New British Aircraft Carriers: The Queen Elizabeth Class

The last full deck aircraft carrier operated by Great Britain was the HMS Ark Royal, and she was retired in 1979 after three decades of service. The replacements for the Ark Royal were the small helicopter/harrier carriers of the Invincible Class - vessels that were sorely lacking in capability relative to American or even French aircraft carriers. In the early 21st century British naval planners realized that emerging security issues required that Britain once again utilize conventional carriers capable of operating catapult launched aircraft. After exploring the possibility of working on a joint French-British design the Royal Navy chose the HMS Queen Elizabeth class carriers to meet the requirements for the new British aircraft carriers