HMS Illustrious is set to be sold off for 'recycling' after the government's attempt to keep her for the nation failed.
The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Authority (DSA), which is responsible for disposing of all surplus British military equipment, has released a notice inviting expressions of interest for the potential sale of the aircraft carrier.
Nicknamed 'Lusty', the ship was the second of three Invincible-class ships built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, being rushed into service in 1982 to take part in the Falklands War.
Along with HMS Invincible and HMS Ark Royal, both long since having been sold off for scrap, she then spent 32 years protecting the UK’s interests across the world before being decommissioned in August 2014.
he sale notice is something of an embarassment, with the government announcing its intention to preserve Illustrious as a lasting tribute to the work of the Invincible-class as early as 2012.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne said at the time:
"It is important that we preserve the legacy of the Royal Navy’s Invincible-class aircraft carriers. When the last of these - HMS Illustrious - retires from the Royal Navy, we would like to see her preserved as a legacy to the work she, Invincible and Ark Royal have done to protect the UK over three decades."
"We would be keen to seek innovative proposals from a range of organisations, including private sector companies, charities and trusts."
Speaking to Forces TV an MoD spokeswoman explained there had been a failure to find an appropriate buyer for Lusty: "We've previously asked for bids from companies wanting to turn it into some kind of heritage site but none were suitable."
"Recycling now seems the only viable option - however, if any other option comes up in the meantime we would look at that. At the moment we haven't had any bids so we don't know what it will be turned into but we have opened the bidding up to the wider recycling market."
However a Royal Navy source told Forces TV that the option of HMS Illustrious being sold for scrap remains the most likely fate, describing a worst-case scenario of her being "run up a beach and turned into razor blades."
They did add, however, that "she could still be sold to a foreign navy and refitted", citing examples of ships sold to India and Chile, including the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and three Type 23 frigates.
