HMS Ark Royal (91)

HMS Ark Royal in 1939, conducting flying operations with Swordfish biplanes
Class overview
Preceded byCourageous class
Succeeded byIllustrious class
History
United Kingdom
NameArk Royal
NamesakeArk Royal (1587)
Ordered1934 build programme
BuilderCammell Laird
Laid down16 September 1935
Launched13 April 1937
Commissioned16 December 1938
IdentificationPennant number: 91
MottoDesire n'a pas Repos – "Zeal Does Not Rest"
Honours and
awards
FateSunk by U-81, 14 November 1941
General characteristics
TypeAircraft carrier
Displacement
Length
Beam94 ft 9.6 in (28.895 m)
Draught27 ft 9.6 in (8.473 m)
Installed power
Propulsion3 × shafts; 3 × geared steam turbines
Speed
  • 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) as designed
  • 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) actual
Range7,600 nmi (14,100 km; 8,700 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement1,580 officers and ratings
Armament
Armour
  • Belt: 4.5 in (11.4 cm)
  • Deck: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) over boiler rooms and magazines
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilities2 × catapults

HMS Ark Royal (pennant number 91) was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that was operated during the Second World War.

Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design differed from previous aircraft carriers. Ark Royal was the first ship on which the hangars and flight deck were an integral part of the hull, instead of an add-on or part of the superstructure. Designed to carry a large number of aircraft, she had two hangar deck levels. She was used during a period that first saw the extensive use of naval air power; several carrier tactics were developed and refined aboard Ark Royal.

Ark Royal operated in some of the most active naval theatres of the Second World War. She was involved in the first aerial U-boat kills of the war, operations off Norway, the search for the German battleship Bismarck, and the Malta Convoys. Ark Royal survived several near misses and gained a reputation as a 'lucky ship'. She was torpedoed on 13 November 1941 by the German submarine U-81 and sank the following day. One of her 1,488 crew members was killed. Her sinking was the subject of several inquiries, with investigators keen to know how the carrier was lost in spite of efforts to save the ship and tow her to the naval base at Gibraltar. They found that several design flaws contributed to the loss, which were rectified in new British carriers.

The wreck was discovered in December 2002 by an American underwater survey company using sonar mounted on an autonomous underwater vehicle, under contract from the BBC for the filming of a documentary about the ship, at a depth of about 3,300 feet (1,000 m) and approximately 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) from Gibraltar.

  1. ^ David A Thomas, "Battles and Honours of the Royal Navy" Kindle edition
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference pompom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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