HMS Ark Royal

FIRST OF A NEW BREED

In its 1934 Estimates, the British Admiralty allocated funds for the Royal Navys first new carrier since 1918. Five of the six existing carriers were conversions, and the purpose-built Hermes was too small and too slow. The new ship had many advanced features, including a double hangar to give a theoretical capacity of 72 aircraft, a very heavy anti-aircraft (AA) armament and a good turn of speed. There were faults, however, principally in the layout of machinery, which was vulnerable to flooding. The shortage of modern aircraft also reduced effectiveness.

A SHORT BUT HECTIC CAREER

The Ark acquired almost legendary status, hitting the headlines in the first days of the war while serving with the Home Fleet. Teamed with the battle-cruiser HMS Renown, she hunted for the Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic to the end of 1939 and played a leading role in the Norwegian campaign in April 1940. She was assigned to Farce H and her Swordfish torpedo-bombers attacked the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Her aircraft again played a critical part in crippling the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, allowing the Home Fleet battleships to catch up and sink her by gunfire. Although the ship seemed to have a charmed life, her luck finally ran out on 13 November 1941, when she was hit by a single torpedo fired by U81 off Gibraltar. The damage was hardly sufficient to sink such a modern large warship, but a series of errors allowed cumulative flooding of the engine rooms, and despite attempts to get her to Gibraltar she capsized and sank the next day.

TECHNICAL DATA

Type: Fleet aircraft carrier.
Machinery: 3-shaft turbines, 102,000hp
Dimensions: Length, 243.8m (800ft); beam, 28.8m (94.75ft)
Displacement: 27.720t (full load)
Draught: 8.5m (27.75ft)