The aircraft carrier Ark Royal was the third vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched at the Birkenhead shipyard of Cammel Laird on the 13th April 1937. In September 1939, Ark Royal was serving with the Home Fleet and was almost immediately in action against U-boats and German aircraft, one of which claimed to have sunk her. In October, she and Renown proceeded to the South Atlantic, to take part in the hunt for the Graf Spee. During the Norwegian campaign, Ark Royal's aircraft were very active in support of the ground forces and the Skuas with which she was then equipped scored many victories, as the campaign closed in June 1940 the Skuas took part in a gallant but unsuccessful attack upon the Scharnhorst.