Mr_W
TFF member
Cripes, Bully gets everywhere! Neighhhhh....
Posts: 1,016 
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Post by Mr_W on Mar 24, 2011 10:11:45 GMT
........I have just come across on the ferry back home to Gosport having knocked off from night shift over in Pompey, and have seen the very sad sight through the morning mist of aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE, out there in the Solent, being towed out around the Isle Of Wight by tugs enroute to a breakers' yard in Turkey, I believe she left the wall by cold move at 0800 this morning...... .......its' a bloody, feckin' disgrace - thats' the first of our VTOL jet CVS dedicated mobile platforms gone (mind, in their infinite stupidity they've decided to get rid of the jets too I think) and the other two carriers (HMS ARK ROYAL and HMS ILLUSTRIOUS) are on borrowed time, having been earmarked for the same fate - it'll be bloody years before the new replacements are ready - if anyone was thinking of starting a war round 'ere, there'll be a window shortly of about 6 years I think............. ......Defence cuts arrse.............. Chris ....ex-RN 1978-2001 (but some things you never forget)......  ....please don't forget.... www.helpforheroes.org.uk/.....thanks........ |
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rjdgull
TFF member
Admin
Posts: 12,225
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 24, 2011 13:43:17 GMT
Of course, the Invincible was made famous by her role in the Falklands War and it will be sad to see her go. The Hermes still operates with the Indian Navy. Ark Royal was decomissioned earlier this month while "Lusty" will continue as a helicoptor carrier covering HMS Ocean which is due for her refit.
All three carriers were built with a cold war anti submarine role in mind while the new Queen Elizabeth Carrier will provide much more of a punch from which to base operations from around the world. Various sections of this ship are being built in shipyards all around the country and although they will start to be assembled together later this year, won't be fully commisioned along with the new F-35Cs, also in development until the end of this decade.
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tufc01
TFF member
Posts: 1,179
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Post by tufc01 on Mar 24, 2011 18:34:50 GMT
I agree it’s a travesty and the timing is piss poor to say the least. I was embarked on the 'Invince' quite a bit from 89-92. I was also onboard when the WRNS came onboard for the first time, just before we deployed for 4 months to America & West Indies. That trip was covered by the News of the World who dubbed the ship 'The Love Boat', trouble is they didn't know half of it  As Mr W says it leaves us without a platform for fast jets for at least 8 years, which realistically means more like 10-12 years, mind you like he says we got rid of the aircraft as well. The replacement is the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier which is not due until 2020 ish. It is also nearly 3 times bigger (displacement wise) than the Invincible class and will carry up to 40 aircraft depending on its role, which can include F35 lightning’s, Chinooks, Merlin’s and Apache’s, so in short quite a potent force. It would be ideal for the situation in Libya right now. To show you how that compares to the Invincible class, when I was on there we had 6 Harriers and 9 Seakings. When the Merlin’s arrived and took over that was reduced to 6 Merlins and 6 Harriers at an absolute push, with some aircraft stowed on deck at all times. Also, Invincible is not actually an aircraft carrier, technically it is a through deck cruiser as this was the only way to get funding for it as the treasury at the time said no to an Aircraft carrier but would allow a cruiser. It does need to be replaced but the replacing should be seamless, 1 out and 1 in, not 3 out wait 10 years and then 2 in. |
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