On 14th November 1941 HMS Ark Royal, Britain’s first modern fleet carrier, sank after a torpedo attack by the German submarine U-81. The following year, acclaimed war correspondent Sir Herbert Russell explained why this had so much impact on members of the public:
“She was the first ship of an entirely new type within her category and, because of her freak-like appearance, she attracted a great deal of attention from the camera men of the Press…(and) had not long to wait after the outbreak of hostilities before receiving the greatest publicity stunt…in all naval history. This was when the German Propaganda Ministry sank her. The ludicrous repetition of this lie became a joke which gained vastly in its appeal as the feats of the Ark Royal were recorded.”[1]
In his Official History, Stephen Roskill points out how important the loss was to the Navy too:
“She sank at 6.13 a.m. on the 14th. Of November, only twenty-five miles from Gibraltar. Only one man of her company perished”.
“The loss of this splendid ship, so often attacked and so repeatedly claimed sunk by the enemy, to only one torpedo hit was, of course, the cause of great disappointment and the subject of searching inquiry. The general conclusions were that the list taken by an abandoned ship may appear more dangerous than it is, and that correction of a list by admitting sea water to compartments on the other side should be undertaken as quickly as possible. But for a fire in the post boiler room, which was caused by the flooding of the funnel uptake resulting from the list of the ship, the Ark Royal would probably have been saved. But her loss, whether avoidable or not, was a grievous blow, especially as it came at a time when Admiral Cunningham was without an aircraft carrier. For the Illustrious and Formidable were both repairing battle damage in the United States, and the new aircraft carrier Indomitable had been damaged by accidental grounding off Kingston, Jamaica, on the 3rd. of November while still working up her ship’s company.”[2]
The ‘searching inquiry’ included a Board of Enquiry and Court Martial of the Ark Royal’s captain, Loben E.H. Maund, C.B.E., R.N., but also a Bucknill Committee enquiry, whose purpose was to quickly learn the lessons needed to avoid future catastrophes. The following extract is from the report of that enquiry, which is reproduced in full in Ben Jones’ NRS Vol. 159, The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War, Volume I, 1939-1941.[3]
Report by Second Bucknill Committee[4] [ADM 1/11800] 25 June 1942Loss of HMS Ark Royal, 13–14 November 1941INTRODUCTION …
DOCUMENTS AND WITNESSES.
TYPE OF TORPEDO.
We think that there is not sufficient evidence to prove conclusively whether it was a contact torpedo or a non-contact torpedo just under the turn of the bilge. For reasons which are set out hereafter in this report, our conclusion is that it was not a non-contact torpedo exploding under the flat of the bottom. Without coming to any definite decision as to whether the damage was done by a contact or non-contact torpedo near the turn of the bilge, we think it very probable that it was a contact torpedo for the following reasons.
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[1] Russel, Herbert with Pursey, H., The Story of a Famous Ship: Ark Royal (London: John Lane the Bodley Head, 1942), pp.81-82.
[2] Stephen W. Roskill, The War at Sea 1939-1945: Volume 1: The Defensive (London: HMSO, 1954), pp. 533-534.
[3] Ben Jones ed., NRS Vol. 159, The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War, Volume I, 1939-1941 (Farnham: Ashgate for NRS, 2012)
[4] Hon Mr Justice A. T. Bucknill (Chairman), Adm T. H. Binney (who succeeded VA W. F. Wake-Walker), Sir M. E. Denny and Mr J. H. James (Sec).
Hallo, ich glaube, das es sich um einen Torpedo mit Aufschlagzündung gehandelt hat, nachdem die deutsche Kriegsmarine mit Magnet Gefechtsköpfen sehr schlechte Erfahrungen 1940 (Norwegen) gemacht hatte. Als ich von der Versenkung der Arc Royal durch nur einen lustigen Torpedo las, konnte
ich es nicht glauben. Damals war die Übersetzung im Internet noch kaum möglich. Aus diesem Grund hatte ich mich um die Versenkung der Arc Royal nicht gekümmert. Ich war strickt der Meinung, daß es sich nur um einen Übersetzungsfehler oder redaktionellen Fehler handeln könnte, der fahrlässig weiterverbreitet wurde. Leider gibt es im Internet keinen Querschnitt der Arc Royal mit allen Daten. Vom Schlachtschiff Scharnhorst gibt es mehrere Abbildungen mit allen relevanten Daten.
Es gab mehrere Untersuchungen des Unterganges der Arc Royal in England. Warum wurden die Bauwerft oder der/die Konstrukteur/e nicht vernommen? Mit freundlichen Grüßen Axel Schultz
A quick translation of the above:
Hello, I believe it was an impact-detonated torpedo, given the German Navy’s very bad experiences with magnetic warheads in 1940 (Norway). When I read about the sinking of the Arc Royal by just one torpedo, I couldn’t believe it. Back then, online translation was practically impossible. For this reason, I hadn’t bothered to look into the sinking of the Arc Royal. I was firmly convinced it could only be a translation or editorial error that had been carelessly disseminated. Unfortunately, there isn’t a cross-section of the Arc Royal with all the data available online. There are several images of the battleship Scharnhorst with all the relevant data. There have been several investigations into the sinking of the Arc Royal in England. Why weren’t the shipyard or the designer(s) questioned? Sincerely, Axel Schultz