HMS Invincible

## HMS Invincible (R05)

HMS Invincible

**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 Iraq War. In 2005, she was decommissioned, and was eventually sold for scrap in February 2011.

### Service History

*Invincible* was ordered from Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering on 17 April 1973, and was laid down at Vickers' Barrow-in-Furness on 17 April 1973. The ship's construction was delayed by design changes and industrial action, and *Invincible* was not launched until 3 May 1977. The ship was launched by Elizabeth II. She was accepted into Royal Navy service on 19 March 1980 and after trials, formally commissioned on 11 July 1980. More trials and work-up followed for the ship and her air wing followed before she was declared operational on 19 June 1981, joining the fleet's other carrier *Hermes* in service.

*Invincible*'s initial air wing consisted of 801 Naval Air Squadron, equipped with five Sea Harriers and 820 Naval Air Squadron, equipped with Sea King anti-submarine helicopters. In August–September 1981, *Invicible* took part in the NATO naval exercises "Ocean Venture" and "Ocean Safari".

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, *Invincible*'s air group 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 Darts 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."

On 30 May, two Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards, one carrying Argentina's last remaining air-launched Exocet, accompanied by four A-4C Skyhawks each with two 500 lb (230 kg) 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. When one of the Super Étendards detected a large target on radar, the Exocet was launched, and the Super Étendards turned for Argentina, while the Skyhawks followed the Exocet, which soon passed out of sight. 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.

In December 1983, *Invincible* was refused the use of dry dock facilities in Sydney when the Royal Navy declined to divulge to the Australian authorities whether or not the ship was carrying nuclear weapons. *Invincible* was accompanied by other ships, including *Achilles*, during this deployment. She then visited Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand.

Between 1993 and 1995, *Invincible* was deployed in the Adriatic for Operation "Deny Flight" and then Operation "Deliberate Force" during the Yugoslav Wars. In 1997, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Alan West, Commander United Kingdom Task Group, *Invincible* led a deployment that included 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. During the following two years, *Invincible* contributed to Operation "Bolton" (part of Operation "Southern Watch") in southern Iraq before she was redeployed to the Balkans to support the NATO action against Yugoslavia over Kosovo. There, while her helicopters aided refugees, her Harriers were involved in military strikes.

In 2003, *Invincible* featured in a skit of the BBC show *Top Gear* involving The Stig racing a white Jaguar XJS on the deck in an attempt to reach 100 mph and stop before the end of the runway. The attempt failed, resulting in The Stig and the Jaguar ending up in the sea.

On 6 June 2005, the British Ministry of Defence announced that *Invincible* would be inactive until 2010 but available for reactivation at eighteen months' notice. She was decommissioned on 3 August 2005, twenty months after an extensive refit that had been intended to give her ten more years of service. *Illustrious* succeeded her as the service's flagship. The Royal Navy maintained that *Invincible* could have been deployed had the need arisen and that Navy policy assumed she was still an active aircraft carrier. According to *Jane's*, however, *Invincible* had been stripped of some parts for her sister ships, so operational readiness would require not only eighteen months but also the replacement or removal of systems from those other ships.

In March 2010, *Invincible* was tied up and minimally maintained with other decommissioned ships up-river of HMNB Portsmouth. On 10 September 2010, she was struck off the Naval Reserve List and, in December, offered for sale by the Disposal Services Authority (DSA) with tenders due by 5 January 2011. The DSA tender documents confirmed that the ship's engines had been removed and that its generators and pumps were "generally unserviceable or not working". On 8 January 2011, the British press relayed an earlier report in the *South China Morning Post* that a £5-million bid had been made for the ship by the UK-based Chinese businessman Lam Kin-bong with plans to moor her at Zhuhai or Liverpool as a floating international school. In light, however, of China's re-arming of the *Varyag* – bought under a similar pretext – and the EU arms embargo on China, doubts were raised as to whether such a sale would go ahead.

A month later, in February 2011, BBC News reported that the Ministry of Defence had announced the sale of *Invincible* to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey. She was towed out of Portsmouth on 24 March and arrived at Leyal's Aliağa yard on 12 April 2011 for scrapping.