Fuji Headed to the breaker's yard... HMS Ark Royal - X100

Well, I'm sorry to see a fine ship go... but TURKEY? If they are going to scrap her tow her over here -- the steel mill I work at needs some high grade scrap to melt and that baby looks ALL high grade.
 
Unbelievable, she is still fairly new, too. If I recall correctly, budget cuts ensured she sat in drydock at Portsmouth Naval Station for a good part of her short life. On arelated note, I lived in the UK when they retired the last of the Sea Harriers, and some were scrapped at less than 10 years old. Ironic that Royal Navy fliers had to fly RAF Harriers off their carriers after that.

Thanks for sharing the photo, sad as it is.
 
Bye Ark Royal! I remember the Argentinians publishing fake photos of a sinking Ark Royal during the Falklands War.
It wouldn't have been a very convincing fake because the Ark Royal didn't take part in the Falklands War. The ship we're looking at here didn't enter service until 1985 and the Falklands War was in 1982.

The two Royal Navy carriers which took part were HMS Invincible (sister ship to the Ark Royal) and HMS Hermes.

It's sad to see the Ark Royal go to scrap though.

-R
 
It wouldn't have been a very convincing fake because the Ark Royal didn't take part in the Falklands War. The ship we're looking at here didn't enter service until 1985 and the Falklands War was in 1982.

The two Royal Navy carriers which took part were HMS Invincible (sister ship to the Ark Royal) and HMS Hermes.

It's sad to see the Ark Royal go to scrap though.

-R

Dang. Memory is a whole lot worse than I thought!! I was thinking about the Invincible. It was a REALLY poorly faked photo for sure. It showed up in the newspapers in Brazil and elsewhere. The Brits sure debunked that photo pretty quickly, along with a myriad of others that the Argentinians faked.
 
Well, I'm sorry to see a fine ship go... but TURKEY? If they are going to scrap her tow her over here -- the steel mill I work at needs some high grade scrap to melt and that baby looks ALL high grade.

Apparently they offered the best price, they also took her sister HMS Invincible.... lots of other options were considered.... convert to hotel, casino, tourist attraction/ museum etc etc.

Hopefully they will find a practical, UK based use for the final invincible class carrier, HMS Illustrious when they put her out to pasture, probably in 2014. At that point Britain will have no carriers.
 
Back
Top