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Welcome to the website of HMS Ark Royal. The ship has now decommissioned and this area is now a historical account of the ship.
The last vessel was the fifth vessel to bear the proud name. Ark Royal was built by Swan Hunters Ship Builders' yard at Wallsend in December 1978 and launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. HMS Ark Royal was accepted into service on 1 July 1985 and finally Commissioned, again by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 1 November 1985.
HMS Ark Royal was larger than her 2 sisters, Invincible and Illustrious, at 211.4 metres (693 feet) long. She had a maximum beam of 35 metres (114.7 feet) and a displacement of 20,235 tonnes.
4 Olympus gas turbine engines (like Concorde's) were used to propel the ship, which give a maximum speed in excess of 30 knots. A steeper ski jump than in the other ships of this class was fitted at the forward end of the flight deck.
The ship's motto was 'Zeal Does Not Rest'.
