Final farewell to Royal Navy's HMS Illustrious on her last journey to a Turkish scrapyard
- Carrier built by Swan Hunter shipbuilders on the Tyne and launched by Princess Margaret in 1978
- 22,000-tonne ship affectionately known as ‘Lusty’ was formally decommissioned in August 2014
This morning hundreds of people have gathered to wave off the Royal Navy's HMS Illustrious as she was towed away to be scraped in Turkey after being sold to Leyal Ship Recycling for £2million after 32 years of service.
The sale came despite proposals to turn her into a floating hotel, museum or even a UK centre for powerboats.
Former sailors gave a salute and three cheers as it sailed past the Round Tower in Old Portsmouth, the traditional vantage point for families to see warships arriving and leaving the historic base.
It has left the service without a fixed-wing aircraft carrier until the first of the next generation of carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is commissioned next year.
The carrier, built by Swan Hunter shipbuilders on the Tyne and launched by Princess Margaret in December 1978, had her entry into service brought forward so she could assist in the Falklands War effort.
The warship's deployment was so rushed that her commissioning ceremony took place at sea en route to the Falklands on June 20 1982, while she was formally commissioned on her return.
WRS Tech is looking forward to see the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth take HMS Illustrious’ s place. The 72,000 ton vessel, which has cost £3billion, will be armed with F35-B Lightning jets and helicopters. It will launch for sea trials next year.
WRS Tech has a number of positions around the globe which would be suitable for crew who have sailed on HMS Illustrious. There are also a number of Marine design and Shipbuilding roles in both the UK and International Defence industry.
Please get in touch with the team to discuss what opportunities are available.
