Many people, especially in Portsmouth, are sad to see Ark Royal decommissioned The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal has gone up for sale on the Ministry of Defence's auction website.
The Royal Navy's former flagship was decommissioned two weeks ago after 25 years' service as part of the government's defence budget review.
Proposals for it include turning it into a commercial heliport, a base for security personnel during the London Olympics, or a school and nightclub.
But it could also be sold for scrap like its sister ship HMS Invincible.
Ark Royal's operations have included leading the UK's naval forces during the invasion of Iraq.
The current ship is the fifth vessel to carry the name - the first saw battle in 1588 against the Spanish Armada.
Interested bidders are being invited to view Ark Royal at her home port, Portsmouth Naval Base, on 3 and 4 May.
Before they can attend, they must submit an outline of their "intentions regarding the vessel" to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The aircraft carrier is listed on the edisposals.com website, which is run by the MoD's Defence Equipment and Support arm.
It has a budget of £14bn to equip the UK's armed forces with everything from aircraft to clothing, and in order to supplement that, it regularly sells off kit that is no longer needed.
Also on sale currently are three Type-42 destroyers - HMS Exeter, HMS Southampton and HMS Nottingham.
HMS Invincible, which saw action in the Falklands War, was towed away last week to a scrapyard in Turkey.
Bidders have until 1000 BST on 13 June to put their tenders forward for Ark Royal.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-12883511
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