700-019 FIRST BRITISH SEAPLANE TENDER HMS ARK ROYAL 1915-18

HMS Ark Royal was a British aircraft from the interwar period and both world wars. The keel was laid in November 1913, the launch took place in September 1914, and entry into service with the Royal Navy in December 1914. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 111.6 meters and the width was 15.5 meters. Full displacement was up to 7,450 tons, and maximum speed was around 11 knots. Initially, it was armed with four single 76.2 mm QF 12-pounder QF cannons and two machine guns. The unit could operate 8 seaplanes simultaneously. Originally, HMS Ark Royal was built for civilian use, but in May 1914, while still under construction, was purchased by the Royal Navy and was successfully and thoroughly redesigned to meet its needs. As a result, a de facto seagoing aircraft was created, which is often considered the first ship of this type to be built from scratch in the Royal Navy. The unit took part in the First World War quite intensively, operating mainly in the Mediterranean basin and participating, inter alia, in the Battle of Gallipolli in 1915. The planes from HMS Ark Royal also performed reconnaissance missions over Macedonia in 1916, and in January 1918 they unsuccessfully attacked the German cruiser SMS Goeben. Shortly after the end of the Great War, the unit took part in the anti-Bolshevik expedition to Russia, operating in the Black Sea. She was placed in reserve in 1922, but returned to service eight years later as a training ship under the changed name of HMS Pegasus. The unit also served in this role for most of the Second World War. In 1950 it was sold for scrap.