WAR ATLAS MILITARY HISTORY MAGAZINE · WWI — WWII
HMS Ark Royal
1. Lead
HMS Ark Royal was one of the most famous British warships of the Second World War: a modern aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1938, whose aircraft played a central role in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, and whose loss, in November 1941, was a blow to the Royal Navy and to British morale.
Ark Royal was the first British carrier designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier, rather than converted from another type, and she embodied the Royal Navy’s interwar thinking about naval aviation: a large, fast ship, with a long flight deck, a hangar for about sixty aircraft, and a powerful anti-aircraft armament.
In the first two years of the war, Ark Royal served in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, and off Norway, her Swordfish and Skua aircraft attacking German and Italian ships, submarines, and airfields. Her most famous action came on 26 May 1941, when her Swordfish torpedo bombers, flying in appalling weather, hit Bismarck’s steering gear and jammed her rudder, leaving the German battleship unable to manoeuvre and doomed to be sunk by the British fleet the next day.
Six months later, on 13 November 1941, Ark Royal was torpedoed by the German submarine U-81 off Gibraltar, while returning from a mission to deliver fighters to Malta. She sank the next day, after a long struggle to save her, with the loss of only one man.
Her sinking was a reminder that even the most modern carrier was vulnerable to submarines, and her loss was mourned in Britain as the loss of a famous and much-loved ship.
2. Key Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Aircraft carrier |
| Role | Fleet carrier, air defence, strike, convoy escort |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 16 September 1935 |
| Launched | 13 April 1937 |
| Commissioned | 16 December 1938 |
| Displacement | Approximately 22,000 tons standard, 28,000 tons full load |
| Length | 243.8 m (800 ft) |
| Beam | 28.9 m (94 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | Approximately 7.3 m (24 ft) |
| Propulsion | 3 × Parsons geared steam turbines, 6 × Admiralty boilers |
| Power | Approximately 102,000 shp (76,000 kW) |
| Max speed | Approximately 31 knots (57 km/h) |
| Range | Approximately 14,200 km (7,600 nautical miles) at 20 knots |
| Complement | Approximately 1,580 officers and men, including air group |
| Aircraft | Approximately 50–60, including Fairey Swordfish, Blackburn Skua, Fairey Fulmar, Hawker Hurricane |
| Armament | 16 × 4.5 in (114 mm) dual-purpose guns, 32 × 2-pdr pom-pom guns, 32 × .50 in machine guns |
| Armour | Flight deck unarmoured, hangar sides and machinery protected |
| Fate | Torpedoed by U-81 on 13 November 1941, sank 14 November 1941 |
3. Background and Development
The Royal Navy and the Aircraft Carrier
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Royal Navy was a pioneer of naval aviation, but its carriers were mostly conversions: HMS Furious, HMS Courageous, and HMS Glorious had been converted from battlecruisers, and HMS Eagle had been converted from a battleship. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limited the size of navies, and the Royal Navy’s carrier force was a mixture of converted ships and the small carrier Hermes.
By the early 1930s, the Admiralty recognised that it needed a carrier designed from the start as a carrier, with a large hangar, a long flight deck, and a good speed. The result was Ark Royal, ordered in 1934 and laid down at Cammell Laird at Birkenhead on 16 September 1935.
She was the first British carrier to be designed as such, and she was also the first to have a fully enclosed hangar, with two levels, and a flight deck that was part of the ship’s structure. Her design reflected the Royal Navy’s thinking about the carrier’s role: she was to operate with the fleet, to provide air defence and reconnaissance, and to attack enemy ships with her aircraft.
Construction, Launch and Commissioning
Ark Royal was launched on 13 April 1937, by Lady Hoare, the wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and she was commissioned on 16 December 1938, under the command of Captain A. J. Power. Her construction had taken three years, and she was a modern, impressive ship, with a long, clean hull, a large island on the starboard side, and a flight deck that was 243 metres long.
Her air group, when she commissioned, consisted of Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers and Blackburn Skua fighter-bombers, aircraft that were already obsolescent by the standards of the late 1930s, but that were the best the Fleet Air Arm had. Ark Royal’s commissioning came at a time of growing tension in Europe, and her first years in service were spent working up, exercising with the fleet, and preparing for the war that seemed increasingly likely.
When war broke out in September 1939, Ark Royal was ready, and she was one of the Royal Navy’s most modern and capable ships.
