WATCH: Incredible time-lapse shows moment £3billion aircraft carrier is moved into place
THE Royal Navy's latest £3billion aircraft carrier has taken step towards completion as this time lapse film reveals.
The two carriers are the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance footage shows the 680-tonne command tower being lifted into place on the deck of HMS Prince of Wales at the Rosyth shipyard near Edinburgh.
And it also shows how the huge command centre was carried by a barge from the Govan shipyard on the Clyde, down through the Irish Sea, round Land's End, up the English Channel and the North Sea and on to Rosyth on the Firth of Forth.
The film shows the tower being floated past the other new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is nearing completion at Rosyth.
At more than 65,000 tonnes each, the two carriers are the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy .
eeing the forward island in position on the flight deck marks a highly visible achievement in the assembly programme
Each is 920ft (280 metres) from bow to stern and 183ft (56 metres) tall which makes them higher than Niagara Falls.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to be handed over to the Royal Navy in 2017 with HMS Prince of Wales due to follow two years later.
The first jets are scheduled to fly from HMS Queen Elizabeth at the end of 2018 and she will become fully operational in 2020.
The film shows Europe's largest crane - appropriately known as a Goliath crane - lifting the command tower from the barge and onto the deck.
Angus Holt, Queen Elizabeth Class Prince of Wales Delivery Director, said: "Seeing the forward island in position on the flight deck marks a highly visible achievement in the assembly programme.
"And with her bow now attached she is taking on the appearance of the immensely powerful aircraft carrier she will be when she enters service. The teams across the Alliance should be proud of their involvement in constructing and assembling blocks on to HMS Prince of Wales."