High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918–1944. She was converted from an ocean liner under construction when the First World War began, and became the world`s first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning, the ship was heavily involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers, various types of arresting gear and the general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft together and in working with the fleet. Argus was too top-heavy as originally built and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the China Station in the late 1920s before she was placed in reserve to save money some time after her return. The ship was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War began and served as a training ship for deck-landing practice until June 1940.