She was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. She was laid down in 1973, and launched on 3 May 1977. The ship commissioned on July 11, 1980, and joined the older carriers Hermes and Bulwark in service. Invincible was intended for sale to the Royal Australian Navy as a replacement for HMAS Melbourne (when she would likely have been renamed HMAS Australia). However, Invincible's central role in the Falklands War led to the sale being cancelled.