The 1940s HMS Illustrious (R87) sailing in the Indian Ocean in 1944. 


HMS Illustrious

Original caption: "HMS Ark Royal was torpedoed on 13 November 1941 by the German submarine U-81 and sank the following day. Her sinking was the subject of several inquiries; investigators were keen to know how the carrier was lost, given there were efforts to save the ship and tow her to the naval base at Gibraltar. They found that several design flaws contributed to the loss, which were rectified in new British carriers. Her wreck was discovered by a BBC crew in December 2002, approximately 30 nautical miles (56 km) from Gibraltar."

The end of the Ark Royal

Bombs falling astern of HMS ARK ROYAL during an attack by Italian aircraft during the Battle of Cape Spartivento (photograph taken from the cruiser HMS SHEFFIELD). 