HMS Invincible (R05)

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For other ships of the same name, see HMS Invincible.
HMS Invincible (R05)
Career (UK) Royal Navy Ensign
Ordered: 17 April 1973
Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Laid down: July, 1973
Launched: 3 May 1977, by Queen Elizabeth II
Commissioned: 11 July 1980
Decommissioned: 3 August 2005
Homeport: Portsmouth (From August 2005)
Fate: In reserve until 2010
Notes: Pennant = R05, Deck code= N
General characteristics
Displacement: 22,000 tonnes
Length: 194 m
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: 28 knots (52 km/h), 18 knots (33 km/h) cruising
Range: 7,000 miles at 18 knots (13,000 km at 33 km/h)
Complement: 1051 crew
Armament: 3 × Goalkeeper CIWS
2 × GAM-B01 20 mm close-range guns
Aircraft carried: Sea Harrier fighter/bomber "jump jets", Sea King helicopters, Merlin and Lynx helicopters.

HMS Invincible (R05) is a light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class. On 6 June 2005 the Ministry of Defence announced that HMS Invincible would be inactive until 2010, available for reactivation at 18 months' notice. She was decommissioned on 3 August 2005.[1] She is the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name. HMS Illustrious succeeded Invincible as the service's flagship.

Contents

[edit] History

Invincible was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. She was laid down in 1973, and launched on 3 May 1977. The ship was commissioned on 11 July 1980 and joined the older carriers Hermes and Bulwark in service.

[edit] Proposed sale and Falklands War

On 25 February 1982 the Australian government announced that it had agreed to purchase Invincible and a number of Sea King and Wessex helicopters as embarked airpower for £175 million after several months of negotiations. The sale was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.[2] The ship would have replaced the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Melbourne and would have been named HMAS Australia.[3]

On 2 April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. On 5 April 1982 a naval task force headed by Invincible and Hermes left Portsmouth bound for the South Atlantic. On 20 April 1982 the British War Cabinet ordered the repossession of the Falkland Islands. On 1 June, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser advised the British Government that the sale of Invincible to Australia could be cancelled if desired. The UK formally declared an end to hostilities on 20 June 1982.[4] In July 1982 the British Ministry of Defence announced that it had withdrawn its offer to sell Invincible and that it would maintain a three-carrier force.[5] Although Argentina claims to have damaged this ship during the Falklands War this is officially denied by the British Government.[6]

In December 1983 Australia refused the use of dry dock facilities in Sydney for Invincible when the Royal Navy declined to say whether the ship was carrying nuclear weapons.[7]

[edit] Weapons and aircraft

For defence the carrier has a number of systems. She originally had two 20 mm Raytheon Phalanx close in weapon systems, but these were upgraded to three Thales 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS; they also have two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. Countermeasures are provided by a Thales jamming system and ECM system, Seagnat launchers provide for chaff or flare decoys. Initially the carriers were also armed with a Sea Dart SAM missile system, but these were removed in order to increase the flight deck size and to allow magazine storage for Royal Air Force Harrier GR7s.

The carrier's air group comprised nine Harriers and twelve helicopters (usually all Sea Kings, either anti-submarine warfare (ASW) or Airborne Early Warning (AEW) variants). The carriers also provide an operational headquarters for the Royal Navy task force. The runway is 170 m long and includes the characteristic "ski jump" (initially 7° it was later increased to 12°).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ingham, John. "Invincible docks for the last time", The Express, Express Newspapers, 2005-08-02, p. 15. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  2. ^ Bloom, Bridget; Newby, Patricia. "Protest as Australia buys UK carrier", Financial Times, The Financial Times Limited, 1982-02-26, p. 4. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  3. ^ Sea Harrier Down Under. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  4. ^ "United Kingdom: Falklands Conflict - A Brief History", United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 2006-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  5. ^ "Invincible Sale Offer Withdrawn", Aviation Week & Space Technology, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1982-07-19, p. 19. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  6. ^ "Argentine Airpower in the Falklands War: An Operational View", Air and Space Power Journal, Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc., 2002-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  7. ^ "Australia turns back British carrier", United Press International, 1983-12-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 

[edit] External links

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Invincible-class aircraft carrier
Invincible · Illustrious · Ark Royal
Preceded by:Audacious class Centaur class · Followed by:Queen Elizabeth class
List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy