Friday, November 26, 2010

For sale to the highest bidder. How sad for a once mighty Navy.


Thanks Joe.  I wish they had sunk her instead.


Sale by Tender - HMS Invincible 
HMS Invincible is for sale by tender. Laid down in 1973 at Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-Furness, she was completed in 1980. She is currently stable for tow, subject to buyer confirmation.
Displacement - Current 17000 Tonnes
Estimated metal weight - 10000 Tonnes
Estimated metal % - 95% mild steel
Length - OA 210m, W/L 193m
Draught - Fwd 5.2m, Mid 5.8m, Aft 5.8m
Beam - Extreme 35m, Ex-walkways 32m, W/L 27.53m
Height - 46m (estimated at current draught
Engines - Removed
Generators and Pumps - Generally unserviceable or not working
For fuller information, please see the General Particulars.
Manufacturer: Vickers Shipbuilding

Yeah and I know they're selling her for scrap...still. Its just sad.
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3 comments :

  1. MarcaseSaturday, November 27, 2010 4:03:00 AM

    She might make for a good LPH helicopter carrier after a thorough refit and conversion. I wonder if China will buy and convert her to another "floating casino"...

    I kind of expected her to be picked up by Canada. When combined with a Bay class LSD(A) (one also being retired) this would be a small but reasonable (helo) intervention group with limited amphib capability that Canada has been mulling over for years.

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  2. SolomonSaturday, November 27, 2010 4:06:00 AM

    Marcase.

    You do realize that now, at least as far as Europe is concerned, the only people capable of conducting long range - out of area operations (in order of capability) are ...
    1. France (due mainly to the Mistral BPC class)
    2. Italy
    3. Spain
    4. Netherlands
    4. UK (tie-taking into account future force reductions)

    Its a pretty sad state of affairs.

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  3. MarcaseSaturday, November 27, 2010 2:33:00 PM

    Indeed it is. But you have to keep in mind that Europe's main threat came overland from the east (and still does according to many East European countries), so unlike the old colonial countries with historic overseas territories, most of the European (NATO) countries prefer a pure defensive/deterrent military over a power projection force.

    France btw still has some conventional LPD/LSD types, not to mention a plethora of LSTs as well. Then there are its overseas territories and mutual defense agreements, primarily with African nations, but also in the Persian Gulf.

    On that, the UK also has some forward bases as well which can act as staging areas.
    Brunei, Belize, Cyprus and Diego Garcia are all located at strategic points on maps that matter. The RAFs C-17s, C-130s and future A400Ms (...) are part of a rapid deployment strategy combined with these forward bases as important hubs.

    But history taught that basing rights and overfly permissions aren't set in stone. The UK defense cuts will eventually bite them in their rear area - hard.

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