Another post on John's Naval, Marine and other Service news
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![The HMS Ark Royal lays at a scrapping facility in Izmir, Turkey, as its pieces are ripped apart for recycling]()
![These exclusive photos show how workers have began cutting open the top half of the former flagship of the Royal Navy]()
![About 80 staff from ship recycling firm Leyal began scrapping the 22,000-tonne warship just over a month ago near Izmir in West Turkey and are expected to take a further seven months to complete the job]()
![The interior of the once-mighty Ark Royal lies exposed in the Turkish sun as the scrapping process steps up a gear]()
![The light aircraft-carrier will be stripped down and eventually turned into everything from bridge foundations to cooking utensils]()
![The ship had been decommissioned as part of spending cuts following the 2010 defence review]()
![The rust-streaked ship left the UK for the final time when it was waved off in May 2013 - but now its future lies in the scrapheap]()
![Bids to turn the ship into a nightclub, casino and even an artificial diving reef off the coast of Devon had all been rejected - so now it is being turned into scrap]()
![A JCB and a worker in the Leyal scrapping yard in Izmir, Turkey. Workmen have begun scrapping it to make tin cans and razor blades]()
![Slung on the scrapheap The Leyal scrapping yard is awash with remnants of the once mighty warship]()
![Some of the parts of the Ark Royal lay in the dust as workmen begin the arduous task of dismantling the huge ship]()
![At 210m long it was capable of carrying 22 aircraft and had a complement of 1,051 - but now it is destined for razor blades and tin cans]()
![Tourists have made detours to visit the yard and watch as nuts, bolts and strips of steel are ripped off from the famous vessel]()
![A lorry leaves the Leyal scrapping yard, where tonnes of metal will be torn apart, before being recycled and reborn into a new handy object]()
![The front of the Leyal scrapping yard in Izmir. Their task of shredding the boat apart comes a month after a tugboat dragged the Ark Royal to shore on the last leg of its 2,000 mile journey from Portsmouth]()
![Mighty powerful: As well as leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the impressive ship also saw service in Bosnia]()
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366334/Work-begins-reducing-Ark-Royal-tin-cans-razors-Turkish-scrapyard.html#ixzz2ZLPpP5iD
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Raiders of the lost Ark: Work begins on reducing the once-mighty Royal Navy flagship to tin cans and razor blades at Turkish scrapyard
- Aircraft-carrier will be stripped down and turned into everything from bridge foundations to cooking utensils
- Vessel - which led forces during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 - was sold by the Ministry of Defence for a reported £2.9m
By ANNA EDWARDS
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Carved open with its structure cut to pieces, it's hard to believe that this is the once mighty Ark Royal.
Especially when the reason it has been torn apart is that workmen begin scrapping it to make tin cans and razor blades.
These exclusive first pictures show how the top half of the former Royal Navy flagship has been carved open by heavy machinery.
Scroll down for video
The HMS Ark Royal lays at a scrapping facility in Izmir, Turkey, as its pieces are ripped apart for recycling
These exclusive photos show how workers have began cutting open the top half of the former flagship of the Royal Navy
About 80 staff from ship recycling firm Leyal began scrapping the 22,000-tonne warship just over a month ago near Izmir in West Turkey and are expected to take a further seven months to complete the job
The interior of the once-mighty Ark Royal lies exposed in the Turkish sun as the scrapping process steps up a gear
About 80 staff from ship recycling firm Leyal have been dismantling the 22,000-tonne warship for about two weeks at a scrapyard near Izmir in west Turkey.
The company - which also scrapped HMS Invincible two years ago - is expected to take a further seven months to complete the job.
According to Leyal, a handful of British tourists have made holiday detours to visit the yard and watch from afar as nuts, bolts and strips of steel are ripped off and carried away by lorries.
One Turkish woman also said she had been sent to collect a piece of the Ark Royal to send back to a woman in the UK. She did not want to be identified.
The light aircraft-carrier will be stripped down and eventually turned into everything from bridge foundations to cooking utensils
The ship had been decommissioned as part of spending cuts following the 2010 defence review
The rust-streaked ship left the UK for the final time when it was waved off in May 2013 - and now its future lies in the scrapheap
Bids to turn the ship into a nightclub, casino and even an artificial diving reef off the coast of Devon had all been rejected - so now it is being turned into scrap
It comes a month after a tugboat dragged the Ark Royal to shore on the last leg of its 2,000 mile journey from Portsmouth.
The light aircraft-carrier will be stripped down and eventually turned into everything from bridge foundations to cooking utensils.
The vessel - which led forces during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 - was sold to Leyal by the Ministry of Defence for a reported £2.9m.
The ship had been decommissioned as part of spending cuts following the 2010 defence review.
There had been bids to turn the ship into a nightclub, casino and even an artificial diving reef off the coast of Devon, but all were rejected by the MoD.
A JCB and a worker in the Leyal scrapping yard in Izmir, Turkey. Workmen have begun scrapping it to make tin cans and razor blades
Slung on the scrapheap The Leyal scrapping yard is awash with remnants of the once mighty warship
Some of the parts of the Ark Royal lay in the dust as workmen begin the arduous task of dismantling the huge ship
At 210m long it was capable of carrying 22 aircraft and had a complement of 1,051 - but now it is destined for razor blades and tin cans
The rust-streaked ship left the UK for the final time when it was waved off by hundreds of flag-waving Britons at Portsmouth Harbour on May 20, 2013.
It had served the UK for more than a quarter of a century since being built by Swan Hunters Ship Builders' yard at Wallsend, North Tyneside 1978, at a cost of £320million.
At 210m long it was capable of carrying 22 aircraft and had a complement of 1,051.
As well as leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the huge ship also saw service in Bosnia.
Tourists have made detours to visit the yard and watch as nuts, bolts and strips of steel are ripped off from the famous vessel
A lorry leaves the Leyal scrapping yard, where tonnes of metal will be torn apart, before being recycled and reborn into a new handy object
The front of the Leyal scrapping yard in Izmir. Their task of shredding the boat apart comes a month after a tugboat dragged the Ark Royal to shore on the last leg of its 2,000 mile journey from Portsmouth
Elsewhere, during the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption, Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent the ship to to rescue stranded holidaymakers across the English Channel.
HMS Ark Royal was the fifth vessel to have the name. The first was a 38-gun ship dating back to 1587.
It was built for Sir Walter Raleigh and achieved fame fighting against the Spanish Armada.
The latest Ark Royal was going to be named Indomitable - in line with her sister ships Invincible and Illustrious. However, this was changed due to the overwhelming public reaction to the loss of its heritage name..
The mighty vessel is to be officially replaced by the new and more capable HMS Prince of Wales by 2016.
Mighty powerful: As well as leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the impressive ship also saw service in Bosnia
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366334/Work-begins-reducing-Ark-Royal-tin-cans-razors-Turkish-scrapyard.html#ixzz2ZLPpP5iD
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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