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ISSUED FOR THE ADMIRALTY BY THE
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
19 4 2 LONDON: HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE CONTENTS
1. "WHERE IS THE ARK ROYAL?" page ^
I 2. THE BUILDING OF TH E ARK page lo
3. THE ARK GOES TO WAR page 14
4. OCEAN SEARCH: THE HUNT FOR THE GRAF SPEE page 17
5. NORWAY: AT GRIPS WITH THE LUFTWAFFE page 26
With Maps of the Ark's
Price gd. or 15?. for 24 copies from His Majesty's Stationer)' Office at York House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2. ; 120 George Street,
St., i Edinburgh. 2 ; 39"4i King Manchester, 2 j St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; 80 Chichester St., Belfast ; or through any bookseller. 6. "THIS MELANCHOLY ACTION" page'^'^.
7. THE LONG ARM OF FORCE H page "^^
J^^ •'^ 8. "THE CONVOY MUST GO THROUGH" page^^
9. THE HAZARD THAT BEAT THE BISMARCK page^l
10. THE SPIRIT OF THE ARK page^g
Movements on pages 15 and 36-37
CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED
PRINTED BY HARRISON «c SONS LTD., LONDON. Wt. 508/B2978. S.O. Code No. 70-400* 1. "Where is the Ark Royal?"
26th SEPTEMBER 1939
On 26th SEPTEMBER, 1939, three the Commander Flying waved his green flag. British warships were steering westward The Flight Deck Officer repeated the signal across the North Sea, escorting a damaged to the leader of the squadron. Lieutenant submarine back to port. They were His A. T. Kindersley, R.N. The ranging party Majesty's battleships Nelson and Rodney, snatched away the chocks from the wheels, and the aircraft-carrier Ark Royal, steaming and the first Skua moved forward down the in close order behind their destroyer screen. long flight deck, took off" and lifted. Half a Two of the Ark Royal's reconnaissance air- minute later another followed, then a third, craft were on patrol over the ships. It was like monstrous cards being dealt into the sky. a bright morning, with high clouds patching The section formed up over the ship, to be the blue sky, a fresh breeze flecking the waves followed at intervals by the second and the with white. For a long time the watchers in third, and flew off" to the attack. It was the the air saw nothing unusual. Then, just be- moment which the fighter pilots Jiad been
fore eleven o'clock, one of them sighted, ten awaiting for the past three weeks : the first miles away to the south-east, three German naval air combat of the war. Dornier i8 flying-boats shadowing the Force. The three Dorniers kept low over the water, Immediately this report reached the Ark their dark blue and green camouflage making Royal the " squealers " sounded and the them difficult for the Skuas to find. But at command " Hands to action stations " was last each section sighted its target and piped over the ship's broadcaster. As the attacked. Although the Dorniers were ratings doubled to their positions a fighting heavily armed, two of them retired damaged, force of nine Blackburn Skuas, waiting their superior speed enabling them to escape. fuelled and armed in the hangars below, The third was shot down by Lieutenant B. S. were brought up in the lifts and ranged on McEwen, R.N., and his air-gunner. Acting the flight deck. Petty Officer Airman B. M. Seymour. This By the time the pilots had been given their was the first enemy aircraft to be destroyed instructions and reached their aircraft the by any Service in the war. H.M.S. Somali engines had been started up and were ticking picked up the crew of four and sank the over. The fitters left the cockpits ; the ffying-boat. pilots and the air-gunners climbed in. The The attacking force returned safely. The great ship turned into wind. From the bridge Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, signalled THE ARK OPENS HER TALLY. The first enemy aircraft destroyed in the war by any Service was this Dornier i8 flying boat, shot down into the North Sea by a Skua from the Ark on 26th September, 1939. The photographs show (i) her crew of three preparing to launch their rubber boat, (2) the boat broken away, (3) the two stranded airmen about to swim for it, (4) H.M.S. Somali hauling them to safety. SOIKISCMTR HOnvOfTtK A'yjg"^""
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t^tt* 1*4 ran ;)laM> I Ma tmniMi* CfMte' l<«(ft •f-»#»*««i •• Maara »a a>ia»«N H« fci ». laillti <>ai.ir„„^, '- ti l^t 14 baai .« .a. , •«, ^m, »«« IT- ^. •* • ka« Wi tMai* 4 »«(« Iw >- ' >»«S tea Jm; -*« y%am tea »..» iilBi aai •« t« •«! fif .xl IK KaiiXll t ta* • > tana<» f an *alaa haa aa aa« aMI aai.^ aataa Ca >a»a« aw Ma fi«l» iaa >.>liilltrjatlal«aic>at •• Jatliaairaa-t all »•» lala.a•• • «.a>«-a aaar-Matata. >ai »,.« . , .- ..-.-- aa« ifftaaai aa« a» ».'.k.-i »•• J «*<• DR. GOEBBELS SINKS THE ARK. This page is reproduced from the Nazi Party newspaper Volkischer Beobachter of i ith October, 1939. The drawing shows the notorious ' sinking " of the Ark Royal in a German bombing attack in the North Sea on 26th September, 193Q. The text includes a telegram of congratulation from Goring to the pilot, Leutnant Francke, who was awarded the Iron Cross for his supposed success. " The headline across the drawing means : Heart of our attack was the aircraft carrier." ''WHERE IS THE ARK ROYAL?" 9 his congratulations, and there was great jubi- Ministry published an illustrated children's lation in the Ark. But the excitement of the booklet " How I sank the Ark Royal," day was not over. purporting to have been written by Francke. The sur\'iving shadowers had reported the It seems that the German claims did not position of the Force. At 2.20 that after- deceive Francke's brother officers. They noon, half an hour after the last Skua had knew that he was wearing a decoration he landed on, a Heinkel iii approached under had not earned, and he soon became the the cover of cloud at a height of 6,000 feet, laughing-stock of the Luftwaffe. This ridi- dived steeply upon the Ark Royal from stern cule preyed upon his mind until he felt that to bow, released a 2,000-lb. bomb and roared the only way to save the honour of his family away in a climbing turn. was to take his own life. An American The officers on the bridge, with upturned journalist, Mr. William Bayles, to whom he faces, watched the bomb come wobbling confided his troubles in Berlin, suggested that down from 1,500 feet above the ship. One if he chose to denounce the Ministry of Pro- of them thought it looked like an Austin paganda suicide would become unnecessary. Seven. To another it looked more like a Meanwhile the German broadcasting London bus. The Captain gave an order to stations continued to ask " Where is the Ark alter course, and as the Ark Royal turned Royal ? " in spite of the British Admiralty's away to starboard the bomb exploded in the repeated denials that she had been damaged, sea 30 yards from her port bow. and although the United States Naval A solid wall of water rose as high as the Attache attended divine service on board flight deck and cascaded over the fore-end. and wrote an official report of his visit which The Ark lifted her bow and seemed to shake was made public. The question was hailed herself, then plunged down again, took a list with derision by the ship's company, who " " of five degrees to starboard, and righted her- roared in answer, We're here ! The self a moment later as she turned back upon officers sent Oberleutnant Francke an invita- her course. The only damage in the ship tion to become an honorary member of their was some broken crockery. Mess, addressed c/o A. Hitler, Esq., Berchtes- The Heinkel flew back over the flight deck, gaden. But the German people believed the spraying it with machine-gun bullets, then story implicitly. Months afterwards, when sheered off in the face of the anti-aircraft fire. the Ark Royal was in Rio, the German colony The German pilot, Leutnant Adolf protested that she must be another ship of Francke, reported that he had dive-bombed the same name. an aircraft-carrier in the North Sea. He Nevertheless, during the next two years believed that his bomb had scored a direct both the Germans and the Italians were to hit, but he was not certain, and made no have good cause to know that the Ark Royal claim to have sunk the ship. The German was still upon the face of the waters, for, in Ministry of Propaganda made it for him. the words of Zechariah, she passed through Next morning the newspapers throughout the sea with affliction. Her fighters were to the Reich proclaimed the sinking of the Ark shoot down or damage over 100 enemy air- Royal in enormous headlines, some of them craft, and to protect many a convoy ip the printed in red. Highly-coloured pictures of Atlantic and the Mediterranean, while her the Ark's end appeared in the magazines. torpedo-bombers were to bring havoc to the Field-Marshal Goring sent Francke a tele- aerodromes of Sardinia, to wound the Italian gram of congratulation, decorated him with fleet, and —in the words of the First Lord of the Iron Cross, and promoted him to the rank the Admiralty—to encompass the destruction of Oberlcutnant. Before long Dr. Goebbels's of the Bismarck. . vessel, which served in the Gallipoli cam- 2. The Building of the Ark paign ; in 1935, when the Admiralty decided to build the third Ark Royal, she was renamed Pegasus, and is still in service for experimental aircraft work. The keel of the third Ark was laid on i6th 16th SEPTEMBER 1935 — MARCH 1939 September, 1935. Two thousand men were employed continuously on her construction. After H.M.S. Hermes, completed ten years previously, she was the first ship to be planned and built as a carrier, and she No SECTION of the British pubHc heard embodied all the the Admiralty assurance that the Ark Royal improvements suggested by experience. was safe with greater satisfaction than the 13th shipyard workers of Merseyside. They On April, 1937, the Rev. W. Webb, Vicar of St. Mary's, Birkenhead, regarded the ship with particular affection, pronounced the old blessing, " protect for they had built her, and the order which May God this ship and all who sail in her," the Admiralty had placed with Messrs. and Lady Maud Hoare launched her in the presence Gammell Laird of Birkenhead had been the of 60,000 people. There must have been those among more welcome because it had come at a time the cheering when unemployment was widespread. crowd who had in mind the " words of Genesis : the waters in- The Ark Royal was the third ship of her And creased and bore up the ark, and it was lift name in naval annals. The first was built above the earth." at Deptford for Sir Walter Raleigh. He Those responsible for the design of the Ark christened her the Ark, but she also bore the Royal's badge were also mindful of the first name of her owner, as was usual in Tudor sea-going vessel of which we have record : times. Ships were needed to defend England on a field blue an ark silver, gold, against the menace of Spanish invasion, and crowned upon three wavelets gold (naval heraldry before the Ark Raleigh's launch in 1587 the Crown took her over and renamed her Ark Royal. The price paid was -^5,000. Her displacement was nearly 1,500 tons—that of THE ARK IS L.AUNCHED on Merseyside, 13th April, 1937. Her huge bows tower to her iron flight a modern destroyer so that she was as big — deck 800 feet long and 94 across. She took three as any ship of her period. She was commis- years and three months to build and cost ;,(^2,330,ooo. sioned as the flagship of Lord Howard of The first Ark Royal looked like the picture below. She Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England, fought against the Armada and the threat of Spanish invasion. She was of i ,500 tons, and launched in 1 587 and took a leading part in the destruction of the Armada. Later she was rebuilt and renamed Anne Royal, in honour ofJames I's uninteresting queen, and served periodically as a flagship until she was wrecked in 1636. It was not to be expected that there would be an Ark Royal under the Commonwealth, but it is singular that the name should not have been revived until 19 14, when the Admiralty appropriately chose it for the first large seaplane-carrier, a converted merchant » Tit a- ' ^' •' - h .^>.' «' I'*; ; •^i- " ON BOARD THE ARK. Above left, the Island "—bridge, mast, and funnel —the only superstructure above the flight deck. Right, a close-up of the mast. Below, on watch in one of the Ark's anti-aircraft direction and range-finders. THE BUILDING OF THE ARK '3 blazons colours and metals in modern terms), these were replaced by Fairey Fulmars, with with Lord Howard's own motto, " Desir ri'a eight guns fixed in the wings to fire forward " repos,'''' which may be translated Purpose and a higher speed ; like the Skuas, they knows no rest "—as good a motto for naval carried a pilot and an air-gunner. ' airmen as could well be found. The ship's The Swordfish, which the Ark Royal company paraphrased it more succinctly as carried throughout her career, is a torpedo- "Flat Out." spotter-reconnaissance biplane, with a single The Ark Royal cost ^(^2, 330,000—it was engine, a fixed undercarriage, and an open the most valuable contract the Admiralty cockpit. When used for attack it carries one had given out since 19 18—and she was the 18-inch torpedo or a i, 500-lb. bomb-load. longest ship ever built on Merseyside. She Its defensive armament is a fixed gun in front had nine decks. Her iron flight deck was and a free gun in rear. It has a crew of three : 800 feet in length, with a beam of 94 feet. It pilot, observer, and air-gunner. lay like a gigantic lid over the ship, with A ship-plane represents certain construc- three double-decker lifts to the vast hangars, tional problems which entail a sacrifice of the only superstructure being the " island," speed owing to the limited length of the flight which rose amidships above the starboard deck. It must have a quick take-off", a low edge of the deck and gave the ship a curious landing-speed, the strength to take a heavy lop-sided appearance. load, and folding wings, so that it can go On the island were the navigating bridge, down the carrier's lift. the mast and the funnel. The Captain's sea- The Swordfish satisfied all these require- cabin was immediately below the bridge, ments and are some of the most successful with the Chart Room, Air Intelligence Office, aircraft ever produced. By those who fly and Wireless Control Office near by. The them they are aflfectionately known as " wireless masts on either side of the flight deck " String-bags," from the " bits and pieces could be lowered when aircraft were operat- which support them in the air. Although ing. The ship's armament consisted of sixteen sadly slow, they are excellent torpedo air- 4-5 guns, four multiple pom-poms, and eight craft and good bombers : the smallest self- multiple machine-guns. Her speed was 30- 75 contained fighting units in the world which knots and her fuel endurance exceeded that can wreck an aerodrome or cripple a battle- of any previous carrier. ship. They and their successors are the only The Ark Royal was first commissioned on eflfective means the Royal Navy has of slow- 1 6th November, 1938. Her Commanding ing a vessel faster than a pursuing force and Officer was Captain (now Rear-Admiral) compelling it to give action. A. J. Power, C.B., C.V.O. She was com- Torpedo - spotter - reconnaissance aircraft pleted on 1 6th December and ran her trials may be employed on patrols against sub- • on the Clyde. marines or to spot for the gunfire of a fleet ; With her flying personnel the Ark's total they may also carry out attacks on ships in complement was 1,575. ^^^ ^^*^ twenty harbour or on land objectives which our cooks and six months' supplies. shore-based aircraft cannot reach. But their She carried sixty aircraft : five squadrons, chief duties are to find, fix and strike. Having composed of Blackburn Skuas and Fairey sighted the enemy ship, the Swordfish must Swordfish. The Skuas were two-seater shadow her until the carrier can send out a fighter dive-bombers with a speed of 200 striking force to bomb or torpedo her while m.p.h., armed with four -303 front guns and she is still beyond the range of the fleet's one rear gun ; when not on fighter duty they guns, so that if alone she will be unable to could carry a 500-lb. bomb-load. Later escape, or, if sailing in company, her consorts '4 ARK ROYAL will either be forced to leave her or to reduce The maiden cruise left the Ark Royal with speed to give her protection. her character still unformed. With so large The duties of the Swordfish pilot and a complement the ship had been slow to shake observer have their peculiar difficulties. The down. She had been regarded as a figure of naval pilot has the additional hazard of taking fun rather than as a dazzling debutante and off from, and landing on, a moving deck. He had not had time to acquire that personality must also possess the skill and technique which was so outstanding throughout her war required for successful torpedo attacks. The career : perhaps because many of her flying observer is