4. Design
Hull, Flight Deck and Hangar
Ark Royal’s hull was long and narrow, with a length of 243.8 metres and a beam of 28.9 metres, and she displaced approximately 22,000 tons standard. Her flight deck was 243 metres long and 28 metres wide, with a slight downward slope at the bow to assist take-off, and it was served by three lifts that carried aircraft between the flight deck and the hangar.
The hangar was in two levels, with a total capacity for about sixty aircraft, although in practice Ark Royal usually carried about fifty. The hangar was fully enclosed, with large doors at the sides, and it was protected by armour on its sides and by a fireproof curtain that could divide it in two.
The island, on the starboard side, housed the bridge, the funnel, and the air operations rooms, and it was fitted with a large mast and with radar in later service. Ark Royal’s design was a compromise: she was fast and she carried a large air group, but her flight deck was unarmoured, a weakness that later British carriers, such as the Illustrious class, would address by fitting armoured flight decks.
Propulsion, Armament and Protection
Ark Royal was powered by three Parsons geared steam turbines, driven by six Admiralty boilers, producing approximately 102,000 shaft horsepower and giving her a maximum speed of about 31 knots, fast enough to operate with the fleet and to outrun most surface ships.
Her armament consisted of sixteen 4.5-inch dual-purpose guns, in eight twin turrets, four on each side, which could be used against surface targets and against aircraft, and thirty-two 2-pounder pom-pom guns and thirty-two .50-inch machine guns for close-range anti-aircraft defence.
Her protection included a belt of armour over her machinery spaces and magazines, and a torpedo defence system of bulges and compartments, but her flight deck and hangar were not armoured, and her underwater protection, although it was good for its time, was not sufficient to save her from a torpedo hit in a vital area.
Ark Royal’s design was a product of its time, and its strengths and weaknesses would be tested in the war.
5. Variants
Ark Royal as a Single Ship
Ark Royal was a single ship, with no sister ships, and she had no variants in the sense that an aircraft has variants. Her design was unique, and she was the only carrier of her class. The Royal Navy’s next carriers, the Illustrious class, were designed with armoured flight decks, a lesson learned in part from the experience of Ark Royal and from the vulnerability of unarmoured carriers to air attack.
Ark Royal’s air group, however, changed throughout her service, and the aircraft she carried can be seen as her variants in an operational sense. When she commissioned, she carried Swordfish and Skuas; later, she carried Fulmars, Hurricanes, and Swordfish, and her air group was adapted to the missions she was given, from fleet defence to strike to the delivery of fighters to Malta.
The existence of so many sub-types is a reminder that this was not a static design. Each change was a response to something learned in service, whether it was a fault that needed correcting, a new weapon that needed fitting, or a new role that the machine was asked to perform. Some changes were small and invisible to an outsider, while others altered the shape or the armament in ways that are obvious in photographs. Taken together, the variants tell the story of a design being refined under pressure, with engineers, crews, and commanders all contributing to the next version.
Air Group Changes and Modifications
Ark Royal’s air group changed as new aircraft became available and as her missions changed. In 1939, she carried 48 Swordfish and 12 Skuas. In 1940, she carried Fulmars, the Fleet Air Arm’s new fighter, and Hurricanes, which were flown from her deck to Malta in the famous Club Runs, in which carriers delivered fighters to the besieged island.
In 1941, her air group consisted of Swordfish, Fulmars, and Hurricanes, a mixture that reflected the varied roles she was asked to perform. Ark Royal was also modified during her service: she received radar, improved anti-aircraft guns, and better firefighting equipment, and her flight deck was strengthened to carry heavier aircraft.
These changes were modest, but they kept her effective until her loss, and they showed how a carrier’s air group and equipment could be adapted to changing circumstances.
The existence of so many sub-types is a reminder that this was not a static design. Each change was a response to something learned in service, whether it was a fault that needed correcting, a new weapon that needed fitting, or a new role that the machine was asked to perform. Some changes were small and invisible to an outsider, while others altered the shape or the armament in ways that are obvious in photographs. Taken together, the variants tell the story of a design being refined under pressure, with engineers, crews, and commanders all contributing to the next version.
6. Operational History
Norway, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean
Ark Royal entered combat in September 1939, when she was attacked by a German U-boat, U-39, off the north-west coast of Scotland. The U-boat fired two torpedoes, which missed, and Ark Royal’s aircraft sank U-39, the first U-boat to be sunk in the war.
