HMS Acheron (H45)

Last updated

HMS Acheron (A-class destroyer).jpg
HMS Acheron
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Acheron
Namesake Acheron, a river in Greek mythology
Ordered29 May 1928
Builder John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, Hampshire
Laid down29 October 1928
Launched18 March 1930
Commissioned13 October 1931
Motto"Post tenebras lux" (After darkness light)
FateSunk, 17 December 1940 after hitting a mine
BadgeOn a Field Black, barry wavy of 4 Silver.
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type A-class destroyer
Displacement
Length323 ft (98 m) (o/a)
Beam32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Draught12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range4,800  nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement134; 140 (1940)
Armament

HMS Acheron was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before becoming an early war loss when she sank after hitting a mine off the Isle of Wight on 17 December 1940. The wreck site is designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

Contents

Design

The 1927 construction programme for the Royal Navy included orders for a destroyer leader (Codrington) and eight destroyers of the A-class, the first class of destroyers to be built for the Royal Navy since the end of the First World War, and a development of the prototype destroyers Amazon and Ambuscade. [1] [2] John I. Thornycroft & Company's destroyer, Acheron, was to have experimental high pressure machinery. [3]

Acheron was 323 ft (98.45 m) long overall, 320 ft (97.54 m) at the waterline and 312 ft (95.10 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) and a mean draught of 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m). Displacement was 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) standard and 1,773 long tons (1,801 t) full load. [4] Three Thornycroft three-drum boilers fed steam at 500 psi (3,400 kPa) and 750 °F (399 °C; 672 K) to Parsons geared steam turbine, which drove two propeller shafts. [3] [5] The machinery was rated at 34,000 shp (25,000 kW), giving a speed of 35.25 kn (40.56 mph; 65.28 km/h). [4] 345 t of oil was carried, giving a range of 4,080 nmi (4,700 mi; 7,560 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h). [6]

As built, Acheron had a main gun armament of four QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns in single mounts, in two superfiring pairs in front of the bridge and aft of the superstructure. These guns could only elevate to 30 degrees and so were only useful for surface fire. [7] Anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 40-millimetre (1.6 in) QF 2-pounder Mk II 'pom-pom' autocannons, backed up by four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns. [6] The ship was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. [4] The A-class were fitted with the Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep minesweeping equipment to allow sweeping ahead of the fleet at high speeds, which meant that the anti-submarine outfit was reduced, [8] with three depth charge racks and six depth charges, [9] [10] The A-class destroyers were given space for an ASDIC system, but it was not initially fitted. [11] The ship had a crew of 138 officers and other ranks. [4] [6]

Construction and commissioning

Acheron was ordered on 29 May 1928 from Thornycroft's Woolston, Hampshire yard under the 1927 Naval Estimates. Acheron was laid down on 29 October 1928 and was launched a year later on 18 March 1930, [12] with Katharine, Lady Parsons as sponsor. [13] The destroyer was commissioned on 12 October 1931 for trials and completed the next day. [14] She was the fifth ship named Acheron to serve with the Royal Navy. [15]

Service

Pre-war operations

Acheron suffered from a number of mechanical problems associated with her machinery, which persisted throughout the ship's career. [16] These problems convinced the Admiralty not to continue with experiments with high boiler pressures, with later destroyer classes using conservative steam conditions. [17] Trials of the ship and her machinery continued until June 1932, after which the destroyer underwent modifications. [16] On 17 October 1932, five workmen were overcome by fumes when working in Acheron's engine room when the ship was at Portsmouth dockyard. The men were taken to Royal Hospital Haslar for recovery. [18]

On 19 October 1932, Acheron recommissioned, joining the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla serving with the Mediterranean Fleet. [16] The 3rd Flotilla returned to Britain in 1935, [16] with Acheron undergoing defect repair at Portsmouth. [19] Acheron's crew transferred to the old destroyer Wessex which replaced Acheron in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla while the newer ship was being repaired. Acheron returned to the 3rd Flotilla to replace Wessex when her repairs were complete, again exchanging her crew with Wessex. [16] [20] [21] Acheron's stay in the Mediterranean was short, however, as she returned to British waters in June 1936, undergoing a further series of full power sea trials before undergoing a refit at Portsmouth that lasted from July 1936 to February 1937. [16]

On completion of the refit, Acheron was transferred to second-line duties, replacing Ambuscade as tender to HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy's torpedo school. [22] From June to July 1937, Acheron was fitted with Asdic. [16] On 1 November 1937, Acheron collided with a barge while leaving Portsmouth harbour. The destroyer received a 20 ft (6.1 m) tear above the waterline on her starboard side, and was under repair until 6 December. [16] [23] After repair, Acheron replaced Verity as emergency destroyer at Portsmouth. [24] In March 1938, Acheron again returned to Portsmouth Dockyard for another refit and repairs to her turbines, these lasting until December that year. In January 1939, she replaced Windsor as a gunnery training destroyer with HMS Vernon. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, she was under repair at Portsmouth. [16]

Second World War

On completion of repairs, Acheron joined the 18th Destroyer Flotilla, carrying out local duties around Portsmouth until December 1939 when she underwent further machinery repairs at Portsmouth, which continued until 23 March 1940. The ship then joined the 16th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, based at Scapa Flow. [16] The flotilla was then deployed in the North Western Approaches and the North Sea. After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, Acheron was deployed with the flotilla on convoy defence and fleet screening duties in support of the military landings in Norway.

