View source for HMS Ark Royal (R09)

{{Short description|1955 Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Ark Royal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2010}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=17 HMS Ark Royal North Atlantic July 76.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Ark Royal'' with Phantom FG1 and Buccaneer S2 aircraft on deck, 1976
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Ark Royal'' 
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=18 March 1942
|Ship builder=[[Cammell Laird]], [[Birkenhead]], England
|Ship laid down=3 May 1943
|Ship launched=3 May 1950
|Ship commissioned=22 February 1955
|Ship decommissioned=14 February 1979
|Ship struck=February 1979
|Ship homeport=[[HMNB Devonport]]
|Ship motto=''Desire Does Not Rest''
|Ship nickname=''The Mighty Ark''
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: R09
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Scrapped 1980
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|Audacious|aircraft carrier}}
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|36,800|LT|ST MT|lk=on}} (as built)
*{{Convert|43,060|LT|ST MT}}, {{Convert|53,950|LT|ST MT}} full load (1978)
|Ship length={{Convert|804|ft|m|lk=on}}
|Ship beam=*{{Convert|112|ft|m}} (as built)
*{{Convert|171|ft|m}} (1978)
|Ship draught=*{{Convert|10|m|ft|order=flip}} standard
*{{Convert|9.5|m|ft|order=flip}} deep
|Ship propulsion=*8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers in 4 boiler rooms
*4 sets of Parsons geared turbines, 4 shafts
*Power: {{Convert|152000|shp|kW|-3|lk=on}}
|Ship speed={{Convert|31.5|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range=*{{Convert|7000|nmi|km}} at {{Convert|14|kn|km/h}}
*{{Convert|5000|nmi|km}} at {{Convert|24|kn|km/h}}
|Ship complement=2,250 (2,640 inc. air staff)
|Ship sensors=
After 1970:
:Type 974 Navigation Radar
:2x Type 965 Long Range Air Search Radar
:Type 963 Carrier Controlled Approach Radar
:Radar types 986 used in sync with 965, 987x2 Fwd and aft height finding, 993 Medium range; all E/F band radars
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*As built:
*16 × [[QF 4.5 inch Mk I - V naval gun|4.5&nbsp;inch (113 mm) guns]] (8 × 2)
*52 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm Bofors]] (6 × 6, 2 × 2, 12 × 1)
*1969 refit:  4 x [[Seacat (missile)|Seacat missiles]] (never fitted)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seavixen.org/hms-ark-royal#:~:text=Fitted%20for%20but%20not%20with,provided%20spares%20during%20this%20period|title=HMS Ark Royal - SeaVixen|website=www.SeaVixen.org}}</ref> 
*4x Corvus Decoy launchers
|Ship aircraft=*As built: 50
*38 after 1967–1970 refit
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Ark Royal'' (R09)''' was an {{Sclass|Audacious|aircraft carrier|0}} [[aircraft carrier]] of the [[Royal Navy]] and, when she was decommissioned in 1979, was the Royal Navy's last remaining [[CATOBAR|conventional catapult and arrested-landing]] aircraft carrier.  She was the first aircraft carrier to be equipped with [[angled flight deck]] at its commissioning; her sister ship, {{HMS|Eagle|R05|6}}, 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 in UK service|McDonnell Douglas Phantom]] at sea.

==Construction and modifications==
[[File:HMS Ark Royal (R09) MOD 45140150.jpg|thumb|left|''Ark'' in the late 1950s, before the port deck-edge lift was removed|alt=]]
''Ark Royal'' was the sister ship to {{HMS|Eagle|R05|6}}, which was initially named [[HMS Audacious|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]] ended, and construction of the other two was suspended for several years.  Both completed ships were extensively upgraded throughout their lifetimes.

