Details: By: Richard Johnstone-Bryden

The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, launched in 1950, was the most famous Royal Navy warship of the post-war era. Drawing on first-hand accounts from officers and crew members, this book recounts the story of the Ark Royal, from the laying down of her keel in 1943 and her first commission in 1955, through to her decommissioning in 1979 and her scrapping in 1980. The carrier played a crucial role in the development of Royal Naval fixed-wing aviation and pioneered the concept of carrier-borne VSTOL aircraft. It saw extensive service during the 1960s and 70s, a time which witnessed many significant changes in Navy life and the way in which seapower was used as a means of projecting national influence worldwide. To bring the story of the "Ark" alive, painting a picture of life on board a class of Royal Navy warship that has gone forever, the author uses interviews and first-hand accounts from former officers and crew, ranging from admirals, captains and ship's company, to aircrew of the embarked Fleet Air Arm squadrons and the shipyard workers who built the "Ark".