These images show the moment the Royal Navy’s biggest ever warship passed under Scotland’s most iconic bridge.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth manoeuvred beneath the Forth Bridge overnight as it departed Rosyth Dockyard on its maiden voyage into the North Sea.
The mighty aircraft carrier weighs 65,000 tonnes, is 918ft long and has the capacity for 1,600 crew members. It has a top speed of 25 knots per hour and can travel 500 miles a day.
Yesterday the vessel carried out a series of intricate manoeuvres as it made its way down the Firth of Forth, passing under its three bridges in the dark of night.
Next year it is anticipated that HMS Queen Elizabeth will head to the United States for aircraft trials with Lockheed Martin F-35B multi-role fighters, of which up she will carry up to 36, along with several Merlin anti-submarine helicopters.
It is expected that she will formally enter service in 2020.