On 17 April, she and Arrow left Rosyth accompanying the cruisers Galatea, Arethusa, Carlisle and Curacoa, for Operation Sickle, the landing of troops from the 5th Leicestershire and 8th Sherwood Foresters at Åndalsnes and Molde. On arrival on the evening of 18 April, the two destroyers together with Galatea and Arethusa landed their troops at Åndalsnes, with the destroyers going alongside Galatea to disembark their troops, while the other two cruisers landed their troops at Molde. The landings were unopposed, and the force departed early on 19 April. [25] On 24 April, Acheron, together with the destroyers Arrow and Griffin and the cruisers Birmingham, Manchester and York left Rosyth on another trooping and supply run to Åndalsnes, with the six ships carrying nearly 1600 men and 300 tons of stores. They arrived at the Romsdalsfjord on the evening of 26 April, and after finishing disembarkation, the destroyers and York set out for Britain, but encountered a suspicious trawler flying the Netherlands flag when leaving the fjord. When Arrow approached the trawler, which was actually the German Schelswig (Schiff 37), the trawler raised the German ensign and rammed Arrow, before being sunk by Arrow and Birmingham. Arrow was badly damaged by the collision, and Acheron and Griffin were tasked with escorting her back to home. They encountered another German trawler, Schiff 26 (ex-Julius Pickenpack), which was captured by a boarding party from Griffin and taken back to Scapa Flow. [26] [27] From 30 April 1940, Acheron, together with the destroyers Antelope and Beagle was part of the escort for the aircraft carrier Glorious which joined up with the carrier Ark Royal on 1 May to help to cover the evacuation of Allied troops from central Norway (Åndalsnes, Molde and Namsos). [28] [29] [30] Acheron returned to Scapa Flow with the two carriers on 3 May, before departing later that day to reinforce the escort for the evacuation convoy from Namsos. [31]

On 31 May, Acheron, Acasta, Ardent, Highlander and Diana escorted the carriers Glorious and Ark Royal to Norway to cover the final evacuation of British troops from Norway (Operation Alphabet). [32] [33] Acheron, together with Diana and Highlander, remained with Ark Royal after the embarkations had been completed on 8 June, with the carrier and her escort accompanying one of the convoys carrying troops back to Britain. [34] Acheron then resumed her normal duties with the flotilla. She then operated in the English Channel to escort convoys.

On 21 June, as part of an emergency programme to improve the anti-aircraft capabilities of the Royal Navy's destroyers as a result of lessons leaned from the Norwegian campaign, Acheron had her aft bank of torpedo tubes replaced by a 3 in (76 mm) AA gun. [16] [35] Whilst sailing 10 mi (16 km) south off St. Catherine's Point on 20 July, she was attacked by German dive bombers, and was damaged by nine near misses. [16] She began repairs at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 August, but on 24 August she was alongside, with the destroyer Bulldog berthed outside Acheron, when Portsmouth Dockyard came under air attack. Acheron was near missed by three bombs and hit by one bomb that hit her aft section. The bomb caused severe damage to her steering gear, "Y" gun and hull plating. Two of Acheron's crew were killed and another three injured. Bulldog, lying outside Acheron, received minor damage from bomb splinters. [16] [36] The damage received in this attack caused Acheron's repairs to be extended until October, with her "Y" gun being replaced by a mounting from the destroyer Boadicea, which had been damaged in June. [37] In November, Acheron was nominated for service as gunnery training destroyer. [16]

Sinking

Repairs were fully completed by 2 December, and she began post-refit trials. On 17 December, she was sailing off the Isle of Wight. The trial was being conducted at night, in heavy seas and with a strong north-east wind in complete darkness. She was conducting steaming exercises over a measured mile, 8  nmi (9.2 mi; 15 km) west-south-west of St. Catherine's Point. On one of the passes, she struck a mine. The explosion caused major structural damage forward, and her own speed drove her under. She sank within four minutes, taking 196 crewmen and yard workers, who were on board for the trials, to the bottom. There were only 19 survivors. The mine was probably one of those laid by the Luftwaffe along the Channel coast in no apparent pattern.

