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives at port in Scotland in 2022. Photo: Royal Navy — HMS Queen Elizabeth arrives at port in Scotland in 2022. Photo: *Royal Navy*

The Scottish Fire Service said it was working with the British navy to investigate the cause of the fire.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier was scheduled to participate and lead a strike group of eight naval ships from various countries in the framework of Steadfast Defender 2024, NATO's largest exercise since 1988. However, the warship had to abandon its mission due to a problem with its propeller shaft before leaving port in early February, forcing the Royal Navy to hastily dispatch the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier to take its place.

HMS Queen Elizabeth also did not participate in the naval operation in the Red Sea, despite the British military's appeals, because the logistics ship Fort Victoria could not sail due to lack of manpower. That forced the British military to mobilize Typhoon fighters stationed on the island of Cyprus, thousands of kilometers away from Yemen, to attack Houthi targets.

The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, are the largest warships in British naval history and cost more than $4 billion each. However, both ships have suffered numerous technical problems, such as burst water pipes and broken fire hoses, forcing them to spend long periods of time in port for repairs.

Vu Anh (According to UK Defence Journal )

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