responsible for the navigation and personnel had as yet little experience of ser- must be able to guide his aircraft over vast vice at sea and it took time for squadrons stretches of sea and then return to a moving straight from shore-training to identify them- sjKtt in the ocean. On reconnaissance his selves with the ship. duty is to act as the Admiral's spyglass and to The aircraft-carrier was still the Cinderella provide him with accurate information. of the Navy, and the capabilities of a floating Naval pilots and observers are drawn aerodrome were generally appreciated not ; chiefly from commissioned officers and mid- many thought that naval aircraft must be shipmen, though a smaller number of rating restricted to scouting and reconnaissance. pilots and observers are employed. The tele- The airmen themselves knew better and gi aphist-air-gunner—the name is now shor- awaited their opportunity to prove them- " " tened to air-gunner —is a rating, origin- selves. ally recruited from the ship-telegraphists. He It was not long in coming. is trained to a very high standard of efficiency in wireless telegraphy and air gunnery, and on him the passing of vital information to the Admiral, as well as the safety of the aircraft, may well depend. The first aircraft to land on the flight deck 3. The Ark goes to War of the Ark Royal were the Swordfish of 820 Squadron, led by Lieutenant-Commander A. C. G. Ermen, R.N., which flew off from Southampton on 12th January, 1939, after the ship had completed her trials. The carrier at once proceeded on her 6th MAY — 27th SEPTEMBER 1939 maiden cruise to the Mediterranean. Her entry into Valetta Harbour at Malta created almost as much stir as the first motor-car that appeared in the streets of London. Officers from the aircraft-carrier Glorious flocked on During the uneasy summer of 1939 the board to examine her new contrivances with Ark Royal remained in home waters. Her expert eyes. Others made scathing references last public appearance in peace time was on to her " great ugly snout " and drew caustic 6th May, when four squadrons of her aircraft comparisons between her well-found cabins dived in salute to the King and Queen off and their own Spartan quarters. St. Catherine's as Their Majesties sailed on At Alexandria she carried out night and their Canadian tour in R.M.S. Empress of day flying training, exchanging torpedo and Australia. The Ark Royal was then wearing bombing attacks with the Glorious, and sailed the flag of Vice-Admiral G. C. C. Royle, for home waters at the end of March. C.B., CM. G., Vice-Admiral Aircraft-carriers, 3\J COVERING EVACUATION \ ATTACKING MAY 1940 SCHARNHORST JUNE 1940 'ARCTIO -T*^^ "cmcLE' r-\- NARVIK OPERATIONS kMSOS ^r^<^ MAY 1940 )NDHje?1i COVERING BRITISH -^ LANDINGS SCAPA APRIL 1940 BRESTf i6 ARK ROYAL Shortly after eleven o'clock on 3rd Septem- ber, while the Ark Royal was still on patrol with the Home Fleet, the Flag-Lieutenant received through the pneumatic tube which connected the main Wireless Telegraph Office with the bridge a sealed envelope addressed to the Vice-Admiral, marked " Urgent Priority." It contained a pink signal slip on which were written the two words, " " Total Germany —the Admiralty cipher message sent to every ship of the Royal Navy on the outbreak of war. The Flag-Lieutenant took the signal to Vice-Admiral Wells, who was on the flight deck. At the time the ship was busy operat- ing aircraft, and it was not until an hour later that the Boatswain's Mate went to the microphone below the bridge and shouted " " D'ye hear there ? —the preliminary call for all announcements. Captain Power fol- NORTH SEA RESCUE. The crew of the torpedoed lowed him. Fanad Head waving to one of the Ark's Swordfish " This is the Captain speaking," he said. which, with Skuas, bombed the attacking submarine. " I have just received the signal ' Commence " hostilities against Germany.' who was relieved by Vice-Admiral L. V. That was all. The news had been expected Wells, C.B., D.S.O., on 26th July. for days. The ship's company heard it with While the world was speculating on the composure, and then went about their duties possibilities of averting war, the Royal Navy again. was quietly making its preparations lest war The Fleet was ready to put the planned should come, and on 31st August the Ark defensive measures into operation and for the Royal put to sea with the Home Fleet to first days of the war cruised to the east of the patrol the waters between the Shetlands Orkneys, most of the time in thick fog. At and Norway. dawn each morning the Ark Royal flew off On the following day one of the Swordfish, a reconnaissance towards the Norwegian on reconnaissance in bad visibility, made a coast, as part of the Commander-in-Chief's forced landing on a Norwegian fiord and plan to prevent the enemy either leaving or sank. The crew paddled to the shore in their entering the northern part of the North Sea. rubber dinghy. They were not a cheerfuF No German vessels appeared, however, party, for war seemed imminent and they until, on 14th September, the Ark Royal, were faced with the prospect of spending it while engaged on an independent submarine interned in Noi-way. Fortunately, they hunt with four destroyers, was suddenly landed near a Norwegian aircraft base. The attacked. officers were sympathetic and, realising the That morning she received a signal that consequences of delay, sent them by seaplane S.S. Fanad Head had been torpedoed in a to Bergen, whence they were able to ship to position 200 miles to the south-west. She England a few hours before the declaration went at once towards the scene of the attack. of war. At 2.40 she turned into wind to fly off three . OCEAN SEARCH: THE HUNT FOR THE GRAF SPEE 17 Skuas, and before she could resume her but later evidence showed that she returned course Leading Signalman J. E. Hall saw a to Germany after landing one of her wounded torpedo running straight towards the ship. men in Iceland. With her she took the crews His prompt and accurate report enabled the of the two crashed Skuas, the Ark Royal's Officer of the Watch to put the helm over to first casualties, and the first naval airmen to port in time. be made prisoners of war. The destroyers took up the hunt while the The directions given by the Swordfish Ark steamed out of danger. The first pat- observers enabled the destroyers to pick up tern of depth-charges jumped the U-boat's the passengers and crew of the Fanad Head engines off their beds ; the second blew her the same evening. to the surface in a sinking condition. When Three days later H.M.S. Courageous was she broke surface she was identified as U-39. torpedoed while searching for submarines. The destroyers opened fire, then ceased as The Admiralty then decided that aircraft- men began to appear on deck. The whole of carriers were too vulnerable to be employed the submarine's company, including her independently on such hazardous duty, and captain—forty-three in all—abandoned ship the Ark Royal was recalled to port, to operate and were taken on board H.M.S. Faulknor. again with the Home Fleet. They appeared to be relieved when they On her return to Scapa on 27th September, found they were not to be shot. The after being missed by the Heinkel flown by U-boat sank a few minutes after surfacing. Leutnant Francke, the quantities of stores Meanwhile the three Skuas had sighted the that were taken aboard convinced the ship's Fanad Head lying stopped, with her pas- company that she would soon be leaving sengers and crew in the lifeboats. The ship home waters. was being shelled and on her port bow the observers saw a patch of oil 50 feet in dia- meter with a dark object in the centre. The Skuas went down and released their bombs over this patch. The submarine (later ascer- tained to be the U-30) crash-dived, leaving a 4. Ocean Search : the hunt couple of her gun crew swimming in the oily patch, but two of the Skuas fell into the sea. Their pilots, in their anxiety to go as close to for the Graf Spec the target as possible, had dived so low that the bombs had blown off the tails of their aircraft Twenty minutes later the submarine re- appeared on the Fanad Head's starboard 27th DECEMBER 1939 quarter with her conning-tower above water. 2nd OCTOBER The sui^viving pilot dived again from 2,500 feet, firing his front gun and expending i , 1 50 rounds in a single burst. The U-boat sub- merged once more and the Skua returned to W HEN THE ARK ROYAL pUt tO Sea at the ship alone. short notice on 2nd October, 1939, in com- Later in the afternoon six Swordfish pany with the battle-cruiser Renown, no sighted the submarine as she was firing one on board but Vice-Admiral Wells and another torpedo at the Fanad Head. They Captain Power had any inkling of her destina- attacked her and believed they had sunk her, tion. All that the ship's company knew was ARK RO YA L that the Renown and the Ark Royal, with a should be safe in the air for five, and its screen of four destroyers, were to be known as endurance has been known to last for six. Force K and that they were steering south. The dawn search entailed crews and It was not until they were well out to sea ground staff starting their preparations at that Captain Power told them that the first least an hour before daylight. port they would sight would probably be Men who work on the aircraft of the Naval Freetown, Sierra Leone. Air Arm are divided into three main cate- It was the beginning of a long and eventful gories : Air Artificers, Air Fitters and Air partnership between the two ships. Each Mechanics. Air Artificers are capable of had her own function. That of the Ark Royal dealing with any problem which may arise was to operate in areas which could not be regarding the engine or the air-frame. Air reached by shore-based aircraft ; that of the Fitters and Air Mechanics specialise in Renown to give the carrier the protection of individual work, and there are four branches, her guns, and to complete the work the air- (A) for Air-frames, (E) for Engines, (O) for craft had begun. Ordnance (Armourers), and (L) for Elec- Officially Force K's mission was Trade tricity. Roughly speaking, a squadron has Protection and Ocean Search in the South two Air Mechanics per aircraft ; an Air Atlantic, where a surface raider, at first Fitter looks after two, and there are one, or believed to be the pocket-battleship Admiral perhaps two, Air Artificers. Scheer, had broken out and was attacking When a squadron is preparing for a recon- merchant shipping. naissance, the ground staff bring the aircraft The Force reached Freetown on 12th from the hangar to the flight deck in the lifts, October. By then both officers and ratings which are operated by stokers. The ranging were making shift with any cool clothes they party, composed of seamen, then take over could find, for there had been no time to and push the aircraft aft, assisted by a small procure tropical rig before sailing. The " pin party " to spread and secure the wings. Officer of the Guard, coming on board the They lash the wooden chocks together with Ark Royal in immaculate whites, was heaving line, then hand over to the fitters astonished to find the Paymaster-Commander and mechanics, one man remaining at each on the quarter-deck in drill shorts, an aertex wheel and holding the chocks until the air- vest, and carrying an umbrella. craft is ready to fly off. These deck parties, Having refuelled at Freetown, Force K left who have to work in all weathers, sometimes the destroyer screen and sailed on to the exposed to a 40-knot wind, are provided with southward, for a sweep towards St. Helena. windproof overalls, gym shoes and woollen From that time onwards the Ark's Sw-ord- caps. fish were constantly employed. Every day Each squadron has its own time-keeper, when flying was possible two searches were who acts as a look-out until all his machines sent out. The routine varied little. Each are airborne. One of the ranging party, in reconnaissance would be designed by the an asbestos suit, does duty as a fire-guard, Commander Air Staff, who would brief the standing beside the crash-box (containing observers of the dawn search at an early hour axes, crowbars, hacksaws, tube-cutters and in the Air Intelligence Office. He would tell other rescue appliances) under the pom-pom them how far they were to go, the area they in the island. Distributed round the nets are were to cover, the action they were to take in phomene generators from which hoses can be accordance with what they sighted, the time run out to a fire anywhere on the flight deck. they were to be back. The normal search By the time the flying crews reach their . took about four hours, although a Swordfish aircraft the engines have been started up, and a the fitters help to strap the pilots in. When the pilots have run up the engines and all is ready the Flight Deck Officer signals—arm outstretched and thumb up-pointed—to the Commander Flying, who is responsible for flying off the aircraft and stands on the port wing of the navigation bridge, whence he can see the whole length of the flight deck. Aircraft must fly off and land on into wind. The required wind-speed over the deck depends on the type of aircraft and the load carried ; when there is little natural wind WINGS OF THE ARK. The Ark carried the carrier must steam fast, and slow when Skuas, Fulmars and Swordfish. The Skua, above, is a fighter-dive-bomber, carryir^ a the wind is high. When the force of the wind pilot and air-gunner. is over 45 knots it is difficult to keep the air- craft on deck as their flying-off speed is little more. Even in a wind of 45 knots they tend to rise vertically from the deck and have to be brought right for'ard lest they should strike the island. As soon as the Commander Flying receives the signal from the flight deck he gives the order " On steam jet " to the Flying Control " Room ; also Down wireless masts," if these are up. The jet is on the centre line at the fore-end of the deck, and as the ship turns into wind the steam is driven back. The carrier manoeuvres until this trail of steam, like a long twist of cotton-wool, is directly above the centre line of the deck, showing FULMARS later replaced the Skuas. They that she is steering dead into wind. are faster and carry eight guns firing forward By this time the first aircraft, with squadron from the wings, with a crew of two. ratings holding her wing-tips, is waiting in the take-off position on the port side of the centre line, so that its starboard wing may clear the island : this is particularly impor- tant at night. The Flight Deck Officer gives the signal to remove the front chocks. The Commander Flying waves his green flag— green torch at night. The Flight Deck Officer repeats the signal to the pilot. The ratings remove the rear chocks and leap with them to the nets at the side of the flight deck as the aircraft moves forward and takes off-. As soon as the Flight Deck Officer has waved off the first aircraft he brings the next SWORDFISH were the Ark's reconnais.sance and torpedo-biplanes. With a crew of three, they carry an 18-inch torpedo or a 1,500-lb. bomb load. ^^w^ 1 FLYING OFF THE PATROLS. The Swordfish are ranged 2 With the cairier dead into wind, as the steam jet aft. Men of the ranging party are holding the wheel chocks fast. set for'ard in the deck shows, a Swordfish flies off. 5—so to the returning pilot the Control Officer signals 6 The Swordfish is about to touch down, with its hook lowered under with his " bats " that the approach is correct. the fuselage to catch one of the arrester wires stretched across the deck. into position, and so on until he has flown off ing Control Officer directs the aircraft in all the aircraft on deck. As soon as they have their approach until they touch down on checked the wind they fan out on their the deck. At the same time the Captain allotted courses for the search. ensures that the wind is kept a trifle on the In the South Atlantic the dawn search port bow, so that the smoke from the funnel would return about ten o'clock, to be fol- may be blown clear of the aircraft as they lowed by the afternoon search at two, with come in from astern to land on. orders to be back before dark to save the The pilot is unable to see much of the deck hazard of a night landing. as he comes down, for his engine obscures his When a reconnaissance is returning, the view, but he follows the signals given by the squadron parties are piped by the ship's " bats " of the Control Officer. As he " broadcaster : Stand by to receive air- touches down, the hook he has lowered from craft." While waiting on the flight deck in his fuselage catches in one of the arrester bad weather they shelter behind the gun wires which are raised horizontally across the positions in the lee of the island. after-part of the deck, and he throttles back As the ship turns into wind the Deck-land- his engine as the wire stops him. At a given 3 All now in the air and in formation, the aircraft circle round 4 The " round down " at the stern of the Ark, over which the the