| United Kingdom Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier, photographed soon after completion, circa late 1938 or early 1939. The plans were finished by November 1934 and were tendered in February 1935 to Cammell Laird and Company Ltd., which calculated the cost of the hull at £1,496,250 (equivalent to £110,500,000 in 2021) and the main machinery at approximately £500,000 (equivalent to £36,925,826 in 2021). The overall cost was estimated to be over £3 1,000,000 (equivalent to £222 1,000,000 in 2022), making Ark Royal the most expensive non-battleship ordered by the Royal Navy. Construction began on Job No. 1012 when Ark Royal’s keel was laid down on September 16, 1935. Ark Royal spent nearly 2 years in the builder’s yard before being launched on April 13, 1937, by Lady Maud Hoare (July 5, 1882 – December 27, 1962), wife of Sir Samuel Hoare (February 24, 1880 – May 7, 1959), then 1st Lord of the Admiralty. The bottle of champagne thrown against Ark Royal’s bows did not smash until the 4th attempt. The carrier spent a year fitting out, was handed over to her 1st commander, Captain Arthur Power (April 12, 1889 – January 28, 1960), on November 16, 1938, and was commissioned on December 16. Although intended for the Far East, events in Europe during the carrier’s construction, including the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 and the Spanish Civil War in 1936, caused the Admiralty to mark her for deployment with the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. After her crew joined at the end of 1938, Ark Royal underwent sea trials to prepare for service, during which the carrier proved capable of sailing above her theoretical speed, reaching over 31 knots (36 miles per hour; 57 kilometers per hour) and in trials during May 1938, Ark Royal achieved 31.2 knots (35.9 miles per hour; 57.8 kilometers per hour) with 103,012 shaft horsepower (76,816 kilowatts) at a deep displacement of 27,525 long tons (27,967 tons). | |
| Image Filename | wwii1946.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.36 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5648 x 3429 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Royal Navy Official Photographer |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 1, 1938 |
| Location | |
| City | Birkenhead |
| State or Province | Merseyside |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 19-SB-2J-1 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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