11.09.2012
Written-off British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was sold for scrap to a Turkish company for GBP 2.9 mln in order to recharge defense budget, reported British defense ministry.
Aircraft carrier HMS
Ark Royal was decommissioned in 2011 under the British military reformation program. The ship was written off five years ahead of plans; that made possible to save up to GBP 105 mln. Since decommission, the carrier stayed at Portsmouth naval station.
Lead aircraft carrier of the series, HMS
Invincible (R05) was built in 1980 by
Vickers Shipbuilding in Barrow-in-Furness.
Invincible-class aircraft carriers HMS
Illustrious (R06) and HMS
Ark Royal (R07) were built by
Swan Hunter and commissioned into the Royal British Navy in 1982 and 1985 respectively.
HMS
Ark Royal is 209-meter long, 36-meter wide, and displaces 20,600 tons. Flight deck dimensions: length is 167.8 meters, beam is 13.5 meters.
Aircraft carrier HMS
Invincible (R05) was decommissioned in 2005 and sold for scrap to a Turkish company in 2012. HMS
Ark Royal was put up for sale on defense ministry's website
edisposals.com and sold to the same Turkish company. After preparations, the ship will be sent to Turkey for dismantling.
British defense ministry plans to appropriate received funds for arms procurement.
The last aircraft carrier in the series, HMS
Illustrious is to be decommissioned in 2014. British defense ministry looks for an organization interested in turning the ship into a museum.
In order to replace written-off aircraft carriers with new ones, British military in 2008 tied basic contracts for two new
Queen Elizabeth-class and
Prince of Wales-class 65,000-ton aircraft carriers with
BVT Surface Fleet which is a joint venture of
BAE Systems,
VT Group, and
Aircraft Carrier Alliance. It is planned to commission the lead ship in 2017.
