HMS Ark Royal (91) was a British aircraft carrier from the interwar period and World War II. The keel was laid for this unit in September 1935, the launch took place in April 1937, and the entry into service with the Royal Navy - in December 1938. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 240 m, overall width was approximately 29 m, with a draft of 9.6 meters. The full displacement, on the other hand, was about 28,200 tons, and the maximum speed was up to 30 knots. The aircraft carrier was able to board up to 72 aircraft, but actually operated 50 to 60 aircraft. The secondary armament consisted of, among others: 16 cannons of 114 mm caliber or 32 cannons of 40 mm caliber (the so-called pom-pom).
HMS Ark Royal (91) was built at the Cammell Laird and Company shipyard in Birkenhead, based on a design developed back in 1934 and taking into account the limitations of the Washington Treaty. The presented vessel was undoubtedly a novelty in the Royal Navy on many levels. First of all, it was the first British aircraft carrier whose flight deck was an integral part of the entire ship. From the very beginning, the unit was also designed to carry as many planes as possible, which was also largely successful. On the other hand, it was inferior in this field to, for example, the Japanese Akagi or Kaga units. From the beginning of World War II, HMS Ark Royal (91) was used extensively by the Royal Navy and took part in a large number of naval operations from the beginning of this military conflict. First of all, it took an active part in the operation in Norway in April-June 1940, but also in Operation Catapult (1940) in the Mediterranean. HMS Ark Royal (91) also took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento (November 1940) on a limited basis. From the end of 1940 to the end of 1941, the carrier operated in the Mediterranean basin and most often covered British convoys bound for Malta. The unit was sunk in a torpedo attack by U-81 on November 14, 1941, near the base in Gibraltar. By the way, it can be added that the commander of the unit was accused of neglecting his duties after this fact and he was brought before a military court.
Bismarck was a German battleship, the keel of which was laid in 1936 and launched in February 1939. The battleship entered the rope service in the German Navy (German Kriegsmarine) in August 1940. The ship was 251 meters long, 36 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 53,000 tons. Bismarck's top speed was around 29-30 knots. The main armament was 8 380 mm guns in four twin turrets, and the secondary armament included: 12 150 mm guns or 16 105 mm guns.
The Bismarck was the first ship of the type with the same name - the Bismarck. It was ordered to replace in line the old battleship Hannover, completely obsolete in the 1930s. At the time of launch, Bismarck was the largest German ship and the largest European battleship. It had good armor, and its main or secondary armament was inferior to its counterparts on British ships. He made his maiden voyage in September 1940, when he was ferry to Gdynia, which was to be his home port. Bismarck's combat trail during World War II was very short. Bismarck set out on its first combat voyage on May 19, 1941 - it was supposed to perform cruising operations in the Atlantic and attack primarily Allied convoys. In carrying out this plan, Bismarck, with the accompanying heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, was already crossing the Danish Strait a few days later. On May 24, a battle took place in this strait between the German team and British ships, as a result of which the battlecruiser HMS Hood was sunk and Bismarck itself was badly damaged. After this battle, significant Royal Navy forces - including the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun - were directed against Bismarck, which the German ship tracked down and sent to the bottom on May 27, 1941. It is worth noting that there is a probable hypothesis assuming that the battleship Bismarck was self-sunk by the crew in connection with the damage sustained in combat on May 27, which made it impossible to return to the base on its own.
Prinz Eugen was a German heavy cruiser, the keel of which was laid in 1936 and launched in August 1938. The cruiser entered the rope service of the German Navy (German Kriegsmarine) in August 1940. The ship was 213 meters long, 21.8 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 19,600 tons. Prinz Eugen's top speed was around 33-34 knots. The main armament was 8 203 mm guns in four twin turrets, and the secondary armament included: 12 105 mm guns or 17 40 mm cannons.
