Invincible-class aircraft carrier

The Invincible class was a class of three light aircraft carriers operated by the Royal Navy: HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal. They were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine platforms to counter the Soviet submarine threat in the Cold War North Atlantic, and first carried Sea Harrier aircraft and Sea King anti-submarine helicopters. The short flight deck made rolling take-offs marginal for loaded Harriers, so a ski-jump was fitted, 7 degrees on Invincible and Illustrious and 12 degrees on Ark Royal. After the 1982 Falklands War close-in weapon systems were added. The ships served in the South Atlantic, the Adriatic during the Bosnian War and the Middle East in 2003. Invincible was decommissioned in 2005 and Ark Royal in 2011, and Illustrious retired in 2014, leaving the navy without a true aircraft carrier until HMS Queen Elizabeth was commissioned in 2017.