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HMS Ark Royal (R07)
Encyclopedia
HMS Ark Royal is a decommissioned light aircraft carrier
and former flagship
of the Royal Navy
. She was the third and final vessel of Invincible-class
. Built by Swan Hunter
s on the River Tyne
and launched in 1981 by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, she followed sister ships HMS Invincible
and HMS Illustrious
into service in 1985.
Affectionately known as The Mighty Ark, she is the fifth Royal Navy ship to have borne the name of the 1587 flagship
that defeated the Spanish Armada
in 1588. Originally intended to be named Indomitable to match the rest of the class, this was changed due to the public reaction to the loss of the Ark Royal name after the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal
in 1980, after 30 years' service. (Another view holds that with the 1980s public acknowledgement that their Invincible-class ships were aircraft carriers, rather than having to use terms such as 'through-deck cruiser,' the Royal Navy could give the ship a traditional aircraft carrier name.)
Slightly larger than her sister ships, and with a steeper ski-jump ramp, Ark Royal carried the STOVL
(Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) Harrier Jump Jet
aircraft, as well as various helicopters. With a crew complement of over 1,000 sailors and aviators, she saw active service in the 1990s Bosnian War
and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
.
Originally due to be retired in 2016, Ark Royal was instead decommissioned on Friday 11 March 2011, as part of the Navy restructuring portion of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review
. After Invincible was decommissioned in 2005, and with the retiring of Illustrious expected in 2014, Royal Navy aircraft carrier usage will continue with at least one ship of the under-construction Queen Elizabeth class. After Ark Royal's decommissioning HMS Albion
replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship.
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. Originally intended as Indomitable
in line with her sister ships (Invincible
and Illustrious
), public resentment at the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal
(Britain's last large aircraft carrier up to that date) in 1980 led the Royal Navy
to announce that the name would be revived on the new ship. The unfinished Ark Royal was reportedly offered for sale to the Royal Australian Navy
in 1981. HMS Invincible
was later offered for sale instead.
). In May 1999 she put into Rosyth
for refitting, which included the removal of the Sea Dart missile
s and covering over of the foredeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft. She was recommissioned in 2001. She sailed to the Persian Gulf
for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq in 2003, commanded by Captain Alan Massey
(later Vice Admiral
and Second Sea Lord
) and with a complement consisting of helicopters alone rather than her usual mix of helicopters and Harrier aircraft. During operations in the war two Westland Sea King
helicopters, from 849 Naval Air Squadron, collided in mid-air with the loss of six British and one American lives. Her deployment to the gulf was filmed throughout by Shine TV for a Channel 5 documentary entitled 'Ark Royal'.
In April 2004 Ark Royal entered into extended readiness, following which she entered refit with the return to service of Illustrious. Ark Royal completed an extensive refit and received a new captain (Captain Mike Mansergh) in August 2006, then returned to Portsmouth, her home port, to rejoin the fleet on 28 October 2006 where she underwent 10 weeks of training and sea trials before being utilised as a landing platform helicopter, replacing Ocean
while she underwent a refit. On 16 November 2006 a British Army WAH-64 Apache
attack helicopter landed on Ark Royal for the first time marking an increase in the carrier's capability.
On 22 March 2007, Ark Royal was returned to the Royal Navy Fleet after a two-year refit worth £18 million. As of May 2007, she once again became the Fleet Flagship, reclaiming the title from her sister ship, Illustrious
, which had been Flagship since the end of her refit in 2005. On 31 July 2008, Mansergh was relieved as captain by Captain John Clink. In October 2008, Ark Royal was a participant in Exercise Joint Warrior 08-2. In January 2009 Ark Royal visited Liverpool
and then the River Tyne
, where she was built. Her voyage from Portsmouth to Liverpool was made with 108 Cadets from the Sea Cadet Corps and the Combined Cadet Force embarked.
, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown
assigned Ark Royal and Ocean
to rescue stranded travellers across the English Channel
in Operation Cunningham
. In June 2010 Ark Royal was in Halifax, Nova Scotia to take part in the Royal Canadian Navy Centennial Celebrations, where she was visited by British Prime Minister
David Cameron
on his way to the G20
summit in Toronto
. During this time a V22 Osprey visited the ship, again increasing its capabilities.
On 19 October 2010, BBC News
reported that the ship was to be decommissioned and scrapped earlier than expected, as part of the coalition government's spending review and expected 8% cut to the British defence budget to be announced later that week, to be replaced in the long run with HMS Prince of Wales. A campaign was begun in November 2010 to retain the name Ark Royal for one of the new carriers. On 3 December 2010, the amphibious warfare ship HMS Albion
was announced as the Ark Royal's successor as the Royal Navy's flagship
.
