HMS Ark Royal | Driven to destruction (Part 1 of 2)

Commissioned in November 1938, HMS Ark Royal was the most prominent British aircraft carrier of its time.
At the outbreak of the war in September 1939, Ark Royal was assigned to the Home Fleet, primarily operating in the North Atlantic and the North Sea. Its early roles involved escorting convoys and conducting patrols to counter the threat posed by German battlecruisers and U-boats.
In April 1940, Ark Royal played a central role in the Norwegian Campaign. Its aircraft conducted reconnaissance missions and attacked German forces on the ground and in harbour. However, the carrier sustained several near misses from German bombs during this campaign.
The Ark Royal was then transferred to form the core of Force H at Gibraltar, initiating a long-standing partnership with the battlecruiser HMS Renown and cruiser HMS Sheffield. These were heavily involved in various operations in the Mediterranean Sea, including supporting the defence of Malta and providing air cover during raids on Italian ports.
The hard-worked carrier played a crucial role in the early years of the war, and demonstrated the effectiveness of naval aviation. Its crew also initiated the skill of fighter direction - using radar to guide its fighters into optimal positions to intercept incoming raids.
But the ship was driven hard. The loss of HMS Glorious and HMS Courageous meant Ark Royal was the only modern fleet carrier available to the fleet before the arrival of HMS Illustrious. And this meant she simply could not be spared for scheduled refits or repairs to the shock damage from the many near misses she sustained.
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