Young Portsmouth sailor completes training in time to join Royal Navy's carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth for her first mission

A TEENAGE sailor from Portsmouth is preparing for a life at sea on Britain’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth after completing his training.

By Tom Cotterill

Published 8th Jan 2021, 19:03 BST

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Able Rate Brandon Hollis qualified as a naval airman, an old job title which nowadays includes both men and women, and joined the navy’s aircraft handlers’ branch.

Naval airmen work on the flight decks of warships and support ships to allow flying operations and are specially training in firefighting and rescue.

The job will see him joining the £3.2bn aircraft carrier on her maiden operational mission in the spring, which will see the vast warship operating with the new F-35B stealth jet.

An aircraft handler directs take off of F35 from HMS Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Royal Navy

An aircraft handler directs take off of F35 from HMS Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Royal Navy

The 19-year-old, a former student at Havant and South Downs College, said: ‘I wanted to join the Royal Navy to travel the world and meet the people who will be my friends for life.

‘For me, the best part of the training was the firefighting. It was physically and mentally demanding and it really showed what we were capable of.’

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A special ceremony was held at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall before the national lockdown for the 19 sailors who completed the training course.

AB Brandon Hollis, 19, of Portsmouth, who is set to join HMS Queen Elizabeth as an aircraft handler on the warship's maiden operational tour later this year.

AB Brandon Hollis, 19, of Portsmouth, who is set to join HMS Queen Elizabeth as an aircraft handler on the warship's maiden operational tour later this year.

Lieutenant Commander Billy Benton, the commanding officer of the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations, said: ‘I must congratulate all those who have completed their training.

‘The coronavirus pandemic restrictions impacted the ability to conduct their course until the staff had taken stringent safety measures and risk assessment to ensure the training could continue.

‘It is testament to the hard work and dedication of the school’s Royal Navy and civilian staff that the course has completed successfully; it was a real team effort.

‘The members of Naval Airman Qualifying Course 3/19 should be immensely proud of what they have achieved under such testing circumstances.’

A special ceremony was held at the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose to mark the completion of training for 19 new sailors.

The men and women have all qualified to become naval airmen and will go on to serve on ships around the world, many on the new aircraft carriers.

The passing in parade marks their entry into the Aircraft Handlers’ Branch.

Guest of honour was the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Stuart Finn. — A special ceremony was held at the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose to mark the completion of training for 19 new sailors. The men and women have all qualified to become naval airmen and will go on to serve on ships around the world, many on the new aircraft carriers. The passing in parade marks their entry into the Aircraft Handlers’ Branch. Guest of honour was the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Stuart Finn.

A special ceremony was held at the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose to mark the completion of training for 19 new sailors.

The men and women have all qualified to become naval airmen and will go on to serve on ships around the world, many on the new aircraft carriers.

The passing in parade marks their entry into the Aircraft Handlers’ Branch.

Guest of honour was the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Stuart Finn. — A special ceremony was held at the Royal Naval School of Flight Deck Operations at RNAS Culdrose to mark the completion of training for 19 new sailors. The men and women have all qualified to become naval airmen and will go on to serve on ships around the world, many on the new aircraft carriers. The passing in parade marks their entry into the Aircraft Handlers’ Branch. Guest of honour was the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, Captain Stuart Finn.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to sail on her maiden deployment this year.

She is expected to sail to the Far East, accompanied by the UK’s new carrier strike group – an armada of frigates, destroyers, a submarine and support ships.

The 65,000-tonne leviathan is the first of the Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, is expected to remain alongside in Portsmouth until May while engineers repair damage caused by a series of floods last year.

Aircraft handler directs Merlin helicopter to land on HMS Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Royal Navy

Aircraft handler directs Merlin helicopter to land on HMS Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Royal Navy

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