![]() Broadside view of Glowworm | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | Glowworm |
Ordered | 5 March 1934 |
Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, Hampshire |
Laid down | 15 August 1934 |
Launched | 22 July 1935 |
Commissioned | 22 January 1936 |
Identification | Pennant number: H92 |
Motto | Ex tenebris lux : 'Out of darkness light'. |
Fate | Sunk by the German cruiser Admiral Hipper, 8 April 1940 |
Badge | On a Field Blue, a lantern Black with rays issuing Silver |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | G-class destroyer |
Displacement | |
Length | 323 ft (98.5 m) |
Beam | 33 ft (10.1 m) |
Draught | 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 geared steam turbines |
Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
Range | 5,530 nmi (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime) |
Armament |
|
HMS Glowworm was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War the ship spent part of 1936 and 1937 in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Glowworm was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet shortly after the beginning of World War II to the British Isles, to escort shipping in local waters. In March 1940, she was transferred to the Home Fleet, just in time to participate in the opening stages of the Norwegian Campaign. On 8 April 1940 Glowworm encountered German destroyers transporting troops to invade Norway in Operation Weserübung. The German destroyers attempted to disengage while calling for help from the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. In the chaos of battle, the heavily damaged Glowworm rammed Admiral Hipper. The collision broke off the destroyer's bow, and she sank shortly afterwards. The commander of Glowworm was awarded the VC (Victoria Cross) at the recommendation of the commander of Hipper. There were only two other occasions when a VC was awarded at the recommendation of the enemy in the Second World War.
Glowworm displaced 1,350 long tons (1,370 t ) at standard load and 1,883 long tons (1,913 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower (25,000 kW ) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers. Glowworm carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 5,530 nautical miles (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime. [1]
The ship mounted four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For anti-aircraft defence Glowworm had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. [1] She was the test ship for the new quintuple torpedo tube mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began. [2]
Glowworm was ordered from the yards of John I. Thornycroft and Company, at Woolston, Hampshire on 5 March 1934 under the 1933 Construction Programme. She was laid down on 15 August 1934 and launched on 22 July 1935. She was completed on 22 January 1936 at a total cost of £248,785, excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament. [3] Upon commissioning she was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet. Between 10 August and 9 September 1936, together with Grafton, she escorted the yacht Nahlin as King Edward VIII cruised the eastern Mediterranean. [4] Afterwards, Glowworm patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the edicts of the Non-Intervention Committee until she had a refit at Portsmouth between 27 May and 8 June 1937. The ship returned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean after her brief refit. Glowworm returned to Portsmouth for a longer overhaul between 7 June and 25 July 1938 and escorted the ocean liner SS Strathnaver between Malta and Alexandria during the Munich Crisis in September 1938. She then escorted the light cruiser Arethusa on her voyage to Aden later that month. [5] During night exercises on 16 May 1939, Glowworm collided with her sister, Grenade, and was forced to put into Alexandria for temporary repairs. She received permanent repairs in Malta between 23 May and 24 June. [6]
Glowworm was in Alexandria when World War II began in September 1939. In October the flotilla was transferred to the Western Approaches Command and Glowworm sailed for the UK on 19 October with her sisters Gallant, Grafton, and Greyhound. They arrived at Plymouth on 22 October and were deployed in the South Western Approaches. Glowworm carried out convoy escort duties and anti-submarine patrols until 12 November when she was transferred to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla, based at Harwich, for North Sea patrol and escort duties. On 22 February 1940 she was hit by the Swedish ship Rex in fog whilst at anchor off Outer Dowsing. Glowworm suffered significant structural damage and was under repair at a commercial dockyard in Hull until late March. On completion of the repairs, she was transferred back to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, rejoining the flotilla at its base at Scapa Flow on 20 March. [7]
On 5 April Glowworm was part of the escort of the battlecruiser Renown, along with her sisters Greyhound, Hero, and Hyperion. The ships covered the minelaying operation in Norwegian waters, Operation Wilfred. On 7 April, Glowworm was detached from the task force to search for a man lost overboard. [8]
On the morning of 8 April 1940 Glowworm was on her way to rejoin Renown when she encountered the German destroyers Z11 Bernd von Arnim and Z18 Hans Lüdemann in the heavy fog before 8:00 a.m. The destroyers were part of a German naval detachment, led by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, on its way to land troops at Trondheim as part of the German invasion of Norway ( Operation Weserübung ). Glowworm opened fire and the German destroyers attempted to disengage, signalling for help. The request was soon answered by Admiral Hipper who spotted Glowworm at 09:50. Hipper initially had difficulty in distinguishing Glowworm from von Arnim, but opened fire eight minutes later at a range of 8,400 metres (9,200 yd) with her 20.3-centimetre (8.0 in) main guns. Glowworm was hit by Hipper's fourth salvo and she started making smoke. She turned into her smoke in an attempt to break visual contact with Hipper, but the cruiser's radar-directed guns were not affected by the smoke. When the destroyer emerged from her smoke the range was now short enough that the cruiser's 10.5-centimetre (4.1 in) guns could fire. Glowworm's radio room, bridge, and forward 4.7-inch gun were all destroyed, and she received additional hits in the engine room, the captain's day cabin, and finally the mast. As this crashed down, it caused a short circuit of the wiring, causing the ship's siren to start a banshee wail.
