Ark (G1)
The Ark is the name given to the Autobot Spaceship that, in most versions of the Generation 1 story, originally carried Optimus Prime and Megatron's troops to Earth.
The Ark is a Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor. It has 5 Decks and houses a full crew compliment of 300 Transformers. (Although it can be flown by only a handful if necessary.) Its environment is fully-automated and self-sufficiant.
It is armed with 16 particle-combustion canons (port), 16 laser emitters (starboard), a primary starfield missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery.
G1 Cartoon Continuity
The Autobot ship in the G1 cartoon is never actually named. Fans have generally called it the Ark however, borrowing the name from it's Comic counterpart.
The Cartoon version of the ship tends to have a more rounded ovoid look to it and has a main computer designated Teletraan 1.
In the Cartoon the Ark crashes into a volcano in a desert are most resembling the American southwest. There it rests until a volcanic erruption four million years later reactivates it and its inhabitants. From that point (1984 AD) on the Ark serves as the Autobots base of operations until the construction of Autobot City sometime before 2005 AD.
Marvel Comic Continuity
The Comic version of the ship tends to have a more squared-off look to it and has a main computer designated Auntie.
In the Comic the Ark crashes into a volcano named Mt. Saint Hillary a small distance outside of Portland, Oregon.
