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HMS Ark Royal towed from Portsmouth at start of sad final journey to Turkish scrapyard

Just for a moment, she still looked so proud.

The sun broke through briefly to illuminate her in the water, maintaining that air of might and majesty that only Britain’s most famous warship could boast.

Yet this was the saddest day in the illustrious life of HMS Ark Royal. Her deck was stripped bare of aircraft and her hull was streaked with years of rust and neglect.

Final journey: HMS Ark Royal leaves Portsmouth for the last time yesterday bound for the Turkish scrapyard after plans to save the vessel failed

Empty: The warship, which was used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, lies empty as it leaves Portsmouth Harbour yesterday and was waved off for the last time

Crowds: Hundreds gathered in Portsmouth yesterday to wave off the Ark Royal as she left Portsmouth Harbour for the last time

Goodbye: Union Jack flags flutter in the wind on the south coast yesterday as the HMS Ark Royal leaves Britain for the final time - this time for the scrapyard

Departure: The deck empty, the HMS Ark Royal is towed to Turkey and to the scrapyard yesterday

After more than a quarter of a century of service, the aircraft carrier – the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear a name that dates back to the days of victory over the Spanish Armada – began her final, solemn journey to the scrapyard.

She wasn’t even allowed the romantic privilege of sailing into the sunset at the 30 knots she was capable of. Instead, tugs hauled her slowly out of Portsmouth harbour towards her last resting place in Turkey.

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The ultimate indignity is still to come. Soon, she will be broken up and recycled to make razor blades and tin cans.

No wonder former crewmen wore black armbands on the dockside. No wonder there were more tears than cheers from the hundreds who gathered, like mourners, to say their farewells.

Goodbye: A large crowd of people watch as the HMS Ark Royal is towed out of Portsmouth harbour yesterday for the last time bound for Turkey

Departure: HMS Ark Royal was the fifth ship to bear the same name when she was launched in 1981. However, she was taken out of service in 2010 under Government spending cuts

Farewell: A large crowd gathered in Portsmouth yesterday as the ship made its final voyage. The 22,000-tonne light aircraft carrier has been sold to ship recycling firm Leyal for £2.9million. The ship will be taken 2,000 miles to Izmir in west Turkey

Goodbye: The Ark Royal was the fifth ship to be called the Ark Royal, a name that dates back to 1587

Left: HMS Ark Royal leaves for the last time yesterday, being pulled by this ship in front. The aircraft carrier is being taken to Turkey where it will be dismantled by ship recycling firm Leyal

Salute: A small crowd gathers on the beach as the ship is towed away for the last time ready to be scrapped

Send off: A man watches as the HMS Ark Royal is towed out of Portsmouth for Turkey on its final journey

Warship: A Harrier jet hovers as it comes in to land on the flight deck of HMS Ark Royal in July 2010 during an exercise as it was announced the warship would be axed

Anniversary: The HMS Ark Royal makes her way past the O2 arena in 2007 as the navy marked the National Falklands 25th Anniversary

Two engineering triumphs: The HMS Ark Royal passes under the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland after taking part in training exercises in 2004

HMS ARK ROYAL: WARSHIP STATSWeight: 22,000 tons

Power: Four Rolls Royce gas powered engines which produce 97,000 BHP

Cost: £320million

Length: 210metres

Conflicts: 2003 Iraq war and Bosnia

Launched: June 2, 1981

What happens to her now: Sold for scrap

Retirement date: 2016 (brought forward five years by the Coalition Government)

Motto: Zeal does not rest

Constructed:  Swan Hunter's Dockyard, Newcastle

Aircraft: Can hold up to 24 planes

Once, they would have assembled here as ‘the mighty Ark’ returned from war to a ‘welcome home’ celebration with splendid military pomp.

Yesterday, most stood in silence or simply waved Union Flags as the 22,000-ton ship came into view, and went.

The most miserable epitaph for Ark Royal and what’s left of the Royal Navy is that her decommissioning and sale to a foreign country for £2.9million was claimed by defence bosses yesterday to have saved taxpayers more than £100million.

The ship, which carried 22 aircraft and had a complement of 1,051, was retired five years ahead of schedule in 2011, a high-profile casualty of the government’s controversial defence review.

There was outrage at the prospect of selling the ship online, with plans to turn her into a casino in Hong Kong, a floating hospital or a commercial diving wreck all rejected.

Destiny, however, sent her on the same 2,000-mile journey her sister ship made two years ago. HMS Invincible, heroine of the Falklands war, also went for scrap.

Among those lining Portsmouth’s old harbour yesterday was John Mayer, a stores assistant who was one of the first to serve on board after she was launched in 1981 at a cost of £320million.

‘It’s a very emotional day,’ he said.

Steve Higgins, a former Ark Royal petty officer, said the memories will ‘remain for ever’. ‘To the last, she showed the character of a proper lady of the seas,’ he added.

Return: The ship's personnel wave as the HMS Ark Royal approaches Portsmouth in May 2003 after the war in Iraq

Last tour: The HMS Ark Royal is greeted by a crowd of people as she sails into Portsmouth for the final time in December 2010 after it was announced the ship would be scrapped

Invasion: The HMS Ark Royal in March 2003 as it prepared for the Iraq war which began just days later. The Ark Royal left Britain in January 2003 as part of a deployment to the region

Departure: Crowds wave Unuion Flags as HMS Ark Royal sails out of Portsouth in January 2003, ahead of the Iraq war. It was at at the head of the largest UK amphibious task force deployed since the 1982 Falklands War

Active service. The Duke of York, pictured in 2001, speaks to Captain David Snelson as he prepares to leave HMS Ark Royal on his final day as a serving officer in the Royal Navy

Launch: The new HMS Ark Royal at the Swan Hunter shipyard in June 1981 after being launched by the Queen Mother

THE FIFTH GREAT BRITISH WARSHIP TO BE CALLED THE ARK ROYAL

When the HMS Ark Royal was launched in June 1981, it was the fifth great British warship to bear the famous name.

The Ark Royal was originally the name given to a ship ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh in 1586. It was involved in the battles against the Spanish Armada, and served for more than 50 years.

That first ship was eventually broken up in 1638, and it was almost 300 years before another vessel bore the same name.

The second HMS Ark Royal, launched in 1914, was the first ship designed to carry aircraft in history. The 7,080 ton ship bore little resemblance to her 800 ton 16th century predecessor. But like her namesake she served her country with distinction and was used in both World Wars.

The Ark Royal was launched in 1937 but came to a watery end in 1941 when sunk by a German U-boat. The fourth Ark Royal was launched in 1950 before being scrapped in 1979 and replaced by the current one in 1981.

The present Ark Royal was built by Swan Hunters Ship Builders' yard at Wallsend in 1978 and launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. She was accepted into service on July 1, 1985.























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