At 10:10, Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope fired five torpedoes from one mounting at a range of 800 metres (870 yd). Still, all missed because Captain Hellmuth Heye had kept Hipper's bow pointed at Glowworm throughout the battle to minimize his risk from torpedoes. The destroyer fell back through her smokescreen to buy time to get her second torpedo mount working, but Heye followed Glowworm through the smoke to finish her off before she could fire the rest of her torpedoes. The two ships were very close when Hipper emerged from the smoke and Roope ordered a hard turn to starboard to ram the cruiser. Hipper was slow to answer her helm and Glowworm struck the cruiser just abaft the anchor. The collision broke off Glowworm's bow and the rest of the ship scraped along Hipper's side, gouging open several holes in the latter's hull and destroying her forward starboard torpedo mounting. One German sailor was knocked overboard by the collision. Hipper took on some 500 tonnes (490 long tons) of water before the leaks could be isolated, but was not seriously damaged. Glowworm was on fire when she drifted clear and her boilers exploded at 10:24, taking 109 of her crew with her. [9]
Admiral Hipper hove to in order to rescue her man overboard and Glowworm's survivors. The German sailor was not found, but 40 British sailors were recovered, although at least six later died of their wounds. The senior surviving officer, Lieutenant Ramsay, told his rescuers that neither the helm nor the emergency steering was manned when the ships collided. German accounts only mention four torpedoes fired by Glowworm, but British accounts say all ten were fired. This was confirmed by photographic evidence taken after the collision showing all of her torpedo tubes empty. [10]
Roope, who drowned when he could no longer hang on to a rope whilst being pulled up the side of the cruiser, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, thus becoming the first VC recipient of the Second World War. [11] The award was justified, in part, by the recommendation of Heye, who wrote to the British authorities via the Red Cross, stating the dauntless courage Roope had shown when engaging a much superior ship in a close quarters battle. Ramsay was also awarded the DSO. Both awards were made after the end of the war. [11] [12]
HMS Hasty was an H-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the mid-1930s. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until the beginning of World War II. The ship transferred to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. Hasty returned to the British Isles in early 1940 and covered the evacuation of Allied troops from Namsos in early May 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign. She was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet shortly afterwards and participated in the Battle of Calabria and the Battle of Cape Spada in July 1940. The ship took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March and evacuated British and Australian troops from both Greece and Crete in April and May. In June, Hasty participated in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet for the next year. During the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942 she defended a convoy from an Italian battleship and several cruisers. While covering another convoy from Alexandria to Malta in June 1942 during Operation Vigorous, Hasty was torpedoed by a German motor torpedo boat and was so badly damaged that she had to be scuttled.
HMS Havock was an H-class destroyer built for the British Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. During the first few months of the Second World War, Havock searched for German commerce raiders in the Atlantic Ocean and participated in the First Battle of Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940 before she was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet in May where she escorted a number of convoys to Malta. The ship took part in the Battle of Cape Spada in July 1940, the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and the evacuation of Greece in April 1941. She was damaged during the Battle of Crete the following month, but participated in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign in June.
HMS Repulse was one of two Renown-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Originally laid down as an improved version of the Revenge-class battleship, her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war because she would not be ready in time. Admiral Lord Fisher, upon becoming First Sea Lord, gained approval for her to resume construction as a battlecruiser that could be built and enter service quickly. The Director of Naval Construction (DNC), Eustace Tennyson-d'Eyncourt, quickly produced an entirely new design to meet Admiral Lord Fisher's requirements and the builders agreed to deliver the ship in 15 months. They did not quite meet that ambitious goal, but the ship was delivered a few months after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Repulse and her sister ship Renown were the world's fastest capital ships upon completion.
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 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.
Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope was a posthumous British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
HMS Grafton (H89) was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the non-intervention measures agreed by Britain and France. After the beginning of World War II she was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to Great Britain for escort and contraband inspection duties. Grafton was refitting when the Norwegian Campaign began in April 1940, but the ship escorted convoys to Norway once her refit was completed. She evacuated British troops from the Dunkirk bridgehead in May, but was sunk by a German submarine after she stopped to rescue survivors from another British destroyer.