A contract was placed with [[Cammell Laird]] on {{Start date and age|1942|03|19|df=y}}, 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 [[HMS Ark Royal (91)|the aircraft carrier lost in 1941]].  The ship, which was the largest warship ever to be built by Cammell Laird, was [[Keel laying|laid down]] at Laird's [[Birkenhead]] shipyard on {{Start date and age|1943|05|03|df=y}}, as [[yard number]] 1119.<ref name="hbbritp178">Hobbs 2013, p. 178.</ref>  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 [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] by [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]], wife of King [[George VI]], on {{Start date and age|1950|05|03|df=y}}.  She was completed on {{Start date and age|1955|02|25|df=y}}, and commissioned the next day at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]].<ref name="hbbritp296">Hobbs 2013, p. 296</ref>

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 catapult]]s capable of launching aircraft weighing up to {{Convert|30000|lb|kg|abbr=off}}, a deck-edge lift on the port side (the first British ship to be fitted with such a device), modified armament, and the new [[Optical Landing System#Mirror landing aid|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.<ref name=Hobbs6>''HMAS Melbourne (II) – 25 Years On'', p6</ref>  These innovations allowed aircraft to land and take off from the carrier at the same time.  Her flight deck as built was {{Convert|800|by|112|ft|m|abbr=off}}.

[[File:HMS Ark Royal (R09) at Hampton Roads 1957.jpg|thumb|left|''Ark Royal'' in 1957|alt=]]
A further four years passed before she commenced her sea trials.<ref>Bebbington. Page 58.</ref>

About a year after commissioning, her forward port {{Convert|4.5|in|mm}} 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&nbsp;inch guns were also removed.  After the 1964 refit, only one twin 4.5&nbsp;inch gun mount remained aft on port and starboard side.<ref>serving RN Maintainer</ref>  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 [[McDonnell Douglas Phantom in UK service|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 [[British pound|£]]30&nbsp;million, far less than the modernisation of ''Eagle'', but also added several improvements, which allowed her to comfortably operate the larger [[F-4 Phantom II|Phantom]] and [[Blackburn Buccaneer|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]].  Twelve hundred miles of new cabling was installed,<ref name=Hobbs2013-p295>D. Hobbs (2013). British Aircraft Carriers. Design, Development & Service Histories. Seaforth. UK, p295.</ref> 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 height-finders 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,<ref name=Hobbs2013-p295/> increasing night aircraft operational capability and safety.  Her flight deck size was increased port aft, giving her extra deck-park space for her air group 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 [[Hawker Sea Hawk|Sea Hawks]], [[De Havilland Sea Venom|Sea Venoms]], [[Fairey Gannet|Gannets]], [[A-1 Skyraider|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==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:USS Independence (CVA-62) and HMS Ark Royal (R09) 1971.jpg|thumb|''Ark Royal'' (background) operating with {{USS|Independence|CV-62|6}} (foreground) in the North Atlantic, 1971|alt=]]
''Ark Royal'' participated in many exercises as part of the British fleet and [[NATO]] ([[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]) squadrons, but saw no combat duty.  She was not involved in the [[Suez Crisis]] in [[Egypt]] 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]], which later developed into the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier]].  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]] enforcing the [[naval blockade]] of [[Rhodesia]] in 1965.<ref>Bebbington. Page 59.</ref>  The [[1966 Defence White Paper]] 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.<ref>''Phoenix Squadron'' p42-43</ref>  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]]'.

On {{Start date and age|1970|11|09|df=y}}, whilst in the [[Mediterranean]] to participate in a NATO exercise, ''Ark Royal'' collided with ''Bravyy'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Lionel A.|url=http://lionels.orpheusweb.co.uk/AirSea/ArkRoyal/Russkies/Ark7.html|title=Images from Ark Royal's sixth commission – page 7 Russians|publisher=Lionel's home page|access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref> a [[Soviet Navy]] {{Sclass2|Kotlin|destroyer|1}} which was shadowing her (a common practice during the [[Cold War]]).<ref>''Phoenix Squadron'' p33-34</ref>  ''Ark Royal'' was slightly damaged, while the Soviet destroyer sustained minor damage and two missing crew.  ''Ark Royal''{{'}}s commanding officer, Captain [[Raymond Lygo]], was cleared of blame at the subsequent [[court martial]].

[[File:Phantom FG1 892 Sqn on HMS Ark Royal (R09) 1972.jpg|thumb|left|Phantom FG1 on ''Ark Royal'' in 1972|alt=]]
The ship featured in the 1960s British television series ''[[Not Only... But Also]]'' starring [[Peter Cook]] and [[Dudley Moore]].  When commissions ended, items were fired off the catapult into the sea, including pianos and once a toilet complete with paying-off pennant.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

