End of an era

[Heliport]

HMS Illustrious decommisioned today.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72194000/jpg/_72194335_hi018938705.jpg

BBC News - Portsmouth-based HMS Illustrious retires from Navy (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-28957098)



32 years service during which she sailed 900,000 miles on ops across the globe.

Did anyone here serve in Lusty?

Any dits?

[4Greens]

No operational carriers and no maritime patrol aircraft.

[newt]

Does that mean no FAA?

[Davef68]

Does that mean no FAA?


of course not, Ocean has just returned to service, and the smaller ships operations as well. Plus the recently reformed FW squadron on hawks

[Bronx]

The 22,000-tonne ship will eventually be replaced by HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales

Eventually??

With all the time it's taking King Charles III could be on the throne before HMS Queen Elizabeth is fully operational.

[Tankertrashnav]

Was great to see her coming in, her flight deck full of Sea Harriers.

Oh sorry, I forgot.

Never mind, it'll be great to see Queen Elizabeth going on her maiden voyage, her flight deck full of F35s.

Oh sorry, I forgot again :(

[Typhoon93]

I'm glad the government want to preserve her. It would be a shame to lose that piece of history.

[BEagle]

"Illustrious is a big ship - there are going to be a limited number of ports and cities that will have the infrastructure that will be able to support her."

Big?? BIG?? Not an adjective I would use for little Lusty...:(

Eagle, Ark Royal, Victorious - they were big. But Illustrious....??

[Flying Lawyer]

Was great to see her coming in, her flight deck full of Sea Harriers.

Oh sorry, I forgot.

Some pics from the good old days .....

North Sea 28 June - 2 July 09
Pilots from IV Sqn RAF
Harriers from Naval Strike Wing



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMSIllustrious030_800.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/Harrier1c_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/FlightDeck1_web-1.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/FlightDeck2_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HarrierHover_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/Harrier2_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMSIllustrious128_800.jpg
Midnight in the North Sea


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMS-Illustrious-201c900web.jpg
(Some distortion - pic taken from Lynx.)



HMS Illustrious and 4 Squadron RAF are both Affiliated Units of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots (http://www.airpilots.org/)



Tudor Owen

[nimbev]

Who would want to buy her and have to keep her in UK with doubtless lists of expensive stipulations, requirements and caveats - I know, let HMG keep her and turn her into a prison ship to replace Weare and keep her in Portland Harbour.

[Arclite01]

Why no dock her alongside HMS Belfast and have her as a tourist attraction and as a floating heliport ??

That would put her in the helilanes after all....................

A thought - is HMS Belfast actually afloat - does she rise and fall with the tides ? or is she just full of concrete and sits on the bottom ?? (Went to London the other day and good to see her looking very smart in her new paint)

Arc

[Tankertrashnav]

Or how about an overflow carpark at some seaside resort? Any car with an expired ticket could just be shoved overboard!

Thanks for the pics F-L - very nice.

[John Eacott]

Wot, no paying-off pennant?

;)

[RUCAWO]

Bring Belfast to where she belongs, and put Lusty in its place .

[Roadster280]

Not a bad idea. Replacing BELFAST with ILLUSTRIOUS might inject some interest in that area. "OK, let's go to London for the weekend. What shall we do? Go on Belfast? No, we've done that already...".

[The Helpful Stacker]

Not a bad idea. Replacing BELFAST with ILLUSTRIOUS might inject some interest in that area. "OK, let's go to London for the weekend. What shall we do? Go on Belfast? No, we've done that already...".

I'm not sure many of the general public would see it the same.

Actual WW2 ship with 'guns' and stuff or a fairly modern collection of predominately empty hanger spaces and a strip of flat top bent at one end?

If she could be filled with representative of each aircraft types from her service career then it might be a little more interesting but just how many aircraft is that?

Whilst 'learned' individuals might enjoy exploring her (though how much could realistically be kept in bounds on a ship her size?) I sadly can't imagine her having the same 'Boy's Own Stories' draw as HMS Belfast.

[WE Branch Fanatic]

I was not the only one to note the lack of a paying off pennant then! Cutbacks!

I always thought that the MOD’s desire to keep her intact and in UK hands seemed odd – they have not shown any desire to preserve ships from other classes that also have thousands of former crew such as a Type 42 or Type 22. Additionally the UK does not have a good record of preserving warships as museums – sadly including ship from World War Two.