carrier. They must land on from astern and into wind. pilot comes in to " land on." Hecannotsee thedeck very well- 7 The pilot taxies forward, and the wings are folded back by the 8 Her wings folded back, the Swordfish is struck " pin party," so that the aircraft can descend in the lift shaft. down in the lift to the hangars below the flight deck. signal he releases his brake and allows the a protection if the wind is strong from wind to blow him back a few feet, thus easing ahead. the strain on the wire and enabling two of In all these operations speed is essential, the ranging party to disengage the hook and for a carrier is then most vulnerable, since clip it back into position. she cannot fire her guns or manoeuvre with- The aircraft having been brought to rest, out endangering her aircraft. the pilot, watching the directions of the park- Thus, day after day, the Ark Royal's ing officers, taxies forward, applies his brakes, Swordfish flew, many of the crews going into and waits with his engine idling while the the sky twice a day. Besides the searches, wings are folded by the pin party, and the the ship maintained a constant patrol of one next aircraft is signalled on. or two aircraft over the Force in daylight, As soon as all have landed, the ship re- relieved at intervals of two or three hours. sumes her normal course and the aircraft The Skuas spent far less time in the air are struck down to the hangars by the lifts than the Swordfish, but as a search returned as quickly as possible, the steel windscreen at they would go up to meet them for a practice the fore-end of the deck being raised as fight, or might be used to make dummy 22 ARK ROYAL attacks upon the ship to train her g^ns' to have on board, besides a general cargo of crews. At times they, too, were used for hides, nuts and copra, a consignment of more limited reconnaissance. opium valued at ^(^250,000. Force K took An aircraft flying over the South Atlantic her in to Freetown. is the most solitary object in the world. It On the following day the Commandfr-in- ranges the sky as lonely as a cloud, beyond Chief, South Atlantic, received a report that the view of its fellows or its parent ship. Hour the raider had worked round the Cape of after hour would go by without the sight of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. This . so much as a soap-box, yet each member of information was confirmed by the news that the crew had to keep constantly alert. In S.S. Africa Shell had been sunk in the fair weather there would be little diversion Mozambique Channel. Force K accordingly beyond a spouting w'hale or an occasional sailed on i8th November to patrol a line south flurry of flying-fish. In foul weather—and of the Cape, to intercept the raider should with tropical storms flying conditions were she try to double back into the Atlantic. often terrible—the crews faced the perils of The weather was so bad that from 27th the air and sea, dependent upon their single November to 2nd December there was only engine or, if that were to fail, upon their one day on which it was possible to operate rubber dinghy. At all times they lacked the aircraft, and since it seemed unlikely that the excitement that the crews of the fighters or patrol line could extend far enough to the the bombers know. Week after week they southward to intercept a .raider bent on flogged huge areas of salt water, morning and evasion. Force K put in to Capetown on afternoon, straining their eyes for the raider 3rd December. w-hich never came within their range. The Ark Royal's entry into Capetown Early in November, however, a Swordfish harbour caused great excitement, for it was sighted a prize at last—the German steamer her first public appearance since the Germans Uhenfels. When intercepted she was found had claimed to have sunk her. The South Africans showed their feelings by their hospi- tality. Every officer and rating who went ashore received an invitation to one private house or another. The ship's company were expecting a spell of rest, but they were to remain in port only twenty-four hours, for news came in that S.S. Doric Star had been attacked to the south- ward of St. Helena : the raider had returned to the Atlantic and was believed to be steer- ing west. Force K immediately sailed to take up a central position in the South Atlantic, whence it could proceed to Free- town, the Falklands or Rio without refuelling, should the situation develop. On 13th December the raider, at last iden- tified as the Admiral Graf Spec, was engaged by the cruisers Ajax, Exeter and Achilles oft' the River Plate and sought refuge in Monte- video. Force K was ordered to refuel at Rio FTJLMAR IN TROUBLE. Fl>4ng from carriers is and then to proceed to the Plate. not easy, and risks have to be run. This Fulmar missed the landing wires, began to take off again, banked too steeply, and caught its wing tip. The crew of two were both flung clear and rescued unhurt from the water. END OF A GERMAN LINER. Caught by South African bombers on and December, 1939. south of Cape Point, the 9,5^1 -ton Watussi was scuttled and fired by her crew. These pictures, taken from one of the Ark's aircraft, show (i) the crew taking to the boats, (ii) the ship hstingas the boatsdrawoff, (iii) the fire blazing fore and aft. The Watussi was sunk by gunfire from the Renown. 24 ARK ROYAL The two ships reached Rio at dawn on 1 7th happy ship, and so she remained until the December and were welcomed by an enthu- end. siastic Brazilian crowd. No one was allowed It is not easy to say what makes a happy to land. Near the ship wzis a large Neon sign ship. Comfortable quarters are not neces- advertising beer, and during the Ark's brief sarily the cause. Big ships are more com- stay in harbour the flight deck was crowded fortable than small ones, and the Ark was with sailors licking their lips and pawing the more comfortable than most, but ratings ground : even Tantalus was only denied commonly prefer to serve in destroyers rather water. But every hour counted. By six than in battle-cruisers. A ship is made happy o'clock that evening the Ark Royal had by the men in her, but the lead must come refuelled and sailed for the Plate at knots from the top : 25 ; from the Captain, perhaps the Renown followed four hours later. even more from the Commander. During Everyone in the Force was expecting the the long zig-zags in the South Atlantic the Graf Spec to put to sea again. The Sword- officers and ratings of the Ark Royal had fish crews were looking forward to showing learned to work together and to play to- what they could do with their torpedoes after gether. Seamen and airmen had shaken their long search. But shortly before mid- down and had become a team. night a signal told them that, rather than " It was the mucking-in spirit," said one fight, the Germans had scuttled their ship of the Petty Officers. " There wasn't a lot outside Montevideo harbour. The long hunt of bull. And we liked being told what was was over and the Swordfish had been going on." baulked of their prey. An unsuccessful As time went by the ship's company was attempt was made to locate the Graf Spec's to know many changes, and two Command- supply ship Altmark ; 'then Force K shaped ing Officers were to follow Captain Power. a course for Freetown. But the spirit of the Ark did not change, and During the hunt the Ark Royal crossed the the Chaplain, whose finger is on the pulse of Equator several times, but owing to the the Lower Deck, said that the only moans he exigencies of war Father Neptune's ritual ever heard were from men who were to be passed almost unobserved at sea. On one transferred to another ship. occasion when the ship was in Freetown, There was a happy Christmas jollification however, tradition was allowed to have its in which all joined when, her long search way. Neptune, represented by a stout cook, over, the Ark Royal reached Freetown on accompanied by his minions carrying bar- 27th December. Presents were distributed ber's chair, gigantic wooden razor and on the quarter-deck by a Captain of Royal buckets of lather, set up his court on the Marines, disguised as Father Christmas, but flight deck and laid hands upon all who had wearing a very small bowler hat. not crossed the Line before the hunt began. The ship's company had earned their holi- It so happened that the Captain had never day. During the chase of the Graf Spee the been initiated. He appeared on deck in a Ark Royal had steamed 75,000 miles and her shirt and a pair of shorts. He was lathered, aircraft had flown nearly 5,000,000. Between shaved and ducked with the rest. 1 8th November and 27th December she had It is doubtful whether a Commanding spent only thirty-six hours in harbour, with Officer in any other navy in the world could steam on her main engines all that time. thus join in the rough-and-tumble ofthe Lower The endurance of the Swordfish crews had Deck. The incident, seemingly trivial, has been tested and their experience tempered. its significance, for it was one which ratings The ordeal of the Skua crews was close do not forget. It set the seal on the Ark as a at hand. THE HAPPY SHIP. The men of the Ark " learned to work together and play together. ' It was the mucking-in spirit ' said one of the Petty Officers. 'There wasn't a lot " of bull, and we liked being told what was going on.' 5. Norway : at grips with the Luftwaffe 22n 1 HE ARK ROYAL returned to England to refit on 15th February, 1940, while the ship's company went on leave—the first they had had since the outbreak of war. On 22nd March she sailed for the Mediter- ranean with three squadrons of Swordfish on board to work up night flying over the desert, and arrived at Alexandria in company with H.M.S. Glorious. For a week her aircraft crews carried out intensive training ashore. Then, on loth April, the day after Germany invaded Norway, the Ark Royal and the Glorious were recalled at best possible speed to Gibraltar, where they were ordered to rejoin the Home Fleet. On the 23rd the two • « f » BATTLE ROYAL. Taken from the deck of the carrier Glorious during an air attack off Norway. TheArk can be seen filling the sky with her sheik. 5*/ot«, theArk " takes a fence." carriers left Scapa for the Norwegian coast. the Admiralty had accepted the risk, since Captain (now Rear-Admiral) C. S. Holland the Royal Air Force had no aerodromes in joined the Ark Royal on 20th April, and Norway and the distances were too great to took over command from Captain Power on send any but long-range fighters from the I St May. United Kingdom. Not many of these were The carriers' object was to protect the naval available and they could not spend more ships and convoys, to give cover to the troops than an hour in the combat area, allowing for at the landing-places, and to attack the Ger- the distance they had to fly there and back. man-occupied air bases in Norway. Sword- From the outset of the campaign, therefore, fish and Skuas are limited in performance and both the Ark Royal and the Glorious were speed, and it is not a carrier's proper function faced with grave hazards. They had to to operate against shore-based aircraft, but operate within hostile aircraft range of the i 28 AJiK ROYAL coast, and between them they had only four aerodrome near by, destroying all the hangars squadrons of fighters, against the latest enemy and many buildings. The raid was made in types, which were faster and more powerful. daylight, at 6,000 feet, and one of the pilots These intensive operations were possible only described the flak as " so close that you could for four or five days at a time, after which, smell it." having stirred up the enemy on the main- Like the Skuas, the Swordfish had no rest. land, the carriers would, as Admiral Wells Day after day they went bumbling up and put it, retire into the long grass. down unimaginably lovely fiords looking for Between 24th and 28th April the Ark Royal targets, embarrassed by the permanent escort gave fighter protection over the Namsos and of Heinkels and Junkers overhead. Once a Andalsnes areas, where British forces had pilot was constrained to send back the laconic landed to attack Trondhjem from the north signal " Delayed by three Heinkels." Ort and south. The Skuas flew to the limit of one occasion a Swordfish was chased by a their endurance, fighting many gallant com- Heinkel 1 1 1, another by a Junkers 88. Both bats, sometimes against odds of sLx to one. escaped by skilful manoeuvring, the first flying Outnumbered and outdistanced though they low round a mountain, the second coming were, they established moral ascendancy over down almost to water level on the edge of a the enemy and shot down at least twenty fiord and then flying out to sea. German aircraft, damaging twenty more. Many of the Ark's air crews returned to the The German pilots soon learned to respect ship only after forced landings on frozen them, and in the later combats used their lakes, in snowdrifts, or in the sea. Some- superior speed and climb to evade the Skuas times ships that were close at hand gave by taking refuge in the clouds. prompt assistance. Sometimes the crews On 27th April five Skuas attacked two reached safety after trudging many miles Junkers 88's which were dive-bombing a over mountains and through deep snow, convoy entering harbour. Both turned away fed, clothed, hidden and guided (more than with their engines on fire, losing height. The once through the enemy lines) by friendly Skuas then attacked a number of Heinkel Norwegians. 1 1 1 's, two of which made off in flames. A Skua on fighter patrol over the Andalsnes Having driven off two Dornier 17's, they area, having shot down a Heinkel iii, was engaged fifteen more Heinkels which were forced to land owing to lack of petrol, and approaching in ragged formation, severely came down within a mile of the crashed Ger- damaging one. By this time the Skuas had man aircraft. Both crews sought refuge in a expended their ammunition, but rather than house near by. An armed Norwegian then abandon the convoy they started dummy appeared. Knowing neither English nor attacks on the enemy aircraft, putting them German, he had some difficulty in deciding to flight and making them jettison their between friend and foe : but at last the Skua bombs. crew succeeded in establishing their identity, During this period only one Skua was shot and one of the Germans who produced a down in battle. Eight others were lost by hidden automatic was promptly shot. Even- trying their endurance too hard and not tually, after borrowing skis, which neither of having enough fuel to rejoin the ship. them had ever used before, the British pilot Swordfish are not designed for raids on and observer reached safety on the coast fifty heavily-defended land positions, but while miles away. the Skuas were attacking German shipping Another Skua pilot (a midshipman), flying and float-planes in Trondhjem harbour, the alone, found himself separated from his Ark's homely String-bags bombed Vaernes section after air combat. Shortage of petrol , NORWAT: AT GRIPS WITH THE LUFTWAFFE 29 compelled him to land on a frozen lake along- to endanger her safety unwarrantably. side a damaged R.A.F. Gladiator, but he The Skua pilots fought many combats, but was advised to leave at once owing to the found that the enemy aircraft now showed presence of German aircraft and the anticipa- more spirit when attacked and were better tion of a fresh attack. He filled up with handled ; the improved performance of the petrol from the wrecked Gladiator, borrowed Heinkels of Mark V type enabled them to a Norwegian school atlas, and after flying avoid battle unless surprised. Constant cloud unaided across 350 miles of sea made a good favoured evasion, so that there were fewer landfall in the Shetlands, where he refuelled successful engagements than off Trondhjem, and then joined a naval air station. for the Skuas lacked the speed to press their Although a carrier's aircraft have the ad- attacks home. vantage in mobility over those of the R.A.F. " The performance of the aircraft crews they have no secure base and may be more was nevertheless as fine as ever," wrote Vice- vulnerable in their hangars than in the air. Admiral Wells, and when forwarding this When the crews returned to the ship, cold report the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, " and tired out, they were often heavily observed : Our Fleet aircraft are out- bombed. During the campaign the Ark classed in speed and manoeuvrability, and it Royal became the Aunt Sally of the Luft- is only the courage and determination of our waffe. Once she was attacked almost con- pilots and crews that have prevented the tinuously for twelve hours by Heinkels and enemy from inflicting far more serious Junkers, which scored ten near misses but no damage." hits. One day five Heinkels took advantage of On 1st May, after a particularly fierce their speed and engaged the Skuas on patrol bombing attack, during which the Skuas over the Fleet anchorage at 18,000 feet. After destroyed one enemy aircraft and gunfire a