Britain's Biggest Warship

It is early 2016 and sailors begin to arrive at Rosyth dockyard in Scotland where HMS Queen Elizabeth is still under construction. Captain Jerry Kyd and his 700 sailors assemble to take up their posts on the biggest warship constructed for the Royal Navy. Their mission? To take the prototype warship to sea for the first time on dangerous make or break sea trials in the North Sea.

Before sailing, the crew have to undergo rigorous fire and flood training, but suddenly they are faced with the real thing. Has the training paid off? And how will they get the supercarrier out of the dockyard sea gate with only a few centimetres clearance either side? They will also have to sail her under the Forth road and rail bridges - no easy task when HMS Queen Elizabeth is taller than both.

After eight years in build, HMS Queen Elizabeth embarks on dangerous sea trials in the North Sea. The 700 sailors on board have to test everything on the ship for the first time - from galleys to guns and from power plants to propellers. What is the super carrier's top speed? How manoeuvrable is she and how stable in rough waters? Meanwhile the ship's company start the process of becoming a sea-born community. On board is chef Mohamad Khan who has to work out how to prepare pork dishes without offending his religion; able seaman Ricky Gleeson who had 49 convictions before he was 21 and Dave Garraghty the most senior non-commissioned officer on board with a passion for car boot sales.

After four days at sea, the first aircraft lands on the flight deck and all seems well but then there is an explosion in a cooling plant, a fuel leak that sprays everyone with diesel and the ship's rubbish disposal system goes wrong. There are also strange knocking sounds coming from underneath the ship.

HMS Queen Elizabeth approaches the climax of her sea trials in the North Sea. The automatic flight deck fire fighting system is a major innovation on board but must now be tested for the first time. The new super carrier makes a special and poignant visit to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys to mark an astonishing naval centenary - it is 100 years to the day that an aircraft was successfully landed on a moving vessel but with ultimately tragic consequences. Queen Elizabeth then moves at full speed to rendezvous with American carrier USS George Bush and a major battle group of international warships.

In the US we visit the British top gun pilots training on the top secret F35b Lightening Stealth Fighter that will eventually fly off HMS Queen Elizabeth. Commander Nathan Gray, the Royal Navy's top test pilot, is preparing to land the first F35 on Queen Elizabeth's flight deck in October 2018. Meanwhile, surprising events on board the warship conspire to remind First Lieutenant Bob Hawkins of his past. He recalls bitter-sweet memories that prompt him to divulge closely held feelings about the modern navy, his shipmates on Queen Elizabeth and his fears about going to war at sea.

Kirsty and Dickie, the captain's stewards, let slip a secret about the captain that his wife must never know about. And Dani Hobbs, a 24-year-old gunnery instructor, amazes the entire ship's company with a hidden talent that lifts everyone's spirits. Eventually, the grueling sea trials over, HMS Queen Elizabeth heads south for a dramatic and emotional arrival in Portsmouth which will be her home port for the next 50 years. A few weeks later, we are privy to the ship's commissioning by her namesake - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.