Affectionately known as The Mighty Ark, she is the fifth Royal Navy ship to have borne the name of the 1587 flagship that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

[10][11] Slightly larger than her sister ships, and with a steeper ski-jump ramp, Ark Royal carried the STOVL (short take off and vertical landing) Harrier jump jet aircraft, as well as various helicopters.

Originally due to be retired in 2016, Ark Royal was instead decommissioned on 11 March 2011, as part of the Navy restructuring portion of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

[13] Ark Royal was sold for scrap to the Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling and left Portsmouth in May 2013.

Ark Royal was deployed in 1993 to the Adriatic Sea during the Bosnian War under the command of Captain Terry Loughran RN (later rear admiral).

In May 1999, she was put into Rosyth for refitting, which included the removal of the Sea Dart surface-to-air missiles and covering over of the foredeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft.

During one of the operations in the war, two Westland Sea King helicopters from 849 Naval Air Squadron collided with each other in mid-air, resulting in the loss of six British and one American.

On 16 November 2006, a British Army WAH-64 Apache attack helicopter landed on Ark Royal for the first time marking an increase in the carrier's capability.

[39] She was then to have sailed to Rosyth or Govan,[40][41][42] but was instead de-stored at Portsmouth in late March after her decommissioning, with her last crew members leaving her by 25 May.

[43] A Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated on 1 December 2010 that, "All options are being considered in terms of what happens to the Ark Royal after it is decommissioned.

Other options explored were to moor her as a hotel, casino, museum ship or visitor attraction at the Royal Docks in east London[42] or at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire,[43][44] along the lines of USS Intrepid or HMS Belfast.

[47] Another option considered was to turn Ark Royal into a hospital ship with the ability to respond to humanitarian disasters.

[49] On 28 March 2011, the Ministry of Defence placed the decommissioned Ark Royal up for sale by auction, with 6 July as the final date for tenders.