Armada: Ark Royal

Welcome aboard Ark Royal, Captain!

Ark Royal is one of the most famous aircraft carriers in the history of the Royal Navy. The pilots of her air groups achieved the first British aerial victory of World War II, and contributed greatly to destroying battleship Bismarck. Ark Royal hunted German raider ships and submarines, and participated in the Norwegian campaign as well as the defense of Malta. The ship was awarded five battle honors for just 18 months of combat. Now you have a chance to take command of the renowned aircraft carrier in World of Warships!
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The building of a large aircraft carrier was planned by the British Admiralty as far back as 1923. However, due to the economic and political situation, it was postponed until the mid-1930s. Ark Royal was laid down at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead on September 16, 1935. At that time, the task of designing the ship was carried out by the Director of Naval Construction, Sir Arthur Johns. On April 13, 1937, the aircraft carrier was launched.

The money invested into the project was not spent in vain. During the sea trials held in May 1938, the ship's speed exceeded the expectations of the design, reaching 31.2 knots.

Ark Royal inherited her name from the first purpose-built seaplane tender in the Royal Navy. The name itself dates back to the 16th century, when it was borne by the flagship of Admiral Charles Howard.

After World War II broke out, Ark Royal joined an anti-submarine "hunter-killer" group. In this role, she hunted German submarines together with a flotilla of destroyers in the Atlantic, west of the British Isles. On September 14, 1939, the aircraft carrier launched her dive bombers in response to a distress call received from a dry-cargo ship, Fanad Head. But in the meantime, she was attacked by submarine U-39. Ark Royal managed to dodge the torpedoes, and the escort destroyers sank the submarine with the aid of depth charges. It was the first time the Royal Navy was victorious in opposing a submarine in World War II. However, they failed to protect the cargo ship from a U-30 attack. Moreover, two aircraft crashed during an unsuccessful bombing run, and their pilots were captured.

After aircraft carrier Courageous had been sunk by submarines on September 17, 1939, it was decided to withdraw this type of ship from “hunter-killer” groups. However, Ark Royal would continue to launch aircraft carrying depth charges when on patrol in case of underwater threats, including during her last voyage.

On September 26, 1939, pilots from Ark Royal became the first British forces to down a German plane in World War II. While defending their task force from three German Dornier Do 18 "flying boat" scout aircraft, they managed to destroy one of them. In their turn, the Germans declared that they had sunk the aircraft carrier, which turned out to be a premature claim.

Between October–December 1939, Ark Royal participated in hunting the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The aircraft carrier, sailing with battlecruiser Renown, didn't manage to arrive at the Battle of the River Plate in time, but the British attempted to mislead the Germans by spreading false information about the imminent arrival of the two ships. The day after the battle, officers from Graf Spee spotted a ship on the horizon that was mistakenly identified as battlecruiser Renown. Those factors are believed to have played a key role in the Germans’ decision to scuttle their own ship in the harbor of Montevideo.

Between April–June 1940, Ark Royal took part in the battle for Norway. The carrier's aircraft were covering the Allied forces from German aviation and providing them with close air support. On June 13, 1940, a few days after aircraft carrier Glorious had been sunk by German battleships, Ark Royal tried to strike back. But during her attack on battleship Scharnhorst, she lost eight Skua strike dive bombers in vain.

After the surrender of Norway, Ark Royal joined Force H—a task force of the Royal Navy based in Gibraltar and reporting directly to the Admiralty. She debuted in that theater of operations with the attack on the French Navy at Mers-El-Kébir. Subsequently, Ark Royal participated in the escort of convoys to the besieged island of Malta and in one battle—the Battle of Cape Spartivento. The aircraft carrier repeatedly attacked Genoa during operation Grog, which was aimed at bombarding the city and its port from the sea. She was regularly targeted by Italian aircraft herself but didn't receive any damage.

