The Royal Navy's real carrier inventory does not match the paper role assigned in a parliamentary account. Ark Royal had been decommissioned in 1979 and was put up for sale in March 1980, leaving only a narrow possibility of very early reactivation. Hermes remained, Bulwark had suffered a fire, Invincible would not commission until July, and Illustrious would not commission until 1982. Britain could provide amphibious and anti-submarine groups, but describing a full British carrier striking group in 1980 projects capabilities from other decades into the wrong year.
Notable Point · 1:28:05-1:30:05
Britain's carrier gap complicates NATO's 1980 plans
A public description of British carrier groups in the late Cold War obscures the narrow and transitional carrier force actually available in 1980.