Panoramic view of HMS Illustrious moored on the river Thames at Greenwich, London
Panoramic view of HMS Illustrious moored on the river Thames at Greenwich, London . The fifth HMS Illustrious (R06) is an Invincible-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, affectionately known as 'Lusty' to her crew. She was laid down at Swan Hunter on the River Tyne in 1976, and launched in 1978. As the ship neared the end of its fitting out period, the Falklands War broke out. As a consequence, work on Illustrious was greatly speeded up. The war was won before Illustrious could be finished, but she did perform a useful service in the aftermath. Until the RAF airfield on the Falkland Islands was repaired, an aircraft carrier was required on station to protect the area from possible Argentine attack. Invincible had been on station for many months when Illustrious steamed to its relief. However, Illustrious was needed so quickly that the ship was actually commissioned whilst underway. After the RAF airfield was repaired, Illustrious returned to the UK for a full shakedown cruise and workup period, with a formal commissioning on 20 March 1983. HMS Illustrious along with HMS Gloucester helped in the evacuation of British citizens from Beirut as a result of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis. Later that year, as part of the Royal Navy's Remembrance Day activities, HMS Illustrious sailed up the River Thames on Friday 10 November 2006. She was moored at Wood Wharf, a few hundred yards upriver from the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, until Wednesday 15 November. Whilst there, the Falklands War commemorative events in 2007 were annou On 7 May 2009, she returned to Greenwich to serve as the centre piece of the Royal Navy's celebration of a century of British naval aviation, aboard were examples of all the Navy's operational helicopters. It is reported that this will be the last time a British Carrier will visit London, since the Invincible class will soon be retired with future carriers being too big to journey up river.
Size: 8396px × 3031px
Location: RIver Thames, Greenwich, London, UK
Photo credit: © John Gaffen 2 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aircraft, greenwich, harrier, helecopters, london, merlin, moored, navy, panorama, photostich, river, ship, thames, warship
