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HMS ''Ark Royal'' (R09) was an
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and, when she was decommissioned in 1979, was the Royal Navy's last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier. She was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with
angled flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopter ...
at its commissioning; her sister ship, , was the Royal Navy's first angle-decked aircraft carrier after modification in 1954. ''Ark Royal'' was the only non-United States vessel to operate the McDonnell Douglas Phantom at sea.


Construction and modifications

''Ark Royal'' was the sister ship to , which was initially named HMS ''Audacious'', hence the name of the class. Four ''Audacious''-class ships were laid down, but two (HMS ''Africa'' and the original HMS ''Eagle'') were cancelled when the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended, and construction of the other two was suspended for several years. Both surviving ships were extensively upgraded throughout their lifetimes. A contract was placed with
Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...
on 19 March 1942 to build the first ship of the class. While it had been originally planned to name the ship ''Irresistible'', this was changed to ''Ark Royal'' before ordering to commemorate the aircraft carrier lost in 1941. The ship, which was the largest warship ever to be built by Cammell Laird, was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
at Laird's
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
shipyard on 3 May 1943 as
yard number __NOTOC__ M ...
1119.Hobbs 2013, p. 178. Construction was slow, and was suspended after the end of the Second World War to allow the ship's design to be updated to better suit her for the operation of modern aircraft. ''Ark Royal'' was launched by Queen Elizabeth, wife of King
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
, on 3 May 1950. She was completed on 25 February 1955, and commissioned the next day at Devonport.Hobbs 2013, p. 296 In this time, she underwent redesign and, when completed, she was markedly different from her sister ship. Shortly before her launch from the Cammell Laird shipyard, an image of the ship painted with her white undercoat was captured by the pictorialist photographer E. Chambré Hardman. This has been exhibited many times under the name 'Where Great Ships Are Built' and later 'Birth of the Ark Royal'. When commissioned, she had a 5.5° partially angled flight deck, two steam catapults capable of launching aircraft weighing up to , a deck-edge lift on the port side (the first British ship to be fitted with such a device), modified armament, and the new mirror landing system. ''Ark Royal'' was the first ship to be constructed with an angled flight deck and steam catapults, as opposed to having them added after launching.''HMAS Melbourne (II) – 25 Years On'', p6 These innovations allowed aircraft to land and take off from the carrier at the same time. Her flight deck as built was . A further four years passed before she commenced her sea trials. About a year after commissioning, her forward port guns were removed to improve aircraft operations over the angled deck. Four years later, the port deck-edge lift and the forward starboard 4.5-inch guns were also removed. After the 1964 refit only one twin 4.5-inch gun mount remained aft on port and starboard side. From 1967 to February 1970, she underwent a refit which was a major rebuild to her structure, but only an austere update to her electronic equipment, and was confined to changes needed to operate the RN's version of the Phantom. Prior to, and during the refit, concerns over costs, the age of the hull and changing political opinions over naval requirements threatened the refit and even a possibility that the ship could be scrapped however convincing arguments to retain and upgrade the carrier won through. The refit cost around £30 million, far less than the modernisation of ''Eagle'', but also added several improvements, which allowed her to comfortably operate the larger
Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...
and Buccaneer Mk.2 aircraft. Her modifications included a full 8.5° angled flight deck, new and far more powerful steam catapults, bridle-catchers, heavy-grade jet-blast deflectors (both of which ''Eagle'' did not receive), and heavy-weight
arrestor cables An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOB ...
. Twelve hundred miles of new cabling was installed, but the ship was not completely rewired and retained old DC electrics. A modified island (with a different arrangement from ''Eagle'') and a partially new electronic suite were also added, though some of her original radars, such as 983 heightfinders were retained and she did not receive the 3-D air-search radar set that her sister had fitted, instead two double-array 966 versions of the standard RN 965 long-range system were fitted and one of the new 986 sets. Significantly, ''Ark Royal'' was the first and only RN carrier fitted with a USN carrier approach system, the AN-SPN 35 radar, increasing night aircraft operational capability and safety. Her flight deck size was increased port aft, giving her extra deck-park space for her airgroup that ''Eagle'' did not have. She was also fitted for four Seacat missile launchers, which were never installed, so she emerged from refit with no defensive armament except for Corvus decoy launchers. Significantly, there was little more than an overhaul of her steam turbines and boilers, meaning that mechanically she was very dated; however, the stripping-out of ''Eagle'' meant that for a time essential spares were available. ''Ark Royal'' was then scheduled for at the most only five years' more service by a new government policy to scrap the carriers by 1975. Intensive maintenance as well as a new programme of continuous servicing and repair (with RN maintenance ships always in her task groups) kept her going until late 1978, though increasing mechanical and electrical failures led to her decommissioning in early 1979. At her entry into service the ship had a complement of up to 50 aircraft, comprising Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms,
Gannets Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the Nor ...
, Skyraiders and various helicopters. As later aircraft types grew in size and complexity, her air group fell to below 40 when she left service in 1978.


