This  Tri-ang Minic Ships model of the Invincible Class Carrier which were commissioned by the Royal Navy in the early 1980's. These ships were originally intended to be escort carriers to complement the CVA Fleet Carrier being planned in the 1960's however, after the fleet carrier replacement was cancelled, the design of these ships was modified initially to provide a "through deck" helicopter cruiser and finally a small aircraft carrier utilising the Sea Harrier. The need for aircraft carriers was the subject of political controversy in the 1970's and 1980's and these ships were always in danger of being mothballed. In fact the sale of HMS Invincible to Australia was only cancelled because of the Falklands War which proved the requirement for ships of this type. All of these ships are fitted with an angled "ski jump" to enable the Harrier aircraft to take off with a full load of fuel and ammunition. The first two ships, HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious, were built with 7º ski jumps, which was increased to 13º during subsequent refits, while HMS Ark Royal was built with a 12º ski jump.