when does the hms queen elizabeth leave portsmouth
HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) Once the initial stage 1 and 2 sea trials were complete, the ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7 December 2017.[51] Following the ship's commissioning, it underwent a period of defect correction in Portsmouth; one widely reported instance was a minor leak through a seal in one of the propeller shafts, which the Royal Navy stated was not serious enough to keep the ship from her planned programme.[52][53] In January 2018, Queen Elizabeth will sail to undergo her initial Operational Sea Training, before being taken into the North Atlantic for the first time for heavy weather trials and helicopter certification operations. On return, further work will prepare the ship for operation of fixed-wing aircraft. In the latter half of 2018, Queen Elizabeth will sail for the United States where flying trials of the F-35B will begin.[54][33] A "full operational capability" will be declared in 2020.[55]