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R 05 Invincible
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The sixth and current HMS Invincible (R05) is a light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class.
She was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. She was laid down in 1973, and launched on 3 May 1977. The ship commissioned on July 11, 1980, and joined the older carriers Hermes and Bulwark in service. Invincible was intended for sale to the Royal Australian Navy as a replacement for HMAS Melbourne (when she would likely have been renamed HMAS Australia). However, Invincible's central role in the Falklands War led to the sale being cancelled.
After 25 years of service she sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base for the last time on 1 August 2005 [1]. HMS Illustrious succeeded Invincible as the service's flagship.
The carrier's air group comprised nine Harriers and twelve helicopters (usually all Sea Kings, either ASW or AEW variants). The carriers also provide an operational headquarters for the RN task force. The runway is 170 m long and includes the characteristic "ski jump" (initially 7° it was later increased to 12°).
For defence the carrier has a number of systems. She originally had two 20 mm Raytheon Phalanx close in weapon systems, but these were upgraded to three Thales 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS; they also have two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. Countermeasures are provided by a Thales jamming system and ECM system, Seagnat launchers provide for chaff or flare decoys. Initially the carriers were also armed with a Sea Dart SAM missile system, but these were removed in order to increase the flight deck size and to allow magazine storage for Royal Air Force Harrier GR7s.
On July 6, 2005 the Ministry of Defence announced that HMS Invincible would be mothballed until 2010, available for reactivation as an active aircraft carrier at 18-months notice. She was decommissioned on August 3, 2005.
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R 06 Illustrious
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The fifth HMS Illustrious (R06) is an Invincible-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, affectionately known as 'Lusty' to her crew. She became the Fleet Flagship on 4 August 2005 after her sister ship HMS Invincible was decommisioned [1].
She was laid down at Swan Hunter on the River Tyne in 1976, and launched in 1981. As the ship neared the end of its fitting out period, the Falklands War broke out. As a consequence, work on Illustrious was greatly sped up. The war was won before Illustrious could be finished, but she did perform a useful service in the aftermath. Until the RAF airfield on the Falkland Islands was repaired, an aircraft carrier was required on station to protect the area from possible Argentine attack. Invincible had been on station for many months when Illustrious steamed to its relief. However, Illustrious was needed so quickly that the ship was actually commissioned underway. After the RAF airfield was repaired, Illustrious returned to the UK for a more proper shakedown cruise and workup period, with a formal commissioning on 20 March 1983.
The ship saw no further action during the remainder of the decade, but continued to be a valuable asset for the Royal Navy in showing the flag and participating in exercises all around the world. During those years, the ship received several enhancements during refits, including a ski-jump with a steeper angle to enable the Harriers in the air wing to takeoff with a larger payload. During an 'Extended Defect and Maintenance Period', numerous modifications were made to the ship including the removal of her Sea Dart defences at a cost of twelve million pounds. This allowed for extra deck space that enables her to carry up to 22 aircraft, including the Harrier GR.7.
During the 1990s, the main task of the aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy was helping to maintain the no-fly zone over Bosnia during that war there. All three of the navy's carriers rotated through the area. At the turn of the century, Illustrious entered a refit and emerged with another large change in configuration. The ship's Sea Dart missile system was removed to allow a large flight deck and greater stowage of ordnance for RAF Harriers that were becoming a more regular part of the air wing.
In 2000 she took part in the Operation Palliser the aim of which was to restore peace and stability to Sierra Leone in which she led a naval task force comprising HM ships - Ocean, Argyll, Iron Duke, Chatham and numerous RFA ships.
A notable combat deployment for the ship took place in late 2001. A large British exercise, Saif Sareea II took place in Oman in the autumn of 2001. During the exercise, the World Trade Center was destroyed by Al Qaida. What had been an exercise became a wartime mission. Illustrious remained in theatre while other elements of the task force returned to the United Kingdom to refit. Illustrious had elements of the Royal Marines on board, ready for possible combat operations in Afghanistan. It turned out that no deployment was made before Illustrious was relieved by Ocean in early 2002, but the ship had made a valuable contribution to British options in the conflict, providing a launching point for ground forces, had they been needed.
In mid-2003, the ship entered a further refit at Rosyth Dockyard. This refit involved the total rebuild of the ski jump, the adding of better communications and reconfiguring the ship so that it can be more quickly switched between the light aircraft carrier and helicopter carrier roles. The refit should enable her to carry on until 2012, when it is expected that the first of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will come into service. Illustrious returned to Portsmouth following the completion of the refit in December 2004.
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R 07 Ark Royal
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HMS Ark Royal (R07), the last Invincible-class light aircraft carrier to be completed, is the current flagship of the Royal Navy. She is the fifth ship of the Royal Navy named in honour of the flagship of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada.
Her keel was laid by Swan Hunter at Wallsend on 7 December 1978. She was launched on 20 June 1981 sponsored by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and commissioned on 1 November 1985. Her name was originally intended to be Indomitable in line with her sister ships (HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious), but public resentment at the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal (Britain's last large aircraft carrier) in 1980, led the Royal Navy to announce that the name would be revived on the new ship.
Ark Royal is slightly larger than her sister ships and during construction she was fitted with a steeper ski-jump ramp, (twelve degrees, as opposed to seven degrees of the Invincible) to improve STOVL take-off performance for the Harrier aircraft.
In May 1999 Ark Royal put into Rosyth for refitting, which included the removal of the Sea Dart missiles and covering over of the foredeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft. She recommissioned in 2001.
Ark Royal, commanded by Captain Alan Massey, took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq where her complement consisted of helicopters rather than her usual mix of helicopters and Harrier aircraft. During operations in the war two Westland Sea King helicopters, from No. 849 NAS, collided in mid-air with the loss of one American and six British lives. In April, 2004 Ark Royal entered into extended readiness, following which she entered refit with the return to service of Illustrious. On her return to service in 2007, Ark Royal will be utilised in the LPH role during the extended refit period of HMS Ocean.
Ark Royal is expected to remain in service until 2015, at which time she will be replaced with the second of the Royal Navy future carriers. These new vessels are expected to displace three times that of the Invincible class and offer a step change in operational capability.
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