HMS Hermes returns home
Updated on 01 February 2007
Thousands lined the streets of Portsmouth to welcome home the HMS Hermes.
Homecoming
Thousands of relatives and friends lined the streets of Portsmouth to welcome back the HMS Hermes on July 21.
The flagship of the British taskforce had on board 1,700 crew, Royal Marines and survivors of the destroyed HMS Sheffield.
The aircraft carrier - named after the winged messenger of Greek gods - began its 8,000-mile mission 108 days previously on 5 April.
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To mark its return there was an all-services salute including flypasts from RAF Harriers, Army Lynx helicopters and a naval Hunter training squadron accompanied the ageing ship as it cruised into port.
Flanked by a flotilla of smaller boats, Hermes replied with a 17-gun national salute, usually reserved for foreign visits.
Margaret Thatcher was helicoptered onto the carrier for an 80-minute inspection prior to the ship's arrival
One side of the ship was decorated with a scoreboard showing the 46 enemy aircraft shot down by the Sea Harrier fighters launched from its deck.
The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was helicoptered onto the carrier for an 80-minute inspection prior to the ship's arrival.
