Falklands War flagship, HMS Hermes, to be scrapped.

THE Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the HMS Hermes, the flagship of the 1982 Falklands War and longest serving aircraft carrier in history, is to be scrapped.

The ship will be dismantled in India after having been in commission since 1959 and serving in multiple conflicts until she was retired in the UK in 1984.

Hermes, a Centaur Class aircraft carrier, was retired to Indian where she has continued to be kept in service until 2017. However, despite her illustrious past, which includes the ship having sailed over 700,000 miles in her career, she is to be scrapped.

The plan is to sell the vessel in a whopping £5.1million sell-off to Asia’s largest ship scrapyard in Alang, owned by the Shree Ram Group. The company have confirmed that the parts will most likely be used to build motorcycles.

HMS Hermes was a familiar and instantly recognisable image throughout the Falklands conflict with numerous images appearing of Jets and Helicopters taking off from her deck.

The Falklands War flagship, as well as being an instantly recognisable vessel, was also the site of a tragic helicopter crash in 1962 which saw the death of Lord Windlesham MP.

Representatives of the Shree Ram Group said, “Once the ship docks at Alang, it will take us around nine-12 months to dismantle it and then we shall sell it as scrap to recover the cost”.

They continued, “We have been approached by two motorcycle makers for using the steel from the warship to build bikes… But nothing has been finalised yet.”

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