A sad day, Invincible is up for sale on Edisposals

[NutLoose]

Looks like it's being marketed as scrap sigh......

see

Disposal Services Authority (http://www.edisposals.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/Disposals-Public-Site/en_US/-/GBP/ViewProductDetail-Product;pgid=MieqQ4wkQg8000ArvQ_8K1sp0000CisTad9a?ProductUUI D=38jAqBIQwVwAAAEsaApaBWLN&CatalogCategoryID=VaLAqBELPagAAAED8GeasfoP)

[Scuttled]

How thoroughly depressing. Could we all chip in and buy her; in 18 months time when Call Me Dave is off the medication and realises what he has done........ well, the buy back price may make up for our incoming and insignificant redundancy payments.

[Buster Hyman]

Could've been a RAN ship if it wasn't for that bunch of Maradonnas...:rolleyes:

[500N]

Buster Hyman

Who are you referring to ?

as in "if it wasn't for that bunch of Maradonnas".

[ian176]

at a guess - argentina related...

[Double Zero]

5 minutes ago there was a grand plan to use her as a helo platform while b*****ing up the seas with wind farms; has that idea been canned already ?

[Barry Bernoulli]

Buster Hyman,

If Australia had actually taken delivery of the Invincible, they wouldn't have been able to afford the Sea Sprites to operate from her!

[500N]

I thought she visited Sydney just after the Falklands War. Reason I vaguely remember is I was in the UK during the Falklands war and arrived here just after so it was current in my mind.

[Buster Hyman]

If Australia had actually taken delivery of the Invincible, they wouldn't have been able to afford the Sea Sprites to operate from her!
...and what a good outcome THAT would have been!

[Saintsman]

Availability: In stock

Glad to see that they have one on the shelf.

[JagRigger]

I hear it's a BOGOF with Ark Royal ;)

[Jumping_Jack]

I've added her to my 'Wish List'. Nearly Christmas!

[Samuel]

Does anyone know if HMS Invincible paid a visit to Station Pier, Melbourne, Australia? I have an unreliable childhood memory that it did as I used to check the local shipping lists and wag school heading off to the port whenever something interesting came to town.

Yes. she did, and also to Wellington [1982?]e as a thank you to NZ for assistance during Falklands. New Zealand offered the UK a Frigate, which offer was accepted, although the RNZN ship never actually went to the Falklands but relieved a RN ship somewhere off Africa which did! RNZN Comms at Irirangi, a stone frigate in the wilds of the North Island, was also used extensively as a relay for signals down south.

[Union Jack]

NutLoose

So glad to have confirmation of the accuracy of Post No 27 in http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/432412-old-ships-educate-me-please.html - dated 23 Nov!:p

Jack

[N707ZS]

Haven't we got Ilustrious lurking somewhere?

[Double Zero]

Haven't we got Ilustrious lurking somewhere?

- Hopefully trundling up the Thames preparing a strike for prime minister's question time...

[Widger]

They probably need to re-calculate the tonnage as there may have been a few holes drilled to accommodate the TV system/Xbox network!

[ACSfirstfail]

Just interested; why did we put Ark Royal up for scrap rather than Illustrious? I believe she was the newest of the 3 built.

[melmothtw]

"Just interested; why did we put Ark Royal up for scrap rather than Illustrious? I believe she was the newest of the 3 built."

I believe its because Illustrious has just come out of refit and so is 'newer' in that respect.

[ACSfirstfail]

Thanks for the answer

Regards

ACS

[Double Zero]

And even more to the point, why scrap Ark Royal, why not reserve ?

It's not as if she'll make mega-bucks for scrap; why am I suddenly reminded of TSR2 ( like it or not ) - scrapped inc' jigs just to make a controversial decision final...

I've wondered why there isn't more of a public outcry - then I saw some newspapers yesterday.

Times - front page + double page spread, mentions in Editorial & letters to Editor ( all saying Ark & Harriers is a colossal mistake ).

Mail - not a single mention, treating the readers as mushrooms.

Even the yachtie forums I visit ( Yachting Monthly / PBO ) have outraged threads running, again saying Ark, Ocean & Harriers = humungously stupid decision.

One yachtie mentioned that his wife works at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard " and has detected a very hostile feeling towards a government they expected to be sympathetic and supportive to defence ".

