HMS Ark Royal sinks...

Item # 716352

Currently Unavailable. Contact us if you would like to be placed on a want list or to be notified if a similar item is available.

November 14, 1941

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, Nov. 14, 1941

* HMS Ark Royal sunk by torpedo
* Royal Navy aircraft carrier
* German U-81 boat submarine attack

The front page has a single-column headline: "AIRCRAFT CARRIER ARK ROYAL SUNK BY SUBMARINE IN MEDITERRANEAN", with multiple subheads and a large photo. Nice for display. The article continues on page 4 and includes another related photo. This is a first report coverage on the sinking of the HMS Ark Royal by a German U-boat during World War II.
Complete with 56 pages, light toning and minor wear at the margins, a few non-archival mends in the margins, some small binding holes along the spine, small library stamp in the masthead, generally nice.

AI notes: On 13 November 1941, the German U-boat U-81, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger, successfully torpedoed the British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal off the coast of Gibraltar as it was returning from a mission to deliver aircraft to Malta. Struck on the starboard side by a single torpedo, the carrier immediately began taking on water and lost all electrical power, severely hampering damage control efforts. Despite her crew's determined attempts to save the vessel, the flooding could not be contained, and Ark Royal eventually capsized and sank the following day, 30 miles from Gibraltar. Remarkably, out of the more than 1,500 crew aboard, only one sailor lost his life, a testament to the ship's evacuation procedures. The sinking was a morale boost for the German Navy and a blow to the Royal Navy, which had relied heavily on Ark Royal’s air capabilities in the Mediterranean. The success cemented U-81’s reputation, and Guggenberger was later awarded the Knight's Cross for his role in the attack.