Operational history

''Ark Royal'' participated in many exercises as part of the British fleet and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
) squadrons, but saw no combat duty. She was not involved in the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
of 1956, about a year after her commissioning; she was on her way there when she ran a main propeller shaft bearing, and had to return to Devonport for a major refit. ''Eagle'' replaced her at Suez. In 1963, she carried out trials for a new type of Vertical/Short Take Off and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft, the
Hawker P.1127 The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the British experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first ''vertical and/or short take-off and landing'' (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. Develo ...
, which later developed into the
Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and ...
. The same aircraft, now having been redesigned and developed as the British Aerospace Sea Harrier, was later accepted as the primary strike capability of the future third and last ''Ark Royal'' from 1980 onwards. She was part of the
Beira Patrol The Beira Patrol was a blockade of oil shipments to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) through Beira, Mozambique, resulting from United Nations trade sanctions on Rhodesia. Background Rhodesia's government unilaterally declared the former colony's inde ...
enforcing the
naval blockade A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
of
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
in 1965. The
1966 Defence White Paper The 1966 Defence White Paper (Command Papers 2592 and 2901) was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy initiated by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The review was led by the Secretary of State for Defence, ...
planned the end of British aircraft carriers in the early 1970s, but she went into dock for her refit to head off dockyard redundancies and the likely political issues. A new government re-examined the case for carriers, finding that shore-based aircraft could not provide adequate cover for British concerns "
East of Suez East of Suez is used in British military and political discussions in reference to interests beyond the European theatre, and east of the Suez Canal, and may or may not include the Middle East.
". On 9 November 1970, whilst in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
to participate in a NATO exercise, ''Ark Royal'' collided with ''Bravyy'', a Soviet Navy which was shadowing her (a common practice during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
). ''Ark Royal'' was slightly damaged, while the Soviet destroyer sustained minor damage and two missing crew. ''Ark Royal''s commanding officer, Captain
Raymond Lygo Admiral Sir Raymond Derek Lygo, (15 March 1924 – 7 March 2012) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1975 to 1978. Naval career Educated at Ilford County High School and Clark's College, Bromley, Lygo join ...
, was cleared of blame at the subsequent court-martial. The ship featured in the 1960s British television series '' Not Only... But Also'' starring
Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...
and
Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...
. When commissions ended, items were fired off the catapult into the sea, including pianos and once a toilet complete with paying-off pennant. By 1970, ''Ark Royal'' had a complement of 39 aircraft. This typically comprised 12 Phantom FG MK.1s, of
892 Naval Air Squadron 892 Naval Air Squadron (892 NAS) was a carrier-based fighter squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in 1943, flying Grumman Martlets, and was the only operational Fleet Air Arm squadron to fly the McDonnell Douglas Ph ...
, 14 Buccaneer S MK.2s of 809 Squadron, 4 Gannet AEW (
Airborne Early Warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
) Mk.3s of B Flight 849 Squadron, 6 Sea King HAS Mk.1s of 824 Squadron, 2 Wessex HAR Mk.1s of the Ship's Flight and one Gannet COD Mk.4. later replaced by an AEW3. The Buccaneers doubled as tanker aircraft, using buddy refuelling pods, and as long-range reconnaissance aircraft with bomb bay-mounted camera packs. In July 1976, she represented Britain at the United States Bicentennial Celebration in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. In 1972, the Buccaneers aboard ''Ark Royal'' took part in a long-range strike mission over
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
in
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
shortly before its independence as a
constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
named Her Majesty's Government of Belize to deter a possible invasion by
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, which had long-standing territorial claims. In 1977, under the flag of Admiral Sir Henry Leach KCB Commander-in-Chief Fleet, ''Ark Royal'' led the Royal Navy's tribute to and celebrations of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
's Silver Jubilee at
Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
. In the mid-1970s the ship made a return to television. A major BBC documentary series, one of the earliest
fly on the wall Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, t ...
documentaries, ''
Sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
'' was made, showing life on board the ship during a February-to-July 1976
Western Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
deployment. Her commanding officer at this time was Captain Wilfred Graham, a later Flag Officer Portsmouth and the ship's Commander (executive officer) was Commander David Cowling. The theme tune for the programme was "
Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
" by
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
– a song that came to be associated with the ship and her successor. She visited
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
, from 30 May until 14 June 1978. She entered
HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...
on 4 December 1978 and decommissioned on 14 February 1979. Like her sister ''Eagle'', she had a relatively short (24-year) life, and when the
White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...
lowered for the last time the Royal Navy no longer had fixed-wing aircraft at sea, a situation that persisted until the commissioning of the Invincible-class light aircraft carriers, with their complements of Sea Harrier VTOL aircraft, in the early 1980s. On 29 March 1980, the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
(MOD) announced that she would be sold for scrap – and so ended plans to preserve her. She left Devonport on 22 September 1980 under tow to be scrapped at
Cairnryan Cairnryan ( sco, The Cairn;
gd, Machair an Sgithich) is a vi ...
near
Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
in Scotland, arriving on 28 September. When arriving at the breakers, her sister ship ''Eagle'' was in the final process of being broken up there. Breaking-up of ''Ark Royal'' took until 1983. During this period many former crew travelled to the breakers' jetty at the remote corner of Loch Ryan to pay their last respects; some were reduced to tears when seeing the ship being torn to pieces. However, various parts of the ship remain as souvenirs or memorials; for instance, an anchor (along with an anchor from her sister ship ''Eagle'') outside the
Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...
at
RNAS Yeovilton Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airfield of the Royal Navy and British Army, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases (the other being RNAS Culdrose) ...
. One of her other anchors is in Armada Way, Plymouth near Plymouth Hoe.


