HMS Illustrious is seen here arriving under the world famous
Forth (Rail) Bridge on Tuesday 1st July
at around 23:30. This was her final
visit to The Firth of Forth before heading back to Portsmouth three weeks later to decommission.
Her visit was to tie in with the naming of the new aircraft
carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, “Lusty” entered in to the dock adjacent to the
Queen Elizabeth for the naming ceremony.
HRH Queen Elizabeth named the carrier on Friday 4th
July 2014 with a flyover from both the Red Arrows and a mixture of modern
helicopters including a Merlin, Chinook, Lynx and the Wildcat.
Hms Illustrious sailed under The Forth Road Bridge on Thursday
17th July just before midnight for the very last time before
retiring, her future remains unclear.