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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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The former Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal has been sold for for £3 million.
The vessel was decommissioned in 2010 five years ahead of its expected sell-by date.
The decision comes following a bidding process which included proposals to turn the ship into a helipad in the Thames, a museum, a hotel, a casino or a diving wreck off the South coast.
Last year HMS Invincible was also sold to a Turkish scrap metal firm as part of the MoD's drive to get its finances in order.
Ark Royal is seen as a symbol of the former might and current woes of the Royal Navy, being the fifth vessel to carry the name of the flagship which saw off the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Known as the Mighty Ark, the light aircraft carrier saw action in the Adriatic during the Bosnian War in 1993 before being sent to lead the British fleet during the invasion of Iraq a decade later.
Following the Defence and Security Review's decision to scupper the vessel and ground the Navy's Harrier jump jet fleet 18 months ago, the Royal Ark has been awaiting its fate in Portsmouth harbour.
HMS Illustrious, commissioned 1982 just days after the Falklands War, is expected to be preserved after completing active service in 2014.
The new, much larger Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers will start to enter service in 2017.
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