HMS Ark Royal (R07) - a photo on Flickriver

            i have already posted this picture before, but in case some have not seen it, i thought it was good enough to post again.

HMS Ark Royal is a decommissioned light aircraft carrier and former flagship of the Royal Navy. She was the third and final vessel of Invincible-class. Built by Swan Hunters on the River Tyne and launched in 1981 by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, she followed sister ships HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious into service in 1985.

Affectionately known as The Mighty Ark, she is the fifth Royal Navy ship to have borne the name of the 1587 flagship that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.[7] Originally intended to be named Indomitable to match the rest of the class, this was changed due to the public reaction to the loss of the Ark Royal name after the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal in 1980, after 30 years' service.[citation needed]

Slightly larger than her sister ships, and with a steeper ski-jump ramp, Ark Royal carried the STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) Harrier Jump Jet aircraft, as well as various helicopters. With a crew complement of over 1,000 sailors and aviators, she saw active service in the 1990s Bosnian War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

Originally due to be retired in 2016, Ark Royal was instead decommissioned on Friday 11 March 2011, as part of the Navy restructuring portion of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.[8] After Ark Royal's decommissioning HMS Albion replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated on 1 December 2010 that, "All options are being considered in terms of what happens to the Ark Royal after it is decommissioned. We might also look at scrapping it, selling it or recycling it."

Other options being explored were to moor her as a hotel, casino, museum ship or visitor attraction at the Royal Docks in east London[35] or at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire,[36][37] along the lines of USS Intrepid or HMS Belfast. The annual cost of running the ship as a museum has been estimated at £1 million.[38] Another option being explored is to moor her as a floating helipad in London's Royal Albert Dock,[39][40] though it is against the London Plan to create new helipads in London.[41] Another option being considered is turning Ark Royal into a hospital ship with the ability to respond to humanitarian disasters.[42] There is also the possibility of scuttling Ark Royal off the Devonshire coast as an artificial reef.[43]

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.[44] 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.[45] In September 2012, the announcement was made that the ship had been sold to Leyal Ship Recycling for scrapping.[46]

In recognition of the decommissioning of the Ark Royal, Portsmouth F.C. has added the ship's motto to its 2011/12 season kit

Taken in: United Kingdom / Scotland / Kilchoan (show map)

Taken on: October 16, 2008

Sets appears in: • Old Warships • Warships more » • Royal Navy « less

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Camera: Nikon D300, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 220mm (=330mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D300
Lens:	70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	220mm (35mm equivalent: 330mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Soft
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh
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