Her sinking was not made public until 26 December 1940. [38]

The wreck site was designated as a Protected Place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 in 2006.

Notes

  1. ↑ English 1993 , pp. 13–15
  2. ↑ Friedman 2009 , pp. 195, 202
  3. 1 2 Friedman 2009 , p. 202
  4. 1 2 3 4 Whitley 2000 , p. 97
  5. ↑ Whitley 2000 , pp. 97–98
  6. 1 2 3 Lenton 1970 , p. 71
  7. ↑ Hodges & Friedman 1979 , pp. 9, 12
  8. ↑ Hodges & Friedman 1979 , p. 12
  9. ↑ Lenton 1970 , pp. 68–69
  10. ↑ Whitley 2000 , p. 98
  11. ↑ Friedman 2009 , p. 197
  12. ↑ English 1993 , p. 15
  13. ↑ "Launch of H.M.S. Acheron". The Times . No. 45465. 19 March 1930. p. 11.
  14. ↑ English 1993 , pp. 15, 19
  15. ↑ Colledge & Warlow 2006 , p. 2
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 English 1993 , p. 19
  17. ↑ Friedman 2009 , p. 198
  18. ↑ "News in Brief: Overcome by Fumes in a Destroyer". The Times. No. 46266. 17 October 1932. p. 18.
  19. ↑ "The Services: Royal Navy: News in Brief". The Times. No. 47141. 13 August 1935. p. 7.
  20. ↑ "The Services: Royal Navy: Destroyer Relief". The Times. No. 47160. 4 September 1935. p. 18.
  21. ↑ English 2019 , p. 93
  22. ↑ English 1993 , pp. 12, 19
  23. ↑ "News in Brief: Destroyer in Collision". The Times. No. 47831. 2 November 1937. p. 13.
  24. ↑ "The Services: Royal Navy: Destroyers' New Service". The Times. No. 47874. 22 December 1937. p. 3.
  25. ↑ Battle Summary - No. 17, 1951, pp. 81–82.
  26. ↑ Battle Summary - No. 17, 1951, p. 85.
  27. ↑ Rohwer 2005, p. 21.
  28. ↑ Home Fleet Destroyer Command War Diaries: March–September 1940, Tuesday, 30th April 1940.
  29. ↑ Battle Summary - No. 17, 1951, p. 89.
  30. ↑ Hobbs 2013, p. 73.
  31. ↑ Home Fleet Destroyer Command War Diaries: March–September 1940, Friday, 3rd May 1940.
  32. ↑ Home Fleet Destroyer Command War Diaries: March–September 1940, Friday, 31st May 1940.
  33. ↑ Hobbs 2013, pp. 73, 81.
  34. ↑ Battle Summary - No. 17, 1951, pp. 126, 156.
  35. ↑ Friedman 2009, p. 238.
  36. ↑ H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action 1952, p. 145.
  37. ↑ English 1993, pp. 19, 35.
  38. ↑ "Destroyer Lost: H.M.S. Acheron Sunk". The Times. No. 48808. 27 December 1940. p. 4.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Inglefield</i> Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Inglefield was an I-class destroyer leader built for the Royal Navy that served during World War II. She was the navy's last purpose-built flotilla leader. She was named after the 19th century Admiral Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield (1820–1894), and is so far the only warship to carry the name of that seafaring family. In May 1940, her pennant number was changed to I02.

A- and B-class destroyer 1929 class of British destroyers

The A- and B-class destroyers were a group of 18 destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the late 1920s, with two additional ships built for the Royal Canadian Navy. The British ships were divided into two flotillas of eight destroyers, each with a flotilla leader.

HMS <i>Express</i> (H61) E-class british destroyer

HMS Express was an E-class minelaying destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict.

HMS <i>Afridi</i> (F07) British Tribal-class destroyer

HMS Afridi was one of 16 Tribal-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the beginning of Second World War in 1939. Completed in 1938 the ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet where she served as a flotilla leader. Afridi was briefly involved enforcing the arms blockade on the combatants in the Spanish Civil War. The ship returned home shortly after the start of the Second World War and was assigned convoy escort duties. She played an active role in the Norwegian Campaign of April–May 1940, escorting convoys to and from Norway. Afridi was sunk by German dive bombers on 3 May as she was escorting the evacuation convoy after the failure of the Namsos Campaign.

HMS <i>Antelope</i> (H36) A-class destroyer

HMS Antelope was a British A-class destroyer, which was completed for the Royal Navy in 1930. Antelope served throughout the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of three enemy submarines and in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa.

