I read with some sadness today about the fate of one of Britain’s last remaining aircraft carriers, HMS Invincible, is to be scrapped and sold to Turkey to make razor blades.
Yes, you read correctly, razor blades!
Alongside HMS Hermes, Invincible was one of the leading frigates during the Falklands War in 1982. Its power allows Sea Harriers to take off and land vertically made it a key weapon against the Argentine forces. So it is a sad ending to this once incredible piece of naval machinery. Launched in 1977 Invincible cost a then record £185 million pounds and will now be broken up, discarded and sold for as little as £2 million and recycled to be made into razor blades and saucepans.
I am not one for sentiment. As the world moves into a new millennium, the advancements in modern-day warfare have meant that old vessels, fighter planes and tanks have had to evolve to cope with the new technology. It does not make any sense at all to scrap a fully functioning vessel with a replacement still some ten years away.
It would have made more sense for her to be anchored and used as a training vessel or even a temporary museum for future generations to understand and admire. But at the end of the day it seems that this illustrious giant was not so Invincible after all.
She has cemented her place in naval history and rightly so. It’s just a sad end to a wonderful legacy.
