HMS Illustrious has returned to her Portsmouth home for the last time.
The Navy’s helicopter and commando carrier, which has clocked up 898,893 miles on operations throughout the world, is being succeeded by HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy’s larger, younger and more capable helicopter carrier which has just returned to service following a £65 million refit.
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is affectionately known to her crew as “Lusty”.
According to BBC News, the UK government has indicated that Illustrious could be turned into a floating museum as a tribute to the decommissioned class of warship.