Prinz Eugen was the third Admiral Hipper class warship. Cruisers of this type were ordered in order to significantly strengthen the Kriegsmarine's heavy forces. They emphasized the greatest possible autonomy, and the artillery armament was rather typical of heavy cruisers of the late 1930s. Prinz Eugen's combat career began with her participation in Operation Rheinubung with the battleship Bismarck in May 1941, which led to the sinking of the British battleship HMS Hood and the German battleship. Prinz Eugen, on the other hand, suffered serious damage and was forced to return to the port of Brest. There, in July of the same year, it was damaged in an air raid conducted by the British RAF. In February 1942, together with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, she was ferry from Berest to Kiel (Operation Cerberus). In the years 1942-1943, it served primarily in the Baltic Sea as a school unit, and in 1944 it was transferred to Finland. Later, in 1944-1945, he supported the operations of German land forces over the Baltic Sea, especially in Courland and East Prussia. In May 1945, it was handed over to the British, and later it ended up in the hands of the Americans, who used it for nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
HMS Hood was a British battlecruiser, the keel of which was laid in 1916, launched in April 1918, and entered service with the Royal Navy in May 1920. The total length of the ship was 262 m, width 32 m, and her full displacement in 1941 - 48,400 tons. HMS Hood's top speed was around 28-32 knots. The main armament at the outbreak of World War II was eight 381 mm guns in four twin turrets. The secondary armament consists of 14 102 mm guns, 24 40 mm cannons and 4 533 mm torpedo tubes.
HMS Hood was the only Admiral class ship to enter service with the Royal Navy. It was also the only line cruiser put into service after the end of World War I. What's more - throughout the interwar period it was the largest ship in the world, which was specially negotiated by British diplomats during the Washington Conference in 1921-1922. Despite her great size, HMS Hood had at the time of launching similar artillery armament as other line ships in the Royal Navy. However, it had much weaker armor, which was to be compensated for by considerable speed - which actually happened in the 1920s. However, at the outbreak of World War II, the German, Italian, and Japanese battleships were at least as fast as HMS Hood, but had much better armor. HMS Hood was built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank. From the moment she entered service, she was part of the British Atlantic Fleet, quickly becoming a kind of showcase of the Royal Navy, as the largest ship in the world. In the period from 1920 to 1939, he made numerous representative and occasional cruises - e.g. in the years 1924-1925 he made a cruise around the world. At the outbreak of World War II, he served in the North Atlantic, and in 1940 he was ferry to Gibraltar and took part in Operation Catapult, i.e. the destruction of the French navy at the base in Mers-el-Kebir. In May 1941, he was sent, with the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, against the German battleship Bismarck. During the clash with him in the Danish Strait, he was sunk on May 24, 1941.
HMS Suffolk (55) was a British heavy cruiser of the Second World War. The keel was laid for this unit in 1924, the launch took place in February 1926, and the entry into service with the Royal Navy - in 1928. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 190 meters, total width 20.8 meters, and full displacement - about 13,600 tons. The maximum speed was around 32 knots. The deck armament at the time of launching included: 8 203 mm guns, 8 102 mm guns and 8 40 mm cannons. Until 1943, the unit could operate three seaplanes.
HMS Suffolk (55) was one of the County-class British heavy cruisers. Units of this type were built in accordance with the provisions of the Washington Treaty of 1922, but had good main armament, good armor and good top speed. They largely replaced the cruisers from World War I in the Royal Navy. One of the ships of this class, HMS Suffolk, was built at the Portsmouth shipyard in Great Britain. The ship began its combat career in World War II by patrolling the Danish Straits in 1939. A year later, he took part in an operation in Norway, and in May 1941 he took part in the tracing and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. Later, until the end of 1942, he served in the cover of Arctic convoys heading to the USSR. From December 1942 to April 1943, the unit underwent modernization, and after that it was sent to the Far East. In 1946, HMS Suffolk was placed in reserve and shortly afterwards sold for scrap.
HMS Cossack (F03) was a British destroyer from the interwar period and World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in 1936, and the launch took place in June 1937. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 115 meters and a width of 11.13 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 2,500 tons, and the maximum speed was approx. 36 knots. The armament at the time of launching consisted of, among other things, four twin 120 mm guns, a 40 mm gun and a quadruple 533 mm torpedo tube.
HMS Cossack was one of the Tribal-class destroyers (another name: Afridi-class). These types of ships were initially designed as light cruisers and only later developed as destroyers. Units of this type were characterized by a relatively high displacement, they also emphasized strong artillery at the expense of - for example - limited torpedo armament. They were also characterized by good maximum speed and high seaworthiness. Later they also received ASDICs, which significantly increased their anti-submarine anti-submarine (ZOP) capabilities. They are quite commonly considered successful units with high combat value. HMS Cossack during World War II took part in the so-called the Altmark incident in the waters of Norway, and later - in April 1940 - fought in the Narvik area. In May, HMS Cossack participated in the tracking down and sinking of the battleship Bismarck. The destroyer was sunk by the German submarine U-563 on October 23, 1941 during the cover of the convoy sailing from Gibraltar to Great Britain.