Ministry of Defence buys back HMS Ark Royal scrap parts to fix HMS Illustrious
SCRAPYARD parts from a 'destroyed' warship have been used to rebuild bits of the HMS Illustrious to save money, it has been revealed.
Leftovers of historic aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, which was controversially sold to the Turkish to be recycled, have been bought back to salvage costs on the Royal Navy's current sole vessel.
The sale of the Ark Royal in 2011 saw public outrage as Britain was then left without any carriers for fixed-wing planes.
When the Illustrious, that can only carry helicopters, was hit by a fire, officers realised they had no replacement parts for the ship.
A new report shows that cash-strapped Ministry of Defence officials were forced to make a desperate plea to the scrapyard's owners to return vital parts of the sister ship Ark Royal.
Illustrious had been on patrol around Somalia in August when the fire broke out.
We should have held on to the Ark for just this sort of situation.
Officers then realised that there were ‘no replacement stores’ for the radio switchboard.
It was discovered that the same equipment had been used on the Ark Royal as both ships are part of the same class of aircraft carrier.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "While the part was not one that would outinely need replacing, a small fire meant we had to get hold of another one, which we did, paying £57,000 less than we would have done if buying new."
Britain decommisioned and sold the ageing Ark Royal for £2.9 million to Turkey two years ago to boost defence spending.
The ship was sent to a scrapyard to be recycled into tin cans.
The former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, said: "We should have held on to the Ark for just this sort of situation.
"Selling her off for scrap was a huge risk. With her sister ship Illustrious remaining in service, she would have been very useful."
With Illustrious set to be retired later this year, many are wondering why Royal Navy artillery is being cut down to the bone.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to enter navy services in 2020.