Legacy

While ''Ark Royal''s career spanned 24 years from the time of her commissioning (her name was a household word), she spent as much time in refit; repair and reserve and modernisation as in commissioned service (12 years). It required a lot of effort from her engineers to keep her serviceable between yard periods. ''Ark Royal'' had been poorly preserved during her lengthy construction from 1942 to 1955, and much of her machinery was obsolete by her completion, including her dated DC electrics, supplemented later by some AC systems, resulting in a ship that experienced regular defects and mechanical failure. ''Eagle'' was a more reliable and well-built ship, and spent far more time at sea than her sister. The scrapping of ''Ark Royal'' in 1980, two years after ''Eagle'', marked the end of conventional fixed-wing aircraft operations aboard Royal Navy carriers. She had borne so many innovations, yet her replacement was not equipped with any of these. There was some discussion about preserving her as a
museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
, and some private funds were raised; the MOD would not sanction these efforts. The
Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...
has subsequently mimicked the ship's island and flight deck in its central hall as an ''Aircraft Carrier Experience'' exhibition. The remained in service after her, but had been converted to a helicopter commando carrier in 1971 and then as a
V/STOL A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at al ...
carrier. The much smaller could carry only vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft and helicopters. The two new carriers, which were commissioned in 2017 and 2019, were originally designed to operate V/STOL aircraft. Despite expert advice, and in an attempt to reduce costs, the UK government requested that the new carriers be modified to operate conventional
CATOBAR CATOBAR ("Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery" or "Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery") is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft ...
(catapult-assisted takeoff and barrier/arrested recovery) aircraft. Fitting electromagnetic catapults would have required huge structural changes and an upgrade of the ships' energy generation, which proved unfeasible and resulted in a decision to return to the original configuration.


