HMS Invincible (R05)

HMS Invincible in 2005
History
United Kingdom
NameInvincible
Ordered17 April 1973
BuilderVickers Shipbuilding Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Laid downJuly 1973
Launched3 May 1977
Sponsored byQueen Elizabeth II
Commissioned11 July 1980
Decommissioned3 August 2005
Stricken10 September 2010
HomeportHMNB Portsmouth
Identification
Nickname(s)"Vince"[1]
FateScrapped 2011[2]
BadgeBadge of HMS Invincible (R05)
General characteristics
Class and typeInvincible-class aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 16,000 t (16,000 long tons) (light)[3]
  • 22,000 t (22,000 long tons) fully loaded
Length689 ft (210 m)
Beam118.1 ft (36.0 m)
Draught28.9 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) max
Range7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement1,051 total, including 726 ship's company and 384 Air Group personnel
Armament
Aircraft carried

HMS Invincible was the Royal Navy's lead ship of her class of three light aircraft carriers. She was launched on 3 May 1977 as the seventh ship to carry the name. She was originally designated as an anti-submarine warfare carrier, but was used as an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, when she was deployed with HMS Hermes. She took over as flagship of the British fleet when Hermes was sold to India. Invincible was also deployed in the Yugoslav Wars and the Iraq War. During the Falklands Conflict, Argentinian media reported Invincible as sunk on several occasions. In 2005, she was decommissioned, and was eventually sold for scrap in February 2011.[5]

  1. ^ "Sea Harriers still in business". Navy News. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sale was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Invincible Recycling Report" (PDF). DE&S. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  4. ^ The Big Interview: Admiral Sir Alan West
  5. ^ "HMS Invincible sold for scrap to Turkish ship recyclers". BBC News. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.