By 1970, ''Ark Royal'' had a complement of 39 aircraft.  This typically comprised twelve Phantom FG Mk.1s, of [[892 Naval Air Squadron]], fourteen Buccaneer S Mk.2s of 809 Squadron, four Gannet AEW ([[Airborne Early Warning]]) Mk.3s of B Flight 849 Squadron, six Sea King HAS Mk.1s of 824 Squadron, two Wessex HAR Mk.1s of the Ship's Flight, and one Gannet COD Mk.4.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} later replaced by an AEW3.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}  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]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

In 1972, the Buccaneers aboard ''Ark Royal'' took part in a long-range strike mission over [[British Honduras]] in [[Central America]] shortly before its independence as a [[constitutional monarchy]] named [[Belize|Her Majesty's Government of Belize]] to deter a possible invasion by [[Guatemala]], which had long-standing territorial claims.<ref>{{Cite book|last=White|first=Rowland|date=2010|title=Phoenix Squadron: HMS Ark Royal, Britain's last top-guns and the untold story of their most dramatic mission|publisher=Corgi|isbn=978-0552152907}}</ref>

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]]'s Silver Jubilee at [[Spithead]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/pdf-docs/slvrjuble1.pdf|title=Programme of the Silver Jubilee Fleet Review|website=www.AxfordsAbode.org.uk|access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref>

In the mid-1970s, the ship made a return to television.  A major [[BBC]] documentary series, one of the earliest [[fly on the wall]] documentaries, ''[[Sailor (TV series)|Sailor]]'' was made, showing life on board the ship during a February-to-July 1976 [[Atlantic Ocean|Western Atlantic]] 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 (Rod Stewart song)|Sailing]] by [[Rod Stewart]] – a song that came to be associated with the ship and her successor.  She visited [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], from 30 May until 14 June 1978.

[[File:HMS Ark Royal USS Nimitz Norfolk1 1978.jpeg|thumb|''Ark Royal'' alongside {{USS|Nimitz|CVN-68|6}} on a stopover at [[Naval Station Norfolk|Norfolk, Virginia]], during her 1978 WESTLANT final deployment|alt=]]
She entered [[HMNB Devonport]] on {{Start date and age|1978|12|04|df=y}}, and decommissioned on {{Start date and age|1979|02|14|df=y}}.  Like her sister ''Eagle'', she had a relatively short (24&nbsp;year) life, and when the [[White Ensign]] 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 {{Start date and age|1980|03|29|df=y}}, the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] (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]] near [[Stranraer]] 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]] at [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|RNAS Yeovilton]].  One of her other anchors is in Armada Way, Plymouth, near Plymouth Hoe.
{|class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:center
|+Final air wing, 1970 to 1978
![[List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons|squadron]]!![[Military aircraft|aircraft type]]!!number of<br>aircraft!!role
|-
|[[809 Naval Air Squadron|809 NAS]]||[[Blackburn Buccaneer|Buccaneer S2]]||14||strike
|-
|[[892 Naval Air Squadron|892 NAS]]||[[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service|Phantom FG1]]||12||fleet air defence
|-
|rowspan=2|[[849 Naval Air Squadron|849B NAS]]||[[Fairey Gannet AEW.3|Gannet AEW3]]||4||airborne early warning
|-
|[[Fairey Gannet|Gannet COD4]]||1||carrier on-board delivery
|-
|[[824 Naval Air Squadron|824 NAS]]||[[Westland Sea King|Sea King HAS2]]||7||anti-submarine warfare
|-
|Ship's Flight||[[Westland Wessex|Wessex HAS1]]||2||search and rescue
|}

==Legacy==
While ''Ark Royal''{{'}}s career spanned 24&nbsp;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<ref name=Hobbs2013-p295/> 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.<ref name=Hobbs2013-p295/>  ''Eagle'' was a more reliable and well-built ship,<ref>J. Stocker, in '60s and 70s Warriors'. Warships International Fleet Review, May 2007, p.47–8</ref> 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]], and some private funds were raised; the MOD would not sanction these efforts.  The [[Fleet Air Arm Museum]] has subsequently mimicked the ship's island and flight deck in its central hall as an ''Aircraft Carrier Experience'' exhibition.

