ARK ROYAL aircraft carrier (1914)
Ark Royal 1915
Pegasus 1938
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Ark Royal; 12.1934- Pegasus | N80, N07 | 174 | Blyth SB, Cowpen Quay | 7.11.1913 | 5.9.1914 | 12.1914 | catapult ship 4.1941, hulk 2.1944 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
7080 |
|
Displacement full, t |
7400 |
|
Length, m |
111.6 |
|
Breadth, m |
15.5 |
|
Draught, m |
5.50 mean |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 VTE, 2 cylindrical boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
3000 |
|
Max speed, kts |
11 |
|
Fuel, t |
500 oil |
|
Armament |
4 x 1 - 76/40 12pdr 12cwt QF Mk I, 2 x 1 - 7.7/87, 7 aircraft (2 Sopwith 807, 2 Wright Pusher, 1 Short 135, 2 Sopwith Tabloid) |
|
Complement |
180 |
Aircraft facilities (fd - 530m2, ha - 626m² / 2,817m³): "Aeroplane hold" (hangar) was 45.7x13.7x 4.5m. Aircraft was hoisted in and out by 2 3t steam cranes through 12.2x9.1m hatch. Seaplanes launched on wheeled trolleys and recovered by cranes. Fwd flight deck was39.6x13.4m. Wheeled planes had to land ashore.
| Year | Fighters | Torpedo bombers | Recon planes | Seaplanes |
| 1915 | 2 Sopwith Tabloid | --- | 2 Wright Pusher, 1 Short 135 | 2 Sopwith 807 |
| 1941 | 3 Fulmar | --- | --- | --- |
Project history: Ark Royal was converted from a dry-cargo steamship. Despite a slow speed and insignificant damage tolerance, the ship had all signs of an aircraft carrier: a hangar, the lift, possibility of a take-off from a deck. Seaplanes were launched from special dollies (as on cruiser-seaplane carrier Hermes) and land on water; wheel aircrafts started from the ship but landed ashore.
Modernizations: 1938: catapult fitted.
1940: - 4 x 1 - 76/40; + 4 x 1 - 76/45 20cwt QF Mk I
1941: ship was adapted for launch Hurricane fighters.
Naval service: Used as depot ship 1923 - 1938. Hulked 2.1944. Sold for merchant duties 10.1946.
Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.
Ark Royal 1915
© Ivan Gogin, 2008-14