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To Sail No More - How HMS ARK ROYAL Nearly Became a Museum Ship

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  Few warship names capture the public imagination like that of HMS ARK ROYAL. Inextricably linked to naval aviation for over 100 years, the ‘ARK’ has embodied critical stages of the Royal Navy’s evolution of carrier airpower and operations. From operations in WW2 to participation in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, vessels bearing the name have conducted themselves in the highest traditions of the Service and gained near mythical status. Yet none have been preserved, despite the lamentations from members of the public who would dearly love to have seen a Royal Navy aircraft carrier become a museum ship. HMS ARK ROYAL (RO9) was the last conventional aircraft carrier in service with the Royal Navy. Laid down in 1943 as an ‘AUDACIOUS’ class carrier, she served from 1955 to 1978, and through her lengthy design, build and service life saw the RN transition from an airwing built around propellor planes to strike Nazi targets to a ‘cats & traps’ angled deck carrier capable of embarkin...
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Operation ZEUS: A Very British Contingency

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  The RAF C130 Hercules flew across the night sky as part of a much larger task force on a clear night in October 1972. On the flight deck, the pilot could see explosions in the distance, most likely the jets that the SAS had destroyed earlier during their raid on the airport.   In the distance he could see the heat of afterburners, as the Phantom jets from HMS ARK ROYAL intercepted the lone surviving fighter jet, that had gotten off the ground and was trying to attack the RAF armada bearing down on his country.   In the cavernous cargo hold dozens of fully armed paratroopers sat, waiting for the moment when the loadmaster would begin the process of their jumping out into the darkness. The CO of 2 PARA sat with his men, mentally preparing for what was to come next, as he and his entire Battalion were to jump into theatre as part of the biggest airdrop of the Parachute Regiment since Suez, land at the Airport, occupy it and then “hold it until relieved” … The above sound...
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The New 1st Land Lord? The Challenges Ahead for General Jenkins

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  General Sir Gwyn Jenkins has taken over as the professional head of the Royal Navy, the first Royal Marine to occupy the role of “First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff”. This is a move which is to be warmly welcomed, although the General will have many challenges ahead of him during his tenure. While most have welcomed the move, there has been some mild hysteria on social media at the idea of a General heading the Royal Navy – what madness is this? The argument seems to be that apparently because Royal Marines haven’t commanded ships, they are somehow not able to lead the Royal Navy. Such an argument is fatuous nonsense. UK MOD © Crown copyright  The RN is a surprisingly tribal organisation of roughly 30,000 people, with its regular personnel broadly divided into four fighting arms – the Surface Fleet, the Submarine Service, the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Marines. The surface fleet is the closest to being a ‘generalist’ branch, although in its own way it is intensel...
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