to throw the towel in. "I think the MoD has sent it to Turkey because they know people don't want to see her cut in half on a beach somewhere." Ark Royal is the fifth vessel to carry the name of the flagship which saw off the Spanish Armada in 1588. Known as the Mighty Ark, the light aircraft carrier saw action in the Adriatic during the Bosnian War in 1993 before being sent to lead the British fleet during the invasion of Iraq a decade later. Following the Defence and Security Review's decision to scupper the vessel and ground the Navy's Harrier jump jet fleet 18 months ago, the Royal Ark has been awaiting its fate in Portsmouth harbour.