.jpg) HMSArk Royal alongside atPortsmouth in 2007 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Ark Royal |
| Namesake | The1587 flagship that defeated theSpanish Armada in 1588,Ark Royal |
| Ordered | December 1978 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
| Laid down | 14 December 1978 |
| Launched | 2 June 1981 |
| Sponsored by | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |
| Commissioned | 1 November 1985 |
| Decommissioned | 11 March 2011[1][2][3] |
| Refit |
|
| Homeport | HMNB Portsmouth |
| Identification |
|
| Motto | Zeal Does Not Rest |
| Nickname(s) | The Mighty Ark |
| Honours & awards | Al Faw 2003 |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Invincible-classaircraft carrier |
| Displacement | 22,000 tons[5] |
| Length | 210 m (689.0 ft) (689 ft) |
| Beam | 36 m (118.1 ft) |
| Draught | 7.5 m (24.6 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)+ |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
HMSArk Royal was alight aircraft carrier and formerflagship of theRoyal Navy.[7] She was the third and final vessel of theInvincible class. She was built bySwan Hunter on theRiver Tyne andlaunched by them in 1981.Ark Royal was christened byQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She followedsister shipsHMS Invincible andHMS Illustrious into service in 1985.
Affectionately known asThe Mighty Ark, she is the fifth Royal Navy ship to have borne the name of the1587 flagship that defeated theSpanish Armada in 1588.[8] Originally intended to be namedIndomitable[9] to match the rest of the class, this was changed due to the public reaction to the loss of theArk Royal name after the scrapping of thepreviousArk Royal in 1980, after 30 years' service.[10][11]
Slightly larger than her sister ships, and with a steeperski-jump ramp,Ark Royal carried theSTOVL (short take off and vertical landing)Harrier jump jet aircraft, as well as various helicopters. With a crew complement of over 1,000 sailors and aviators, she saw active service in the 1990sBosnian War and the2003 Invasion of Iraq.
Originally due to be retired in 2016,Ark Royal was insteaddecommissioned on 11 March 2011, as part of theNavy restructuring portion of the2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.[12] AfterArk Royal's decommissioning,HMS Albion replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship.[13]Ark Royal was sold forscrap to the Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling and leftPortsmouth in May 2013.[14]
The aircraft carrier'skeel waslaid bySwan Hunter atWallsend on 7 December 1978. She waslaunched on 2 June 1981[15] sponsored byThe Queen Mother andcommissioned on 1 November 1985. Originally intended asIndomitable in line with her sister shipsInvincible andIllustrious, public resentment at the scrapping of the previousArk Royal (the UK's last large aircraft carrier up to that date) in 1980 led theRoyal Navy to announce that the name would be revived on the new ship. The unfinishedArk Royal was reportedly offered for sale to theRoyal Australian Navy in 1981.[16] HMSInvincible was later offered for sale instead.
Ark Royal was deployed in 1993 to theAdriatic Sea during theBosnian War under the command ofCaptain Terry Loughran RN (laterrear admiral). In May 1999, she was put intoRosyth for refitting, which included the removal of theSea Dartsurface-to-air missiles and covering over of theforedeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft.
She was recommissioned on 22 November 2001 by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She sailed to thePersian Gulf for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. She was commanded by CaptainAlan Massey (laterVice Admiral andSecond Sea Lord) and sailed with a complement consisting of helicopters alone rather than her usual mix of helicopters andHarrier aircraft. During one of the operations in the war, twoWestland Sea King helicopters from849 Naval Air Squadron collided with each other in mid-air, resulting in the loss of six British and one American.[17] Her deployment to the gulf was filmed throughout by Shine TV for aChannel 5 documentary entitled 'Ark Royal'.
