US Navy warship USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives in the Solent

  • US Navy
The 100,000-tonne ship USS Theodore Roosevelt has anchored off Stokes Bay. Credit: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

A giant US Navy warship, carrying over 5,000 sailors, has arrived in the UK for a five-day visit.

The 100,000-tonne ship USS Theodore Roosevelt has anchored off Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire. Credit: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Hundreds of people lined the coast as the 100,000-tonne ship USS Theodore Roosevelt anchored off Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire, because it is too big to sail into Portsmouth Harbour.

The 1,092ft-long carrier has 5,226 crew including six Royal Navy aircraft handlers. Credit: Chris Ison / PA WIRE

The 1,092ft-long carrier which is affectionately known as the 'Big Stick' has 52226 crew and is making its first port of call in its round-the-world deployment.

The carrier is substantially larger than the Royal Navy's next generation of carriers which weigh in at 65,000 tonnes.

The visit forms parts of an ongoing partnership between the Royal Navy and US. Credit: Chris Ison / PA WIRE

The visit forms parts of an ongoing partnership between the Royal Navy and US on carrier operations until the first of the new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, enters service in 2017.