On 19 April 1941 Maund succeeded Captain Cedric Holland in command of the aircraft carrier HMS "Ark Royal", taking part in the operation to sink the battleship "Bismarck", for which he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 14 October 1941; he also sailed with three Malta Convoys, receiving a second Mention in Despatches on 6 January 1942 for his part in Operation Halberd. On 13 November 1941 "Ark Royal" was hit by a torpedo from ; she eventually broke in two and sank the next morning. Following the sinking, a Board of Inquiry was established to investigate the loss. Based on its findings, Maund was court-martialled for negligence in February 1942. He was found guilty on two counts of negligence: one of failing to ensure that properly constituted damage control parties had remained on board after the general evacuation, and one of failing to ensure the ship was in a sufficient state of readiness to deal with possible damage. The board tempered their judgement with an acknowledgement that a high standard was being expected of Maund, and that he was primarily concerned with the welfare of his crew.