The {{Sclass|Centaur|aircraft carrier|1}} {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}} remained in service after her, but had been converted to a helicopter commando carrier in 1971, and then as a [[VTOL|V/STOL]] carrier.  The much smaller {{Sclass|Invincible|aircraft carrier|1}} could carry only vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft and helicopters.  The two new {{Sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|0}} 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]] (catapult-assisted takeoff and barrier/arrested recovery) aircraft.  Fitting [[Aircraft catapult#Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jump jets return as Government scraps 'cats and traps' plan for future carriers|url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/4701|publisher=[[Royal Navy]]|work=Navy News|date=10 May 2012|access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref>

==Aircraft and squadrons==
[[File:Ark Royal R09 from top lauch Buc NAN1-71.jpg|thumb|Overhead view of ''Ark Royal'' in 1970|alt=]]
*[[Hawker Sea Hawk]]
*[[de Havilland Sea Venom]]
*[[Fairey Gannet]]
*[[Westland Wyvern]]
*[[Grumman TBM Avenger|Grumman Avenger]]
*[[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG1]]
*[[Blackburn Buccaneer]]
*[[Supermarine Scimitar]]
*[[de Havilland Sea Vixen]]
*[[Westland Dragonfly]]
*[[Westland Sea King]]
*[[Westland Wessex]]

==Commanding officers==
*1954–1956: [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Dennis Cambell]] RN
*1956–1958: Captain [[Frank Hopkins (Royal Navy officer)|Frank Hopkins]] RN
*1959–1961: Captain [[Peter Hill-Norton, Baron Hill-Norton|Peter Hill-Norton]] RN
*1961–1963: Captain Donald Gibson RN
*1963–1964: Captain [[Michael Pollock]] RN
*1964–1965: Captain [[Anthony Griffin (Royal Navy officer)|Anthony Griffin]] RN
*1965–1967: Captain Michael Fell RN
*1969–1971: Captain [[Raymond Lygo]] RN
*1971–1972: Captain [[John Roberts (Royal Navy officer)|John Roberts]] RN
*1972–1973: Captain [[Desmond Cassidi]] RN
*1973–1975: Captain [[John Gerard-Pearse]] RN
*1975–1976: Captain Wilfred Graham RN
*1976–1978: Captain Edward R Anson RN

==See also==
*[[CVA-01]]
*[[HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08)]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{Cite book|last=Beaver|first=Paul|date=1979|title=Ark Royal, A pictorial history of the Royal Navy's last conventional aircraft carrier|location=[[Cambridge]], England|publisher=Patrick Stephens}}{{ISBN missing|date=March 2023}}
*{{Cite magazine|last=Bebbington|first=Dene|date=April 2017|title=Ark Royal|journal=[[Ships Monthly]]|pages=56–59}}{{ISBN missing|date=March 2023}}
*{{Cite book|last=Blackman|first=Raymond|date=1973|title=Ships of the Royal Navy|location=[[London]], England|publisher=Macdonald and Jane's}}{{ISBN missing|date=March 2023}}
*{{Cite book|last=Chesneau|first=Roger|date=1984|title=Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/aircraftcarriers00ches|url-access=registration|location=[[Annapolis, MD]]|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|isbn=9780870219023}}
*{{Cite book|last=Gardiner|first=Robert|date=1983|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1982|location=[[London]], England|publisher=Conway Maritime Press}}{{ISBN missing|date=March 2023}}
*{{Cite magazine|last=Hobbs|first=David|date=October 2007|title=HMAS ''Melbourne'' (II) – 25 years on|journal=The Navy|location=[[Sydney]], Australia|volume=69|issue=4|pages=5–9|issn=1322-6231}}
*{{Cite book|last=Hobbs|first=David|date=2013|title=British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories|location=[[Barnsley]], UK|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1-84832-138-0}}

===Further reading===
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z94DAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+mechanics+aircraft+carrier&pg=PA109 ''Britain's Atomic Age Carrier'', September 1955, Popular Mechanics] early article after Ark Royal's commission with drawing and illustrations

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://hmsarkroyalassociation.org HMS Ark Royal Association website]
*[http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/aircraft_carriers/hms_ark_royal_r09.htm Maritimequest HMS Ark Royal photo gallery]
*{{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120630225025/http://www.btinternet.com/~a.c.walton/navy/rn-cv3.html|title=Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers Part 3|date=30 June 2012}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071008185820/http://www.sjgl.co.uk/ark-royal/ Ark Royal: The Last Commission '76–78]
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{{Audacious class aircraft carrier}}
{{1970 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark Royal (R09)}}
[[Category:Audacious-class aircraft carriers]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Mersey]]
[[Category:1950 ships]]
[[Category:Cold War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1970]]