Aircraft and squadrons

*
Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...
*
de Havilland Sea Venom The de Havilland Sea Venom is a British postwar carrier-capable jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Venom. It served with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and with the Royal Australian Navy. The French Navy operated the Aquilon, develo ...
*
Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...
*
Westland Wyvern The Westland Wyvern was a British single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft built by Westland Aircraft that served in the 1950s, seeing active service in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Production Wyverns were powered by a turboprop engine dr ...
*
Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...
* McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 *
Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccanee ...
*
Supermarine Scimitar The Supermarine Scimitar was a single-seat naval strike aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. Operated exclusively by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, it was the final aircraft to be entirely designed a ...
*
de Havilland Sea Vixen The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a British twin-engine, twin boom-tailed, two-seat, carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during the 1950s through to the early 1970s. The Sea Vixen was designed by ...
*
Westland Dragonfly The Westland WS-51 Dragonfly helicopter was built by Westland Aircraft and was an Anglicised licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-51. Design and development On 19 January 1947 an agreement was signed between Westland Aircraft a ...
*
Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...
*
Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes ...


Commanding officers

*1954–1956: Captain
Dennis Cambell Rear Admiral Dennis Royle Farquharson Cambell, (13 November 1907 – 6 April 2000) was a flag officer of the Royal Navy, who invented the angled flight deck. Naval career Educated at Westminster School, Cambell was a Special Entry Cadet from ...
RN *1956–1958: Captain
Frank Hopkins Frank T. Hopkins (August 11, 1865 unsubstantiated – November 5, 1951) was a self-proclaimed professional horseman who at one time performed with the Ringling Brothers Circus. He was a long-distance rider who claimed to have won 400 races and ...
RN *1959–1961: Captain
Peter Hill-Norton Admiral of the Fleet Peter John Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton, (8 February 1915 – 16 May 2004) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating on the Western Approaches and in the N ...
RN *1961–1963: Captain Donald Gibson RN *1963–1964: Captain
Michael Pollock Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Patrick Pollock, (19 October 1916 – 27 September 2006) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who rose to become First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the early 1970s. In the Second World War, h ...
RN *1964–1965: Captain Anthony Griffin RN *1965–1967: Captain Michael Fell RN *1969–1971: Captain
Raymond Lygo Admiral Sir Raymond Derek Lygo, (15 March 1924 – 7 March 2012) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1975 to 1978. Naval career Educated at Ilford County High School and Clark's College, Bromley, Lygo join ...
RN *1971–1972: Captain
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...
RN *1972–1973: Captain
Desmond Cassidi Admiral Sir Arthur Desmond Cassidi, (26 January 1925 – 10 October 2019) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command from 1983 to 1984. Naval career Cassidi joined the Royal Navy in 1938. Commissioned in 1 ...
RN *1973–1975: Captain
John Gerard-Pearse Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear Admiral John Roger Southey Gerard-Pearse Order of the Bath, CB (10 May 1924 – 22 May 2017) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Flag Officer Sea Training (United Kingdom), Flag Officer Sea Training. Naval care ...
RN *1975–1976: Captain Wilfred Graham RN *1976–1978: Captain Edward R Anson RN


See also

*
CVA-01 CVA-01 was a proposed United Kingdom aircraft carrier, designed during the 1960s. The ship was intended to be the first of a class that would replace all of the Royal Navy's carriers, most of which had been designed before or during the Second ...
*
HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' is the lead ship of the of aircraft carriers and the Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy. Capable of carrying 60 aircraft including fixed wing, rotary wing and autonomous vehicles, she is named in honour of the first , a ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links


HMS Ark Royal Association Website''Britain's Atomic Age Carrier'', September 1955, Popular Mechanics
early article after Ark Royal's commission with drawing and illustrations

*
Ark Royal: The Last Commission '76–78
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark Royal (R09) Audacious-class aircraft carriers Ships built on the River Mersey 1950 ships Cold War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1970