HMS Ark Royal (R09) was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier serving the Royal Navy, notable for being the last conventional catapult and arrested-landing carrier in service when decommissioned in 1979. She was the first Royal Navy ship to feature an angled flight deck at her commissioning, a significant innovation that improved aircraft operations by allowing simultaneous takeoff and landing. Her construction began with a contract awarded to Cammell Laird on 19 March 1942, at Birkenhead, with her keel laid down on 3 May 1943 (yard number 1119). Originally planned to be named Irresistible, the ship was renamed Ark Royal to honor the aircraft carrier lost in 1941. She was launched by Queen Elizabeth on 3 May 1950 and completed on 25 February 1952, commissioning at Devonport the following day. Ark Royal measured approximately 800 by 112 feet (244 by 34 meters) with a 5.5° angled flight deck, steam catapults capable of launching aircraft up to 30,000 pounds, and a deck-edge lift on the port side—the first British ship to feature such a device. Her initial armament was modified over time, with her forward port 4.5-inch guns removed early in her career to enhance aircraft operations. Her design included a mirror landing system and, after her 1967-1970 refit, an 8.5° angled deck, more powerful steam catapults, heavy-grade arrestor cables, and new electronic systems, including the USN AN/SPN-35 approach radar, unique among RN carriers. Her air group initially consisted of up to 50 aircraft, including Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms, Gannets, Skyraiders, and helicopters, though this number decreased over her service life. Ark Royal participated in NATO exercises, the Beira Patrol, and Cold War operations, but saw no combat. She contributed to trials of V/STOL aircraft and carried out long-range strike missions, including over British Honduras in 1972. Her career was marked by notable incidents, including a collision with a Soviet destroyer in 1970. Decommissioned in 1979 and scrapped in 1983, Ark Royal's legacy includes her pioneering angled deck, steam catapults, and role as a symbol of post-WWII British naval aviation innovation. Her decommissioning marked the end of fixed-wing aircraft carriers in the Royal Navy until the later introduction of the Invincible class.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.