Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:20:20-2:20:40

How different are Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales?

The two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are operationally much more alike than claims about small dimensional differences suggest.

Aircraft CarriersHMS Prince Of WalesHMS Queen ElizabethQueen Elizabeth Class Aircraft CarriersWarship Design
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Question

How different are HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth?

Short answer

Not very different; minor dimensional claims do not change that the ships are essentially the same design.

Notes

Commentary sometimes magnifies small construction differences between Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales. Claims that one sister is slightly longer do not change their common planned systems and roles. They remain near-identical members of one class. The answer distinguishes minor build variation from a meaningful operational redesign.