HMS Ark Royal

Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ark Royal:

• Ark Royal (1587), the flagship of the English fleet during the Spanish Armada campaign of 1588.
• HMS Ark Royal (1914), merchant ship, converted to an aircraft carrier during the First World War
• HMS Ark Royal (91), British aircraft carrier launched in 1937 that participated in the Second World War and was sunk by a U-boat in 1941.
• HMS Ark Royal (R09), an Audacious-class fleet aircraft carrier launched in 1950, decommissioned in 1979
• HMS Ark Royal (R07), an Invincible-class aircraft carrier, launched in 1981, decommissioned in 2011

The Prince of Wales is understood to have privately agreed to allow that the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, which is set to be named HMS Prince of Wales (R09), be renamed Ark Royal.^[1]

References