USS Theodore Rooseevelt visits Portsmouth

USS Theodore Roosevelt on visit to the UK - photo Sky News

24 mars 2015 Royal Navy

As images of US-UK partnership working goes they don’t come much stronger than this – the USS Theodore Roosevelt anchored off Stokes Bay near Gosport.

The 100,000 tonne ship and her escort – the destroyer Winston S Churchill – will be in Portsmouth waters until the end of the week as the carrier’s first port of call on her global deployment.

With a 4.5 acre flight deck that can launch aircraft every 30 seconds the USS Theodore Roosevelt has a crew of 5,000 sailors, many of which were keen to offer advice to Royal Navy sailors for when they join the UK’s new aircraft carriers – HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Lt Courtney Callaghan said: “I am really excited about the news that the Royal Navy will get two new aircraft carriers. There is nothing like serving on a carrier – it is a completely different environment to other ships. My top tip would be to really learn about your department, learn who is in your department and how it integrates with the others on the ship. It is a huge space to learn your way around so they need to take their time and just enjoy it.”