title: Timeline of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
text: # Timeline of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
  
  The following is a timeline of fleet aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The first British aircraft carrier was HMS Argus, a converted liner hull.
  
  In addition, during the Second World War, the Royal Navy operated flights of aircraft off Merchant aircraft carriers.
  
  ## Timeline
  
  In general, labels for ships of a single class are aligned vertically with the topmost ship in a column carrying the class name.
  
  In an attempt to show the full timeline of the actual existence of each ship, the final dates on each bar may variously be the date struck, sold, scrapped, scuttled, sunk as a reef, etc., as appropriate to show the last time it existed as a floating object.
  
  