Posted on 01/10/2011 10:51:21 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
HMS Nightclub: Pride of the Fleet may become a Chinese disco
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:44 AM on 8th January 2011
Nearly 30 years ago she was at the heart of the Royal Navy task force that drove the Argentine army from the Falkland Islands.
Harrier jets roared from the flight deck of HMS Invincible to wrest control of the skies from the invaders’ Mirage fighters.
Soon, however, the vast hanger of the aircraft carrier that once echoed to the clatter of planes is being rearmed for their next sortie, may well be throbbing to the beat of a sound system.
A Chinese restaurant tycoon wants to turn the venerable warship into a vast nightclub.
Kin Bong Lam, chairman of the Wing Wah Chinese restaurant empire, has submitted a £5million bid to the Ministry of Defence for Invincible.
The carrier, once flagship of the British fleet, is currently languishing in Portsmouth’s dockyard with her engines stripped out and propellers lying on deck.
Stripped of parts to keep her sister ships at sea, the ship was decommissioned in 2005 and is now up for sale.
Mr Lam said he wants to buy the Invincible through his South China company Sunway Yachts and move her to China for renovation.
The Birmingham-based tycoon said: ‘The MoD has said that it cannot be used for military purposes but I do think we can make good use of the vessel without it being scrapped.
‘I am sure that the Royal Navy will be very proud if we can create something that will be of use for people in the future.
‘The Invincible has a very distinguished history.’
He said Invincible would moved to China for conversion. He was also considering turning the
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The question is whether countries like India and Japan have enough manpower to effectively utilise ships of the Nimitz/Kennedy class. There’s a reason why only the USN builds such ships. The Russian Admiral Kuznetsov, which is the largest non-US carrier has a complement of about 2000, which is less than half the number of men found on a Nimitz class ship.
Then of course there’s the need for plenty of escort and replenishment vessels. You can’t build and deploy those within a short period.
I went on board the Invincible in the late ‘90s. The O club on that ship was spectacular.
“Yep. And I was told they (Japan) have some prior experience with Naval Aviation.”
They do, but they crashed a lot of planes.
“Oh, yes, and something the Japanese didn’t have, and cost them plenty, very, very competent damage control.”
That’s the Achilles Heel for a ChiCom fleet is damage control. They’re unable to compose damage control strategies because such things are considered ‘defeatist’, ‘counter-revolutionary’, and they’re also considered a recognition of foreign military superiority. Very short political and military careers are in store for Chinese who advance the ideas of damage control.
If it weren’t for the Falklands war, the Invincible would now be flying an Australian flag.
http://www.harrier.org.uk/history/history_SHARdownunder.htm
Sorry, it was the late ‘70s or early ‘80s.
And England itself is going to turn itself into a Disney Theme-Park: Come visit England-Land!
Thanks Labour!
And how exactly can we be sure that the Chinese aren’t focussing on damage control and increased safety??? That was probably the case till probably during the Cultural revolution and most older Chinese ships and it is evident in the safety record of some of their obsolete subs.
It doesn’t take much common sense to think they would employ standard safety measures on all their new ships. For the simple reason that they are damn expensive. If they were still obsessed with revolutionary warfare, they wouldn’t be streamlining their infantry.
Bingo!
How much you wanna bet that the Japanese already have some basic plans for a carrier. And pilots have already made simulated flights. The Japanese are still far ahead of the Chinese in terms of technology, and it would not surprise me about how fast the Japanese get back up to speed.
Yea, right, and the Russian carrier that’s just getting ready for sea trials, was going to be a floating casino.
Huh, huh..... Sure.
Agreed
If memory serves a Chinese businessman bought the Varyag from Russia, claiming he was going to make a casino out of it. Now they want to buy Invincible to make a disco?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.