The [[Royal Navy]] aircraft carrier HMS [i]Ark Royal[/i] (pennant number 91), as depicted in [[Kantai Collection]].
Character design by [[Konishi (koconatu)]], voiced by [[Uchida Shuu]].

h4. Personality
Similar to [[warspite (kancolle)|Warspite]], she has a prim and proper bearing, and mixes significant amounts of (generally well-spoken) English into her Japanese, although compared to Warspite, she has a more diligent personality, compared to Warspite's "regal bearing". Her official lines depict her having an explicit fear of torpedoes (due to her history, below), getting jumpy upon the sight of any submarine.  She also has lines explicitly mentioning [[Bismarck (kancolle)|]], whom she 'tries to get along with' in a manner like a hunter chasing prey, even launching planes after her. Such planes seems to be always [[fairey swordfish|Fairey Swordfishes]] which she is very fond of and carries around with her every time she has the chance.

h4. Appearance
Ark Royal has [[short_hair|short]] [[red hair]] in a [[bob cut]] with [[blunt bangs]] and wears a [[tiara]]-like [[hairband]]. She has [[blue_eyes|blue]], [[tsurime]]-style eyes. She wears a white [[corset]] that forms an [[overskirt]] with a white [[jacket]] tied on with a [[red ribbon]] only covering the shoulders and [[long_sleeves|the length of the arms]], creating a [[cleavage cutout]].  On her hands, she wears brown [[fingerless gloves]].  She also wears [[white shorts]] and [[white_legwear|white]] [[pantyhose]].

Her [[machinery|rigging]] involves an overskirt-like armored shell attached at her hips, which has a ship's bridge on her back, and small twin-[[cannon]] AA [[turret|turrets]] at the sides.  She carries a [[quiver]] to the right of her hip, and wields a [[composite bow]] with a distinct [[flight deck]] motif in her left hand. She also wears armored [[platform footwear|platform]] [[shoes]] [[hull shoes|with a keel-like heel]].

h4. History
The historic HMS [i]Ark Royal[/i] was built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, which significantly limited her displacement, and was the reason she was not built an armored aircraft carrier as subsequent British carriers were.  

HMS [i]Ark Royal[/i] was originally assigned to "hunter-killer" groups, focused upon hunting down and destroying German U-boats that were wreaking havoc upon Allied shipping across the Atlantic. Following the French surrender, [i]Ark Royal[/i] was part of the group that went to negotiate the surrender of the French battleships, and when the French admiralty refused, initiated attacks against the French battleships, incapacitating the [i]Dunkerque[/i], although the [i]Strasbourg[/i] escaped.  

In perhaps her most famous engagement, during May of 1941 [i]Ark Royal[/i] was instrumental in sinking the German battleship [[Bismarck (Kancolle)|]], both in finding her after British battleships lost track of her, and also when one of her Fairey Swordfish crippled the [i]Bismarck[/i], after which it was finished off by multiple Royal Navy battleships. 

[i]Ark Royal[/i] was finally sunk on 13 November 1941 from torpedoes that were launched by German submarine [[U-81 (Azur Lane)|]]. Inquiries were made regarding her sinking, as many attempts were made to save her from her fate. This inquiry concluded that design flaws due to treaty restrictions led to [i]Ark Royal[/i]'s sinking, which were rectified in later carriers built by the Royal Navy.

h4. See also
* [[Ark Royal (Azur Lane)]]
** [[Ark Royal (META) (Azur Lane)]]
* [[Ark Royal (Warship Girls R)]]
* [[Ark Royal (Blue Oath)]]

h4. External links
* "Wikipedia: HMS [i]Ark Royal[/i]":[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ark_Royal_(91)]
アーク・ロイヤル アーク・ロイヤル(艦隊これくしょん) アーク・ロイヤル(艦これ) アークロイヤル(艦隊これくしょん) アークロイヤル アークロイヤル(艦これ) 皇家方舟(舰队收藏)