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Monday, December 21, 1998 Published at 07:38 GMT

HMS Invincible: A city at sea

HMS Invincible: A tangible threat

The aircraft carrier HMS Invincible is returning to the Gulf as part of the strategy to "contain" Saddam Hussein.

She was waved off from Portsmouth on 9 January, due to arrive at the end of the month - a tangible reminder to the Iraqi leader of the firepower that is available to rain down on him.

The carrier was last in the Gulf in January 1998, when it reinforced the allied military forces in the region during a previous stand-off with Baghdad.

Facts and figures

HMS Invincible was built by Vickers Shipbuilders Ltd at Barrow-in-Furness, and was launched by the Queen on 3 May, 1977

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Together with her sister ships HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal, Invincible is the largest ship built for the Royal Navy since the 1950s

The present vessel is the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name Invincible. Previous vessels have served in St Vincent (1780), Alexandria (1882), Heligoland (1914) and Jutland (1916)

The line began with the capture of the 74-gun French warship L'Invincible off Finisterre in 1747

The aircraft carrier is 208 metres long and has a displacement in water of 20,000 tonnes

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Powered by four Rolls-Royce Olympus Marine Gas Turbine engines from the same family as the Concorde engines, she has a top speed of 30 knots and cruises at 18 knots

The engines drive two shafts through the largest reversing gearboxes installed in any ship in the world

The ship's company of 1,200 includes 59 officers, 173 senior rates, 450 junior rates and 15 civilians. Women comprise 10% of her complement

Invincible is protected by the Sea Dart missile defence system, the Goalkeeper close-in weapons system, which fires 4,500 rounds per minute and by 20mm cannons and DLJ chaff rocket launchers designed to distract missiles.

The ship can carry up to 24 aircraft. At the moment it is carrying Harrier fighters and bombers. There are also Sea-King helicopters onboard, some anti-submarine, some kitted out with early warning radar-systems.

The Harriers

The Invincible is carrying FA2 and GR7 Harriers. It has a ski-jump at the end of the flight-deck which was made steeper during the refit. The ramp flings the planes into the air, allowing them to travel further and to carry more weight than they could on a conventional carrier. Consequently, it does not require launching catapults. It is known as a STOVL carrier - Short Take Off, Vertical Landing.
The FA2 Sea Harrier is a fighter plane that carries medium-rang air-to-air missiles. This was the first fighter capable of engaging targets that were beyond visual range. It can carry 30mmm cannon, anti-ship missiles and bombs up to 1000lbs. It uses the ski-ramp for take off and lands vertically.
The GR7 harrier is a bomber which is equipped to fight in difficult weather conditions and at night. Although Harriers have been in use for 25 years the GR7 is a relatively new design. It can carry conventional and laser-guided bombs, armour-piercing rockets and sidewinder missiles. It also has two 25mm cannon.