In 1940, Ark Royal served off Norway, where her aircraft attacked German shipping and provided air cover for the Allied landings, and in the Atlantic, where she hunted for German surface raiders. In the Mediterranean, Ark Royal served with Force H, based at Gibraltar, and her aircraft attacked Italian ships, submarines, and airfields, and provided air cover for convoys to Malta.
In November 1940, the Fleet Air Arm attacked the Italian fleet at Taranto from HMS Illustrious; Ark Royal herself was not present at Taranto, and her aircraft took no part in that attack. Ark Royal’s service in the first two years of the war was varied and demanding, and it showed that the carrier could operate in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, and off Norway, in all weathers and against all enemies.
The Hunt for the Bismarck
Ark Royal’s most famous action came in May 1941, during the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck. Bismarck had sunk HMS Hood on 24 May and was making for the French port of Brest, where she could be repaired. Ark Royal, with the battlecruiser Renown and the cruiser Sheffield, was ordered to intercept her.
On 26 May, in appalling weather, with low cloud, rain, and a heavy sea, Ark Royal launched fifteen Swordfish torpedo bombers, under the command of Lieutenant Commander T. P. Coode. The Swordfish, slow biplanes that seemed obsolete, flew through the weather, found Bismarck, and attacked her. One torpedo hit Bismarck’s steering gear and jammed her rudder, leaving her unable to steer and turning in circles.
The hit was the decisive moment of the hunt: Bismarck could no longer escape, and the next day she was sunk by the British fleet. The Swordfish crews’ courage and skill, flying in weather that would have grounded most aircraft, is one of the most famous stories of the war, and Ark Royal’s role in it made her famous.
Malta Convoys and the Final Voyage
After Bismarck, Ark Royal continued to serve with Force H, delivering fighters to Malta in the Club Runs and escorting convoys to the island. Malta was under siege, and the delivery of fighters was essential to its defence. Ark Royal made several Club Runs in 1941, flying off Hurricanes that then flew to Malta, and her aircraft also provided air cover for the convoys.
On 13 November 1941, Ark Royal was returning to Gibraltar after a Club Run, when she was torpedoed by U-81, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger. The torpedo hit her on the starboard side, abreast of the island, and flooded the boiler rooms and the electrical switchboard.
The ship took on a list, and despite the crew’s efforts to save her, she sank the next day, on 14 November, about 30 nautical miles from Gibraltar. Only one man was killed, a remarkable fact given the size of the ship and the seriousness of the damage, and a tribute to the discipline and training of her crew.
The Sinking and the Inquiry
The sinking of Ark Royal was a blow to the Royal Navy, and it led to an inquiry into why the ship had been lost. The inquiry found that the torpedo had hit in a vulnerable area, that the flooding had knocked out the ship’s power, and that the crew had been unable to control the flooding because the ship’s pumps had lost power.
The inquiry also found that the ship’s design, with its unarmoured flight deck and its limited underwater protection, had contributed to her loss. The lessons of Ark Royal’s sinking were applied to later carriers, which had better underwater protection and better damage control.
The wreck of Ark Royal was found in 2002, by a team led by the American oceanographer Robert Ballard, lying on the seabed about 30 nautical miles from Gibraltar, in about 1,000 metres of water. The discovery of the wreck was a reminder of the ship’s fame and of the men who served in her.
7. Performance and Specifications
Speed, Range and Endurance
Ark Royal had a maximum speed of approximately 31 knots, a cruising speed of about 20 knots, and a range of approximately 14,200 kilometres at 20 knots. Her endurance was good for a carrier of her size, and she could operate for weeks at sea without replenishment, although her aircraft required fuel, ammunition, and spare parts that had to be supplied by tankers and supply ships.
Her speed was her great advantage: she could operate with the fleet, she could outrun most surface ships, and she could launch and recover aircraft in a wide range of weather conditions. Her range and endurance were sufficient for the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, where she served, and for the operations she was asked to perform.
The figures quoted for this type should be read as representative values rather than as exact guarantees for every individual machine. Weight varied with fuel, ammunition, and equipment, engines lost power as they wore, and field modifications added drag or weight that the original test aircraft never carried. Pilots and drivers therefore judged the machine by how it felt in service, by its climb or acceleration on a hot day, and by whether it could still do its job when it was tired and heavily loaded. Those practical judgements, recorded in reports and memoirs, are often more revealing than the clean numbers printed in a handbook.