On a more practical note, where will her flight deck party go? The number of RN/RFA ships than can operate multiple helicopters is very low so where do they go? How do we give people the experience of a busy flight deck or operating multiple aircraft from a ship? Preparing people for a busy flight deck is a very important part of preparing for CVF.

How will we do any thing like Exercise Deep Blue (http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2014/june/16/140616-exercise-deep-blue) – surely it would be better to continue conducting major ASW exercises with a large number of helicopters? A few months ago MOD announced that to prevent a loss of skills in between the Sea King Asacs7 and Crowsnest, a small number of Sea Kings would remain in service post 2016 (http://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/news-story-new-surveillance-system-for-royal-navy-aircraft-carriers.209932/page-2#post-5747866) – but what will they fly from? Flight deck and hangar space seems to be at a premium.

[Hangarshuffle]

In the post Falklands War period. Cold War full on. Joined in Portsmouth then straight into Autumn Train (think that was it) followed by her first major refit in Portsmouth, then BOST at Portland. States trip (Philadelphia and Norfolk), a massive cold war exercise ending up in the Arctic, some decent runs around Europe. Then another mini refit, Global trip cut down by the famous gearbox explosion and fire, then repair (amazing tribute to Pompey dockies, stokers and British ship repair), Far East, Auz and home for leave and draft. 30 months and the happiest time of my very young life.
A different time or age and a different world with a different Navy, really.
A small, dedicated professional team. Suppose a lot are dead now, or old and faded.
Wonder what the top speed was of the ship? I always thought it an incredibly fast vessel.
But she is now of the past and its time, as ever, to keep moving on.


Dits wise (some people on here saw this also, or were involved and can explain better than me), I saw (or heard over broadcast of course) SHAR FRS1 crash up in Scotland, an 849 NAS SK ditch (lack of fuel) in the Atlantic, witnessed the stbd oleo collapse on a recovering 820 NAS Sea King (mid Atlantic in the middle of the night on 1 spot) which damn nearly could have decapitated me, but didn't, thanks to the reaction + skill of the young pilot - all was well in the end (RIP that great young guy), and also another SHAR launch off the ramp and snap its stbd outrigger clean off as it hit the net.
All fantastic stuff for a young lad to see, or be involved with, back in the mid 1980's.

[Hangarshuffle]

The Flight Deck Party and their skills will slowly fade away, and will have to be re-learnt again slowly by new young people, the slow hard way.
Don't think a lot of people on here twig on to what a difficult thing it is to do, to coordinate and run up a carrier, escorts, suppliers and its Air Group, fully and to the standard the country took for granted.
I certainly know that the politicians don't know.


Invincible had, what 14 or 15 FA2 and GR7 + helicopter support and that was hard work for a highly experienced air team to handle, in the Spring of 1999, from the NAG to the Kosova thing? All of that era of hands on operators (worth their weight) are nearly all gone, God bless them.
And that's before we even get on to the bridge teams, ops room teams.

[glad rag]

Some pics from the good old days .....

North Sea 28 June - 2 July 09
Pilots from IV Sqn RAF
Harriers from Naval Strike Wing



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMSIllustrious030_800.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/Harrier1c_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/FlightDeck1_web-1.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/FlightDeck2_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HarrierHover_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/Harrier2_web.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMSIllustrious128_800.jpg
Midnight in the North Sea


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/HMS%20Illustrious/HMS-Illustrious-201c900web.jpg
(Some distortion - pic taken from Lynx.)



HMS Illustrious and 4 Squadron RAF are both Affiliated Units of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots (http://www.airpilots.org/)



Tudor Owen

Sheer class. :ok:

[NutLoose]

Stick her in the Thames, that'll give Boris his airport and below decks she can be used as MP's accommodation


On the other side of the pond, the Saratoga is on her final trip, sold for one penny to the breakers who will earn their profit from the scrap. Must be a few nasties on board to dispose off.

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/aircraft-carrier-uss-saratoga-departs-rhode-island-final-180955342.html

[Hangarshuffle]

If for nothing for historical reasons, although where it will go...wont be easy. Such a well built ship we wont see again.
Copy the Americans and pack it with planes and helicopters and use it as a museum. Could even then tow it around the country....possible venue for meetings etc. Not easy and we have lacked the will in the past to do this.