She was the Royal Navy aircraft carrier that
carried a nation into battle.
A hero of the Falklands War, she was a proud veteran
of a generation of conflicts spanning the globe - providing support to British
troops in Iraq , the former Yugoslavia
But HMS Invincible, once the pride of the country's
feared fleet, is sadly now a shadow of her former self.
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Memories: Tiny remains of the once magnificent
22,000 tonne ship have been turned into commemorative plaques for a select few
former crew members
|
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Destroyed: Engineers are currently tearing the
vessel, which was decommissioned six years ago, into thousands of one metre
square blocks of steel in the Turkish
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And to prove it, tiny remains of the once
magnificent 22,000 tonne ship have been turned into commemorative plaques for a
select few former crew members.
Engineers are currently tearing the vessel, which
was decommissioned six years ago, into thousands of one metre square blocks of
steel in the Turkish port
of Aliaga
She could eventually be recycled into girders for
buildings, bridge cables, chairs or even razor blades.
The Ministry of Defence awarded Turkish ship
breaking company Leyal the contract to scrap the Invincible in February this
year, after an eBay style online auction.
 |
Pride: A hero of the Falklands War, the HMS
Invincible was a proud veteran of a generation of conflicts spanning the globe
- providing support to British troops in
|
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Warrior: Launched by the Queen in 1977, HMS
Invincible was the flagship of
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Launched by the Queen in 1977, HMS Invincible was
the flagship of Britain
Half a million people turned out to welcome her
triumphal homecoming in 1982, including the Queen herself.
She was there both as Head of the Armed Forces and
proud mother. Prince Andrew was on board as a helicopter pilot.
In March 2011 just 50 turned out on the quayside at
Portsmouth
The Royal Navy had made no announcement about the
farewell and did not even lay on a piper.
It fell to a lone standard-bearer from the Royal
British Legion and a few well-wishers to pay tribute.
Leyal engineers have also dismantled several other
high profile British naval vessels.
They include Type 42 destroyers HMS Cardiff, HMS
Newcastle and HMS Glasgow - at their ship graveyard near the city of Izmir
The company website boasts that the 5 hectares of
land dedicated to dismantling is capable of handling 100,000 tonnes of shipping
a year.
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As she was: The HMS Invincible pictured entering her final docking place in the Port of
|
HMS
INVINCIBLE: IN NUMBERS
Built at Vickers Shipbuilding in Barrow-in-Furness , Cumbria
She was
laid down in 1973 and entered active service in 1980.
Was due to be sold to Australia
Decommissioned
in 2005 after 32 years of service.
210 metres long, 46 metres tall and weighed 22,000
tonnes.
560ft
long runway and a top speed of 28 knots.
Could carry nine Hawker Harriers and 12 Sea King
helicopters
Carried
1,051 people - 726 ship's company and 384 Air Group personnel
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Sea
power: A line of Sea Harrier FA2 fighters stand ready aboard the HMS Invincible
at al-Rashid port in
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Leyal's breaking yards are located in the
industrial heartland of Turkey
 |
Blast
from the past: 'Vince' pictured as she returned home from the
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Source: Daily Mail. By LEE MORAN. 5 April 2012
2 comments:
I am so sorry for your ship dude, but, did you ever ask yourself why this happened to this beloved and once proud of the the british navy? Well, I will tell you (in the case that you never figured it out). This was not your REAL hms Invincible. The real Vince is sunk on the south atlantic water, after receiving an attack from the Argentine air force and Navy planes. She was hit by an Exocet missile, launched by the Argentines Super Etendard and then, she was hit by at least three bombs from two Skyhawks from the FAA. That is why your government rushed to sell the ship for scrapping, instead of making her a floting museum as so many people from UK claimed. This way, all the proofs that it was a replacement from the real Vince have gone forever. Just think for a second, that 30 of June of 1982 the ship was badly hit and sunk to be found hard to repair in the middle of the south atlantic, putting on risk to the crew and the rest of the carrier group. So, the navy decided to sink it and then, the government managed to cover the attack with an spectacular replacement. That is why there are no photos from Vince after 30 of June and also, that is the reason why it came to Southampton three, yes, THREE months later as the gloriuos ship which leaded the task force to triumph. My deepest sorry for you my friend, wake up and see the truth. Greetings from Argentina.
As the island of Crete was about to fall to German forces,the New Zealand General Freyberg called on Royal Navy to evacuate his troops. When the Scot Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham agreed to do so one of his aides warned him that he would be placing his ships in great danger. Cunningham rounded on him and said,"It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It would take 300 years to rebuild a tradition."
Sorry, my Argentinian idiot, you have been listening to your own country's broadcast of propoganda.
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