Key facts
- Preceded by
- Courageous class
- Succeeded by
- Illustrious class
- Name
- Ark Royal
- Namesake
- Ark Royal (1587)
- Ordered
- 1934 build programme
- Builder
- Cammell Laird
- Laid down
- 16 September 1935
- Launched
- 13 April 1937
- Commissioned
- 16 December 1938
- Identification
- Pennant number : 91
- Motto
- Desire n'a pas Repos – "Zeal Does Not Rest"
- Honours and awards
- Norway 1940 Spartivento 1940 Mediterranean 1940–41 Malta Convoys 1941 Bismarck 1941
- Fate
- Sunk by U-81 near Gibraltar , 14 November 1941
- Type
- Aircraft carrier
- Displacement
- 22,000 long tons (22,353 t ) ( standard ) 27,720 long tons (28,165 t) ( deep load )
- Length
- 800 ft (240 m) overall 721 ft 6 in (219.91 m) waterline
- Beam
- 94 ft 9.6 in (28.895 m)
- Draught
- 27 ft 9.6 in (8.473 m)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- shipwreck
- Operator
- Royal Navy
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Mass
- 27720
- Manufacturer
- Cammell Laird
- Conflict
- Attack on Mers-El-Kebir
- Image
- HMS Ark Royal h85716.jpg
- Length
- 243.83
- Speed
- 31
- Motto
- Desire n'a pas Repos
- Significant event
- shipwrecking
Show 15 more facts
- Commons gallery
- HMS Ark Royal (91)
- Commons category
- HMS Ark Royal (91)
- pennant number
- 91
- armament
- airplane
- draft
- 8.46
- beam
- 28.88
- vehicle range
- 7600
- powered by
- steam turbine
- maximum capacity
- 1580
- has facility
- aircraft catapult
- nominal power output
- 102000
- different from
- HMS Ark Royal
- service entry
- 1938-12-16
- name
- HMS Ark Royal
- P12749
- Pachysandra
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
HMS Ark Royal (pennant number 91) was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “HMS Ark Royal” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.