Tears as last Harrier jets leave Ark Royal

The four GR9 jets marked the end of an era when they roared off the deck near North Shields, North Tyneside.

Both the Ark Royal and the Harriers are being scrapped under cost-saving plans.

The Harriers, heading to RAF Cottesmore in Rutland, will be decommissioned in 2011 and replaced by the F35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

The Ark Royal was sailing across the North Sea to Hamburg in Germany.

Lt Cdr James Blackmore, who was the last Harrier pilot to leave, said he was immensely proud.

'Emotional moment'

"It is amazing. I watched a Harrier hovering over Chatham dockyard when I was eight years old and I am now fortunate enough to be flying the Harrier today," he said.

"It's an amazing aircraft, superb to fly and just very enjoyable."

The crew of the 22,000-tonne Ark Royal, which has seen active service in the Balkans and 2003 invasion of Iraq, lined the decks to watch the historic departure.

Captain Jerry Kyd said there was a tear in his eye when the last Harrier left.

"It was an emotional moment and also one of real pride as we look back over 25 years service to Queen and country," he said.

"No naval officer wants to see any ship decommissioned early and she is a fine vessel and she has a fine history.

"She is at the peak of her efficiency but one understands that very difficult decisions have to be made across government."

One senior officer described the decision to scrap both the jets and carrier as "madness".

Petty Officer Andrew Collins, 26, from Glasgow, said: "HMS Ark Royal is like the girlfriend you hate and you only realise you loved her when she has binned you."

And Petty Officer David Terracciano, 31, from Portsmouth, added he was "gutted".

The Ark Royal - the Royal Navy's flagship - will eventually head back to her Portsmouth base on 3 December.

It will be replaced by the Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carrier at the end of the decade, which will carry F35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

Edited By ady on 25/11/2010 00:51:24

Edited By ady on 25/11/2010 01:47:24

Edited By V8Eng on 25/11/2010 11:10:55

 Well somebody must have reformed the company then, because at the time the government, who had bought the company from Pressed Steel and initially helped, put it into receivership and the assets were sold. The company had been renamed as Beagle Aircraft (1969) Limited at that stage, but the receiver could attract no buyers.