First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell , left Portsmouth aboard the HMS Aircraft Carrier ' HMS Carageous ' and flew from the deck of the ship . He was present at the aerial training exercises of pilots attached to the aircraft carrier . Sir Bolton is the first ' First Lord ' to make a flight from an aircraft carrier . Sir Bolton Eyres Monsell ( centre ) in a Blackburn Dart aboard HMS Courageous landing on the flight deck . The deck hands can be seen ready to grab the wings in order to make the plane steady on the deck . 26 April 1932 .