In April 2004,Ark Royal entered into extended readiness, following which she entered refit with theIllustrious returning to service. Once her refit was completed, she received a new captain (Captain Mike Mansergh) in August 2006.Ark Royal then returned toPortsmouth to rejoin the fleet on 28 October 2006, where she underwent ten weeks of training andsea trials before being utilised as alanding platform helicopter, replacingOcean while she underwent a refit. On 16 November 2006, a British ArmyWAH-64 Apache attack helicopter landed onArk Royal for the first time marking an increase in the carrier's capability.[18]
On 22 March 2007,Ark Royal was returned to the Royal Navy Fleet after a two-year refit worth £18 million. In May 2007, she once again became the Fleet Flagship, reclaiming the title from her sister ship,Illustrious, which had been flagship since the end of her refit in 2005. On 31 July 2008, Mansergh was relieved as captain by CaptainJohn Clink.[19] In October 2008,Ark Royal was a participant inExercise Joint Warrior 08-2. In January 2009,Ark Royal visitedLiverpool and then theRiver Tyne, where she was built. Her voyage from Portsmouth to Liverpool was made with 108 Cadets from the Sea Cadet Corps and the Combined Cadet Force embarked.[20]
During theair travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, the thenPrime Minister,Gordon Brown, assignedArk Royal andOcean to rescue stranded travellers across theEnglish Channel inOperation Cunningham.[21] In June 2010,Ark Royal was inHalifax, Nova Scotia, to take part in theRoyal Canadian Navy Centennial Celebrations, where she was visited by Prime MinisterDavid Cameron on his way to theG20summit in Toronto. During this time, anV-22 Osprey visited the ship, again increasing its capabilities.
On 19 October 2010,BBC News reported that the ship was to be decommissioned and scrapped earlier than expected, as part of the coalition government's spending review, and that an 8% cut to the British defence budget was expected to be announced later that week, only to be replaced in the long run withHMS Prince of Wales.[22][23] A campaign was begun in November 2010 to retain the nameArk Royal for one of the new carriers.[24] On 3 December 2010, the amphibious warfare shipHMS Albion was announced asArk Royal's successor as the Royal Navy's flagship.[25] In recognition of the ship's decommissioning,Portsmouth F.C. added the ship's motto to its 2011/12 season kit.[26]
On the evening of 19 October, the ship arrived at Portsmouth ready to be decommissioned andlaid up.[27] On 5 November she was visited byQueen Elizabeth at Portsmouth[28] before sailing toLoch Long for the removal of all her munitions. She then left theRiver Clyde on 17 November[29][30] on her final voyage before decommissioning, visitingNorth Shields on 18–22 November[31] andHamburg for five days from 25 November. The latter was her last overseas visit, repeating a previous one in 2007.[32] During the voyage, she launched fourHarrier GR9s for the last time in the North Sea on 24 November.[33]
| Final air wing 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Squadron | Aircraft type | Number of aircraft | Role |
| 800 NAS | Harrier GR9 | 4 | Strike |
| 1 Sqn | |||
| 814 NAS | Merlin HM1 | 7 | Anti-Submarine Warfare |
| 854 NAS | Sea King ASaC7 | 3 | Airborne Surveillance and Control |
The ship then sailed from Hamburg back into Portsmouth, arriving at 9.40 am on 3 December 2010 flying adecommissioning pennant.[34] A Harrier flypast to mark the occasion was planned, but was postponed due to bad weather.[35] A farewell parade by her captain and crew was held inGuildhall Square in Portsmouth on 22 January 2011[36][37] and another inLeeds, the latter being a Freedom of the City parade.[38] Her formal decommissioning occurred at Portsmouth on 11 March 2011.[39] She was then to have sailed toRosyth orGovan,[40][41][42] but was instead de-stored at Portsmouth in late March after her decommissioning, with her last crew members leaving her by 25 May.[43]
AMinistry of Defence spokesperson stated on 1 December 2010 that, "All options are being considered in terms of what happens to theArk Royal after it is decommissioned. We might also look at scrapping it, selling it or recycling it." Other options explored were to moor her as a hotel, casino,museum ship orvisitor attraction at theRoyal Docks in east London[42] or atMablethorpe in Lincolnshire,[43][44] along the lines ofUSS Intrepid orHMS Belfast. The annual cost of running the ship as a museum was estimated at £1 million.[45] Another option explored was to moor her as a floatinghelipad in London'sRoyal Albert Dock,[46] though that would have been against theLondon Plan to create no new helipads in London.[47] Another option considered was to turnArk Royal into ahospital ship with the ability to respond to humanitarian disasters.[48] The possibility ofscuttlingArk Royal off the Devonshire coast as anartificial reef was also discussed.[49]
On 28 March 2011, theMinistry of Defence placed the decommissionedArk Royal up for sale by auction, with 6 July as the final date for tenders.[50] In June 2012, the MoD confirmed it had not reached a decision on the sale of the ship, following the submission of bids nearly a year previously.[51] In September 2012, the announcement was made that the ship had been sold to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey forscrapping, for the sum of £2.9m.[52]Ark Royal left Portsmouth on 20 May 2013 to be taken to Leyal Ship Recycling.[53] The ship was towed to scrapyard on 10 June 2013 inAliağa.[54]
