Brazilian aircraft carrier Minas Gerais NAeL Minas Gerais ( pennant number A 11 ) was a operated by the " Marinha do Brasil " ( MB , Brazilian Navy ) from 1960 until 2001 . The ship was laid down for the Royal Navy during World War II as , but was completed only shortly before the war ' s end , and did not see combat . After stints as a training vessel and Arctic research ship , the carrier was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy from 1952 to 1955 . She was returned to the British , who sold her in 1956 to Brazil . The ship underwent a four - year conversion in the Netherlands to make her capable of operating heavier naval aircraft . She was commissioned into the MB as " Minas Gerais " ( named after the state of Minas Gerais ) in 1960 ; the first purchased by a Latin America n nation , but the second to enter service , behind the Argentinian ARA " Independencia " . Between 1987 and 1996 , the carrier was unable to operate fixed - wing aircraft because of a defective catapult , and was retasked as a helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ship . " Minas Gerais " remained in service until 2001 , when she was replaced by NAe " São Paulo " . At the time of her decommissioning , she was the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world , and the last operational unit of the World War II Light Fleet design . Despite attempts to preserve the carrier as a museum ship , and after several failed attempts to auction the ship off ( including a listing on eBay ) , " Minas Gerais " was sold for scrap in 2004 and taken to Alang for breaking up . Design and construction . The carrier was constructed by Swan Hunter for the Royal Navy ( RN ) as HMS " Vengeance " . She was laid down on 16 November 1942 , and launched on 23 February 1944 . Construction was completed on 15 January 1945 , and " Vengeance " was commissioned into the RN . The " Colossus " class carriers were intended to be ' disposable warships ' : they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service . Despite this plan , the ship had a service life of over 55 years across three navies . Early operational history . After commissioning , " Vengeance " was assigned to the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron , which was attached to the British Pacific Fleet . The carrier arrived in Sydney , Australia in July 1945 , but remained in the harbour for refits until the end of World War II . " Vengeance " operated in the waters of Asia until mid - 1946 , when she returned to England and was reassigned as a training vessel . In late 1948 , " Vengeance " was converted for Arctic conditions , and from February 1949 to March 1949 , she operated in Arctic waters as part of an experimental cruise to determine how well ships , aircraft , and personnel functioned in extreme cold . From late 1952 until mid - 1955 , " Vengeance " was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy , to serve in place of the under - construction . Purchase and modernisation . During the leadup to the 1955 presidential election , Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira , governor of the state of Minas Gerais promised Brazilian admirals to acquire an aircraft carrier for the " Marinha do Brasil " ( MB , Brazilian Navy ) . Kubitschek later claimed that this was to avoid a naval rebellion during his inauguration at the start of 1956 , and despite believing in the " military uselessness " of the second - hand warship , the sale of " Vengeance " to Brazil for US $ 9 million went through on 14 December 1956 . From mid - 1957 until December 1960 , the carrier underwent a massive refit and reconstruction in the Netherlands . The work was carried out by Verolme Dock in Rotterdam , and cost US $ 27 million . The most visible change was the installation of an 8 . 5 - degree angled flight deck . The size of the angle required that an accessway be built around the starboard side of the island superstructure ; the weight acting as a counterbalance for the flight deck ' s portside overhang . Combined with the fitting of a more powerful steam catapult , stronger arresting gear , reinforced hangar elevators , and a mirror landing aid , these modifications permitted the operation of jet aircraft up to in weight . The carrier ' s island superstructure was replaced , and a lattice mast was fitted to support the new fire control system and radar suite . The ship ' s boiler capacity was increased , and internal electricity was converted to AC through the installation of four turbo generators and one diesel generator . The carrier was commissioned into the " Marinha do Brasil " as NAeL " Minas Gerais " ( named for Kubitschek ' s home state ) on 6 December 1960 . She departed Rotterdam for Rio de Janerio on 13 January 1961 . The duration of the refit meant that while the carrier was the first purchased by a Latin America n nation , she was the second to enter service , after another " Colossus " class carrier entered service with the Argentine Navy as ARA " Independencia " in July 1959 . Weapons and systems . During the ship ' s modernisation refit to become " Minas Gerais " , her armament was altered to consist of ten Bofors 40 mm anti - aircraft guns ( 2 quad mountings and 1 twin mounting ) , and two 47 mm . In 1994 , the Bofors were removed and replaced with two twin surface - to - air launchers for Mistral missile s . If additional armament was required , the Bofors could be reinstalled . By 1996 , " Minas Gerais " was fitted with the following radars : a Lockheed SPS - 40B for air search , a Plessey AWS 4 for surface search , a Signaal ZW06 for navigation , two SPG - 34 for fire control , and a Scanter Mil - Par for Carrier - Controlled Approach . The two search radars operate on NATO frequency bands designated E and F , the navigation and CCA radars operate on the NATO I band , and the fire control radars on both the I and J bands . As of the mid - 1990s , the carrier ' s air group consisted of six S - 2E Trackers , four to six ASH - 3D Sea Kings , two AS - 355 Ecureuils , and three A - 332 Super Pumas . In 1999 , the MB acquired 20 A - 4KU Skyhawk s and 3 TA - 4KU trainer aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force for $ US70 million . " Minas Gerais " began operating these aircraft in late 2000 . Brazilian operational history . In 1965 , President Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco