HMS Prince of Wales fires up generators
Engineers aboard HMS Prince of Wales have successfully completed the first run of the aircraft carrier’s diesel generators, the Royal Navy announced on 26 November.
The 65,000t Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s second aircraft carrier and is expected to carry out sea trials in the second half of 2019 before entering service.
The vessel is equipped with four Wärtsilä diesel generators, each capable of producing more than 11MW of power. Collectively, these four diesels generate 40% of the total power produced by the carrier; the Rolls-Royce MT30 main engines which drive the ship through the water account for the rest.
Lt James Sheridan-Browne, the carrier’s power and propulsion engineering officer, said: ‘With the first run of HMS Prince of Wales’ diesel generators now complete, the ship is truly coming to life on its own systems. The running of diesel generators will now continue to provide a steady drumbeat to sailing the ship to Portsmouth in 2019.’
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