HMS <i>Mohawk</i> (F31) British Tribal-class destroyer

HMS Mohawk was one of 16 Tribal-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the beginning of Second World War in 1939. Completed in 1938 the ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. She was briefly involved enforcing the arms blockade on the combatants in the Spanish Civil War in early 1939. Mohawk returned home shortly after the start of the Second World War and was assigned convoy escort duties, during which she was damaged by German bombers. She played an active role in the Norwegian Campaign of April–May 1940, escorting convoys to and from Norway.

HMS <i>Ambuscade</i> (D38) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Ambuscade was a British Royal Navy destroyer which served in the Second World War. She and her Thornycroft competitor, HMS Amazon, were prototypes designed to exploit advances in construction and machinery since World War I and formed the basis of Royal Navy destroyer evolution up to the Tribal of 1936.

HMS <i>Matabele</i> (F26) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Matabele was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in World War II, being sunk by a U-boat on 17 January 1942. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Matabele, which in common with the other ships of the Tribal class, was named after an ethnic group of the British Empire. In this case, this was the Anglicisation of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe.

HMS <i>Tartar</i> (F43) Tribal-class destroyer

HMS Tartar was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in most of the naval theatres of World War II. She had an eventful career, eventually receiving the nickname 'Lucky Tartar' due to her numerous escapes from dangerous situations. She was one of only four from the sixteen Royal Navy-operated Tribal-class destroyers to survive the war.

HMS <i>Boadicea</i> (H65) B-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, sunk by enemy action in Lyme Bay

HMS Boadicea was a B-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy (RN) around 1930. Initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, she was transferred to the Home Fleet in 1936. Before her departure, the ship evacuated civilians from Spain during the beginning of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Boadicea later spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. During World War II, the ship spent the bulk of the war on convoy escort duty in British waters and participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, Operation Torch, the Russian Convoys, and in the Normandy landings. Badly damaged by German dive bombers in 1940, she was sunk almost exactly four years later by German aircraft.

HMS <i>Diana</i> (H49) British D-class destroyer

HMS Diana was a D-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Ordered in 1931, the ship was constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, and entered naval service in 1932. Diana was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis, before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid-1939. Diana was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before the Second World War began in September 1939. She served with the Home Fleet during the Norwegian Campaign. The ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940 and renamed HMCS Margaree. She served for just over a month with the Canadians before being sunk in a collision with a large freighter she was escorting on 22 October 1940.

HMS <i>Escapade</i> British E-class destroyer

HMS Escapade was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion in 1934, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–1936 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Escapade was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches when World War II began in September 1939, but transferred back to the Home Fleet at the end of the year.

HMS <i>Esk</i> (H15) British E-class destroyer

HMS Esk was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. She was designed to be easily converted into a fast minelayer by removing some guns and her torpedo tubes. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36, during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Esk was converted to a minelayer when World War II began in September 1939, and spent most of her time laying mines. During the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940, the ship laid mines in Norwegian territorial waters before the Germans invaded, but was recalled to home waters to resume her minelaying duties in early May. During one such sortie, Esk was sunk during the Texel Disaster on the night of 31 August 1940, when she ran into a newly laid German minefield.

HMS <i>Fame</i> (H78) British F-class destroyer

HMS Fame was an F-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Fame served in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940 before she was severely damaged when she ran aground in October. The ship was refloated several months later and spent a year and a half under repair. Fame was converted into an escort destroyer while under repair and was assigned to escort duties in the North Atlantic when the repairs were completed in mid-1942.

HMS <i>Delight</i> (H38) British D-class destroyer

HMS Delight was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Delight was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis, before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid-1939. Delight was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before the Second World War began in September 1939. She served with the Home Fleet during the Norwegian Campaign. The ship was sunk by German dive-bombers on 29 July 1940 while attempting to transit the English Channel in daylight.

HMS <i>Arrow</i> (H42) A-class destroyer

HMS Arrow was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by Vickers-Armstrongs at their Barrow-in-Furness between 1928 and 1930, being launched on 22 August 1929. Arrow served in the Mediterranean Fleet in the 1930s, rescuing refugees and taking part in neutrality patrols during the Spanish Civil War.

HMS <i>Anthony</i> (H40) A-class destroyer

HMS Anthony was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served in the Second World War.

HMS <i>Wren</i> (D88) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Wren (D88/I88) was an Admiralty modified W class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. She was ordered in April 1918 from Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited under the 13th Order for Destroyers of the Emergency War Program of 1918–19. She was the third Royal Navy ship to carry the name, which was introduced in 1653.

HMS <i>Windsor</i> (D42) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

The third HMS Windsor (D42) was a W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the final months of World War I and in World War II.

HMS <i>Worcester</i> (D96) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

The eighth HMS Worcester, was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II. She later served as an accommodation ship as the second HMS Yeoman.

References

50°32′N1°26′W / 50.533°N 1.433°W / 50.533; -1.433

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.