HMS Invincible (R05)
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HMS Invincible (R05) is a light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class. On 6 June, 2005 the Ministry of Defence announced that HMS Invincible would be mothballed until 2010, available for reactivation at 18 months' notice. She was decommissioned on 3 August, 2005.[1] She is the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name. HMS Illustrious succeeded Invincible as the service's flagship.
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History
Invincible 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 11 July, 1980 and joined the older carriers Hermes and Bulwark in service.
Proposed sale and Falklands War
On 25 February, 1982 the Australian government announced that it had agreed to purchase Invincible for £175 million after several months of negotiations. The sale was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.[2] The ship would have replaced the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Melbourne.
On 2 April, 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. On 5 April, 1982 a naval task force headed by Invincible and Hermes left Portsmouth bound for the South Atlantic. On 20 April, 1982 the British War Cabinet ordered the repossession of the Falkland Islands. The UK formally declared an end to hostilities on 20 June, 1982.[3] Also in July 1982 the British Ministry of Defence announced that it had withdrawn its offer to sell Invincible and that it would maintain a three-carrier force.[4] Although Argentina claims to have damaged this ship during the Falklands War this is officially denied by the British Government.[5]
In December 1983 Australia refused the use of dry dock facilities in Sydney for Invincible when the Royal Navy declined to say whether the ship was carrying nuclear weapons.[6]
Weapons and aircraft
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.
The carrier's air group comprised nine Harriers and twelve helicopters (usually all Sea Kings, either anti-submarine warfare (ASW) or Airborne Early Warning (AEW) variants). The carriers also provide an operational headquarters for the Royal Navy task force. The runway is 170 m long and includes the characteristic "ski jump" (initially 7° it was later increased to 12°).
References
- ^ Ingham, John. "Invincible docks for the last time", The Express, Express Newspapers, 2005-08-02, p. 15. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ Bloom, Bridget, Newby, Patricia. "Protest as Australia buys UK carrier", Financial Times, The Financial Times Limited, 1982-02-26, p. 4. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "United Kingdom: Falklands Conflict - A Brief History", United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 2006-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Invincible Sale Offer Withdrawn", Aviation Week & Space Technology, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1982-07-19, p. 19. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Argentine Airpower in the Falklands War: An Operational View", Air and Space Power Journal, Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc., 2002-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Australia turns back British carrier", United Press International, 1983-12-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
External links
- Invincible class Aircraft Carrier Information
- Maritimequest HMS Invincible photo gallery
- HMS Invincible Down Under
- Argentina's claim to have damaged HMS Invincible.
- Flash Earth aerial photograph showing Invincible in drydock at Rosyth
Template:Invincible class aircraft carrier
Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "HMS Invincible (R05)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Invincible_(R05), used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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