determined dog-fight, during which the damaged others, the Ark Royal returned to Skuas attacked both head-on and from Scapa. By then the British forces had been astern, one Heinkel was set on fire. The withdrawn from the areas north and south leading pilot, Lieutenant W. P. Lucy, D.S.O., of Trondhjem, and the Germans had estab- R.N., with Lieutenant M. C. E. Hanson, lished contact with the garrison holding the R.N., as his observer, then dived after two port. The Ark sailed again for the Nor- other Heinkels which had dropped to water wegian coast on 4th May with orders to give level. He went in close to attack, fired a air protection to our troops attacking the burst, then swung away : one Heinkel's port iron-ore port of Narvik until R.A.F. fighters engine was seen to be smoking. Then could be based ashore. Lieutenant Lucy's aircraft appeared to She cruised about 100 miles from the explode at 50 feet above the surface and coast, and for the next fortnight was almost crashed into the sea. One of his section incessantly in action. There was no night. directed a destroyer to the spot. His body Flying began at midnight and went on until was found, but there was no sign of his II p.m. Fog and low cloud hampered the observer. Lieutenant Lucy had distinguished fighters. Sometimes the swell was so deep himself many times in the campaign, both in that the motion on the ship made flying bombing raids and air combats ; in his last impossible. The requests for protection were fight he had broken up the attack by his numerous and insistent, but the distances resolute leadership and had caused the sur- were such that it was impossible to main- viving aircraft to jettison their bombs. tain patrols over ail the areas at once unless The last section on this patrol sighted the carrier operated so close inshore as fourJunkers 88's dive-bombing. Two Skuas J 30 ARK ROYAL followed one of them down in its dive and way station and inflicted heavy damage on attacked as it pulled out, putting both the the sidings. Two Swordfish were hit by anti- Junkers' engines out of action. It crashed aircraft fire, one so repeatedly that its port into the sea and the crew of five swam ashore ; mainplane looked like a cheese-grater, but as one of the Skuas dived to make observa- both returned to the ship. One of the sup- tions, the Germans fired at it with their porting Skuas force-landed over Rombaks revolvers. Fiord, but the crew walked across country Meanwhile the Swordfish were also in con- through the German lines to the coast and stant action, taking photographs of enemy were taken on board a destroyer. positions, patrolling over the Fleet, and During this phase of the campaign the Ark bombing shore objectives, notably railway Royal's Skuas destroyed or damaged six communications. enemy aircraft, and probably nine more, On gth May sLx Swordfish attacked the with the loss of nine Skuas (including one railway line east of Narvik. The wind was so crash on deck) and five Swordfish ; casual- strong that it took them over two hours to ties to the crews were two killed and two reach the area. When they arrived they were slightly wounded. encouraged to find a fighter patrol of Skuas On 25th May the Ark Royal left the Nor- overhead. The striking force then split up wegian coast for Scapa. British troops into two sub-flights and proceeded indepen- captured Narvik on the 29th, and, having dently to their targets. One bombed the destroyed the facilities of the port so that the Nordalshoen Viaduct near the Swedish export of iron-ore would be impossible for border, scoring two magnificent hits in the some time, prepared to evacuate northern centre of the track, and placing a salvo in Norway. The Ark Royal returned with the the mouth of the tunnel. The second sub- Glorious to provide fighter protection during flight overturned a train in Hunddallen rail- the final stages of the evacuation, and to FROZEN LAKE HARTRIG, four miles S.W. of Narvik, where on 14th May, 1940, aircraft of the Ark Royal bombed and shot up enemy transport "planes, seen scattered over the ice. NORU'Ar. AT GRIPS WITH THE LUFTWAFFE 31 IN DAYLIGHT, and with no possibility of surprising the strong defences, 15 of the Ark's Skuas attacked the Scharn- horst and her protecting ^Iessersch^^itts at Trondhjeni on 14th June, 1940. Eight aircraft—out of 15 — were lost. cover the homeward-bound troop convoys. teries, and were attacked by Messerschmitt On 8th June the Glorious was sunk by enemy 109's and iio's. They were thus forced to gunfire, and at midnight on the 1 3th the Ark take violent evasive action and had to attack Royal flew off a striking force of fifteen as best they could. Lieutenant-Commander Skuas, each armed with one 500-lb. bomb, J. Casson, R.N., who was leading the first to attack the battle-cruiser Scharnhorst in squadron, carried out a shallow dive and Trondhjem harbour. attacked the Scharnhorst from bow to stern Trondhjem lies snugly tucked away in a at 3,000 feet. The last section of his squadron deep fiord, 50 miles from the coast. The attacked along the deck in the opposite Skuas had 160 miles to fly. The perpetual direction and reported a near miss 15 feet daylight and the distance they had to travel from the stern. The second squadron, led by overland made surprise almost impossible. Captain R. T. Partridge, D.S.O., R.M.', The morning sky was clear except for some pressed home the assault with equal deter- light cloud, and it was estimated that mination, although exposed to the most watchers on the coast gave the alarm twenty intense anti-aircraft fire any of the crews had minutes before the striking force arrived over experienced. The splash from a near miss the target, by which time the enemy fighters was observed close to the ship's port quarter, and the anti-aircraft gunners were ready for and two vivid flashes were seen abaft the them. funnel. On approaching Trondhjem at 11,500 feet From this sortie eight Skuas failed to they sighted the Scharnhorst, with two return. The crews were lost, including the cruisers and four destroyers, lying at anchor two leaders. The survivors escaped by flying off the town. They met with intense anti- low in the ground mist, except Sub-Lieu- aircraft fire from the ships and the shore bat- tenant (A) G. \V. Brokensha, D.S.C., R.N., 32 ARK ROrAL who circled the area twice to see if he could vent the force under his command fi-om help any of his comrades. falling under the influence of the enemy. That night there was little laughter in the For this delicate mission the Admiralty Ward Room or on the mess decks of the Ark selected the Commanding Officer of the Ark Royal. The justifiable claim of one, possibly Royal, Captain C. S. Holland, who until the two, hits on the Scharnhorst was but a mourn- outbreak of war had been Naval Attache at ful compensation for the loss of sixteen gallant the British Embassy in Paris and subsequently pilots and observers : the heaviest loss the Liaison Officer to Admiral Darlan. Captain Ark had known, or was to know, in a single Holland had been on friendly tei^ms with operation. Admiral Gensoul : they had last met some The same day the ship's company learned months previously in Toulon, when the that the evacuation was complete and that Admiral had given a luncheon party in their activities off that inhospitable coast were Captain Holland's honour. at an end. On 3rd July Force H, under the command of Vice-Admiral (now Admiral) Sir James Somei-ville, K.C.B., D.S.O., who was flying his flag in H.M.S. Hood, approached Oran. Captain Holland proceeded to the port in a destroyer. The French authorities gave him permission to pass the boom, and leaving " the destroyer outside he continued his jour- 6. " This Melancholy Action ney in a motor-launch. Admiral Gensoul, however, declined to receive him on board the Dunkerque. This was an unfortunate beginning, since it precluded any possibility of amicable discussion between the French 18th JUNE — 6th JULY; 21st30th SEP- Commander-in-Chief and the officer whom TEMBER 1 940 the British Government believed would be most acceptable to him. Captain Holland was therefore reluctantly compelled to transmit to the Admiral a docu- On iSthjune, 1940, the Ark Royal ment setting forth the British proposals. sailed from Scapa to join Force H at Gibral- These were, that the French Fleet should tar, aniving on the 23rd. By that time Italy either agree to continue operations with the had entered the war and France had British Navy, or to sail under British control capitulated. The future of the French Fleet to a British port, the crews to be repatriated was causing the British Government grave on arrival, and the ships to be restored at the anxiety. end of the war. A further alternative was France's two new battle-cruisers, the that the Admiral should undertake to have Strasbourg and the Dunkerque, were lying the ships demilitarised at a port in the with two battleships, several light cruisers, French West Indies. The note added that, destroyers and submarines at Oran and its should the Admiral decline the offei^s, the adjacent military port of Mers-el-Kebir on British Government must, with profound the Moroccan coast. It became essential to regret, require him to sink his ships within ascertain the attitude of the French Com- six hours, otherwise the Flag Officer, mander-in-Chief, Admiral Gensoul, and to Force H, had orders to use " whatever force use all possible diplomatic persuasion to pre- might be necessary " to prevent the ships ''THIS MELANCHOLT ACTION" 33 from falling into German or Italian hands. that they could penetrate the destroyer Having studied these proposals, Admiral screen, dropped their torpedoes outside it. Gensoul received Captain Holland. The So far as they could observe, in the twilight parleys continued for several hours. The and through the pall of smoke, they scored Prime Minister was able to assure the House only one hit. That did not stop the Stras- of Commons next day that no effort had been bourg and she disappeared into the gathering spared to persuade the French to accept darkness. " the offei-s made in terms of friendship." Next day reconnaissance over Oran har- Those offers were finally refused. Captain bour showed that the Dunkerque, although Holland returned. At 5.53 p.m. Force H grounded, was not permanently out of action. opened fire on the French ships. The bom- As an alternative to further bombardment bardment lasted for ten minutes, the Ark two squadrons of Swordfish were ordered to Royal's Swordfish spotting for the Force. attack her with torpedoes. Five others, with an escort of Skuas, dropped They took off in the dark at 5.15 a.m. on mines at the entrance to Mers-el-Kebir 6th July and arrived off the harbour at sun- harbour. The battleship Bretagne and two rise. As soon as the first rays struck the destroyers were sunk ; the Dunkerque was Dunkerque above the haze that lay upon the damaged and ran ashore. water the Swordfish made a shallow dive Shortly before this melancholy action (as from 7,000 feet in line astern, flying over the Mr. Churchill described it) began, the Stras- breakwater in the path of the sun. Four of bourg, with a screen of six destroyers, broke the six torpedoes hit the target. out of the harbour at dusk, a feat of fine sea- As they re-formed over the harbour they manship. She eluded Force H and made off met the second squadron going in to the at full speed to the eastward. attack, which was made in three waves. The Six Swordfish from the Ark Royal were first achieved complete surprise and was sent in puisuit. Their bombs straddled the unopposed ; the second and third encoun- Strasbourg but scored no hits. On the tered fierce opposition, but all the aircraft return passage two aircraft force-landed in returned, although one had a large hole aft, the sea owing to petrol shortage, the crews made by an unexploded shell which had being picked up by the destroyer Wrestler. ripped out the rear gun. It was now certain At 8 p.m. a second striking force of Sword- that the battle-cruiser had been immobilised fish, armed with torpedoes, was flown off. for a considerable period. They sighted the Strasbourg steaming at 28 These painful incidents require mention knots three miles off the African coast, because they were significant to the history making clouds of black smoke. She opened of the Ark Royal and the Naval Air Arm. on them with accurate anti-aircraft fire. The pursuit of the Strasbourg proved that They swung down to the surface, and, work- aircraft could successfully attack a moving ing round in a wide sweep, flew ahead of her. ship with torpedoes. The immobilisation of They lay up and down the shore a hundred the Dunkerque proved that when the target feet above the water, keeping her in sight and was a ship in harbour airborne torpedoes waiting until sunset, when the target would could be no less effective and far more econo- be silhouetted against the afterglow. Twenty mical than a fleet bombardment. The minutes after sunset they went in to attack, torpedo had been shown to be more deadly keeping low against the loom of the land. than the bomb when used against a heavily- This was the first time that the Ark Royal's armoured ship, for the torpedo opened her aircraft had attacked a capital ship at sea up below the water-line, where she was with torpedoes, and the pilots, still unaware most vulnerable. The operations ended the 34 ARK ROYAL discussion as to whether night attacks were tar with Force H. Later in the year, how- possible, for the take-off in the dark ensured ever, she had to take part in an equally surprise, even though the actual attack was unhappy incident, when General de Gaulle made in daylight, and it was now clear that and a Free French Force, accompanied by a torpedo-carrying aircraft were a potent force British naval squadron, arrived off Dakar at night. with the object of rallying the population to Both actions helped the naval airmen to his flag. perfect the technique of the night raid, and In company with Force M, the Ark Royal they felt that they had made history. They sailed from Freetown on 21st September had gained confidence and experience, with twenty Free French flying personnel on although their sense of achievement lost much board and two French Luciole training of its savour because it had been won against aircraft. At daylight on the 23rd, when former allies, of whose capabilities they had approaching Dakar, she flew off three Sword- formed a high opinion earlier in the war. fish and the two Lucioles. One Swordfish The immobilisation of the Dunkerque acted as a guide, the remaining two carried ended the operations against the French three Free French officers as passengers. Fleet, and the Ark Royal returned to Gibral- The mission of these officers was to Trt, .J- !^. rt»* . ''THIS MELANCHOLY ACTION" 35 announce the arrival of General de Gaulle's battleship Richelieu. Others were attacked force. Like all their comrades, they were by French fighters. When General de Gaulle sanguine as to the result, and at first it seemed tried to land his troops peacefully from three that their optimism was to be justified. The French ships the shore batteries opened. Swordfish and the Lucioles were allowed to As the day wore on the attitude of the land without opposition. The Lucioles Dakar French became more hostile, and taxied to the hangars, and the Swordfish, Force M, which was standing by to support having disembarked their passengers, re- General de Gaulle, was attacked by gunfire, turned to the ship. submarines and aircraft, but General de Later in the morning, however, the situa- Gaulle, being unwilling that his troops tion deteriorated. The Dakar French fired should be led against their fellow country- on General de Gaulle's emissaries, who were men and should shed French blood, requested approaching the town, unarmed, in a motor- that the action should not be continued, and launch flying a flag of truce. Two were accordingly Force M was ordered to with- seriously wounded. Reconnaissance aircraft draw on 25th September. from the Ark Royal, taking photographs and A few days later the Ark Royal sailed to dropping leaflets, were fired on by the French the United Kingdom to refit. SHIPS OF THE FAMOUS FORCE H, under Vice-Admira] Sir James Somervillc, leaving their base, Gibraltar. In the picture are the Ark Royal, the Hood and the Renown. 