Audacious-class aircraft carrier

HMS Eagle
Class overview
Name	Audacious class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Implacable class
Succeeded by	Malta class (cancelled) CVA-01 (cancelled) Invincible class
Planned	4
Completed	2
Cancelled	2
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	36,800 tons (as built)
Length	804 ft (245 m)
Beam	Ark Royal 112 ft (34 m) (as built) Eagle 135 ft (41 m)
Draught	33 ft (10 m)
Propulsion	8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers in 4 boiler rooms 4 sets of Parsons geared turbines, 4 shafts Power: 152,000 shp (113,000 kW)
Speed	Eagle 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) Ark Royal 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Range	Eagle 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) Ark Royal 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Armament	Eagle (As built:) 16 × 4.5 inch guns (8 × 2) 61 × 40 mm guns (8 × 6, 2 × 2, 9 × 1) Post-1964 re-fit: 8 × 4.5 inch guns (4 × 2) 6 × Seacat SAM missile launchers Ark Royal (As built:) 16 × 4.5 inch guns (8 × 2) 52 × 40 mm (6 × 6, 2 × 2, 12 × 1) 1969 refit: none
Armour	Eagle Waterline belt: 4 in (100 mm) Armoured flight deck: 1–4 in (25–102 mm) Hangar side: 1 in (25 mm) Hangar deck: 1 in (25 mm)
Aircraft carried	Eagle (As built:) 60 Post-1964: 45 Ark Royal (As built:) 50 38 after 1967-1970 refit

The Audacious-class aircraft carriers were a class of aircraft carriers proposed by the British government in the 1930s - 1940s and completed after the Second World War. The two ships built were heavily modified and diverged over their service lives. They were in operation from 1951 until 1979.