On the evening of 19 October, the ship arrived at Portsmouth ready to be decommissioned and laid up. On 5 November she was visited by Queen Elizabeth
at Portsmouth before sailing to Loch Long
for the removal of all her munitions. She then left the River Clyde
on 17 November on her final voyage before decommissioning, visiting North Shields
on 18–22 November and Hamburg
for five days from 25 November. The latter was her last overseas visit, repeating a previous one in 2007. During the voyage she launched four Harrier GR9s for the last time in the North Sea on 24 November. She then sailed from Hamburg back into Portsmouth, arriving at 9.40 am on 3 December 2010 flying a decommissioning pennant, though bad weather prevented a Harrier flypast to mark the occasion. A farewell parade by her captain and crew was held in Guildhall Square
in Portsmouth on 22 January 2011 and another in Leeds
, the latter being a Freedom of the City parade.
Her formal decommissioning occurred at Portsmouth on 11 March 2011. She was then to have sailed to Rosyth
or Govan
, but instead de-stored at Portsmouth in late March after her decommissioning, with her last crew members leaving her by 25 May.
A Ministry of Defence
spokesperson stated on 1 December 2010 that:
Other options being explored are to moor her as a hotel, casino, museum ship
or visitor attraction at the Royal Docks
in east London or at Mablethorpe
in Lincolnshire, along the lines of USS Intrepid
or HMS Belfast
. The annual cost of running the ship as a museum has been estimated at £1 million. Another option being explored is to moor her as a floating helipad
in London's Royal Albert Dock
, though it is against the London Plan
to create new helipads in London There is also the possibility of scuttling Ark Royal off the Devonshire coast as an artificial reef
.
On 28 March 2011 the Ministry of Defence
placed the decommissioned Ark Royal up for sale by auction, with 6 July as the final date for tenders.
In recognition of the decommissioning of the Ark Royal, Portsmouth
has added the ship's motto to its 2011/12 season kit.
Light aircraft carrier
A light aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier that is smaller than the standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft only ½ to ⅔ the size of a full-sized or "fleet" carrier.-History:In World War II, the...
and former flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was the third and final vessel of Invincible-class
Invincible class aircraft carrier
The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked...
. Built by Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
s on the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
and launched in 1981 by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, she followed sister ships HMS Invincible
HMS Invincible (R05)
HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
and HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (R06)
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
into service in 1985.
Affectionately known as The Mighty Ark, she is the fifth Royal Navy ship to have borne the name of the 1587 flagship
HMS Ark Royal (1587)
Ark RoyalThe HMS prefix was not used until the middle of the eighteenth century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively was an English galleon, originally ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh and later purchased by the crown for service in the Royal Navy...
that defeated the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in 1588. Originally intended to be named Indomitable to match the rest of the class, this was changed due to the public reaction to the loss of the Ark Royal name after the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (R09)
HMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
in 1980, after 30 years' service. (Another view holds that with the 1980s public acknowledgement that their Invincible-class ships were aircraft carriers, rather than having to use terms such as 'through-deck cruiser,' the Royal Navy could give the ship a traditional aircraft carrier name.)
Slightly larger than her sister ships, and with a steeper ski-jump ramp, Ark Royal carried the STOVL
STOVL
STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically...
(Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) Harrier Jump Jet
Harrier Jump Jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is a family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations...
aircraft, as well as various helicopters. With a crew complement of over 1,000 sailors and aviators, she saw active service in the 1990s Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
Originally due to be retired in 2016, Ark Royal was instead decommissioned on Friday 11 March 2011, as part of the Navy restructuring portion of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review
Strategic Defence and Security Review
The Strategic Defence and Security Review was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010...
. After Invincible was decommissioned in 2005, and with the retiring of Illustrious expected in 2014, Royal Navy aircraft carrier usage will continue with at least one ship of the under-construction Queen Elizabeth class. After Ark Royal's decommissioning HMS Albion
HMS Albion (L14)
HMS Albion is a Landing Platform Dock of the Royal Navy, the first of the two-ship Albion class. Built by BAE Systems Marine in Barrow-in-Furness, Albion was launched in March 2001 by the Princess Royal...
replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship.
