Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers
HMS Ark Royal V R07
Royal Navy 'Invincible' class aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal V R07 leaves Devonport Naval Base at Western Kings on 27th August 1991, having attended the 1991 Navy Days at Devonport. HMS Ark Royal was the fifth ship to bare the name Ark Royal and the third and final member of the 'Invincible' class. Originally intended to be called Indomitable, her name was changed after the public sadness at the scrapping of her iconic namesake, Ark Royal IV in 1979. Built by Swan Hunters at Wallsend Shipyard, she was launched by HM The Queen Mother on 2nd June 1981, and entered into service with the Royal Navy service on 1st July 1985, and during her 25 years of service was involved with conflicts in the Adriatic and during the Bosnian and Iraq wars, finally being decommissioned on 11th March 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auKVdl0T-to
HMS Illustrious R06
Viewed from Torpoint, the Royal Navy's last 'Invincible' class aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious R06, makes a final visit to Devonport Naval Base as part of FOST on 1st June 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBbUblULs0c
Viewed from a Dockyard Boat Tour, we see the last surviving Invincible class Aircraft Carrier of the Royal Navy, HMS Illustrious R06 and RFA Gold Rover A271 berthed at Devonport Naval Base on 1st June 2013.
With the sad news that HMS Illustrious R06 will shortly be leaving the UK for the breaker's yard, I thought I would re-post this video of when she departed Devonport for the final time on 3rd June 2013 as part of FOST. Will Devonport ever see a RN aircraft carrier again? With the new carriers commonly considered too big to enter Devonport, I think its doubtful. Such a pity Illustrious couldn't have been preserved or at the very least held in strategic reserve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN8jFKRvxjo