page_title: HMS Invincible (R05)
section_title: Proposed sale and Falklands War
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Invincible (R05) / History / Proposed sale and Falklands War
caption_attribution_description: HMS Invincible in the Total Exclusion Zone 1982. Although the pictures were taken with a zoom lens and are of poor quality, the starboard side seen here is undamaged.
context_page_description: HMS Invincible was the Royal Navy's lead ship of her class of three light aircraft carriers. She was launched on 3 May 1977 as the seventh ship to carry the name. She was originally designated as an anti-submarine warfare carrier, but was used as an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, when she was deployed with HMS Hermes. She took over as flagship of the British fleet when Hermes was sold to India. Invincible was also deployed in the Yugoslav Wars and the Second Gulf War. In 2005, she was decommissioned, and was eventually sold for scrap to the Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling in February 2011.
context_section_description: On 25 February 1982, after several months of negotiations, the Australian government announced that it had agreed to buy Invincible for £175 million (285 million A$) as a replacement, under the name HMAS Australia, for the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Melbourne. Australia planned to make minimal changes to the carrier, adding more fuel and replacing some of the ship's computers. Initially at least, it was planned to operate helicopters only. The sale was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.
  On 2 April 1982, however, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Three days later, a naval task force headed by Invincible and Hermes left HMNB Portsmouth bound for the South Atlantic. On 20 April, the UK government formally ordered its defence forces to bring the islands back under British control. Along with eight Sea Harriers, the Invincible's airgroup included twelve Sea King helicopters that were slightly larger than the ship had originally been designed to accommodate. Small machine guns were added around the flight deck and island for close-in defence.
  On 23 April, while en route from Ascension Island to the Falklands, Invincible mistakenly locked her Sea Dart missile system on a VARIG Brazilian Airlines DC-10 rather than on the Argentine Air Force Boeing 707 that had been monitoring the fleet's movements. The previous day, Task Group Commander Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward had sought permission from Commander-in-Chief Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse to shoot down the 707 as he believed its activity indicated a raid would be launched from the Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo. As the 707 would be no direct threat to the fleet, Woodward ordered Weapons Tight and the continued tracking of the aircraft's course while a Sea Harrier was dispatched to investigate. The Harrier pilot reported that "it was a Brazilian airliner, with all the normal navigation and running lights on." Details of the Harrier interception appeared in the Brazilian press along with the claim that the DC-10's passengers were "alleged to have been frightened" and Woodward's comment that  "[i]nconvenience to passengers' underwear regretted unless any of them were Argentinian".
  On 30 May, two Super Étendards, one carrying Argentina's last remaining air-launched Exocet, escorted by four A-4C Skyhawks each with two 500lb bombs, took off to attack Invincible.  Argentine intelligence had sought to determine the position of the carriers from analysis of aircraft flight routes from the task force to the islands.  However, the British had a standing order that all aircraft conduct a low level transit when leaving or returning to the carriers to disguise their position.  This tactic compromised the Argentine attack, which focused on a group of escorts 40 miles south of the main body of ships. Two of the attacking Skyhawks were shot down by Sea Darts fired by HMS Exeter, with HMS Avenger claiming to have shot down the missile with her 4.5" gun (although this claim is disputed).  No damage was caused to any British vessels. During the war Argentina claimed to have damaged the ship and continues to do so to this day, although no evidence of any such damage has been produced or uncovered.
  On 1 June, the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, advised the British government that the sale of Invincible to Australia could be cancelled if desired. In July 1983, a year after the end of the Falklands conflict, the Ministry of Defence announced that it had withdrawn its offer to sell Invincible so it could maintain a three-carrier force.
caption: Invincible in the South Atlantic, during the Falklands War
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