[Jimlad1]

Has anyone seen confirmation that Ark Royal is being 'scrapped' or is she going to R9 (e.g. 180 days notice for sea). I've not seen final confirmation as to her plans.

Its difficult - the matelot part of me feels immensely angry at the loss of this capability and sad at what is happening to our once great navy. However, rationally I can (just about) see the logic behind why we're doing it - if HERRICK is the only game till 2015, and if we're clear that optional expeditions till 2020 are out of the question, then the ability to retain a carrier able to send 6 harriers to sea becomes much less necessary.

I don't like it, I think it it stinks, but ultimately its the reality of a situation where we're stuck fighting a war that was lost years ago, and with an Army which is convinced that even a tiny manpower cut will somehow mean mission failure. Personally I suspect the Army is in for the mother of all cuts in 2015 at the end of HERRICK, as both CAS and 1SL point out how their services have borne the brunt of cuts for 10 years to protect HERRICK and now its payback time.

[F3sRBest]

I don't like it, I think it it stinks, but ultimately its the reality of a situation

Well said...

[Double Zero]

The only talk I've heard is of scrap, hopefully some sense like 180 day readiness may yet happen;

A request came through YESTERDAY 25th Nov' for arrangements to store the Harriers in near flying condition, so let's hope even this bunch are beginning to catch on, and a U turn may be possible for the Harrier, with the Ark at 180 days...

BTW, 6 aircraft ? Sounds a bit thin and luxurious ?

[Obi Wan Russell]

6 Harriers is the minimum a CVS would deploy with, they can carry up to 22 at a time though 14 was found to be the optimum number alongside 3 SK ASaC and 4-6 Merlin. The term scrap seems to come in this instance from the press, not the MOD. In press terms, scrap is a synonym for decommissioned or withdrawn from service. The last statement I heard from Navy sources was that Ark's fate post decommissioning had not been decided and more than likely she would be either heald in reserve and/or used as a spares resovoir for Illustrious. She certainly won't be heading for any scrapyard for several years yet.

[Jimlad1]

Obiwan - good post, but to be fair, when was the last time a UK CVS deployed with more than 6 UK Harriers embarked? I suspect we'd have to go back to pre-HERRICK days?

I imagine we'll see Ark doing an impression of the old HMS EAGLE- kept for the next 2-3 years rotting in the dockyard and being stripped of anything useful.

As for harriers in flying condition - that'll be fine for a year or two, but once the training courses stop, and the fleets personnel disperse, how long will it be before we pass the point of no return for regeneration? I suspect within 5 years we'll have lost the ability to put the GR9 into the air - not helped of course by an insane budgeting system (thanks Gordon!) which will penalise us for stock holding. To keep GR9 in reserve will incur a fortune in costs sadly, so I suspect if there are no buyers, then the fleet will quickly dissapear from view.

[XV277]

Illustrious is currently in Rosyth (or at least she was earlier this week) on a minor refit.

However her future is in doubt as there is a review to be carried out as to whether she or Ocean should be kept as the LPH - the 'loser' will be decommissioned.

So the RN will have one flat top - which is chosen would no doubt depend on the criteria of the review (CVS v LPH I suppoise - could Ocean operate in the ASW role?)

[Not_a_boffin]

Given the state of Ocean and the fact that she's due for a refit / docking in the near future, I know where my money would be.

Having said that, if folk decide surface lift is still a critical factor, then the bag of bolts may have to last a bit longer.

Might also depend whether MoD really wants to ensure there's no way back for f/w prior to Dave. Musn't embarrass the other Dave......

[dallas]

Availability: In stockLove it :D

[Jonesy67]

There is a company that put in a tender bid for the Invincible but was not awarded the tender. They are also putting in the same bid process for the Ark Royal. Lets hope they are successful this time.

They want to convert the Ark Royal as they did the Invincible... into a humanitarian relief vessel. Putting cranes, heavy equipment, tents, food, fresh water and medical facilities for disaster areas like Japan and Haiti.

Guess we will find out in June if they get it however I think it would be prudent to find them as much publicity as possible and create a stink as to why the MOD feel it necessary to destroy our heritage. After all.. dont we pay the taxes to build these things in the first place? We should have a say in how they are "retired".

Just an observation.

Jacko.