Royal Navy buys back Ark Royal parts for HMS Illustrious

The UK Ministry of Defence has justified the decision to buy back parts from former Royal Navy HMS Ark Royal.
Spare parts of Ark Royal, which was sold two years to a Turkish scrapyard, had to be shipped back to Portsmouth to replace sections of HMS Illustrious.
The sister ship suffered a small fire while on deployment off the coast of Somalia last August.
After the fire, it was realised there were no replacements parts for the damaged radio switchboard and the surrounding cabinet. But it was revealed that Ark Royal, which will be recycled into tin cans, had the same equipment fitted.
The fee for the parts have not been released by the Ministry of Defence.
portsmouth

Pride of the Royal Navy fleet, hacked apart in a Turkish scrapyard: HMS Ark Royal cuts a sorry sight as it's reduced to tin cans and razor blades

She once ruled the waves. Now the 22,000-ton HMS Ark Royal is being ripped apart in a Turkish scrapyard, another victim of British defence cuts.
After a quarter of a century of service, Ark Royal – the fifth vessel to bear a name that dates back to victory over the Spanish Armada – will shortly be reduced to tin cans and razor blades.
This picture shows workers from Leyal Ship Recycling – which paid £2.9 million for the aircraft carrier – stripping out valuable scrap items before larger sections are torn away.
The seven-month dismantling process has already laid bare the crew’s former living quarters.
Above them is Ark Royal’s hangar, once home to 22 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters – Harriers, Merlins and Sea Kings – but now merely an empty reminder of operations past.
At the top are the ship’s flying deck and the exhaust of her gas turbine.
Former First Sea Lord Admiral Alan West said: ‘It is so sad to see Ark Royal in this sorry state and a tragedy that she was prematurely withdrawn from service.’
When she was towed from Portsmouth in May, former crew lined the quay in black armbands.
The Navy has ordered two new aircraft carriers at a total cost of more than £6 billion. The first is due to enter service in 2020.
dailymail

HMS ARK ROYAL'S FINAL VOYAGE

The Royal Navy's former flagship, The HMS Ark Royal is expected to leave her Portsmouth home for the last time tomorrow. The decommissioned light aircraft carrier is heading for a Turkish scrap merchant.
The ship was left unused at the city's Naval Base for the last two years. She'll be transported to the shipyard in Turkey, where she'll be recycled. Although orginally due to retire in 2016, she was instead decommissioned as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010.
itv.com

MOD sets out future of Invincible Class carriers

HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal came into service in the early 1980s and have spent the last thirty years protecting the UK's interests across the world. The last of the ships to be decommissioned, HMS Illustrious, is due to retire from the Royal Navy in 2014 and the MOD is announcing the intention to seek proposals from organisations interested in preserving her as a lasting tribute to the work of the Invincible Class, which have played key roles in conflicts in the Falkland Islands, Iraq and Bosnia. HMS Invincible was decommissioned in 2005 and later recycled. The 31-year-old HMS Ark Royal was withdrawn from service last year, following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. The MOD can announce today that she will also be recycled as part of a £2.9m deal with Leyal, the same company responsible for recycling Invincible in 2011. Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology Philip Dunne said: "It is important that we preserve the legacy of the Royal Navy's Invincible Class aircraft carriers. When the last of these - HMS Illustrious - retires from the Royal Navy, we would like to see her preserved as a legacy to the work she, Invincible and Ark Royal have done to protect the UK over three decades." learn more

HMS Ark Royal sold for scrap by Ministry of Defence

Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is being sold for £3m for scrap metal by the Ministry of Defence to help tackle a multi-billion pound defence deficit.
The removal of the Royal Navy's former flagship from service in 2011, five years early, was a "difficult but necessary decision", the MoD has said.
Its sale follows bids to turn the ship into a London heliport, a dive site off Devon or other overseas facilities.

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El HMS Ark Royal entra en su base por última vez/ HMS Ark Royal bows out in Portsmouth

El HMS Ark Royal ha entrado en su puerto base de Portsmouth por última vez, tras 14 años de servicio con la Royal Navy.
El portaaviones va a ser retirado dentro del plan de recortes de Defensa. El nuevo buque insignia de la Royal Navy será el buque de asalto HMS Albion.
Ha realizado un pequeño crucero de despedida, con escalas en Hamburgo y Newcastle, antes de llegar a la base naval de Portsmouth.
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HMS Ark Royal has entered her home port of Portsmouth for the last time today, bringing her 25 years of service in the Royal Navy to a close.
The aircraft carrier is being decommissioned as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Her role as the current Royal Navy flagship will initially be taken on by amphibious assault ship HMS Albion.
Following a brief farewell tour of the UK and a stopover in Hamburg, the aircraft carrier, which is being decommissioned early next year, sailed into Portsmouth Naval Base today, and in keeping with tradition flew a decommissioning pennant.
Ark Royal's farewell voyage took her around the north of Scotland and on into Newcastle where she was built by Swan Hunter in their Wallsend shipyard.
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Adiós de los Harrier al HMS Ark Royal/ Last Harriers leave Ark Royal

