HMS Ark Royal (R07)

	HMS Ark Royal alongside at Portsmouth in 2007
History
United Kingdom
Name	Ark Royal
Namesake	The 1587 flagship that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, Ark Royal
Ordered	December 1978
Builder	Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Laid down	14 December 1978
Launched	2 June 1981
Sponsored by	Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Commissioned	1 November 1985
Decommissioned	11 March 2011
Refit	First Major 1999–2001; Second Major 2004–2007;
Homeport	HMNB Portsmouth
Identification	IMO number: 8949575; Pennant number: R07; International Callsign: GCDG; Deck code: R;
Motto	Zeal Does Not Rest
Nickname(s)	The Mighty Ark
Honours and; awards	Al Faw 2003
Fate	Scrapped
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Invincible-class aircraft carrier
Displacement	22,000 tons
Length	210 m (689.0 ft) (689 ft)
Beam	36 m (118.1 ft)
Draught	7.5 m (24.6 ft)
Propulsion	4 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines providing 97,000 hp (72,333 kW) ; 8 Paxman Valenta diesel generators.;
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)+
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	685 crew; 366 Fleet Air Arm;
Armament	3 × Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS; 2 × GAM-B01 20 mm guns;
Aircraft carried	Until December 2010, 22 aircraft;; Multi Mission - Strike, ASuW and ASW; 12 x Harrier GR.7/9; 10 x Sea King ASaC and Merlin HM Mk.1 helicopters; Multi Mission - Strike and ASuW; 18 x Harrier GR.7/9; 4 x Sea King ASaC and Merlin HM Mk.1 helicopters;

HMS Ark Royal was a light aircraft carrier and former flagship of the Royal Navy. She was the third and final vessel of the Invincible class. She was built by Swan Hunter on the River Tyne and launched by them in 1981. Ark Royal was christened 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.

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 11 March 2011, as part of the Navy restructuring portion of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. After Ark Royal's decommissioning, HMS Albion replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship. Ark Royal was sold for scrap to the Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling and left Portsmouth in May 2013.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.