Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers (CVS/LPH) (1980-2014) (RN)
Posted: 02 May 2015, 19:20
^ Invincible (foreground), Illustrious (centre) and Ark Royal (background). Photographed off Cornwall, 1989.
Introduction
The Invincible class had its origins in a sketch design for a 6,000 ton, guided-missile armed, helicopter carrying escort cruiser intended as a complement to the much larger planned CVA-01-class fleet aircraft carrier. The cancellation of CVA-01 in 1966 meant that the smaller cruiser would now have to provide the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) task force with command and control facilities. Two new designs were prepared for this requirement; a 12,500 ton cruiser with missiles forward, six Westland Sea King helicopters and a flight deck aft, and a larger 17,500 ton vessel with a "through-deck", nine Sea Kings and missiles right forward. By 1970, the "through-deck" design had advanced into a Naval Staff Requirement for an 18,750-ton Through-Deck Command Cruiser (TDCC).
History
In February 1963, the Hawker P.1127 VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft had landed and taken-off from the carrier 'Ark Royal' ('Audacious' class) and the subsequent Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel had undergone trials from the "Commando carrier" HMS Bulwark. It was therefore perfectly possible that the new "cruisers" could be used to operate VTOL aircraft. The new ships were called "through-deck cruisers" and not "aircraft carriers". This was in part because CVA-01's cancellation was so recent, but also because the ships were intended to serve in traditional cruiser roles and anti-submarine warfare, and were constructed like cruisers. The "aircraft carrier" name did not officially appear in association with the ships until the 1980 Defence Estimates referred to the Invincible class as such.
Economic problems in the UK in the early 1970s delayed progress on the new ships, but the design continued to evolve. The order for the first ship was given to Vickers (Shipbuilding) on 17 April 1973. By now, the design was for a 19,000 ton helicopter carrying heavy cruiser, with up to fourteen aircraft and a Sea Dart missile launcher on the bows.
The government decided that the carrier needed fixed-wing aircraft to defend against Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. In May 1975, it authorised the maritime version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, which was successfully developed into the Sea Harrier. This meant that the ship design was reworked again to include a small complement of these VTOL aircraft. In order to launch a heavily-laden Harrier more efficiently by STOVL (short take-off vertical landing) from the comparatively short - 170-metre (560 ft) - flight deck, a 'ski-jump' was developed. The slope was initially 7° when incorporated into the first ship 'Invincible' and second ship, 'Illustrious'. The ski-jump slope was increased to 12° for the third ship, 'Ark Royal'. The class also had a secondary role as an helicopter carrier, or LPH, in the reinforcement of NATO's Northern flank in Norway. In 1998, HMS Ocean, with a hull form based on that of the Invincible class, was commissioned specifically for this role.
After the 1982 Falklands War, CIWS guns were added to the design. Illustrious had them fitted at the last minute before commissioning, Ark Royal had them added as a normal part of the building process, and Invincible had them fitted during her first overhaul after the Falklands. Initially, Invincible and Illustrious were fitted with two Vulcan Phalanx units; these were replaced with three Goalkeeper systems. Ark Royal had the three Phalanx CIWS systems she was fitted with when built (she was easily distinguished from her sisters by the Phalanx's distinctive white "R2-D2" radome). Electronic countermeasures were provided by a Thales jamming system and ECM system. Seagnat launchers provided chaff or flare decoys. As part of upgrades during the mid-1990s, all three ships had the Sea Dart removed, with the forecastle filled in to increase the size of the flight deck.
The Sea Harrier was officially retired on 1 April 2006. The principal weapon of the Invincible-class carriers then became the Harrier GR9 flown by two Fleet Air Arm and two RAF squadrons until they were retired in 2010. Since then they only operated helicopters.
Retirement
Invincible was decommissioned in July 2005, and was mothballed until September 2010. She was put up for sale in November 2010. In early February 2011 it was announced that she had been sold to a Turkish scrapyard, Leyal Ship Recycling; Leyal has been involved in the scrapping of various Royal Navy ships, including HMS Cardiff, HMS Newcastle, HMS Glasgow, and RFA Oakleaf. Invincible left Portsmouth under tow for scrapping on 24 March 2011.
Ark Royal took over as the flagship, was planned to be decommissioned in 2016, but retired in 2010 following the Strategic Defence and Security Review. On 28 March 2011 the Ministry of Defence placed the decommissioned Ark Royal up for sale by auction, with 6 July as the final date for tenders. In June 2012, the MoD confirmed it had not reached a decision on the sale of the ship, following the submission of bids nearly a year previously. In September 2012, the announcement was made that the ship had been sold to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey for scrapping, for the sum of £2.9m. Ark Royal left Portsmouth on 20 May 2013 to be taken to Leyal Ship Recycling
Illustrious remained the only one of the class in service. Illustrious was briefly berthed at Rosyth in the first week of July 2014, in a dock adjacent to HMS Queen Elizabeth, for the naming ceremony of Queen Elizabeth on 4 July 2014; she left Rosyth the following day. She arrived back at HMNB Portsmouth on 22 July 2014 at the end of active service. She was decommissioned at HMNB Portsmouth on 28 August 2014. The Royal Navy hoped to preserve the ship. On 7 December 2016, Illustrious left Portsmouth for the final time and was towed to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey where she was scrapped during early 2017.
Royal Navy aircraft carrier usage has temporarily ceased. However, it will restart with the commissioning of the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the first of which was launched in July 2014. Two much larger Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are being built, with one expected to enter service in 2020. They are expected to displace around 70,000 tonnes each - more than three times the displacement of the Invincible class.
1. HMS Invincible (R05) Commissioned 11th July 1980. Decommissioned 3rd August 2005. Fate: Scrapped in Turkey, 2011.
2. HMS Illustrious (R06) Commissioned 20th June 1982. Decommissioned 28th August 2014. Fate: Scrapped in Turkey 2016-17
3. HMS Ark Royal (ex- 'Indomitable') (R07) Commissioned 1st November 1985. Decommissioned 11th March 2011. Fate: Scrapped in Turkey, 2014.
Class and type: Invincible-class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 22,000 tons
Length: 210 m (689 ft)
Beam: 36 m
Draught: 7.5 m
Propulsion: 4 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM3B gas turbines providing 97,000 hp (75 MW)
8 Paxman Valenta diesel generators.
Speed: 30+ knots,
Range: 5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)
Crew 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
Aircraft Services: Hangar deck, two central aircraft lifts