Goodbye Ark Royal, hello General Wellbeing

Osred

Coghlin's article was a good one except in one respect. He compared the thousands present when launched with the few hundred who watched her leave the Tyne on Tuesday.

He either ignored or was unaware of the 10+ thousand or more of us who took the opportunity to visit the Ark over the weekend to sy goodbye to the last major warship built there.

St Bruno

I don’t normally comment first. I have in the past and they are never posted.

However, I would just like to say that the demise of HMS Ark Royal and the jump-jets is a mistake of terrible magnitude. The wrong time and for the wrong reasons. The Nimrod is even more concerning.

The happy thingy whatsit is in the words of the bard a load of bollocks. I hope they don’t ask me how I feel about modern day Britain.

I’ve not had a comfort zone since I retired ten years ago. Sad to say most of my generation, at least the ones I’ve spoken to, feel the same way, except Lord Young that is. More happy news the price of gas is going up in December, just geed by the private energy companies. And another thing…………

zkharya

The replacements for the Harrier carriers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_class_aircraft_carrier

Jason from AZ

But Prince William is getting married. That should make up for scrapping the Harriers and make you Brits feel jolly good, shouldn't it?

Britain First Always

Well said, Ms. Phillips.

You're a fine writer and you make a lot of sense, when you're not blindly defending Israel. The first role of government is defence. Britain's navy (& air force) are vital to preserve our nation and its people; it's sad to see them neglected.

The happiness index is truly absurd. The government could make me a lot happier if it shifted money from pointless foreign aid, from Irish bailout money, pocket money for captured terrorists, EU budgets and from the prosecution of a silly war in Afghanistan in favour of a stout defence force - centred on the Navy.

Tom the Redhunter

Indeed, retiring the Ark Royal and her aircraft is a mistake.

Naval surface ships without a carrier can protect themselves, and carry out basic patrol work, but cannot project power. They cannot safely operate in dangerous areas without air cover, so must remain in range of friendly air bases.

The Royal Navy is building two new carriers of the Queen Elisabeth class, but the first won't be ready until later this decade. And even then from what I can tell only one ship will be active and the other held in "a in a state of "extended readiness."

And who wants to bet that one or both ships won't be canceled due to budget cuts.

Between this and the general slashing of the fleet it is indeed sad to see the mighty Royal Navy brought so low.

E

In t his country Prime MInisters start to take leave of their senses usually a year or more after election and gradually become completely deranged after four years in office. In this case this condition has already manifested itself.If he finds that we are all happy, then he can increase taxes without rocking the boat.

elixelx

Hey, why scrap 'em? It costs money to break up these rusting hulks or they just become eyesores!

Why not sell 'em to the highest bidder? I'm sure that Iran, or Syria would pay oodles in sunrays and moonbeams (OIL) for the privilege of having what was once the proud flagship of an Empire! Of course they would agree that the purchase would be for non-belligerent purposes only!

Or HMG could sell them to Israel! (That BOOM you just heard was heads exploding!)

BFA@2.18. When she's writing about YOUR likes she's a goood writer, and when she's writing about HERS she's execrable? Don't you think that's a beam in YOUR eye, rather than a mote in MELANIE'S?

Fred Taylor

We should have seen this one coming. If there's one thing worse than a PM who used to be a laywer, it's one who used to be a PR man.

just Louise

Excellent as always, Melanie. Nay, brilliant.
I've been weeping for quite a while. Cameron is betraying Britain's past, present, and future.
Well, he IS the heir to Blair, after all.

Arthur Lincoln

If you really want to know.....

http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/archives/000149.html

EDDIE

aircraft carriers converted to prison ships?

pterodactyl

Meanwhile the good people of Britain's minds are focusing on the celebrity TV programme 'X-Factor' and which celebrity is putting on weight.
Or which football player is being transferred to another other team.

David Taylor

Here we go again . once more our history ignorant politicians are about to leave our island without sea power, they have been doing this since before the Napolionic wars when we had to drag the prison hulks back into service as the navy had too few ships, then we had the farce before the First and Second World Wars once agin we were nearly found wanting and then we only just managed to fight for the Falklands before the navy was once more to be decimated. WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN ! WE LIVE ON AN ISLAND . Perhaps we should save money with a dramatic reduction in the number of MPs we actually need ! We could manage the country with a lot less of them to fight amongst themselves and operate their own corrupt self interest actions .I HAVE GIVEN UP VOTING AS NONE OF THEM CAN BE TRUSTED ANYMORE

Gale Dixon

That this country needs a strong Navy is without any doubt but to sacrifice the building ahead of well-armed frigates etc as a projection of naval power for a single carrier way into the future is surely the worst possible scenario for the next ten years.
There is much talk of how we need a carrier to protect the Falklands again - but a single carrier a week + away, and perhaps in port on a re-fit ? Ask the Americans who know full well that you cannot operate even the most sophisticated carrier without a formidable force of escorts. They can afford several carrier groups - sadly we can't. The long-range air/surface missile renders a single carrier especially vulnerable.
Lastly, when the JSF fighters do eventually appear, they must be shore-based for much of their time in the UK because of the whole complexity of operating them and the vital need for pilots to be kept in good flying practice on an almost daily basis. Modern air power does not come cheap as the RAF has found for years.
My Lords may be right in selecting a carrier as their primary aim ten years on but it needs to be proven beyond doubt that they have selected the best possible strategy for this country's naval power in very difficult times ahead.

Avraham Reiss - Jerusalem

From what I've been reading, the Israeli Air Force will sonner be larger than the RAF. But Britain needn't worry; with jet-fuel at today's prices, no invasion imminent in the foreseeable future ...

a bloxham

we should get our troops out of afganistan and spend the money saved on the defence of this maritime nation. nelson will be spinning in his grave

Raymond in DC

Actually I think selling them to Israel makes eminent sense. The latter is looking to strengthen both its coastal naval strength and it's ability to project power beyond the Red Sea (near Iran). Of course, given the UK's attitude toward Israel, it won't happen.

Dixon

This was all planned a decade ago under Labour and has nothing to do with the present shower.

The Harriers that put a tear in people eyes are in that respect like the Spitfire, and moreover, represent technology nearer to that of the WW2 airplane than the present day. No, well Spitfire is 67 years old and Harrier is 40+ years old. Case proven.

The plan was to retire these old stringbags to make way for the F35 supersonic VSTOL carrier plane operated from the new carriers. Sure, that plan now looks to be in jeopardy, but its no reason to perpetuate the myth that Ark Royal...not strictly an aircraft carrier but a "Through Deck Cruiser" ...and a few Harriers represents anything like an adequate modern fighting force.

Warfare today is very expensive. If we cannot stomach the cost then stop pretending. Scrap the present services and replace them with a territorial security force for deployment in our towns and cities where in a few years they are going to be needed.