Portsmouth's facilities had to be rebuilt for the Queen Elizabeth class after decades in which planners did not expect such large Royal Navy ships. The berth needs fendering, power, stores access, and safe movement with tide and weather, while dredging determines whether the carrier can reach it at all. An expensive jetty is useless if the approach channel cannot accept the ship. Berthing a modern carrier among Victory, Warrior, a First World War monitor, and the Mary Rose links present capability to naval heritage and makes the base a public statement of continuity. Like a fixed airfield, however, a purpose-built carrier base concentrates vital infrastructure in one visible location.
Chapter · 1:01:15-1:05:45
Carrier bases need strengthened jetties and dredged access
A carrier berth must bear the ship's loads, provide shore services, accept stores and ammunition, and remain reachable through a properly dredged channel.