In May 1941, Ark Royal played a crucial role in the hunt for battleship Bismarck, which had broken through into the Atlantic to carry out raids. On May 26, the carrier's aircraft detected the German battleship, but the main forces of the Home Fleet still were too far away to stop the raider from reaching French ports. Ark Royal was ordered to intercept Bismarck with a torpedo attack.

The first approach was unsuccessful—Ark Royal’s Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers mistakenly attacked British cruiser Sheffield, which was also in pursuit of the German battleship. Luckily, not a single torpedo hit the target. The torpedo bombers returned to the carrier for re-armament and refueling, before being launched again to attack Bismarck just before sunset. The obsolete "Stringbags" (the nickname was given to them because of the numerous bracing wires they had between the wings) turned out to be surprisingly effective, managing to score three torpedo hits. One of them brought the battleship face to face with her doom. The torpedo jammed the rudder, costing Bismarck her speed and maneuverability. She was sunk in the course of the battle with the British squadron.

Following those events, Ark Royal returned to the Mediterranean Sea to escort the supply convoys to Malta. On November 13, 1941, the aircraft carrier was hit by a torpedo launched from German submarine U-81. The resulting flooding extinguished her boilers, which in turn stopped her steam turbine generators. The ship didn't have any standby diesel generators, so all of her pumps stopped and damage control became impossible. Tugboats tried to tow the aircraft carrier to Gibraltar, but Ark Royal sank 30 miles out from the port. All out of almost 1,500 people aboard survived, except for one sailor who was killed by the torpedo explosion. British shipbuilders learned from the destruction of Ark Royal and introduced the required improvement into the designs of the Illustrious- and Implacable-class aircraft carriers that were under construction at the time.


Attack aircraft: Blackburn Skua strike dive bombers


Torpedo bombers: Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers/scouts/bombers
Bombers: Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers/scouts/bombers

• Air Supremacy
  
• Improved Engine Boost
  
• Improved Engines
  
• Aircraft Armor
  
• Survivability Expert

• Air Supremacy
  
• Improved Engine Boost
  
• Improved Engines
  
• Aircraft Armor
  
• Survivability Expert
  
• Sight Stabilization
  
• Demolition Expert
  
• Adrenaline Rush

• Air Groups Modification 1
  
• Aircraft Engines Modification 1
  
• Attack Aircraft Modification 1
  
• Bombers Modification 2

VI Ark Royal was the first British aircraft carrier on which the hangar and flight deck formed integral parts of the hull, instead of being parts of the superstructures. The carrier was instrumental in the destruction of German battleship Bismarck, participated in the Norwegian campaign, and escorted British convoys to Malta. In World of Warships, she is the first Premium Tier VI aircraft carrier to enter the game. The ship boasts a large air group and has a fast aircraft-restoration time.

• Larger squadrons and attack flights compared with other Tier VI aircraft carriers. She can have as many as nine bombers, attack aircraft, or torpedo bombers airborne and attacking a target, with flights of three aircraft each.
  
• Fast aircraft-restoration time: 48 seconds for attack aircraft, 56 seconds for bombers, and 59 seconds for torpedo bombers.
  
• In terms of their individual characteristics, Ark Royal's aircraft are somewhat inferior to the aircraft used by other Tier VI carriers.
  
• The permanent camouflage provides extra credits per battle, as well as 50% more XP, and –10% to the cost of the ship's post-battle service.

For a detailed look at the ship's technical specifications, follow this link.


Unsinkable Sam: Ark Royal –15%

• VI Ark Royal
• Commander with 10 skill points 
  
• Port Slot
  
• Unsinkable Sam permanent camouflage for VI Ark Royal
  
• Historical permanent camouflage for VI Ark Royal
  
• 2,500,000
• 80×Equal Speed Charlie London
  
• 80×India Bravo Terrathree
  
• 80×Zulu
  
• 80×Papa Papa
  
• 80×Zulu Hotel
  
• Combat mission: x3 XP for 25 battles
  
• Commemorative flag

Bundles are available for purchase until Fri. 18 Oct. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)