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HMS Ark Royal (R09) Audacious-Class 36 Inches Aircraft Carrier Model
HMS Ark Royal (R09) Audacious-Class 36 Inches Aircraft Carrier Model
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HMS Ark Royal (R09) was the fourth aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy to bear the name and the last of the Audacious-class carriers. Launched in 1950 and commissioned in 1955, she served during the Cold War era as Britain's flagship carrier, providing a platform for fixed-wing naval aviation. Originally designed for propeller-driven aircraft, HMS Ark Royal (R09) was heavily modified to operate jet aircraft, including the Blackburn Buccaneer and Phantom fighters. She featured an angled flight deck, steam catapults, and advanced arrestor gear, making her one of the most capable carriers in the Royal Navy at the time. Ark Royal (R09) participated in NATO exercises, power projection missions, and Cold War deterrence patrols. Due to rising maintenance costs and defense cuts, HMS Ark Royal (R09) was decommissioned in 1979. Her retirement marked the end of an era for conventional British aircraft carriers and paved the way for a shift toward smaller, helicopter-based vessels in the following decades.
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