Ark Royal was commissioned in December 1938 and lost in November 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her fame rests on an unusually concentrated operational career. Honours attached to the Ark Royal name run from the Spanish Armada and the Dardanelles through Norway, the Mediterranean, Malta convoys, and Bismarck. The motto 'zeal does not rest' fits both that inherited naval tradition and the 1937 carrier's relentless wartime employment.
Notable Point · 19:10-20:52
A short career carrying centuries of Ark Royal honours
Ark Royal became one of World War II's most famous ships despite serving for less than three years, while her name carried honours reaching back to the Spanish Armada.