The Royal Navy in Focus 1980-89

LAST REMAINING COPIES

As the Royal Navy sailed into the 1980s it had already said goodbye to conventional fixed-wing carrier strike with the de-commissioning of HMS Ark Royal and, as a result, the loss of her Phantom, Buccaneer and Gannet aircraft. The last of the cruisers Tiger and Blake were now consigned to history and the noises coming from within Government were not painting a very bright picture for the Royal Navy. By the end of the 1980s the outlook for the RN was better than it was at the beginning of the decade - it had taken a war, the loss of ships and many brave soldiers, to turn things around - but finally, the true value of a properly funded, properly equipped RN was being realised.