Dene Bebbington looks back at some of the aircraft carriers which carried on the illustrious name of Ark Royal.
Ark Royal is one of the most famous ship names in the Royal Navy. The first ship to bear the name was the flagship galleon which fought against the Spanish Armada in 1588. Since then, four other ships have borne the name, all of which were aircraft carriers, and all built during the 20th century, the first just before the outbreak of World War I.
In 1913 the navy conducted trials on a modified Highflyer class cruiser, HMS Hermes, to assess her use as a seaplane carrier. As a result of the success of these trials, the first dedicated seaplane carrier was built. Starting life as a collier constructed by the Blyth Shipbuilding Co, the ship was bought by the Royal Navy in May 1914, and launched in September. She was not an aircraft carrier in the true sense, as aircraft could not take off and land on the flight deck.
Instead, two steam cranes lifted seaplanes from the hangar and lowered them onto the sea, from where they would take off. The cranes would hoist them back on board after they had landed on the water and pulled up alongside. Wheeled aircraft could use the flight deck only for take-off, after which they had to land on land at the end of their mission. The hangar in the original ship’s hold space was designed to accommodate up to ten seaplanes. Measuring 366ft (111.6m) by 50ft 10in (15.5m), she was a small ship compared to later Arks.
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