Former HMS Illustrious Sold for Scrap

 

The MOD’s initial plan for the retired aircraft carrier was to retain part or all of the ship in the U.K. for heritage purposes. A competition seeking bids for development plans was launched in 2013, and though a number of proposals were received, none proved to be viable.

 

“We have done all we can for over two years to find a home for the former HMS Illustrious in the U.K., and regrettably all options have now been exhausted,” said Minister for Defense Procurement Harriett Baldwin.

 

HMS Illustrious covered over 900,000 nautical miles between 1982 and 2014, performing a range of operations such as stabilization efforts in the immediate aftermath of the first Gulf War and delivering humanitarian aid after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in 2013. The ship now shares a fate similar to sister ships Invincible and Ark Royal which were also recycled.

 

Illustrious is scheduled to leave Portsmouth for Turkey this autumn ahead of the 2017 arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of the new Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers, the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.

 

“Lusty provided a world-class service to the Royal Navy for over three decades. We will bid her farewell with a heavy heart but in the knowledge that everything has been done to find a use for her,” Mike Utley, former Commanding Officer on HMS Illustrious. “As the former aircraft carrier gets ready to leave Portsmouth, so we can look to the future and the arrival of the new Queen Elizabeth Class carriers, which will ensure that the Royal Navy continues to be a pre-eminent maritime power in the modern world.”