outlawed the operation of fixed - wing aircraft by the MB ; this remained the responsibility of the " Força Aérea Brasileira " ( FAB , Brazilian Air Force ) . As a result , " Minas Gerais " was required to embark two air groups : the Navy operated helicopters while the Air Force operated S - 2 Tracker aircraft . Consequently , the ship spent most of her Brazilian career operating as an anti - submarine warfare carrier . From 1976 to 1981 , the ship underwent a major refit . Work included the installation of a datalink to improve co - operation with " Niteroi " class frigates , updates to the radar suite , and other work to extend the carrier ' s life expectancy into the 1990s . In 1986 , engine problems , combined with the inability for Argentina to fund a required modernisation of ARA " Veinticinco de Mayo " , saw the " Colossus " class carrier confined to port , making " Minas Gerais " the only active aircraft carrier in the South American region . In December 1987 , " Minas Gerais " herself was laid up after participating in Operation Dragon XXIII because of problems with her aircraft catapult . Although unable to operate as an aircraft carrier , the ship saw use over the following years in training exercises as an amphibious assault ship ; using an air group of Eurocopter AS532 Cougar and Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel helicopters to transport Marines ashore . " Minas Gerais " underwent a modernisation refit from July 1991 to October 1993 . This included the overhaul of the boilers and engines , integration of a SICONTA command system , two new navigation radars and Scanter - MIL landing radar were installed , and preparation for the installation of Simbad launchers for Mistral surface - to - air missiles . The launchers themselves were installed in 1994 , with the ten Bofors removed at the same time . The Bofors could be reinstalled to complement the ship ' s armament if needed . In November 1993 , the carrier conducted a joint exercise with the Argentine Navy , where Argentine pilots flying Dassault - Breguet Super Étendard aircraft performed 177 touch - and - go landing s , in order to maintain their carrier landing qualifications while " Veinticinco de Mayo " was out of service . During 1995 and 1996 , the ability to operate fixed - wing aircraft was restored to " Minas Gerais " , after the catapult from the decommissioned " Veinticinco de Mayo " was acquired and installed . In 1997 , " Minas Gerais " was loaned an A - 4Q airframe by the Argentine " Aviación Naval " ( Naval Aviation ) for deck - handling and interface trials . This was in lead - up to the 1999 acquisition of 20 A - 4KU Skyhawk s and three TA - 4KU trainer aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force for US $ 70 million . This was the first time since the carrier ' s commissioning that " Forca Aeronaval da Marinha " ( Brazilian Navy Aviation ) had been permitted to own and operate fixed - wing aircraft . The 23 aircraft were formed as the First Intercept and Attack Squadron , had all entered service by early 2000 , and began carrier operations in late October 2000 . In order to operate the new fighters , " Minas Gerais " underwent a major refit at the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro . The main purpose of this refit was to upgrade the catapult to launch Skyhawks . Replacement and decommissioning . The replacement of " Minas Gerais " was first suggested in the early 1980s , as part of planned 15 - year naval expansion program . Two different carrier designs were proposed . The first was for a 40 , 000 ton ship equipped with up to forty aircraft , including naval fighters . To complement this proposal , a plan to expand the Brazilian fleet air arm by acquiring second - hand A - 4 Skyhawk s from Kuwait or Israel was submitted . For this to happen , the 1965 ruling that prevented the MB from operating fixed - wing aircraft had to be overturned ; a decision the FAB opposed . To make the purchase worthwhile , " Minas Gerais " would have to operate the aircraft until the replacement carrier entered service , which in turn required the installation of a modified steam catapult and arresting gear . As the ship had just emerged from a modernisation refit , this was an expensive proposition , and the Skyhawk acquisition plan was cancelled in October 1984 . The Skyhawk plan was successfully revisited in the late 1990s . The second proposal was for a 25 , 000 ton helicopter carrier built to commercial standards . Later interpretations of this proposal suggested a ship similar to the Royal Navy ' s . Replacement of " Minas Gerais " was under serious consideration by 1999 ; despite numerous refits and life - extending upgrades , the MB predicted that the carrier would require replacement before 2010 . As well as the two proposals , consideration was given to acquiring a second - hand carrier , such as the French Navy ' s " Foch " . One of the main issues in considering the replacement was the MB ' s significant investment in fixed - wing aviation in the late 1990s ; a carrier capable of operating the recently acquired Skyhawks would be more expensive to acquire and operate than a STOVL or helicopter carrier , but the cheaper concepts would require the refactoring of Brazilian naval aviation . In the end , " Foch " was acquired , renamed NAe " São Paulo " , and slated to commission into the " Marinha do Brasil " in April 2001 . " Minas Gerais " was decommissioned on 16 October 2001 : the last of the World War II - era light aircraft carriers to leave service . At the time of her decommissioning , she was the oldest active aircraft carrier in the world ( a title passed on to the 1961 - commissioned ) . The carrier was marked for sale in 2002 , and was sought after by British naval associations for return to the United Kingdom and preservation as a museum ship , although they were unable to raise the required money . Just before Christmas 2003 , the carrier was listed for sale on auction website eBay by a user claiming to be a shipbroker representing the owner . Bidding reached £4 million before the auction was removed from the website under rules preventing the sale of military ordnance . An auction in Rio de Janeiro in February 2004 also failed to sell the ship . Sometime between February and July 2004 , the carrier was towed to the ship breaking yards at Alang , India for dismantling .