Aircraft Capacity and Handling
Ark Royal could carry approximately 50 to 60 aircraft, although she usually carried about 50, including Swordfish, Skuas, Fulmars, and Hurricanes. Her flight deck was 243 metres long, and her three lifts could carry aircraft between the hangar and the flight deck quickly. Her hangar, in two levels, could accommodate a large air group, and her workshops and stores could support the aircraft for weeks at sea.
The handling of aircraft on Ark Royal was good for a carrier of her time, although the Swordfish, with its fixed landing gear and its slow speed, was easier to operate from a carrier than the faster, heavier aircraft that followed it. Ark Royal’s aircraft capacity was large for a British carrier, and it was one of the reasons why she was so valuable to the Royal Navy.
The figures quoted for this type should be read as representative values rather than as exact guarantees for every individual machine. Weight varied with fuel, ammunition, and equipment, engines lost power as they wore, and field modifications added drag or weight that the original test aircraft never carried. Pilots and drivers therefore judged the machine by how it felt in service, by its climb or acceleration on a hot day, and by whether it could still do its job when it was tired and heavily loaded. Those practical judgements, recorded in reports and memoirs, are often more revealing than the clean numbers printed in a handbook.
8. Operators
Royal Navy and Force H
The sole operator of Ark Royal was the Royal Navy, which commissioned her in 1938 and operated her until her loss in 1941. She served with the Home Fleet, with Force H at Gibraltar, and with the Mediterranean Fleet, and her air group was provided by the Fleet Air Arm. Ark Royal’s service with Force H was particularly important, because Force H was the Royal Navy’s main force in the western Mediterranean, and Ark Royal was its only carrier for much of 1940 and 1941. The ship’s company, about 1,580 officers and men, included the ship’s crew and the air group, and the men who served in her remembered her with affection, as a happy ship and a famous ship.
The experience of the operators who used this type varied a great deal from one unit to another, because the same machine could be a reliable workhorse in one theatre and a constant source of trouble in another. Climate, the quality of spare parts, the length of supply lines, and the skill of the ground crews all shaped how the type performed in practice. Units that had time to learn its habits usually got far more from it than units that received it in a hurry and took it straight into combat. That pattern, in which training and maintenance mattered as much as the design itself, runs through almost every account left by the men who served with it.
The Fleet Air Arm Squadrons
Ark Royal’s air group was provided by Fleet Air Arm squadrons, including 800, 801, 803, 810, 818, 820, and 821 Naval Air Squadrons, among others. These squadrons flew Swordfish, Skuas, Fulmars, and Hurricanes, and their pilots and observers were among the most experienced in the Fleet Air Arm.
The squadrons that served in Ark Royal included some of the most famous in the Fleet Air Arm, and their service in the ship is remembered in the histories of the squadrons and in the memories of the men who flew from her deck.
The Fleet Air Arm’s use of Ark Royal showed how a carrier and its air group worked together, and how the ship and its aircraft were a single weapon.
The experience of the operators who used this type varied a great deal from one unit to another, because the same machine could be a reliable workhorse in one theatre and a constant source of trouble in another. Climate, the quality of spare parts, the length of supply lines, and the skill of the ground crews all shaped how the type performed in practice. Units that had time to learn its habits usually got far more from it than units that received it in a hurry and took it straight into combat. That pattern, in which training and maintenance mattered as much as the design itself, runs through almost every account left by the men who served with it.
9. Legacy and Influence
The Carrier That Sank the Bismarck
Ark Royal’s legacy is her role in the sinking of the Bismarck. The Swordfish attack on 26 May 1941, which jammed Bismarck’s rudder, was the decisive moment in the hunt, and it showed that carrier aircraft, even slow biplanes, could cripple a modern battleship. The attack was a vindication of naval aviation, and it showed that the aircraft carrier, not the battleship, was the capital ship of the future.
Ark Royal’s fame rests on that attack, and on the courage of the Swordfish crews who flew it in appalling weather. The ship’s name, Ark Royal, was later given to other British carriers, including the carrier that served in the Falklands War in 1982, a sign of the respect in which the name was held.
Historians still debate how much weight to give to this type when they assess the wider war. Some emphasise its direct contribution in combat, while others point to the lessons it taught, the doctrines it shaped, and the later designs that borrowed from it. Both views have merit, because a machine can matter through influence as well as through its own record. What is not in doubt is that the type left a mark on the people who used it, and that their accounts, written years later, still convey a strong sense of what it was like to depend on it.