Los últimos Harrier GR9 embarcados en el HMS Ark Royal, han realizado sus últimas salidas esta mañana (24/11/2010), finalizando 30 años de operaciones y finalizando las operaciones de aeronaves de ala fija en el Reino Unido, hasta la entrada en servicio del F-35.
Los Harrier formaban parte del 1(F) Squadron de la RAF y del 800 Naval Air Squadron de la Royal Navy. Los aviones han aterrizado en RAF Cottesmore.
El HMS Ark Royal volverá a Portsmouth el próximo 3 de diciembre para ser retirado. Las operaciones de Harrier cesarán el día 16 de diciembre.
key.aero
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The last Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Harrier GR9s embarked on HMS Ark Royal made their final departures this morning, bringing to an end 30 years of Fleet Air Arm fixed-wing operations with both the aircraft and the CVS carriers themselves.
Four Harriers, two from 1(F) Squadron RAF and two from 800 Naval Air Squadron departed at 0900 hours, watched by the ship’s company. The weather was cold and dismal, reflecting the sad end for both Joint Force Harrier and the ship itself. The last pilot to leave was Lt Cdr James Blackmore, a navy pilot currently serving as OC A Flight with 1(F) Squadron. All four Harriers returned to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland after practicing some 2v2 air combat training.
HMS Ark Royal will return to Portsmouth on December 3 to be retired from service, its future as uncertain as that of the Harrier fleet itself, which will suspend flying operations on December 16.
key.aero

Crucero de despedida del HMS Ark Royal/ Ark Royal on farewell tour

El buque insignia de la Royal Navy, el portaeronaves HMS Ark Royal, que será retirado tres años antes de lo previsto, ha zarpado para realizar su crucero de despedida, desde su base en Portsmouth.
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The Royal Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal, which was axed as part of the defence review, has set sail for a farewell tour.
The aircraft carrier is to be retired three years early as part of cost-cutting measures announced by the British government last month.
The ship, sailed from its home port of Portsmouth Naval Base heading up the west coast of the UK before visiting Clyde Naval Base in Scotland and back down to Newcastle.

El Portaaviones HMS Ark Royal será retirado de manera inmediata/ HMS Ark Royal to be scrapped

La Royal Navy jubilará próximamente a su buque insignia a cambio de lo cual el Gobierno británico permitirá la construcción de dos nuevos portaaviones.
El Ark Royal, botado en 1985, será retirado casi inmediatamente del servicio en lugar de en 2014, como estaba proyectado inicialmente.
El ministro de Finanzas, George Osborne, dio a entender ya el domingo que su Gobierno daría luz verde a los dos nuevos portaaviones, el HMS Queen Elizabeth y el HMS Prince of Wales. La justificación es que costaría más cancelar el proyecto, como han propuesto algunos, que seguir adelante.
Según la BBC, al menos uno de los dos nuevos portaaviones será rediseñado de forma que sirva para cazas normales sin la capacidad de despegue vertical de los Harrier.
Gracias a ese nuevo diseño podrán también posarse en el buque los cazas de ataque conjunto estadounidenses y franceses.
El primer ministro británico, David Cameron, anunciará esta tarde los detalles de los recortes presupuestarios que su Gobierno aplicará a las Fuerzas Armadas.
Según fuentes de Downing Street, Cameron habló ya el lunes con el presidente de EEUU, Barack Obama, para explicarle la revisión de la defensa nacional que piensa acometer.
abc.es

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HMS Ark Royal will be retired almost immediately instead of the planned 2014 retirement date.
BBC said this is the price the Royal Navy had to pay in order to keep both its new aircraft carriers.
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El portaaeronaves HMS Ark Royal embarca helicópteros Lynx/HMS Ark Royal embarks Lynx

El HMS Ark Royal de la Royal Navy británica es el primer portaeronaves en tener como dotación propia sus propios helicópteros Lynx. Se trata de aparatos pertenecientes al 212 del 815 Naval Air Squadron.
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HMS Ark Royal is the first aircraft carrier to have its own Lynx flight when 212 Flight from 815 Naval Air Squadron came onboard for its current deployment.
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EL PORTAAVIONES ARK ROYAL VUELVE A SER EL BUQUE INSGNIA DE LA ROYAL NAVY/ARK ROYAL RETURNS AS FLAGSHIP

El portaaviones HMS Ark Royal volverá a ser el buque insignia de la flota despues de terminar sus últimas pruebas. The El buque, con base en Portsmouth sustituirá a su gemelo HMS Illustrious despues de siete meses en su armamento y equipos de comunicaciones. El Ark Royal ha sufrido tres conatos de incendio en sus máquinas, incluyendo uno pocas horas después de terminar la modernización. En primavera participará en los ejercicios Joint Warrior, un ejercicio multinacional que se desarrollará en la zona norte de Escocia.
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HMS Ark Royal will return as the navy's fleet flagship and strike aircraft carrier on Monday after finishing months of trials The Portsmouth-based warship will take over from her sister ship HMS Illustrious after tests on her weapons and communications systems after a seven-month refit.
The ship was also put through its paces during six weeks of basic operational sea training off the south west coast.
HMS Ark Royal will become the nation's 'strike' carrier, operating Harrier aircraft from Naval Strike Wing.
Ark Royal had been hit by three fire scares in her engine rooms during her testing period away from Portsmouth, including one just hours after she left from refit.
After Easter she will head for Joint Warrior, a multinational training exercise to be held off northern Scotland.