7. The Long Arm of Force H -N 9th JULY 1940 — 9th FEBRUARY 1941 i HREE DAYS AFTER the Operations off Oran, the Ark Royal's aircraft fought the SPAIN first of their many combats with the Regia Aeronautica. While covering convoy movements in the Western Mediterranean on the afternoon of gth July, a section of Skuas on patrol, led by Lieutenant R. M. Smeeton, R.N., sighted an Italian aircraft fine on their starboard bow, three miles distant, flying at 12,000 feet. The section went into line astern and altered course to close. The Italian immediately turned, but the Skuas chased him for half an hour, and gained slowly until they were within 800 yards, when they identified the enemy as a Cant 506 float-plane. Lieutenant Smeeton fired three short bursts in the hope of slowing it down ; the remaining Skuas took up the attack and forced it down to the sea. During the afternoon forty Savoia S.M. 79 bombers attacked Force H in three waves, "5 iSo 2(5o 300/ 45o 55o" dropping over 100 bombs. The Ark Royal's KILOMETRES » Skuas shot down one and damaged two others, forcing the remainder to drop their bombs and turn away. The Italians claimed that the Ark Royal had sustained a direct hit during these raids and that H.M.S. Hood had been set on fire, but this was untrue. No The target was Cagliari, on the southern damage was inflicted on Force H and there coast of Sardinia. The striking force flew off were no casualties. at 2.30 a.m., nine armed with bombs and Several combats followed, during which three with mines. In flying off one of the the Skuas destroyed three shadowing aircraft, bombing aircraft hit the island with its star- and on 2nd August the Swordfish made their board wing and crashed into the sea. first attack upon Italian soil. Before the raid It was a fine night, with no cloud, but a the Flag Officer, Force H, made the following strong head-wind reduced the aircraft's speed signal to the Ark Royal : of approach to about 60 knots. Owing to the " The object of this operation is to test the intense darkness it was difficult to recognise quality of the ice-cream." the coaistline, and the bombing force at fiist GENOA FRANCE SPEZIA PISA -•LEGHORN MARSEILLES^ TOULON ITALY CORSICA • ROME "^BARCELONA Straitsyof Hoiiifnrio NAPLES TARANTO* SARDINIA. Majorca ^^ ^^xj ifONSERRATQ "-^ r. Carbonara JTj GLIARI Cb C. SfxirjiveiUo* ,.V»^ ^/: C. I',isscr MALTA^ ALGERIA ^-^f'"' 4Q0 .500 ^ 6Q0 750 1,200 760,'' 860 v-.^S'OO ..-"UOOoX .-IjOO.. |.2t)0 ,{300 1400 L56q 1.800 1960 2,000 THE ARK'S MAIN BATTLEGROUND. Except for spells of duty elsewhere, the Ark served for eighteen arduous and successful months in the Western Basin of the Mediterranean. mistook Cape Spartivento, the eastern horn One was firing 6-inch shells in the hope of of the bay, for Cape Carbonara, then flew swamping the diving aircraft with the back along the coast in the increasing Hght. splashes. But the mines were neatly It became evident that the projected dawn dropped from a height of 50 feet„ and as the attack must be made in full daylight. minelayers turned away the eleven dive- Meanwhile the minelaying aircraft, led by bombers went screaming down to their target, Lieutenant R. N. Everett, R.N., had also lost Elmas aerodrome, in the face of intense anti- their way, but chance provided synchronisa- aircraft fire. tion, and as the bombing force approached Led by Lieutenant-Commander G. B. Cagliari they saw the minelayers being Hodgkinson, R.N., they attacked the hangars heavily engaged by the coastal batteries. and buUdings of the aerodrome in line astern, — 38 ARK ROYAL the rear aircraft bombing the seaplanes lying dispersed round the aerodrome. One wing at moorings in the harbour. The main of the military headquarters was destroyed. assault was completed in about sixty seconds. Diu-ing the dive to the attack the damage By that time Italian fighters were in the sky, caused by the previous raid could be clearly but only one made an attack : upon the rear seen. Three hangars were in ruins, and a aircraft, which suffered no damage. In fact, fourth was being rebuilt. the fighter's presence was rather welcome to The weather was unfavourable for the raid the Swordfish, for the Italian gunners, who on the following morning (" Operation had been putting up a fierce barrage at short Grab"), the night having been dark and hazy. range, were compelled to cease fire to avoid When the striking force approached Cagliari hitting their own aircraft. After expending the valleys were filled with mist and low its ammunition the fighter flew alongside the clouds. For forty-five minutes the observers Swordfish so that its rear gun could not bear. dropped flares in the hope of identifying The Swordfish observer (a midshipman) their targets, but without success. Four air- drew his revolver and engaged the fighter craft attacked the searchlights and put one with that. The Italian turned away and did out of action. Two dropped their bombs on not renew the attack. what they took to be a flare-path for night The raid was extremely successful. The landings : seen from the sky it glowed like a bombs wrecked four hangars, set the aero- gigantic gas-fire. The remainder jettisoned drome buildings on fire, and destroyed two their bombs into the sea. large aircraft on the sea-wall and two float- The striking force returned to the ship planes at moorings, damaging others. One safely, to find that one of the Ark's cats had Swordfish was lost. The pilot, his engine hit, had kittens. They were christened Smash made a forced landing on the enemy's airfield and Grab, the Cagliari Twins. in the middle of the battle ; the crew were Naval air operations are not usually an end taken prisoner. in themselves, but are, as it were, stones in the The remainder of the striking force mosaic of maritime strategy which forms the returned to the ship independently, with one basis of sea-power ; and these two raids, observer slightly wounded, a squadron of although not so successful as the first, fulfilled Skuas providing cover and forcing down one their object in helping to cover the passage of a Cant 501 . The Swordfish had 150 miles to fly large naval force to the southward of Sardinia. and the last did not land on until after seven The Swordfish made yet another raid on o'clock, having been over four and a half Cagliari on gth November, when the Ark hours in the air. Three reached the ship with Royal had returned to the Mediterranean less than five gallons of petrol in their tanks. after her refit. Hangars and a factory were A month later, on 2nd and 3rd September, hit, in spite of what one pilot called " all sorts " the Swordfish made two further attacks on of fanciful disruptions : the anti-aircraft Cagliari, led by Lieutenant-Commander defences had been strengthened and the Mervyn Johnstone, R.N. bombers came under the fire of a hundred In the fii^ (officially known as " Operation guns. Smash ") the striking force established their The Ark Royal had brought out with her position by dropping parachute flares, a squadron of the new Fairey Fulmar although these soon became unnecessary, fighters. Their first victim was a Savoia 79 for the aerodrome was lighted by the quan- a shadower—on 8th November, and on the tities of" flaming onions " which the Italian following day Fulmars and Skuas shot down gunners shot into the sky. Hits were one Cant 506 and another Savoia 79. observed on the barracks and on the aircraft Before the end of the month the Fulmars THE LONG ARM OF FORCE H 39 were in fiercer action. On the morning of barrage and dropped their torpedoes inside 27th November, Force H was escorting an the destroyer screen, at a range of 700 yards. east-bound convoy carrying tanks and mili- The leader found himself too close to the tary stores. South-west of Sardinia the Vittorio Veneto, so turned to port and fired Force met H.M.S. Ramillies, which was to at her consort, one of the Cavour class. take the convoy on to Alexandria. Before A great column of brown smoke and water the escorts had parted company a Swordfish rose above the Vittorio Veneto and she was on reconnaissance patrol reported having seen to have been hit abaft the after funnel. sighted the Italian Fleet south of Sardinia : There was another explosion astern, and a two battleships, six cruisers, and sixteen third ahead of the second ship. As the destroyers. striking force pulled away, the air-gunners Another Swordfish was sent out to relieve opened fire on the bridges of the battleships the shadower. The pilot flew at 2,000 feet, and the destroyers. protected by cloud, two or three miles from In the meantime the enemy cruisers, with- the enemy, reporting every movement, while out waiting for the slower battleships, were Force H turned into line, with battle ensigns retiring towards the shelter of the Sardinian up and guard-rails down. It seemed that an coast, and although the Renown did her uneventful convoy trip was to be transformed utmost to bring the battleships to action, the into the long-awaited engagement with the attack by the Swordfish had not impaired Italian Navy. their speed sufficiently to enable her to come But the enemy warships were still far within effective range, and they too with- beyond the range of the Renown's guns and drew, so that soon after one o'clock Force H it was necessary to slow them down. This was compelled to abandon the chase. was the function of the Naval Air Arm. At An hour later a second striking force of eleven o'clock the Ark Royal flew off" a force nine Swordfish, led by Lieutenant-Com- of eleven Swordfish, armed with torpedoes, mander J. A. Stewart-Moore, R.N., was led by Lieutenant-Commander Mervyn flown off~ in pursuit. They sighted three of Johnstone, R.N. It was one of those clear, the cruisers first, then the battleships, to the brittle Mediterranean days : the sun shining southward of Cape Carbonara. Monserrato in a cloudless sky, the sea as smooth as a piece aerodrome in Sardinia was only 40 miles of satin. The striking force had as little cover away, and the enemy already had fighters in as a battalion marching across a meadow. the air. An immediate assault was therefore After flying for twenty minutes they sighted essential and the cruisers offered the better the Italian cruisers steaming in two columns, target. then, 25 miles to the eastward, the two The striking force went down in line astern, battleships, screened by seven destroyers. but as they were committed to their drop the The cruisers were being engaged by the cruisers turned away to starboard. There advanced units of Force H. At 12.40 the was an explosion under the rear cruiser and the battleships a mound of water rose as high as her bridge Swordfish dived to attack out ; of the sun. As they went down the cruisers immediately afterwards she started making to the westward opened fire in short bursts smoke from her foremost funnel. Two of the as though to warn the battleships of their Swordfish had attacked the leading cruiser danger. and reduced her speed. Selecting as the target the leading battle- The enemy put up what might have been ship, the Vittorio Veneto, one of the new and an effective barrage, but it was a minute too powerful Littorio class, the striking force late to cause any serious damage to the pressed through a formidable anti-aircraft striking force, and the Italian gunners fired Al- lERNOON OF BATTLE. Above, Force H steams unscathed through a ram of loo bombs dropped in an Italian air attack on gth July, 1940. The ship curtained in water on the right is the Hood. In the centre is the Valiant ; beyond her, bows just showing, is the Resolution ; beyond again the cruiser Arethusa ; ahead of the Arethusa, a destroyer. Right, the steady old Ark, her guns firing. Below, an Italian bomber, shot down by the Ark's gunfire, blazes on the water. .te^ ..?*iIIS*r> *'«- " The Ark disappeared from the Force's sight behind a wall of water flung into the air ^7 30 bombs falling around her. Admiral Somerville thought she was gone." " Then he saw the fore-end of her flight deck emerge. " She came out undamaged, all her guns blazing, like a An Ark Royal fighter pilot's camera- great angry bee." gun was taking these vi\nd pictures while he was firing at two Italian Savoia torpedo-bombers, attack- ing a con\"oy in the late summer of 1 94 1. They show hits on both aircraft, and one bursting into flames just before it crashed. THE LONG ARM OF FORCE H 43 in every direction, regardless of danger to saved them fror-» des? action. The fighters their own ships, so that salvoes from close- had intercepted tr Italian bombers, destroy- range weapons were bursting alongside each ing two and compelling others to jettison of the cruisers. Two Swordfish were hit, but their they also a protective bombs ; had kept all flew back to the ship in formation. umbrella over the convoy and thereby helped Later in the day seven Skuas, led by to ensure its safe passage, which was the Lieutenant R. M. Smeeton, R.N., were primary duty of Force H. That evening the despatched to bomb the damaged cruiser. convoy was taken on by H.M.S. Ramillies, They failed to find her, but sighted three of while Force H returned to Gibraltar. the Condiottiere class, steering north in line Those were the gala days of battle. But ahead. A thin layer of cloud enabled the the Ark also carried out the journey-work of Skuas to achieve complete surprise ; the war faithfully and efficiently week after week. cruisers took no avoiding action and did not " At sea with Force H. Covering move- open fire until the assault was over. Only ments. Air reconnaissance and search. Anti- near misses were claimed. The Skuas suf- submarine and fighter patrols maintained. fered no casualties and shot down an R.O. 43 Fulmars shot down one Savoia 79 shadowing float-plane on their passage back to the ship. aircraft." During the afternoon squadrons of Savoia Thus would run many entries in a diary of 79's repeatedly bombed Force H. The Ark the Ark Royal's war service at this period. Royal, always an irresistible target, was There was constant training : the Swordfish operating three miles from the main Force practising flying off" and forming up in the and attracted most of the attention. The dark, following with dummy attacks at dawn, bombers came over in wave after wave for the Skuas working up their dive-bombing about an hour, attacking with great deter- and night flying, the Fulmars having mock mination. As one of the ratings said, encounters. " Every time the Wops dropped a stick it Admiral Somerville would himself some- was a straddle." The flight deck was times fly with them. By taking part in drenched with water from the near misses. torpedo-running exercises and practice fighter At one time the Ark disappeared from the combats he would learn to appreciate the Force's sight behind a wall of water flung pilots' and observers' problems, and by into the air by thirty bombs falling round climbing to high altitudes would renew his her, some no more than 20 yards from her own flying experience and find refreshmeni side. Admiral Somerville, watching from after the cares of his command. the bridge of the Renown, thought she had The Fulmars had many opportunities for gone. Then he saw the fore-end of her flight action against the Italians in the days that deck emerge, and she came out undamaged, followed. One of these gallant combats may with all her guns blazing, like a great angry be described. On 2nd January, 1941, a bee. Fulmar squadron, on patrol over the Force These operations typify the functions of the south of Sardinia, sighted formations of Naval Air Arm. The reconnaissance air- enemy bombers approaching. The leader craft, acting as the frigates of the air, had of the squadron, Lieutenant-Commander found the Italian Fleet and shadowed it until R. C. Tillard, R.N., sent two sections to a striking force could be flown oflT to the intercept them and himself went off" to engage assault. Although it was but the second time two detached aircraft, thinking that they that the torpedo-carriers had attacked ships might be fighters and intending to keep them at sea, they had hit their targets and it was occupied so that his squadron might be free only the enemy warships' superior speed that to attack the bombers. 