Construction
Her keel was laid by Swan HunterSwan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
at Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
on 7 December 1978. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 20 June 1981 sponsored by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 1 November 1985. Originally intended as Indomitable
HMS Indomitable
Two warships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Indomitable: was the first battlecruiser in the world, beating sister ship by four months. She was launched in 1907 and scrapped in 1922. was an Illustrious-class armoured fleet aircraft carrier launched in 1940...
in line with her sister ships (Invincible
HMS Invincible (R05)
HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
and Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (R06)
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
), public resentment at the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (R09)
HMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
(Britain's last large aircraft carrier up to that date) in 1980 led the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to announce that the name would be revived on the new ship. The unfinished Ark Royal was reportedly offered for sale to the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
in 1981. HMS Invincible
HMS Invincible (R05)
HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
was later offered for sale instead.
1993–2003
Ark Royal was deployed in 1993 to the Adriatic during the Bosnian War under the command of Captain Terry Loughran RN (later Rear AdmiralRear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
). In May 1999 she put into Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
for refitting, which included the removal of the Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
s and covering over of the foredeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft. She was recommissioned in 2001. She sailed to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq in 2003, commanded by Captain Alan Massey
Alan Massey (Royal Navy officer)
Vice Admiral Sir Alan Michael Massey, KCB, CBE is a former senior officer in the Royal Navy who served as the Second Sea Lord.-Naval career:...
(later Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
and Second Sea Lord
Second Sea Lord
The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord , is one of the most senior admirals of the British Royal Navy , and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were...
) and with a complement consisting of helicopters alone rather than her usual mix of helicopters and Harrier aircraft. During operations in the war two Westland Sea King
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
helicopters, from 849 Naval Air Squadron, collided in mid-air with the loss of six British and one American lives. Her deployment to the gulf was filmed throughout by Shine TV for a Channel 5 documentary entitled 'Ark Royal'.
2004–2009
HMS Ocean (L12)
HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an amphibious assault ship , the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force...
while she underwent a refit. On 16 November 2006 a British Army WAH-64 Apache
Westland WAH-64 Apache
The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army's Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil, Somerset in England from...
attack helicopter landed on Ark Royal for the first time marking an increase in the carrier's capability.
On 22 March 2007, Ark Royal was returned to the Royal Navy Fleet after a two-year refit worth £18 million. As of May 2007, she once again became the Fleet Flagship, reclaiming the title from her sister ship, Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (R06)
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
, which had been Flagship since the end of her refit in 2005. On 31 July 2008, Mansergh was relieved as captain by Captain John Clink. In October 2008, Ark Royal was a participant in Exercise Joint Warrior 08-2. In January 2009 Ark Royal visited Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and then the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
, where she was built. Her voyage from Portsmouth to Liverpool was made with 108 Cadets from the Sea Cadet Corps and the Combined Cadet Force embarked.
2010–2011
During the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptionAir travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption
In response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
assigned Ark Royal and Ocean
HMS Ocean (L12)
HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an amphibious assault ship , the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force...
to rescue stranded travellers across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in Operation Cunningham
Operation Cunningham
Operation Cunningham was a naval operation in April 2010 by units of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom to ship British military personnel and air passengers stranded in continental Europe by the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption...
. In June 2010 Ark Royal was in Halifax, Nova Scotia to take part in the Royal Canadian Navy Centennial Celebrations, where she was visited by British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
on his way to the G20
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
summit in Toronto
2010 G-20 Toronto summit
The 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G-20 heads of government, in discussion of the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 26–27, 2010...
. During this time a V22 Osprey visited the ship, again increasing its capabilities.
On 19 October 2010, BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
reported that the ship was to be decommissioned and scrapped earlier than expected, as part of the coalition government's spending review and expected 8% cut to the British defence budget to be announced later that week, to be replaced in the long run with HMS Prince of Wales. A campaign was begun in November 2010 to retain the name Ark Royal for one of the new carriers. On 3 December 2010, the amphibious warfare ship HMS Albion
HMS Albion (L14)
HMS Albion is a Landing Platform Dock of the Royal Navy, the first of the two-ship Albion class. Built by BAE Systems Marine in Barrow-in-Furness, Albion was launched in March 2001 by the Princess Royal...
was announced as the Ark Royal's successor as the Royal Navy's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
.
