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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1533.PDF
648 FLIGHT Ratings stand by as Capt. Cambell welcomes visitors to "Ark Royal." Although intended primarily for entertainment, the ship's private TV system could be used to speed aircrew briefing. ATOMIC-AGE CARRIER A Visit to H.M.S. "Ark Royal" : Ultra-modern Equipment Above and Below SUBJECT of the photographs on these pages, H.M.S. ArkRoyal is the Royal Navy's latest and greatest aircraft carrier.Her overall length of 808ft 3in is 4ift more than that of her "small sister" H.M.S. Eagle, and she has a displacement of36,800 tons. But mere size and weight tell only half the story because, ultimately, a carrier's worth is measured by the spirit andskill of those who man her, and by the quality of her aircraft. One has only to step aboard Ark Royal to know that her com-plement of 2,200 officers and ratings disagree violently with the chairborne strategists who condemn carriers as obsolete andineffective in an age of nuclear bombs and guided weapons. They are very conscious of the fighting tradition they have inherited,and the battle honours of three previous Ark Royals are displayed on the flight deck and quarter-deck. They are also immenselyproud of their own ship, which is the first carrier in service that has been built to fight an atomic war. Her mod. con. are not restricted to the externally apparent5i-degree angled deck, two steam catapults, mirror landing aids and side lift. In one respect at least, she appears to be nearly 30years ahead of her time, for Captain D. R. F. Cambell, R.N., welcomed a party of journalists aboard his ship by television, inthe manner of "Big Brother" in George Orwell's prophecy of life in 1984! No mere stunt, the Ark's closed-circuit TV system was obtainedby "private enterprise" so that films and live entertainment could be relayed simultaneously to the crew in messes dispersed Helicopter view of the stern of "Ark Royal," with Sea Hawks, Skyraiders and Gannets ranged on the rear of her flight deck.
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