Free Republic

Britain's last working aircraft carrier and the final surviving warship from the Falklands War is heading for the scrapyard. At least three proposals to preserve HMS Illustrious for alternative uses have failed due to her size and the cost of maintenance. The ship, decommissioned in 2014, is now likely to follow its sister carriers and be sent to Turkey for scrap. HMS Ark Royal was scrapped for £2.9 million in 2013 and HMS Invincible fetched around £2 million in 2011. It is thought the ship, which was rushed in to service for the Falklands War and went on to sail...

LONDON, - The British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal can be yours, courtesy of the U.K. Ministry of Defense auction Web site, authorities said. The former flagship of the Royal Navy was decommissioned two weeks ago years as part of the government's defense budget review after serving with the fleet for 25, the BBC reported. Interested auction bidders can view Ark Royal at her home port, Portsmouth Naval Base, on May 3 and 4, authorities said. Bidders wishing to inspect the carrier must submit an outline of their "intentions regarding the vessel" to the Ministry of Defense, the BBC said....

British Government to Scrap Aircraft Carrier 2010-12-16 06:59:44 Xinhua Web Editor: Luo The British government announced on Wednesday that it would scrap an aircraft carrier in 2014. The vessel, HMS Illustrious, will be scrapped as part of cuts in military spending that will total 7.8 percent of the overall budget of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) over the coming four years, Defense Secretary Liam Fox told members of parliament here. The budget cuts in military spending have already seen another aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, which is Illustrious' sister ship, retired last week, several years earlier than originally planned. Wednesday...

THE Navy’s flagship deployment of 2010 is underway… with the nation’s flagship kicking it off. HMS Ark Royal departed Portsmouth on a glorious spring morning as the Auriga 2010 deployment to the Eastern Seaboard of North America began. When the exercise reaches its peak off Florida in July, it will see the carrier joined by HMS Ocean and Albion, plus American assault ship USS Kearsarge (a combination of Ark/Ocean, but twice the size…). The road to Florida begins in rather chillier climes, however. Ark’s first ‘stomping ground’ on the deployment is the west coast of Scotland and the regular Joint...

Updated Ark Royal sails back to sea with new muscle SHÂN ROSS THE Royal Navy's biggest warship passed under the Forth Bridge and headed out for sea trials yesterday after a comprehensive £25 million refit to transform her into the service's only combined troop and aircraft carrier. HMS Ark Royal has had an internal refurbishment which will enable her to transport up to 600 Royal Marines to any flashpoint in the world. The impressive aircraft carrier is now considered "one of a kind" following the £25 million upgrade at Babcock's shipyard in Rosyth, Fife. The upgrade includes a third mast...

From Richard Hargreaves, of The News, Portsmouth- on board HMS Ark Royal MILITARY leaders have axed the BBC from the nation's flagship amid claims of pro-Iraqi bias.The Navy has taken rolling news show News 24 off the air on the HMS Ark Royal after weeks of grumbling from crew.Sailors on the Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier have become increasingly disenchanted with the BBC's slant on the war.They claim the news organisation places more faith in Iraqi reports than information coming from British or Allied sources."The BBC always takes the Iraqis' side," one senior rating complained."It reports what they say as gospel but when it...