44 ARK ROYAL On closing them he identified them as One Swordfish became lost in cloud and Savoia 79's. Both jettisoned their bombs as had to return to the carrier. The remaining the Fulmar approached. He attacked from seven approached the target individually. astern of the rear bomber, at a range of 450 The ground defences were unusually alert, and yards, closing to 260 yards. The Savoia all the force but one came under heavy fire, caught fire and exploded. One of the crew which grew intense as they reached the dam. escaped by parachute and was rescued by Two were forced to jettison their torpedoes H.M.S. Foxhound. The Fulmar then attacked owing to the ice on their wings. Another the second bomber at 170 yards, setting it was shot down, the pilot and observer being on fire and forcing it down into the sea. taken prisoner. Four, launched their tor- Two of the crew were picked up by H.M.S. pedoes at the target. Forester. In the destruction of these two air- The most successful drop was made by craft the Fulmar expended only 320 rounds Sub-Lieutenant (A) R. S. Charlier, R.N., per gun. who flew at about 50 feet the whole way On 2nd February the Ark's Swordfish were from the coast, so low that he was not fired given a new type of target : the Tirso dam at until he had made his attack, when he in Sardinia. There was a strong, gusty wind turned sharply away and went out at ground blowing and the motion on the flight deck level. The last pilot flew over the target at made ranging difficult in the dark, but by a height of 60 feet after the attack, machine- 6 a.m. a striking force of eight had flown off gunning the defences, but could observe no without mishap. damage on the face of the dam. When they reached the Sardinian coast it A week later the Swordfish took part in a was laining hard, with showers of hail. It more successful though no less hazardous was still dark, and ice began to form on the operation while Force H was engaged in the wings in a cloud level of 5,000 feet. They bombardment of Genoa. turned out to sea to wait for daylight. Al 5 a.m. on gth February, the Ark Royal, OFF TO ATI ACK. With bombs in her racks a Swordfish flics off the Ark to attack Itahan bases during the bombardment of Genoa. THE LONG ARM OF FORCE H 45 detached from the main Force and screened Genoa as unsuspectedly as the Swordfish by three destroyers, flew off a striking force upon Leghorn. of fourteen to attack the Azienda oil refinery " The scene off Genoa immediately before in Leghorn, one of the largest plants in Italy. opening fire was almost dramatic in its con- Four more Swordfish followed, carrying trasts," wrote Admiral Somerville. " A fine, mines to block the harbour of Spezia. The calm morning, the foreshore hidden from Ark Royal also sent three Swordfish, with an view by haze above which the mountains escort of Fulmars, as stand-by spotters for stood out, turning from grey to rose with the Force H during the bombardment, which rising sun—nothing to break the peace and was carried out by indirect fire. Lieutenant silence of the Sunday morning until Renown V. N. Graves, R.N., earned high praise for fired her first salvo. In spite of what the the precision with which he performed this Italians may have to say, this bombardment duty when called upon ; the reports he sent must have had a shattering effect on the back contributed materially to the success morale of the people of Genoa, as it would on of the operation, although observation was the people of any other town whose defenders made difficult by two changes of targets to had been so criminally negligent in the per- widely-separated areas and by the clouds of formance of their duty." smoke from the explosions and the burning oil tanks. Eleven of the striking force attacked the refinery at Leghorn, diving from 9,000 feet to open up the building with 250-lb. bombs and following them with incendiaries. An 8. " The Convoy Must go explosion was heard, but the observers could not form any definite estimate of the damage. " The enemy were taken completely by sur- Through prise, and scarcely a gun opened until six minutes after the raid had begun. The Swordfish had to come out through the balloon barrage, which one of them seems to have struck. The crew were killed. They 6th MAY — 30th SEPTEMBER 1941 were buried by the Italians with full naval honours. Two of the force bombed the aerodrome and the railway junction at Pisa. One pilot During the early part of 1941 the Ark considered that they might have straightened Royal was frequently employed with Force H the Leaning Tower. Meanwhile the mine- in the Eastern Atlantic escorting outward laying sub-flight approached the shore where and homeward bound Sierra Leone convoys. Byron and Trelawney had once made a An aircraft-carrier and a battle-cruiser, funeral pyre for Shelley, and dropped their operating together, form an ideal force to mines. cover the passage of an important convoy. As they returned to the ship the bombard- The carrier can stretch out her reconnaissance ment of Genoa was in full blast. It was a aircraft round the horizon like fingers, and relief to see the Ark safe below them in the her fighters intercept shadowers and give the light of dawn. But the enemy had made no merchant ships protection against hostile preparations to guard against an invasion of bombers, while the guns of the battle-cruiser the Gulf, and Force H had descended upon can deal with surface raiders. a. |w8^' --^.ii^iirth!!-, During one such passage a Fulmar sighted Germans taken prisoner by the RenowTi. the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau at Deprived of their supply ships, the Scharn- extreme visibility. Unfortunately, the air- horst and Gneisenau made for Brest, where craft's wireless failed, and by the time the they remained until they put to sea on 1 1 th pilot returned to the ship to report it was too February, 1942. dark to send out a striking force ; next morn- The Ark Royal's most important covering ing bad weather made flying impossible. But work, however, was passing convoys of mili- later the Swordfish intercepted three of the tary transports through the Mediterranean. raiders' supply ships. One of them was a These convoys carried large quantities -of captured British tanker, the San Casimiro, stores and armaments, from flour to guns, with a detachment from the Gneisenau in barbed-wire to wireless sets. It was before charge. To attract the attention of aircraft, sailing on one of these operations that the the ship's baker had contrived to write Flag Officer, Force H, made his famous "SO S." in flour on the after-part of the signal " The convoy must go through," as deck, and another of the crew waved a part of a message sent to all ships under his swastika flag through a porthole as the command. Swordfish approached. Rather than allow The covering force always had to be strong the tanker to be taken, the Germans scuttled enough to defend the convoy against opposi- her ; the British crew were rescued and the tion by the Italian Fleet. There was also the i > THE GUARDIAN ARK. The convoy steams through the Mediterranean. The Ark keeps watch and ward. Fulmar fighters are ranged aft ready to take off to the attack. certainty of heavy air attack, particularly the main Force during such operations, she while any convoy was to the southward of had to some extent to work independently in Sardinia and near the Sicilian coast. order to have freedom of movement for The passage of the convoys lasted several operating her aircraft, for making the best days. On the second day Italian reconnais- use of her guns, and for manoeuvring to avoid sance aircraft would make their appearance torpedo attacks. When the day was calm and the Fulmars (which by that time had and high speed was necessary for flying off" replaced all the Skua squadrons) went out to aircraft, those on board would pray for a intercept as many as possible before they breeze ahead. When the wind shifted, she could send back information. The third day had the choice of flying off" her aircraft down was always the most critical of all. The sur- wind, or of heading into wind with the risk viving Italian shadowers would report the of becoming separated from the Force and position of the Force and the convoy early in the protection it gave her. On one occasion the morning, and a couple of hours later the when she was compelled to accept the first high-level bombing attacks would begin, alternative, there was barely enough wind to often synchronised with torpedo attacks. enable the Fulmars to clear the sea as they These would last continuously throughout left the bows of the ship. the day. During the critical hours she always had to Although the Ark Royal remained close to keep as many fighters over the convoy as L 48 ARK RO i A possible, directing them on to the incoming enemy bombers—a sight for all Britain's enemy formations. On one passage sixteen eyes. They literally hurled themselves upon Fulmars were kept in the air for over four the enemy, almost colliding with them, until hours after the first enemy bombers had been they were both shot down, by which time sighted : some of the pilots had to make four they had destroyed two bombers, damaged a sorties in one day. It was always a race to third (it was finished off by their comrades), fly off the aircraft, to land on those which had broke up the formation, and caused all the been damaged in combat, or were short of fuel survivors to jettison their bombs, thus giving and ammunition, strike them down to the security to the convoy." hangars, fill them up and re-arm them, These combats were followed with im- bring them back to the flight deck, and then, mense enthusiasm by all hands in the Force. the pilots and observers fed and a little Some ships had their broadcasting systems rested, to fly them off into the sky again. connected with the radio-telegraphy wave- All this could be done only when the guns length, so that they could hear the Ark send- and the manoeuvres of the ship would allow. ing her Fulmars in to the attack, then the A bombing attack had to be engaged by the " Tally-ho " of contact, the intercommunica- " ship's artilleiy on the most favourable bear- tion of the pilots, and finally the " Whoopee ing, which was seldom in the direction of the of success. wind, and even if it had been, the blast from After the second day the fighters' demands the guns would have prevented the aircraft upon the flight deck and the resources of the from being flown off or landed on. Some- ship were always so heavy that the Swordfish times it was possible for the ship to dash into were seldom employed, but during one paiss- the wind to take on a fighter which needed age a report—which proved to be unfounded an emergency landing, but one at least was —was received that the Italian Fleet had compelled to come down in the sea while the been sighted 60 miles distant. The Swordfish Ark's guns were firing, the crew being rescued were needed. by a destroyer. Orders for a striking force were piped, and The Italian torpedo-aircraft would attack over the microphone the ship's company most gallantly, particularly in the beginning were told the opp^ortunity that lay ahead. A of the operations, flying in tight formation reconnaissance was flown off and twelve and coming in among the ships only a few Swordfish, fuelled and armed with torpedoes feet from the surface of the sea. Their losses and ammunition, were ranged on deck, with were consequently very heavy : during one four Fulmars ranged behind them. A few attack they lost eighteen out of thirty-six air- minutes later all were in the air. The recon- craft by action of the Fulmars and by gunfire naissance aircraft searched for the enemy of the Fleet. Italian fighters. Fiat C.R. 42's, until the fighters had to return for lack of accompanied the bombing formations, and fuel, some landing on with no more than a although they usually kept beyond range of couple of gallons in their tanks. The Sword- the warships' guns, their superior speed fish returned after dark with their torpedoes accounted for several of the Ark's Fulmars. still slung below, although many of the pilots " The fight shown by the pilots in all these had never made a night-landing before. operations is beyond praise," said Captain Each passage provided its peculiar excite- L. E. H. Maund, who took over command ments, but one day's engagements are typical of the Ark Royal from Captain Holland on of many. The Ark Royal started the day 19th April. " They certainly took the spirit with twelve Fulmars. Combats soon reduced of the ship with them into the sky. In one the number serviceable to seven, then to five. combat two of them tackled a squadron of But by rapid re-equipment and repair the m tfK mmm GUNFIRE BLR.'iri irum inc Ark Ri-ydl and tiir Renown as Force H defends a convoy steaming through the Sicihan Channel in April, 1941. Between the two ships are bomb bursts. Below, the destroyer escorts throw up their barrage of fire. These two pictures were taken from H.M.S. Sheffield. NEAR THE ARK (below) a column of black smoke rises from yet another Italian torpedo-b ^^: . 50 ARK ROYAL carrier maintained a p>ermanent patrol bombing attacks on the RenowTi and the throughout the day. There were times when Ark Royal, the torpedoes in the first assault no more than two aircraft were over the passing down between the two ships. The Fleet, but whenever a raid appeared to be second assault was made by four torpedo- impending evers- fighter that could be made carriers. A section of Fulmars engaged fit for service wzis sent into the sky. them, dispersing three and shooting the The attacks began soon after midday and leader down. continued at interv'als throughout the after- As a result of the day's attacks seven enemy noon. Early in the action the Ark Royal lost aircraft were destroyed, anti-aircraft fire a gallant pilot and obser\^er who had been accounting for four and the fighters for three. together in many a combat and had both won The enemy obtained no hits, either by bomb the Distinguished Service Cross : Lieutenant- or by torpedo, and there were no casualties Commander R. C. Tillard, R.N., and Lieu- in the ships. Two Fulmars were lost, but the tenant M. F. Somer\^ille, R.N. Seeing three crew of one was saved C.R. 42 's 200 feet below, Lieutenant- WTien every combat was a gallant and Commander Tillard turned towards them resourceful action, and when the hazards of for a head-on attack. The Fulmar broke the day were shared by all, it may seem away to port in a vertical dive, flattened out invidious to mention individual exploits. But at 500 feet, and was not seen again. a few may be described as representative of The main onslaught of the day came all these op>erations. There was Lieutenant shortly after 7 p.m. The sky was bright and (A) -R. E. Gardner , R.N.V.R., leader of a clear, but a great black cloud, rising from sea section which carried out four fighter patrols level to 9,000 feet, was closing in from the on 8th May, in three of which he was in northward. Hostile aircraft from Sicily were action. He took every opportunity of en- sighted approaching over the top of the cloud gaging the enemy, and during the day shot to attack the convoy : twent^'-eight Junkers down one Junkers 87 and helped three 87"$ and six Messerschmitt no's in three other pilots to destroy a Savoia 79, firing the separate formations. last burst before it broke up ; he damaged, By that time the Ark had only seven if he did not destroy, tw-o more. After his Fulmars fit to fly. They shot up into the sky last engagement, when his aircraft was to meet the advancing bombers. They flew severely damaged and the windscreen shat- underneath the cloud, and as they lapped tered, his one anxiety was to go into the sky its crest found themselves at close quarters again. w^ith the armada from Sicily. The observers played their part as well as Outnumbered though they were, they went the pilots. Leading Airman R. N. Orme, straight for the centre of the formations, shot who was only nineteen and had never been down one bomber, damaged several others, in combat against enemy fighters before, kept besides at least one of the Messerschmitts, his pilot supplied with accurate information and scattered the survivors, which released during an attack on several Fiat C.R. 42 their bombs and dropped down into cloud. fighters, even after the Fulmar had been All cohesion in the attack disappeared, and knocked out of control by their gunfire. the enemy retired without a single bomber Having exhausted every alternative method having gone in to the assault. The ships' of warding off stem attacks, he finally used companies could see the splashes of the jet- wads of paper which he hurled at the tisoned bombs as they fell into the sea ten attackers, twice causing an enemy fighter to miles to the northward. cease fire and break away. The day ended with two air-torpedo and Another rating observer who showed a fine "THE CONVOY MUST GO THROUGH 51 example was Petty Officer Airman L. G. J. tion, but. each time the convoy went through. Howard. He was severely wounded in an The Ark Royal's fighters not only shielded engagement with C.R. 42's, but continued the transports from attack, but enabled the to pass information of their movements to his warships to operate in waters where they pilot until they had been shaken oft'. When were exposed to shore-based aircraft for a the pilot reported Howard's wound and asked period of days, and the success obtained permission to bring him back to the ship, showed that, provided the covering force had Howard insisted that he was fit to carry on enough fighters with it, a great measure of and begged the pilot to continue the engage- security could be assured. ment. The reconnaissance work of the Ark's air- Nor was the immunity of the Fleet and the craft was an essential part of this protection. convoy due only to the flying crews, for it " If I haven't got the Ark with me," said was owing to the exceptional efforts of the Admiral Somerville, " I feel like a blind ground staff" in the hangars and on the flight beggar without his dog." deck that the small force of fighters was re-equipped and repaired so that they could go back into battle time after time. During the operations the whole of the carrier's air staff", from the Commander Flying down- wards, was working at top speed. The rang- 9. The Hazard that beat ing parties had no rest by day and little by night. The air artificers, fitters and mechanics worked on the damaged aircraft the Bismarck without stopping throughout the bombing and torpedo attacks. The