On the evening of 19 October, the ship arrived at Portsmouth ready to be decommissioned and laid up. On 5 November she was visited by Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
at Portsmouth before sailing to Loch Long
Loch Long
Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles...
for the removal of all her munitions. She then left the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
on 17 November on her final voyage before decommissioning, visiting North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
on 18–22 November and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
for five days from 25 November. The latter was her last overseas visit, repeating a previous one in 2007. During the voyage she launched four Harrier GR9s for the last time in the North Sea on 24 November. She then sailed from Hamburg back into Portsmouth, arriving at 9.40 am on 3 December 2010 flying a decommissioning pennant, though bad weather prevented a Harrier flypast to mark the occasion. A farewell parade by her captain and crew was held in Guildhall Square
Portsmouth Guildhall
Portsmouth Guildhall is the biggest events venue in the Hampshire city of Portsmouth in England. The building, completed in 1890, was designed in the neo-classical style by architect William Hill, who had earlier been responsible for the design of the town hall in Bolton...
in Portsmouth on 22 January 2011 and another in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, the latter being a Freedom of the City parade.
Her formal decommissioning occurred at Portsmouth on 11 March 2011. She was then to have sailed to Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
or Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, but instead de-stored at Portsmouth in late March after her decommissioning, with her last crew members leaving her by 25 May.
After decommissioning
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
spokesperson stated on 1 December 2010 that:
Other options being explored are to moor her as a hotel, casino, museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
or visitor attraction at the Royal Docks
Royal Docks
The Royal Docks comprise three docks in east London - the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Dockyards, Royal being due to their naming after royal personages rather than...
in east London or at Mablethorpe
Mablethorpe
Mablethorpe is a small seaside town in East Lindsey on the coast of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Several small caravan parks exist around Mablethorpe. The town is administered with Sutton-on-Sea and Trusthorpe, as the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton...
in Lincolnshire, along the lines of USS Intrepid
USS Intrepid (CV-11)
USS Intrepid , also known as The Fighting "I", is one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in August 1943, Intrepid participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, most notably the Battle...
or HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast (C35)
HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
. The annual cost of running the ship as a museum has been estimated at £1 million. Another option being explored is to moor her as a floating helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
in London's Royal Albert Dock
Royal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:The dock was constructed to the east of the earlier Victoria Dock by the St Katharine and London dock companies and opened in 1880...
, though it is against the London Plan
London Plan
The London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
to create new helipads in London There is also the possibility of scuttling Ark Royal off the Devonshire coast as an artificial reef
Artificial reef
An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....
.
On 28 March 2011 the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
placed the decommissioned Ark Royal up for sale by auction, with 6 July as the final date for tenders.
In recognition of the decommissioning of the Ark Royal, Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
has added the ship's motto to its 2011/12 season kit.
Affiliations
- The Queen's Royal LancersThe Queen's Royal LancersThe Queen's Royal Lancers is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of two other regiments:*16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers*17th/21st Lancers...
- Royal Air Force Aerobatic TeamRed ArrowsThe Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...
- City of LeedsCity of LeedsThe City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...
- Worshipful Company of ShipwrightsWorshipful Company of ShipwrightsThe Worshipful Company of Shipwrights is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London.The Shipwrights' Company has not, unlike other Livery Companies, ever received a Royal Charter; instead, it is considered incorporated "by prescription" because the body had for a long time used this title...
- Leeds United F.C.
- Jaguar Cars Ltd
- Wartime Ark Royal Association
- King's College SchoolKing's College SchoolKing's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
CCFCombined Cadet ForceThe Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
WimbledonWimbledon, LondonWimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas... - St. John's SchoolSt. John's School, LeatherheadSt. John's School, Leatherhead is a public school in Surrey, England. It has about 420 male pupils and 60 female pupils, and from 2010 it will be fully co-educational....
CCFCombined Cadet ForceThe Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
LeatherheadLeatherheadLeatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin... - Whitgift SchoolWhitgift SchoolWhitgift School is an independent day school educating approximately 1,400 boys aged 10 to 18 in South Croydon, London in a parkland site.- History and grounds :...
South CroydonSouth CroydonSouth Croydon is a locality in Greater London, the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon about 1 km in radius, centred on the Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is part of the South Croydon post town and in the London Borough of Croydon... - TS Ark Royal (LeedsCity of LeedsThe City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...
) - TS Ark Royal (ReigateReigateReigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
) - TS Ark Royal (Hong Kong Sea Cadet CorpsHong Kong Sea Cadet CorpsHong Kong Sea Cadet Corps is a youth organization based in Hong Kong and formed in 1968 by former Royal Naval Reserve officers by the creation of Hong Kong Law...
) - no longer affiliated - TS Apollo (MarlowMarlow, BuckinghamshireMarlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
) - TS Gamecock (Shirely and District)
- Leeds Branch RN Historic Flight Support Group
- Mary Rose Trust
- Leeds Chamber of Commerce
- Royal Armouries Museum
- The Fifty Fund
- Yorkshire Fleet Air Arm Association
- Headingley Royal Naval Association