Dysartian
The Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious off Dysart
For the past couple of days the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has been cruising up and down the Firth of Forth (photographed off Dysart) . It was anchored off Burntisland earlier today but it now appears to have left the Firth of Forth and gone out to sea. It had probably just come out of Rosyth Naval Dockyard after a refit and will be conducting sea-trials. In May 2011, Illustrious was made operationally ready after a 40 million pound refit and is due to take over the Royal Navy’s helicopter carrier role from HMS Ocean. As part of last year’s Armed Forces Defence Review, the carrier Ark Royal and its Harrier Jump jets were decommissioned (which is madness if you want to police the world’s trouble spots which the UK currently does). It was decided to retain HMS Ocean (the sister ship of HMS Illustrious) as a helicopter platform and HMS Ocean is the aircraft carrier currently in the news for flying Apache attack helicopters to take-out Colonel Gadaffi’s offensive forces in Libya. HMS Illustrious will shortly assume the Landing Platform Helicopter role while Ocean undergoes a planned refit, which is due for completion by 2014 and Illustrious then will be decommissioned.
My photo and some text was published in our local newspaper, the Fife Free Pree on 9th June 2011.
The Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious off Dysart
For the past couple of days the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has been cruising up and down the Firth of Forth (photographed off Dysart) . It was anchored off Burntisland earlier today but it now appears to have left the Firth of Forth and gone out to sea. It had probably just come out of Rosyth Naval Dockyard after a refit and will be conducting sea-trials. In May 2011, Illustrious was made operationally ready after a 40 million pound refit and is due to take over the Royal Navy’s helicopter carrier role from HMS Ocean. As part of last year’s Armed Forces Defence Review, the carrier Ark Royal and its Harrier Jump jets were decommissioned (which is madness if you want to police the world’s trouble spots which the UK currently does). It was decided to retain HMS Ocean (the sister ship of HMS Illustrious) as a helicopter platform and HMS Ocean is the aircraft carrier currently in the news for flying Apache attack helicopters to take-out Colonel Gadaffi’s offensive forces in Libya. HMS Illustrious will shortly assume the Landing Platform Helicopter role while Ocean undergoes a planned refit, which is due for completion by 2014 and Illustrious then will be decommissioned.
My photo and some text was published in our local newspaper, the Fife Free Pree on 9th June 2011.