IN PICTURES: Mini Meets Massive

Two of the Royal Navy’s smallest ships have been pictured alongside the largest vessel ever commissioned for the British military.

Patrol boats HMS Dasher and Pursuer met the Navy’s future flagship in the Moray Firth.

The archer-class vessels are 1,200 times smaller - by displacement - than HMS Queen Elizabeth.

At barely half the width of the carrier, the 68ft patrol boats carry just five crew and are used by University Royal Naval Units (URNU) for training purposes.

Despite being commonly known as ‘Fast Training Boats’, HMS Dasher and Pursuer are 4 knots slower than HMS Queen Elizabeth which can reach 25 knots flat out.

The two URNU ships were heading for Orkney and commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the loss of WW1 battleship HMS Vanguard.

They found the aircraft carrier waiting for the tide as they neared Invergordon.

Lieutenant Andrew Osborne, Dasher's Commanding Officer said:

"This presented an opportunity to make a little bit of history that simply could not be missed by the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron."

"In company with Pursuer 50 yards on the beam closing at 20kts, the carrier presented a quite formidable sight.

“We were fortunate enough to be cleared to close and berth alongside her stern platform, the very first Royal Navy vessel to do so."

The patrol boat crews and students enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of the carrier.

Dasher and Pursuer aren't the smallest vessels in the Navy to visit Queen Elizabeth; even smaller HMS Gleaner called in at Rosyth last year.