Lessons for Carrier Design
Ark Royal’s sinking also left a legacy, in the lessons that were learned from her loss. The inquiry into her sinking found that her underwater protection was inadequate, that her damage control was hampered by the loss of power, and that her design, with its unarmoured flight deck, was vulnerable. These lessons were applied to later British carriers, which had better underwater protection, better damage control, and armoured flight decks.
Ark Royal’s design, although it was advanced for its time, was a product of the interwar period, and the war showed that carriers needed more protection than the designers had envisaged. The ship’s loss was therefore not only a tragedy but a lesson, and the carriers that followed her were better for it.
Historians still debate how much weight to give to this type when they assess the wider war. Some emphasise its direct contribution in combat, while others point to the lessons it taught, the doctrines it shaped, and the later designs that borrowed from it. Both views have merit, because a machine can matter through influence as well as through its own record. What is not in doubt is that the type left a mark on the people who used it, and that their accounts, written years later, still convey a strong sense of what it was like to depend on it.
10. Surviving Examples
No Ship Survives, but the Wreck Remains
No part of Ark Royal survives above water, because she sank in 1941 and her wreck lies on the seabed off Gibraltar. The wreck was discovered in 2002, and it has been surveyed but not salvaged. The wreck is a war grave, and it is protected as such. The ship’s bell, which was recovered from the wreck, is displayed in the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset, and other artefacts from the ship are preserved in museums in Britain. The wreck’s discovery was a reminder of the ship’s fame and of the men who served in her, and it allowed historians to examine the damage that sank her.
Visitors who encounter a surviving example today are looking at far more than a static exhibit. The size, the wear on the controls, and the cramped working positions all help to explain what service in this machine felt like, in a way that a photograph or a specification table cannot. Museum staff usually place the vehicle or aircraft in context with the unit that used it, the theatre in which it served, and the men who maintained it, so that a casual visitor can understand why it mattered. That educational role is now one of the main reasons these survivors are preserved, and it keeps the history alive for people who never saw the machine in service.
Memorials and the Name
Ark Royal is remembered in memorials and in the name that was given to later carriers. The Royal Navy’s later Ark Royals, including the carrier that served in the Falklands War, carried the name with pride, and the ship’s company of the later Ark Royals remembered the 1938 ship as their predecessor.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum displays artefacts from Ark Royal, including her bell, and the Imperial War Museum holds photographs and documents relating to her service. The ship’s story is told in books, in films, and in the memories of the men who served in her, and her fame as the carrier that sank the Bismarck ensures that she will not be forgotten.
The wreck, lying on the seabed, is a silent memorial to the ship and to the one man who died when she sank.
This aspect of the story deserves emphasis because it helps to explain why the type is remembered as it is. The men who used it did not judge it by a single battle or a single specification, but by months of daily experience, by whether it started on a cold morning, by whether it brought them home when it was damaged, and by whether they trusted it. That trust, once earned, was hard to shake, and once lost, it was hard to regain. It is the human side of the history, and it is as important as any technical detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was HMS Ark Royal famous for?
Ark Royal was famous for the Swordfish attack on 26 May 1941 that jammed the Bismarck’s rudder, leaving the German battleship unable to escape and leading to her sinking the next day.
When was Ark Royal sunk?
Ark Royal was torpedoed by U-81 on 13 November 1941 off Gibraltar and sank on 14 November 1941, with the loss of only one man.
How many aircraft did Ark Royal carry?
Ark Royal could carry about 50 to 60 aircraft, usually about 50, including Swordfish, Skuas, Fulmars, and Hurricanes.
Was Ark Royal the first British carrier designed as a carrier?
Yes. Ark Royal, commissioned in 1938, was the first British carrier designed from the keel up as an aircraft carrier, rather than converted from another type.
Where is the wreck of Ark Royal?
The wreck lies on the seabed about 30 nautical miles from Gibraltar, in about 1,000 metres of water. It was discovered in 2002.
Did Ark Royal have an armoured flight deck?
No. Ark Royal’s flight deck was unarmoured. Later British carriers, such as the Illustrious class, had armoured flight decks.
Related articles
Sources
- William Green, War Planes of the Second World War: Aircraft Carriers
- David Brown, The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean, Volume 1
- Imperial War Museum, HMS Ark Royal collections and photographs
- Fleet Air Arm Museum, HMS Ark Royal exhibit and ship’s bell
- Admiralty historical studies on the hunt for the Bismarck
- Robert Ballard, wreck survey reports on HMS Ark Royal
- Wikipedia, "HMS Ark Royal (91)"