 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2011) |
 HMS Ark Royal in 2008
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Invincible class |
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by |
|
| Succeeded by | Queen Elizabeth class |
| Built | 1973–1981 |
| In commission | 1980–2014 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light aircraft carrier |
| Displacement | 22,000 tonnes[1] |
| Length | 209 m (686 ft) |
| Beam | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Draught | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at cruising speed |
| Troops | Up to 500 Marines |
| Complement | 650 ships company, 350 air crew |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
| Aviation facilities |
|
| Notes | [3] |
The Invincible class was a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed: HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal. The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked Sea Harrier aircraft and Sea King HAS.1 anti-submarine helicopters. With cancellation of the aircraft carriers renewal programme in the 1960s, the three ships became the replacements for Ark Royal and Eagle fleet carriers and the Centaur-class light fleet carriers, and the Royal Navy's sole class of aircraft carrier.
The three vessels saw active service in a number of locations, including the South Atlantic during the Falklands War, the Adriatic during the Bosnian War, and in the Middle East for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
Invincible was decommissioned in 2005 and put in reserve in a low state of readiness.[4][5] She was sold to a Turkish scrapyard in February 2011,[6] and left Portsmouth under tow on 24 March 2011.[7] Pursuant to the Strategic Defence and Security Review, 2010, Ark Royal followed, decommissioning on 13 March 2011. This left Illustrious as the sole remaining ship, serving as a helicopter carrier from 2011 to 2014 when it was decommissioned as well.[8][9] Although the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean remained in service, the Royal Navy was without a true aircraft carrier for the first time in nearly a century, until the commissioning of the first of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in December 2017.
- ^ "HMS Illustrious". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012.
- ^ The Big Interview: Admiral Sir Alan West
- ^ "Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers, United Kingdom". Naval-technology.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
- ^ "Barrow-built Invincible thrown out of the Navy". North West Evening Mail. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ^ Rayment, Sean (28 November 2010). "Aircraft carrier HMS Invincible is put up for sale". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "HMS Invincible sold to Turkish ship recyclers". BBC News. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Towed24Mar11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ward, Victoria (11 March 2011). "Ark Royal: decommissioning marks end of a long and celebrated history". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "HMS Illustrious leaves Rosyth after £40m refit". STV. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2012.