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HMS Ark Royal (R07)
Invincible-class light aircraft carrier
of the Royal Navy |
| Light aircraft carrier |
| Class: Invincible-class |
| Ordered: December 1978 |
| Builder: Swan Hunter |
| Laid down: 14 December 1978 |
| Launched: 2 June 1981 |
| Commissioned: 1 November 1985 |
Complement: 685 crew
366 Fleet Air Arm |
| Displacement: 20,235 tonnes. |
| Length: 211.4 metres (693 feet) |
| Beam: 36m / 118ft |
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| Draft: 7.5 m |
Propulsion: COGAG (Combined Gas and Gas), 2 Shafts
4 x Gas Turbines producing 72MW |
| Speed: 30 kts |
| Range: 7.5 m |
| Armament: 3 x Phalanx/Goalkeeper (CIWS) 2 x 20mm Close range guns |
| Camouflage: |
| Fate: In service |
| Homeport: Portsmouth |
| Navy Site |
| Home Site HMS Ark Royale |
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Sensors,processing systems
Electronic warfare
and decoys:
Ark Royal has the three Phalanx CIWS systems she was fitted with when built (she can be easily distinguished from her sisters by the Phalanx's distinctive white "R2-D2" radome). Electronic countermeasures are provided by a Thales jamming system and ECM system. Seagnat launchers provide for chaff or flare decoys. As part of upgrades during the mid 1990s,she had the Sea Dart removed, with the forecastle filled in to increase the size of the flight deck.
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| Harrier GR7 |
Aircrafts carried |
Merlin ASW |
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A mix (depending on role) of:
Harrier GR7 and GR9s,
Sea King AEW
Sea King and Chinook stores or troop-carrying helicopters and
Merlin anti-submarine helicopters.
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History |
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Her keel was laid by Swan Hunter at Wallsend on 7 December 1978, and was launched on 20 June 1981.
HMS Ark Royal wascommissioned on 1 November 1985.
Originally intended as Indomitable in line with her sister ships (HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious), public resentment at the scrapping of the previous Ark Royal (Britain's last large aircraft carrier up to that date) in 1980, led the Royal Navy to announce that the name would be revived on the new ship.
The unfinished Ark Royal was reportedly offered for sale to the Royal Australian Navy in 1981. HMS Invincible was later offered for sale instead. |
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In May 1999 Ark Royal put into Rosyth for refitting, which included the removal of the Sea Dart missiles and covering over of the foredeck to allow for an enlarged deck park for aircraft. She was recommissioned in 2001.
She sailed to the Persian Gulf for the 2003 Invasion of Iraq in 2003. Helicopters from Ark Royal played a crucial role in the Battle of Basra |
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In April 2004 HMS Ark Royal entered into extended readiness, following which she entered refit with the return to service of Illustrious.
HMS Ark Royal completed an extensive refit in August 2006 and returned to Portsmouth, her home port, to rejoin the fleet on 28 October 2006 where she underwent 10 weeks of training and sea trials.
HMS Ark Royal will be utilised as an LPH, replacing Ocean while she undergoes refit.
On 16 November 2006 a British Army WAH-64 Apache attack helicopter landed on
Ark Royal for the first time marking an increase in the carriers capability.
On 22 March 2007, HMS Ark Royal was returned to the Royal Navy Fleet after a two-year refit worth £18 million. As of May 2007, she once again became the
Fleet Flagship, reclaiming the title from her sister ship, Illustrious, which had been Flagship since the end of her refit in 2005. |
A faster, leaner and greener HMS Ark Royal went to the sea again 23 SEPTEMBER 2009 for the first time since February 09
The aircraft carrier has just undergone a £12m upgrade in her home port of Portsmouth and is about to embark on two weeks of post-maintenance tests.
She is heading to the Royal Navy’s training areas off the south west of England for marine and weapon engineering trials.
During the upgrade her hull was painted with new ‘intersleek’ paint – allowing her to cut through the seas more quickly - which will cut fuel costs and emissions by nine percent. It will also increase her top speed by two knots to 30 knots.
The work, carried out by BVT Surface Fleet, also included new exhaust systems, an updated IT network and improvements to sewage treatment plants. Her gearboxes, main engines and diesel generators have also been refurbished.
HMS Ark Royal will resume her role as Fleet Flagship in the New Year, taking over from her sister ship HMS Illustrious which took on the honour during Ark Royal’s upgrade. She will also become the UK’s high-readiness ‘Strike Carrier’. |
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