Royal line of battle arks

Press, 11 December 1976, Page 15

Royal line of battle arks

The Four Ark Royals. By Michael Apps. William Kimber, through Whitcoulls. 256 pp. $12.30. (Reviewed by Ted Glasgow) The Royal Navy has had four ships named Ark Royal and of these the third was the best known. She it was that fought so valorously in the early stages of the Second World War, and was “sunk” several times by the Germans before sinking near Gibraltar after a torpedo attack. The first Ark Royal helped to scatter the Spanish Armada, the second was a seaplane carrier in the First World War and survived, in various guises, until 1950. The fourth Ark Royal, unless the situation has changed since this book was written earlier this year, is the only survivor of the Royal Navy’s attack carrier fleet: a mighty ship launched in 1950, recommissioned in 1970 after a three-year refit at a cost of £32 million. In telling the story of the Ark Royals Lieutenant-Commander Apps has perforce had to cover a lot of ground that lias been covered many times before; for example the dispersal of the Armada, the Dardanelles campaign, actions off the Norwegian coast, the Oran affair with the French fleet, the Malta convoys and the pursuit and destruction of the Bismarck. He escapes a charge of being tedious because (with

the exception of the first Ark Royal) he examines these actions from a different angle, that of the Fleet Air Arm His grammar and syntax are not bevond reproach, but generally his style of writing is interesting and pleasant enough. Commander Apps demonstrates the extraordinary courage and devotion to duty of the early pilots and observe) s of the Fleet Air Ann. Their aircraft were clumsy and slow, and already obsolescent at the outbreak of the Second World War. Frequently they had to fly in appalling weather, dangerous enough in itself without the added risk of enemy aircraft. Many of these missions must have been regarded as forlorn hopes, yet the results were often surprising The enterprise, skill and courage of these men did not always bring the success they deserved, but they did spell out the message that sea-borne aircraft were going to become a dominant influence in warfare. There are several pages of black and white photographs and a useful index. Appendices give details of the squadrons and aircraft embarked by the carriers and summaries of the -hips’ service. Those who have served in the Fleet Air Arm or the Royal Navy Mill read this book with pleasure and nostalgia, and the general reader will find plenty of excitement and interest.