Description AWESOME CAST, body /parts metal Detailed. In great shape, Painted 1 : 1250 Scale Diecast /Older cast. (To get the discount). HMS Ark Royal was a light aircraft carrier and former flagship of the Royal Navy. [7] She was the third and final vessel of Invincible class. She was built by Swan Hunter on the River Tyne and launched by them in 1981. Ark Royal was christened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. [8] Originally intended to be named Indomitable[9] to match the rest of the class, this was changed due to the public reaction to the loss of the Ark Royal name after the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal in 1980, after 30 years’ service. With a crew complement of over 1,000 sailors and aviators, she saw active service in the 1990s Bosnian War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. 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. [12] After Ark Royal’s decommissioning, HMS Albion replaced her as the Royal Navy flagship.