Navy

'Lusty' Heads For The Scrapheap

HMS Illustrious has seen her lengthy career come to an end, as she was towed out of Portsmouth harbour.

Crowds gathered on the dockside, to wave goodbye to the almighty ship, as she headed for a Turkish scrapyard.

The 22,000-tonnne ship, affectionately known as ‘’Lusty’’, was formally decommissioned in August 2014 after 32 years of service.

The Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling has bought the ship for about £2 million.

The sale came despite proposals to turn the carrier into a floating hotel, museum or even a UK centre for powerboats.

The towing of the ship marks the end of an era, as Illustrious is the last of the Invincible class of aircraft carriers, which included the Ark Royal and Invincible.

Captain Jerry Kyd, former Commanding Officer of HMS Illustrious and current Commanding Officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, said:

"Lusty provided a world-class service to the Royal Navy and we bid her goodbye with fond memories. As she leaves Portsmouth I’m looking forward to the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will ensure that we remain a global maritime power."

HMS Illustrious was used extensively as one of the Navy’s two helicopter carriers, following the retirement of the Harriers in 2010.

She has had a colourful career beginning with her formal launch in December 1978 by Princess Margaret herself.

The carrier was built by Swan Hunter shipbuilders on the River Tyne, and her entry into service was brought forward so she could assist in the Falklands war.

The warship's deployment was so rushed that her commissioning ceremony took place at sea en route to the Falklands on June 20th, 1982.

During the conflict, she relieved sister ship HMS Invincible in providing a floating airfield for aircraft unable to use the islands' damaged RAF base.

'Lusty' went on to support forces in Afghanistan and served in the Bosnia and Sierra Leone conflicts.

She also helped to evacuate Britons during the war in Lebanon in 2006.

In 2013, Illustrious was involved in providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

However, 2016 sadly sees the warship end her career and David Rogers, chairman of the HMS Illustrious Association, said:

"It is obviously quite sad that she is going - she served the country well for some 32 years - but it is inevitable that she is going to make way for the Queen Elizabeth class carriers."

The departure of 'Lusty' leaves the service without a fixed-wing aircraft carrier until the first of the next generation of carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is commissioned next year.

All eyes will soon be on HMS Queen Elizabeth as she makes her debut next year, but 'Lusty' will forever be in the memory of all those who she served.