How to Build an Aircraft Carrier, Chris Terrill
How to Build an Aircraft Carrier, Chris Terrill
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How to Build an Aircraft Carrier
The incredible story behind HMS Queen Elizabeth, the 60,000 ton star of BBC2’s THE WARSHIP

Author: Chris Terrill

Narrator: Adam James

Unabridged: 12 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 01/20/2022


Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

Hear the enthralling story of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy's largest ever warship.

65,000 tons. 280 metres long. A flight deck the size of sixty tennis courts. A giant piece of Sovereign British territory that's home to up to fifty Aircraft. HMS Queen Elizabeth in the biggest ship in the Royal Navy's history and one of the most ambitious and exacting engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK.

But it's her ship's company of 700, alongside an air group of 900 air and ground crew that are Big Lizzie's beating heart. And How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells their story.

From before the first steel of her hull was cut, Chris Terrill has enjoyed unprecedented access to the Queen Elizabeth and the men and women who have brought her to life. From Jerry Kyd, the ship's inspirational captain, to Cdr Nathan Gray, the first pilot to land Britain's new stealth jet fighter on her deck, Terrill has won the trust and confidence of the ship's people.

How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells the story of Britain at her best: innovative, confident, outward-looking and world-beating.

© Chris Terrill 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ian on January 31, 2022

A very readable book, I finished it in ten days. Not about the metal and the nuts and bolts, but all about the people who crew this new ship. Whilst learning a lot about a variety of people, and enjoying what I read and about the sea trials for HMS Queen Elizabeth, I came away wishing that I knew more......more

Goodreads review by Peter on September 29, 2022

Mis-titled, it should be 'How to build an aircraft carrier crew'. However, it's a gentle read if you like this sort of thing which of course I do. If you've watched the TV series of the same name there's no point in reading the book as it covers exactly the same stories (usually a book has extra and......more

Goodreads review by Stuart on December 14, 2023

By any standard one employs this is simply an outstanding book. The writing moves along with style, grace and information. There is history, technology, warmth and dignity in this wonderful book. I recommend it to one and all.......more

Goodreads review by Chloé on March 07, 2024

Amazing!!!! Even better than the series - if that is possible......more

Goodreads review by Steve on June 08, 2025

Enjoyable and easy read Enjoyable and easy read of the birth of the QE II carrier. Author touches upon a lot of the aspects of the life of the carrier and the crew and the life......more


Quotes

Terrill takes us deep into the bowels of Britain's biggest warship . . . Exhilarating The Times

Celebrates remarkable feats of engineering. Telegraph