operations tested the endurance of everyone in the ship. The guns' crews were constantly in action. The boiler-room and 24th MAY— 27th MAY 1941 engine-room staff's were working at high pres- sure in intense heat. The wireless operators and signalmen were unceasingly employed in handling continuous traffic. The cooks had During the passages of the convoys to provide meals for the whole ship's com- through the Mediterranean the Ark Royal's pany at action stations and for the returning Fulmars bore the brunt of the battle. The fighters' crews as they came in for their brief highest opportunity of her Swordfish came rest. when, at 2 a.m. on 24th May, the Flag Yet the spirit of the Ark's company was Officer, Force H, received information that magnificent. Every department of the great the German battleship Bismarck and the ship worked as a team, and with the greatest heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen were at sea. jollity. It was as though all hands had been Force H, composed of H.M.S. Renown, piped to skylark. And when their own guns wearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir James brought down an Italian bomber 200 yards Somerville, the cruiser Sheffield, and the Ark from the ship the ratings cheered and shouted Royal, sailed from Gibraltar in accordance as though they were watching a football with Admiralty instructions and steamed to match at which their side had scored a goal. the north-westward at high speed. Every time Force H covered the passage of Admiral Sir John Tovey, K.C.B., D.S.O., a convoy it had to meet determined opposi- the Conunander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, had 52 ARK RO r AL made dispositions to prevent the German weather. On the morning of the 25th there warships from breaking out into the Atlantic, was a steep sea running, and a high wind, and on the evening of 23rd May the cruisers with rain squalls and low cloud. Neverthe- Suffolk and Norfolk had sighted them in the less the Ark Royal kept an anti-submarine Denmark Strait, the channel between Green- patrol over the Force all day, except for a land and Iceland, steering south-west. The short period when the aircraft had to be two cruisers shadowed the enemy throughout landed on in thick mist and heavy rain. the night for 250 miles. Admiral Somerville expected to be in a Shortly after daylight on the 24th H.M.S. certain position by 7 a.m. on the 26th in Hood and H.M.S. Prince of Wales made order to fly off a reconnaissance which was contact and opened fire. During the ensuing to cover an area through which, it was esti- action the Hood, after hitting the Bismarck mated, the Bismarck must pass to reach several times, was herself hit in the magazine Brest. The weather grew steadily woi-se and sank within four minutes. The Prince during the night, however, and although of Wales sustained some slight damage. The Force H was butting into the stoi^m at 21 chase was continued on a south-westerly knots, it was nearly two hours late in reaching course, the Suffolk and Norfolk shadowing the position from which the first air searches the enemy and maintaining contact despite were to be made. all his efforts to shake off the pursuit. For the operations ahead the Ark Royal Other units of the Home Fleet were now had twenty-two Swordfish available. At approaching, and at 10 p.m., by which time 8.30 a.m. ten of them were ranged for the the two enemy ships had parted company, reconnaissance. the aircraft-carrier Victorious flew off nine The wind was high and from the west- Swordfish, led by Lieutenant-Commander north-west, with low scudding clouds. There (A) E. Esmonde, R.N., who served later in was much motion on the ship, and green seas the Ark Royal, and subsequently lost his life were breaking over the fore-end of the flight while leading the gallant attack against the deck, normally 62 feet above surface level. Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen on The whole deck was drenched with water 1 2th February, 1942, an action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The striking force attacked the Bismarck with torpedoes at 1 1.30 and reported one hit on the starboard side amidships. Her speed appeared to have been reduced, but shortly after 3 a.m. on the 25th, in the darkness of the middle watch, she succeeded in slipping away from the two cruisers, which had shadowed her for over thirty hours. She remained completely lost to her pur- suers until, at 10.30 a.m. on the 26th, a Catalina flying-boat of Coastal Command renewed contact, sighting her steering in the direction of the Bay of Biscay. The Catalina was hit and driven off by the Bismarck's anti- aircraft fire, and so lost touch. SWORD OF THE SWORDFISH. One of the Meanwhile Force H had been steaming to Ark's torpedoes is wheeled under the Swordfish's the scene of action in increasingly bad fuselage, where it is jacked into the dropping position. THE HAZ'^RD THAT BEAT THE BISMARCK 53 and as slippery as a skating-rink. Several of the northward of the shadower also gained the aircraft slid from one side to the other touch, to ensure the ship not being lost. From while being ranged. The first one took off that moment both aircraft kept the Bismarck with her wheels in salt water, and the pilots in sight, making a report of her movements who followed had to go through the driving every few minutes, while the remaining eight spray. As the ship pitched in the heavy continued to search their allotted areas. Atlantic swell some had to make the run By this time, however, the shadowers had uphill when the ship lifted ; others went barely enough fuel left to enable them to roaring downhill, but in spite of the hazard- return to the carrier. The Captain's iname- ous conditions all took off without mishap, diate concern was to relieve them, that con- checked the direction of the wind, and then tact with the enemy might be maintained. fanned out on their allotted course of search. Accordingly two Swordfish, fitted with extra At 10.40 a.m. the Ark Royal received the petrol tanks, which gave them ninety minutes' signal that the Catalina had found the Bis- additional flying life, were flown off, and marck. This did not affect the reconnais- within an hour had gained touch, so that sance then in the air, since the position their fellows could return to the carrier : indicated was within the area being searched, they reached her with but fifteen minutes' and at 11. 14 a.m.—fourteen minutes after petrol left. The second pair were relieved in the Catalina had been driven off—a Sword- turn, and so the watch went on until late fish piloted by Sub-Lieutenant (A) J. V. that night. Hartley, R.N., with Sub-Lieutenant (A) P. R. One of the shadowers lost touch for a while Elias, R.N.V.R., as his observer, reported in the rain and mist. Then, seeing what he having sighted the Bismarck in a position took to be a British ship below him, he " approximately 750 miles due west of Brest. signalled " Where is the ruddy Bismarck ? As was customary in the Ark, the news was The answer was a salvo from the Bismarck's broadcast to the ship's company and caused guns. great exultation. The Commander-in-Chief gave particular Seven minutes later the next Swordfish to credit to the crews of these aircraft, " whose An electrical artificer makes the final ad- The pistol is fitted last. The moment the point " " justment to the tail mechanism, ensuring of one of the whiskers strikes the enemy hull, accurate running for course and depth. the detonator is fired and the warhead explodes. 54 ARK ROYAL part," he wrote, " although unspectacular and on resuming her easterly course she had and often forgotten, is as important, and fre- to go on to her full power of 30 knots. For a quently as dangerous, as that of aircraft time the wind was so strong that the Flight which attack with torpedoes." Deck Officer had to strike the aircraft below When the first Swordfish sighted the Bis- after they had been ranged to save them marck, H.M.S. King George V, the flagship from being blown off the deck, but at 2.50 of the Home Fleet, and H.M.S. Rodney p.m. they left the ship. One had to return were approaching the area, but the enemy owing to an engine defect. battleship had too great a lead for them to Unknown to the striking force, H.M.S. get within range of her unless her speed Sheffield had been detached from Force H could be further reduced or she could be to make contact with the Bismarck : the deflected from her course. The only hope signal which passed this information to the seemed to lie in a torpedo attack from the Ark Royal had not been decoded until after Ark Royal. the Swordfish had flown off. As the Sword- It was, however, impossible to range a fish approached their objective, flying striking force until all the reconnaissance air- through the storm, they suddenly sighted craft were back. They approached the ship the Sheffield below them, mistook her for the over a considerable period, first one, then Bismarck, and accordingly dived to the another, out of the windswept sky, making attack. The Sheffield immediately appre- their numbers by Aldis lamp as they came ciated the mistake, went on to high speed, within sight. They had great difficulty in and took avoiding action. Fortunately none landing on. There was a very high sea of the torpedoes hit the ship. One pilot, running, and the rise and fall of the " round recognising the Sheffield after he had down " at the after-end of the flight deck was dropped, made a signal to her, " Sorry for no less than 56 feet. The drizzle and low the kipper." clouds made the deck hard to see, and The incident shows the terrible weather although the carrier was steaming only eight with which the Swordfish had to contend, knots there was a 40-knot wind over the but it entailed their being brought back to deck. The ground crews, buffeted by .the refuel and to reload. Landing conditions storm and lashed by the spray, could scarcely had become even worse than before, and the keep their feet. Some of the Swordfish, Deck Control Officer had to attach a rope to coming in when the stern of the ship was his waist before he could stand, back to the rising and falling too quickly, had to be wind, holding up the " bats." Three air- waved away three times. As each aircraft craft crashed on the flight deck as they came landed on, the wings had to be folded imme- on, the rising stern smashing their under- diately and the deck parties had to hold it carriages, and the wreckage had to be cleared against the gale until it could be struck away before the others could be taken on. below. The last pair returned with ten There were no casualties to the crews. minutes' petrol left. By 7 p.m. the second striking force had As soon as all the reconnaissance aircraft been ranged. It was led by Lieutenant- were safely in the hangars, the deck was free Commander T. P. Coode, R.N., with Lieu- for the first striking force of fifteen Swordfish tenant E. S. Carver, R.N., as his observer ; to be ranged. Force H was then to the Lieutenant-Conmiander J. A. Stewart- northward of the Bismarck and pursuing a Moore, R.N., was second-in-command and course parallel to her, but every time the Ark leader of the second wave. Leaders and Royal turned into the wind to fly off her air- crews realised the import of their task. craft she inevitably lost station on the enemy They, and they alone, could stop the THE HAZARD THAT BEAT THE BISMARCK 55 Bismarck from reaching the safety of Brest, " with a gallantry and determination which for the Fleet could not overtake her without cannot be praised too highly." their aid. The intensity and accuracy of the Bis- The Ark Royal turned into wind. One marck's fire compelled some of the aircraft may picture. that scene : the fifteen Sword- to turn away before they could drop their fish ranged on the pitching flight deck, each torpedoes, but they went in again with a wing-tip within inches of the next ; the second attack. Sub-Lieutenant (A) A. W. tumultuous roar of the exhausts ; the Duncan Beale, R.N., having lost touch with flurries of spray rattling on the fuselages ; his sub-flight in the cloud, returned to the the ratings at the chocks bracing their bodies Sheffield to obtain the bearing of the enemy, against the drive of the wind ; the leader of then flew back and by himself carried out a the force with his eyes on the Flight Deck resolute attack, from ahead of the Bismarck Officer, alert for the signal ; the Commander in the face of very heavy fire, scoring Flying on the bridge above, timing his a hit with his torpedo amidships on the moment for the lifting of the ship, then port side. waving his green flag ; the chocks being Five aircraft of the striking force were hit. whipped away from the wheels ; the first One flew back with 175 holes in the wings, Swordfish moving forward, roaring along and both the pilot and the gunner wounded. the deck and taking off into the gale ; its But all returned, the last landing on in the fellows being swiftly brought into position gathering dusk at 1 1 p.m., to be followed by and flown oflf in turn ; the full striking force the last shadower half an hour later. in formation over the ship, ready to set off to Such were the difficulties of observation the attack. It was an operation which in that the leader of the striking force reported that storm must have ended in disaster had immediately after the attack that he did not not drill been perfect and had not every think the Bismarck had suffered any damage. man known his task. But as the aircraft returned to the ship and By that time the Sheffield had made con- the observers made their individual reports, tact with the Bismarck. The striking force it became clear that the results were more therefore gained touch with the Sheffield successful than he had supposed, and it was first. Visibility was still bad, with low cloud first established that the Bismarck had been and much rain. The Swordfish did not see hit on the port side, then on the starboard the Bismarck until they were on top of her : quarter. Later still a possible hit on the port shortly before 9 p.m., after nearly two hours' quarter was reported. The damage was flight, they caught a glimpse of her through confirmed by a signal, received at 11 p.m., the clouds. It was very cold and ice was that the ship had made two circles at slow forming on the wings. They circled above speed and was staggering off to the north- her for twenty minutes, manoeuvring for a north-west out of control. position to attack. Every time one of the air- These hits from the Ark Royal's aircraft craft appeared out of a patch of cloud, or put the Bismarck's steering gear out of action moved from one cloud to another, the Bis- and reduced her speed, so that she was marck fired. apparently unable to hold her course with Before they could make the assault the the wind and sea astern. striking force became split up in a thick bank " This was a result," wrote the Comman- of cloud. They then went in to the attack der-in-Chief, " which the Ark Royal and her as best they could, in pairs, threes and fives, aircraft crews had well earned and which or even singly. The Commander-in-Chief ensured my being able to bring the Bismarck stated that the attacks were pressed home to action next morning." 