History of the name Ark Royal

Ships named HMS Ark Royal have sailed the seas of Earth in service to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its monarch for centuries.

HMS Ark Royal

English Galleon

Launched 1587 from Deptford Shipyard of R. Chapman as Ark Raleigh for Sir Walter Raleigh

Sold to the Crown immediately after launch; renamed Ark Royal

Participated in the battle with the Spanish Armada in 1588 and in the strike against the Spanish fleet at Cádiz in 1596 as the flagship of the Lord High Admiral of England Howard of Effingham

Renamed Anne Royal and rebuilt at Woolwich Dockyard 1608

Participated in the raid on Cádiz of 1625 as the flagship of Lord Wimbledon

Sunk 1636

HMS Ark Royal (1914)

British Seaplane Carrier (World's First)

Launched from the Blyth, Northumberland shipyard of the Blyth Shipbuilding Company 1914

Supported the Gallipoli campaign 1915

Supported White Russian forces in the Russian Civil War 1918

Renamed HMS Pegasus 1934

Used to train sailors on flight operations, for maritime patrol and antisubmarine warfare, and as a barracks ship throughout World War II

Sold to a private firm and renamed Anita I 1946; converted into freighter

Seized for debt repayment 1949

Scrapped 1950

HMS Ark Royal (91)

British Light Aircraft Carrier, Ark Royal Class

Launched from the Birkenhead shipyard of Cammell Laird 1937

Commissioned 1938

Participated in Hunter-Killer groups, in the Norway campaign of 1940, in the support of Malta in the Mediterranean, and in the hunt for German ships Admiral Graf Spee and Bismarck

Sunk 1941 by U-81

HMS Ark Royal (R09)

British Aircraft Carrier, Audacious Class

Launched from the Birkenhead shipyard of Cammell Laird 1950

Commissioned 1955

Saw no combat herself, but her aircraft participated in action against Guatemala 1972

Decommissioned 1979

Scrapped 1980

HMS Ark Royal (R07)

British Light Aircraft Carrier, Invincible Class

Launched from the Wallsend shipyard of Swan Hunter 1981

Commissioned 1985

Deployed to the Adriatic Sea during the Bosnian War in 1993 and to the Persian Gulf for the 2003 invasion of Iraq; Supported rescue operations after Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010

Decommissioned 2011

Scrapped 2013

HMS Ark Royal (XCV-347)

Launched from Royal Stellar Navy Dockyard (Birkenhead geosync) and commissioned 2115

Participated in New United Nations joint action against Kzinti raiders in the 2120s, including the Battle of Sirius 2124

Sold to United Earth Space Probe Agency 2135

First Royal Stellar Navy starship to visit Vega IX

Decommissioned and scrapped 2140

UES Ark Royal (NX-155)

United Earth Starfleet Battleship, Yorktown class

Launched from Shipyard 7 orbiting Ceres and commissioned 2157

Participated in action against the Romulan Star Empire 2157-2159

Destroyed at the Battle of Tyburn by two Romulan Skyhawk class destroyers

USS Ark Royal (NCC-816)

Federation Starfleet Explorer, Ranger class

Launched from Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars and commissioned 2238, commemorating 300 years since the commissioning of HMS Ark Royal (91)

Surveyed 32 systems and 12 new stellar phenomena over a long career; avoided the first Klingon War by virtue of exploring coreward space

Destroyed by a Klingon D7A in the opening hours of the Four Days’ War 2267

USS Ark Royal (NCC-1791)

Federation Starfleet Heavy Cruiser, Constitution class

Launched from San Francisco Fleet Yards in Earth orbit and commissioned 2268

Exploratory, diplomatic, and defense missions over a ten year period

Refit to Enterprise-subclass at San Francisco Fleet Yards 2278-2279

Further exploratory missions on the Federation’s rimward frontier; first contact with the Rovillians in 2281, first contact with the Venturi in 2284

Recalled to core worlds defense 2285 following the Whale Probe incident

Dispatched to Sector 262 to address Klingon influence in the region