English ship Ark Royal (1587)

The Ark Royal, engraving by Claes Jansz. Visscher
History
England
Name	Ark Raleigh
Ordered	1586
Launched	1587
Commissioned	1587
Renamed	Ark Royal, 1587 Anne Royal, 1608
Fate	Sunk in April 1636, raised and broken up in 1638[1]
Notes	Participated in: Spanish Armada
General characteristics as built
Tons burthen	555 bm
Complement	268 sailors, 32 gunners, 100 soldiers
Armament	1599 – 55 guns: 4 × 60-pounders 4 × 30-pounders 12 × 18-pounders 12 × 9-pounders 6 × 6-pounders 17 × small guns
General characteristics after 1608 rebuild[1]
Class and type	42-gun royal ship
Tons burthen	694 bm
Length	103 ft (31 m) (keel)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Depth of hold	16 ft (4.9 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	42 guns of various weights of shot

Ark Royal^{[Note 1]} was an English galleon, originally ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh and later purchased by the crown for service in the Tudor navy. She was used as the English flagship in a number of engagements, including the battles that resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and had a long career spanning over 50 years. Her fame led to a number of later warships of the Royal Navy being named Ark Royal in her honour, including a number of flagships of the fleet.

Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).