56 ARK ROYAL During the night a flotilla of five destroyers Dorsetshire, which had been ordered to attacked the Bismarck and scored three hits torpedo her at close range, reported that the with torpedoes. For a time she was stopped. Bismarck was sinking. She v/ent down with Then she got under way again, steaming her battle ensign still flying. about eight knots, still capable of heavy and The striking force, which had been so close accurate gunfire. to the Bismarck that some of the crews could At 4.30 a.m. on 27th May the Ark Royal smell the oil and the cordite fumes, returned flew off" a reconnaissance aircraft. The night to the Ark Royal. As they were landing on, was pitch black, the wind over the deck a Heinkel 1 1 1 approached under the cover gusting to 48 knots, and there was still great of low cloud. The ship was in an almost movement on the ship. The carrier reduced defenceless position, for she had turned into speed to six knots and the Swordfish took off", wind and her course could not be altered, rose vertically alongside the bridge, and nor could she use her 4-5 guns. The Renown immediately vanished into the darkness. It and the Sheffield gave her protection, how- drove through the rain, but over the northern ever, and her two after pom-poms also horizon was a great black cloud which opened fire on the Heinkel, v/hich dropped covered the whole area of operations ; the two large and five smaller bombs from 4,000 pilot failed to find the Bismarck and feet, then turned away into cloud with smoke returned for further orders. He was told to pouring from her starboard engine. The search again. Again he failed, but was bombs fell into the sea 400 yards from the successful in the third attempt. ship, and all the Swordfish landed on safely. When dawn came the sky was clearer, the During the operations the Ark Royal had wind had gone to the north-west. Twelve flown off" and landed on sixty-one aircraft, Swordfish, which had been ranged before with three deck crashes but no serious daylight, but had been struck below owing casualties to personnel, contending with to the movement of the ship and the force of weather in which normally no aircraft would " the wind, were flown off", their course being be expected to fly from a carrier. I cannot aided by sighting the destroyer Maori, which speak too highly of the courage and ability was still in visual contact with the Bismarck. shown by the pilots in handling their aircraft, By 8.45 the King George V and the particularly when landing on in such condi- Rodney had closed the enemy. The air tions," wrote Vice-Admiral Somerville in his " striking force reached the scene of action as despatch. It is not only skill that is needed ' the flight deck ' round down . the guns of the Fleet were opening fire. They to come in over flew over the Bismarck at 100 feet. Accord- when on occasions it is known to be rising ing to one of the air-gunners she was then and falling 56 feet." '' so battered that you couldn't distinguish In a message of congratulation to the her shape—she looked like a dark mass of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, the Board " junk floating on the water." of Admiralty stated : There can be no The splashes from the shells made it impos- doubt that had it not been for the gallantry, sible for the aircraft to dive on their target. skill and devotion to duty of the Fleet Air They closed the flagship and watched the Arm in both Victorious and Ark Royal our Bismarck"s end. By nine o'clock she was all object might not have been achieved." but out of control, although her guns were The work for which Force H had been but there was still in action. Soon after ten o'clock she was summoned was accomplished, silenced. She was a wreck, on fire fore and no respite. It turned south at once and the Ark Royal aft, and wallowing heavily. The striking steamed back to Gibraltar. As the garrison force was about to finish her off" when H.M.S. entered harbour on 29th May LAST HOUR OF THE BISMARCK. " So battered that you couldn't distinguish her shape - she looked like a dark mass of junk floating on the water," was how an air-gunner from one of the Ark's reconnaissance aircraft described the German battleship. {Below) Bismarck survivors. •^\- *j^ •»v -m^. 1^ --». if.'^jjSy />t^ '^!?'- V-^' --.-•r TO**, > >^^-^ •OUT TO SEA .^ND INTO THE SKY." The three famous partners of Force H -the battle-cruiser Renown, the Ark Royal, the cruiser Sheffield—ready for action near Gibraltar. ^ THE SPIRIT OF THE ARK 59 hired ever)' boat they could find and came been shot down by a Hurricane. The Fulmar out to cheer her to her berth. Soon the small pilots were gratified by this illusion of their craft were clustering below her as thick as speed. floating wrack, and every rating, soldier and Their last victim was a Cant 506 which airman who could find a foothold afloat stood was sighted above the horizon when three of shouting and waving up at the carrier's decks them were on patrol over the Force. Within to welcome her return. ninety seconds of the fighters receiving the " Some occasions in our profession," order to attack, the " Tally-ho " came back. observed Lord Howe, " will justify, if not Over the wireless the ship's company could require, more hazard to be ventured than can hear the leader of the section giving his direc- " "— be systematically defended by experience." tions : Keep out a bit " Over to star- " Such hazard had to be ventured in order to board —" Now's your chance," and so on stop the Bismarck. The airmen of the Ark during the 60-mile chase which followed. had responded to the call made upon them The Italian made for the African coast to take and the result had justified the risk. refuge over neutral French soil ; before he could reach it the leading Fulmar attacked him from astern. He turned out to sea, but the second Fulmar met him head on. This turned him back to the coast again, when the third Fulmar dived and shot him down. A cheer went up as the ship's company heard " the final message : Whoopee—we've got " 10. The Spirit of the Ark the blighter ! Well might the Flag Officer, Force H, on hearing a criticism that landing operations in the Ark Royal might have been more expeditious, make the signal, " Ark may be slow at landing on, but she is quick at bump- 13th— 14th NOVEMBER 1941 ing off"." Then the day came when the Ark Royal was to operate her aircraft for the laist time. On the afternoon of 13th November she was steering towards Gibraltar in company After the ark royal's return to with the Malaya, Argus, Hermione and Gibraltar she resumed her operations with seven destroyers. The weather was fair, and Force H in the Mediterranean. She was at 3.25, when the Force was 30 miles from almost continuously at sea, carrying out air Gibraltar and within sight of the Rock, reconnaissance and covering convoys. The twelve aircraft were flown off" for training Swordfish made a night bombing attack on exercises and fourteen were waiting to be Alghero aerodrome on the west coast of landed on. Sardinia, obtaining direct hits on hangars At 3.41, when the last of the returning and buildings, and a later raid started exten- Swordfish was about to land on, there was a sive fires in the cork woods of the island, near loud explosion under the bridge of the Ark Tempio. The Fulmars brought down a Royal on the starboard side, plunging the number of Italian shadowers and one Junkers ship into instant darkness below. She 52 transport aircraft. One Italian officer whipped so violently that five aircraft wait- who was taken prisoner believed that he had ing to be struck to the hangars were thrown 6o ARK ROYAL into the air three times. All hands were over to an angle of eighteen degrees, and the immediately piped to action stations. list was increasing. There was no means of The torpedo which caused the explosion knowing how long she would float, and the was fired by a German submarine, although Captain feared she might capsize. If valu- no one on board saw either the submarine's able lives were to be saved he considered it periscope or the torpedo's track. The essential that every man not required to work torpedo, coupled with the speed of the ship the ship should be disembarked at once. He through the water— 18 knots-—caused serious therefore gave orders to bring the ratings up damage below. But only one member of the from their action stations below so that those ship's company was killed. Able Seaman E. whom he required to remain could be Mitchell. separated from those who were no longer Immediately after the explosion the carrier needed. took a list of ten degrees and was over to The destroyer Legion was then called twelve degrees within three minutes. The alongside. By skilful handling Commander Captain's first thought was to stop the ship. R. S. Jessel, R.N., brought her alongside the He gave orders to reverse the engines and to port quarter, taking care to keep her stern midship the helm, but all the telegraphs to clear of the Ark Royal's port propeller, the engine-room were jammed, nor was it which, owing to the list, was visible near the possible to communicate by telephone with surface of the water. He also had to avoid any part of the ship. The broadcaster was the carrier's wireless masts, which were pro- also out of action. The bridge was isolated. jecting horizontally from her side with no It was essential that the way should be power available to raise them. taken off the ship. The Captain therefore In a short time i ,540 officers and men were left the bridge and hastened to the engine- transferred to the Legion. Some jumped on control-room, where he gave the necessary to hammocks in the forecastle, others used orders to bring the ship to rest. He found lines rigged from the ship. The Paymaster- that the starboard engines were out of action, Commander appeared on deck carrying two but that there was no damage to the port or suit-cases containing the ship's money : centre engine-rooms. He gave orders to ;;(^io,ooo in each. flood the port compartments and to pump Few of the hands had time to save any fuel from the starboard to the port tanks in personal property. With leave in sight many the hope of counteracting the steadily in- of them had bought Christmas presents in creasing list. Gibraltar, but had to abandon most of them, He then stationed a chain of ratings to although one Petty Officer had time to snatch establish communication between the engine- up twenty pairs of silk stockings he was taking control-room and the flight deck. Prepara- home for his wife, and distributed them about tions were made for telephones to be rigged his person until his pockets were swollen like to replace this human chain. balloons. There was also a number of The list which the ship had taken made it canaries on board. Since there was no impossible to fly off the aircraft on deck. chance of taking them, their owners opened The twelve which were in the air at the the cages and flew them off" the ship. Nor time of the explosion landed at Gibraltar. were the Ark's cats forgotten. One, an Meantime the destroyers were circling round, enormous ginger tom, was carried aboard the dropping depth-charges. There was a danger destroyer in the arms of a marine. that at any moment a second torpedo might The Legion cast off" at 4.48. Although she hit the ship. had on board nearly ten times her normal By four o'clock the Ark Royal had heeled complement, she continued to carry out an THE ARK IS HIT AT LASl'. Within sight of Gibraltar, to which she was returning, a torpedo from a German submarine struck the Ark. Within 3 minutes she was hsting 12 degrees. Of the 1,541 of her company, only one life was lost. anti-submarine screening patrol for six hours. into action once more. The Laforey was Meanwhile those on board the Ark Royal then cast oflf. A chartered tug arrived about were doing everything in their power to save 7.30 and before long had the ship going the ship. Portable pumps were being placed, ahead at a speed of two knots, although unfor- auxiliary lighting was being found, and the tunately there was a full knot current against extent of the damage was being ascertained. her. The centre boiler-room had quickly flooded, The counter-flooding had considerably and water had even reached the starboard reduced the list. There seemed every hope engine-room. But the most serious damage of getting steam on the port shaft. Everyone of all was the loss of feed water, and, owing on board felt confident that before long the to this loss, all power failed and conditions ship would be entering Gibraltar harbour. became steadily worse. The destroyer Their hopes were raised still higher by the Laforey was therefore signalled to come appearance of the Admiralty tug St. Day, alongside, to provide water and enough elec- which made fast on the port side to help the trical power for the pumps and some of the towing. lights. Then, at 2.15, on the morning of the 14th, Gradually steam was raised again. The a fire broke out in the port boiler-room, dynamos and steering engine were brought which destroyed all hope of raising steam for 62 ARK ROYAL another two hours. All salvage work came their time. The Captain was the last to to a standstill, the dynamos stopped, the leave. The ratings gave him three cheers as lights below decks went out again, and the he slid down a rope into the tug. By that steering engine became useless. The list was time—4.30 a.m.—the list was thirty-five now twenty degrees. It was becoming impos- degrees, and the lower hangar deck on the sible to stand on the decks. starboard side was under water. The Laforey was again brought alongside, As the Laforey was on the point of casting outside the St. Day, and within fourteen oflT, the Flag Officer, Force H, arrived along- minutes electric power was available for the side in a motor-launch : he had returned to pumps and some of the lighting. But the Gibraltar in the Malaya and had then trans- pumps seemed now to have little influence ferred to the destroyer Sikh to see if he could on the list, which increased ominously. The aid the Ark Royal. Laforey and the St. Day were told to go From the bridge of the Laforey he and ahead to assist in the tow. In this way the Captain Maund watched the last moments speed was increased to five knots, but of the sinking carrier. For a time she hung Gibraltar was still 25 miles away. over the water at an angle of forty-five By four o'clock the ship had heeled to degrees. Then the island reached the sea twenty-seven degrees. Her people had done and the flight deck stood vertically above the all that human resource and courageous surface, like a great table set upon its side. endeavour could do to bring her to port, and At 6.13 a.m. she turned over, remained now they could do little more. For the past bottom upwards for a few minutes, then, half-hour the port boiler-room had been an fourteen hours after she had been torpedoed, inferno, the casings red-hot and the stoke- she disappeared from sight. Before she made hold choked with fumes. The Senior her final plunge, Admiral Somerville took Engineer, Lieutenant-Commander (E) A. G. Captain Maund below. Oliver, R.N., who had been working un- As soon as it was light a sub-flight of the ceasingly, was finally overcome by the fumes Ark Royal's Swordfish flew out from Gibral- and the heat. Two of his men fainted and tar in the expectation of escorting their had to be given artificial respiration. Four carrier back to port. When they reached times the stokers extinguished fires which had the position where she should have been, all broken out. They continued to steam the they saw from the sky was a great dark patch boiler until further efforts were useless, and of oil upon the water. they were ordered up. Others had run the The l6ss of the Ark Royal was announced dynamo in the port and centre engine-rooms in London at one o'clock that afternoon. It for many hours, working without ventilation may be that the news embarrassed the Ger- in a mist of superheated steam. man Ministry of Propaganda, which had Since there was now no hope of saving the claimed the destruction of the carrier over ship every available rope was taken forward two years before. Not until twenty-four and secured inboard, abreast of the St. Day, hours after the sinking did Dr. Goebbels so that the 250 men on board could leave blow the fanfares and proclaim the U-boat's quickly and cross- over the St. Day to the success. It is significant that the German Laforey. announcements quoted the British Admiralty The Ark was then heeling more rapidly. in confirmation. It was only possible to crawl upon the decks. Those who had sailed in the Ark Royal, The ratings on deck were told to slip down and those who had known her, mourned her to the tug and all hands were ordered up from loss. Gibraltar was silent that November below. The men left the ship calmly, taking morning. And as the survivors stood on the THE SPIRIT OF THE ARK 63 quayside they looked forlornly at the berth and cause her to be remembered. The pilots where their carrier had so often lain. The and observers of the Ark, and her air-gunners, sight of its emptiness brought the first sharp had paid that dividend. In the words of the pang of realisation that " the old Ark," as Psalmist, they had flown upon the wings of they had called her, was gone. the wind ; they had made darkness their Perhaps to a landsman the only loss com- secret place ; their pavilions round about parable to the sinking of a ship is the destruc- them had been dark waters and thick clouds " tion of a house which has been dear to him : of the skies ; and they had subdued with many landsmen, and seamen too, have known sling stones." that distress of late. But a great ship is more Those who sailed with them had made than a house : she is a little world of her own. their victories possible. That gallant com- And when she disappears from the face of pany had been close to death many times and the waters it is as though a planet had they had reached the peaks of life. Together vanished from the sky. they had created that indestructible fellow- This time it was true that the Germans had ship which had become the spirit of the Ark. sunk the Ark Royal, yet something of her This is not fanciful, nor is it a little thing. remained which even they could not destroy. That spirit was real, if imponderable, and As the First Lord of the Admiralty said, she more enduring than the ship herself. And had paid a rich dividend. But by herself a those of the Ark will take it with them in ship is nothing. It is her seamen, and in a other ships and other aircraft, out to sea and carrier her airmen too, who make her great into the sky. GALLANT COMPANY 1^' ^"^^^.MW^mS^^ >i^yi •;^v //^ " It is upon the iXavy, under the good providence of God, that " the wealth, safety and strength of the Kingdom do chiefly depend