Sunk - so why was HMS Ark Royal dubbed 'the lucky ship'? | Nostalgia
She had a short life (launched in 1937 and sunk in November 1941) but HMS Ark Royal (91) served in some of the most active naval theatres of the Second World War and was involved in the first aerial and U-boat kills of the war.
She served during a period that first saw the extensive use of naval air power; several carrier tactics were developed and refined aboard Ark Royal.
Ark Royal survived several near misses and gained a reputation as a 'lucky ship'. But she was torpedoed on November 13, 1941, by the German submarine U-81 and sank the following day.
However, only one sailor was killed out of a ship’s company of nearly 1,600.
To see more pictures of the Second World War Ark Royal click here.
A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.
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