Pssst, want a second-hand aircraft carrier? Got one going cheap, only a few million miles on the clock. Go on, would look lovely next to the mantelpiece.

Yes, the MoD has an aircraft carrier to dispose of and is looking for ideas — mostly of a heritage nature.

HMS Illustrious, or Lusty as she is known is up for grabs and anyone able to buy the ship and do something vaguely sensible with it can have it.

I am sure the various heritage groups in more obvious locations such as Southampton, Portsmouth etc are plotting and planning as I type.

However, the various outposts of the Imperial War Museum in central London, the RAF Museum in Colindale, and the Historic Dockyard in Chatham show there is interest in military history.

Lusty Up Close

So, why not set up a group to put together a bid for Lusty and moor her somewhere along the Thames in the London docks area?

Would be a good draw for tourists to the area — say near the Thames Barrier, or the O2 (heck, it might make the cable car popular).

Otherwise she’ll be sold for scrap — which seems a pity.

Image2

NEWSLETTER

Be the first to know what's on in London, and the latest news published on ianVisits.

You can unsubscribe at any time from my weekly emails.

Tagged with: ,
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE

This website has been running now for over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, it doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.

It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.

Whether it's a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.

If you like what you read on here, then please support the website here.

Thank you

8 comments
  1. Terry Callaghan says:
    17 October 2013 at 10:28 pm

    Soddit. It solves Boris’s airport-in-the-Thames problem. Done deal. And, dare I say it? …. Very cheap. (Besides, it’ll help settle the hackles at LHR, which are seriously up at the moment).

  2. Greg Tingey says:
    18 October 2013 at 7:46 am

    She should still be in service, flying Harriers.
    No thanks to the traitor Cameron.

  3. Greg Tingey says:
    19 October 2013 at 9:00 am

    Simon
    Idiot
    We need defences – we ar an islan, remember?

  4. David says:
    28 October 2013 at 5:50 pm

    Sadly I don’t think that there are many places for something this big to be kept , I was thinking that it would make an awesome hotel – something that gives people a taste of what it is like to live on a ship like this … good idea?

    • IanVisits says:
      29 October 2013 at 8:30 am

      “Sadly I don’t think that there are many places for something this big to be kept”

      Apart from most of the Thames east of Greenwich.

  5. IO Architecture says:
    16 December 2013 at 3:08 pm

    You could do so many creative things with a ship that large. A hotel would be nice, but what about a luxury cuisine with a jazz bar? Or you could go wild and do something out the blue, interior and exterior!

Home >> News >> Miscellaneous