Admiral Hipper was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper class of heavy cruisers which served with Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; Admiral Hipper entered service shortly before the outbreak of war, in April 1939. The ship was named after Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander of the German battlecruiser squadron during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and later commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet. She was armed with a main battery of eight 20.3 cm (8 in) guns and, although nominally under the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over 16,000 long tons (16,260 t).
HMS Ardent was one of eight A-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1920s. The ship spent most of the 1930s assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. During the early months of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, Ardent spent considerable time in Spanish waters enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict.
HMS Hardy was the flotilla leader for the H-class destroyers, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Hardy was transferred to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. After returning to the United Kingdom in early 1940, the ship became flagship of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla assigned to the Home Fleet. During the Norwegian campaign of 1940, Hardy participated in the First Battle of Narvik where she sank one German destroyer. As the British ships were withdrawing, they were discovered by two other German destroyers that so badly damaged Hardy that she had to be run aground to stop her from sinking. The ship was lifted by a rising tide and eventually capsized.
HMS Acasta was one of eight A-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1920s. The ship spent most of the 1930s assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. During the early months of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, Acasta spent considerable time in Spanish waters enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict.
HMS Punjabi was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Second World War, being sunk in a collision with the battleship King George V. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name "Punjabi" which, in common with the other ships of the Tribal class, was named after various ethnic groups of the world, mainly those of the British Empire.
HMS Mashona was one of 16 Tribal-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the beginning of Second World War in 1939. Completed in that year, she was assigned to the Home Fleet. During the first year of the war, the ship was on convoy escort duties. Mashona played an active role in the Norwegian Campaign of April–May 1940, escorting convoys to and from Norway. The ship helped to briefly seize four Swedish warships en route from Italy to Sweden in June 1940 and resumed her role of convoy escort after their release in July. She accidentally collided with one of her sister ships in early 1941 and spent several months under repair.
The German destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen was one of four Type 1934 destroyers built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during the mid-1930s. Completed in 1937, the ship spent most of her time training although she did participate in the occupation of Memel in early 1939. At the beginning of World War II in September 1939, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but was soon transferred to the Kattegat where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. In late 1939 and early 1940, the ship laid two offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed 17 merchant ships. Z4 Richard Beitzen was in reserve during the Norwegian Campaign of early 1940 and was transferred to France later that year, where she made several attacks on British shipping.
Z7 Hermann Schoemann was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. The ship was plagued by machinery problems for most of her life and was under repair when the Second World War began in September 1939. She covered her sister ships over the next few months as they laid offensive minefields in English waters in late 1939 – early 1940. Hermann Schoemann played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign as engine problems limited her availability throughout 1940 and for most of 1941.
Z9 Wolfgang Zenker was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. Several days after the start of World War II, she unsuccessfully attacked, together with another destroyer, Polish ships anchored at the naval base on the Hel Peninsula. In early 1940 the ship made two successful minelaying sorties off the English coast that claimed six merchant ships. Wolfgang Zenker participated in the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign by transporting troops to the Narvik area in early April 1940. The ship fought in both naval Battles of Narvik several days later and had to be scuttled after she exhausted her ammunition.
Z11 Bernd von Arnim was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but she was quickly transferred to the German Bight to lay minefields in German waters. In late 1939 the ship made one successful minelaying sortie off the English coast that claimed one British warship and seven merchant ships. During the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign, Bernd von Arnim fought the British destroyer Glowworm while transporting troops to the Narvik area in early April 1940, but neither ship was damaged during the action. The ship fought in both naval Battles of Narvik several days later and had to be scuttled after she exhausted her ammunition.
The action off Lofoten was a naval battle fought between the German Kriegsmarine and the British Royal Navy off the southern coast of the Lofoten Islands, Norway during the Second World War. A German squadron under Vizeadmiral Günther Lütjens consisting of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau met and engaged a British squadron under Admiral Sir William Whitworth consisting of the battlecruiser HMS Renown and nine destroyers. After a short engagement, Gneisenau suffered moderate damage and the Germans withdrew.
Albatros was the fourth of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. Completed in 1927, Albatros often served as a flagship of torpedo boat units. The ship made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. After an attack by aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force killed German sailors in 1937, she participated in the retaliatory bombardment of Almería.
Seeadler was the second of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Battle of Kristiansand during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Seeadler spent the next couple of years escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and laying minefields herself. She also spent the latter half of 1941 escorting convoys through the Skaggerak. The boat returned to France in 1942 and was one of the escorts for the capital ships sailing from France to Germany through the English Channel in the Channel Dash. Seeadler then helped to escort one commerce raider through the Channel and was sunk by British forces while escorting another blockade runner in May.