The second Ark Royal , after a gap of almost 300 years, was a merchant ship converted on the building stocks to be a seaplane carrier and was the world's first aircraft carrier. Launched in 1914, she served in the Dardanelles Campaign and throughout World War I. She was renamed HMS Pegasus in 1934, to free the name Ark Royal for a new ship, and was broken up in 1950.
The third Ark Royal (91) saw action in World War II and was sunk by a U-boat in 1941. Whilst serving in the Mediterranean she was called upon to search for Bismarck in the Atlantic. During the search her planes mistakenly attacked the Royal NavycruiserHMS Sheffield. Fortunately, the torpedoes were not primed properly and no major damage was incurred. The older torpedoes were then fitted to her Swordfish planes and the hunt continued. Her spotter planes eventually found Bismarck. An attack commenced, crippling Bismarck's rudder. The damage sustained led to the rest of the Royal Navy surface fleet catching up with Bismarck and sinking her.
