Tri-ang Minic Ships die-cast model of the Invincible Class Carriers that 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 planned in the 1960's however, after the fleet carrier replacement was cancelled, the design of the Invincibles was modified to provide a "through deck" helicopter cruiser and then 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 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 7 degree angled ski jumps, that were increased to 13 degrees during subsequent refits, while HMS Ark Royal was built with a 12 degree ski jump.