Description
The I-class ships were improved versions of the preceding H-class. They displaced 1,370 long tons (1,390 t ) at standard load and 1,888 long tons (1,918 t) at deep load. The ships had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower (25,000 kW ) and were intended to give a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). [1] Icarus only reached a speed of 35.1 knots (65.0 km/h; 40.4 mph) from 33,380 shp (24,890 kW) during her sea trials. [2] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Their crew numbered 145 officers and ratings. [1]
The ships mounted four 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from bow to stern. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The I class was fitted with two above-water quintuple torpedo tube mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. [3] One depth charge rack and two throwers were fitted; 16 depth charges were originally carried, [1] but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began. [4] Icarus was one of the four I-class destroyers fitted with minelaying equipment in late 1938 – January 1939 at Malta. This consisted of mounts for rails on the deck on which to carry the mines and an electric winch to move the mines down the rails. A pair of sponsons were added to the stern to allow the mines to clear the propellers when dropped into the sea. 'A' and 'Y' guns and both sets of torpedo tubes were modified to allow them to be removed to compensate for the weight of the mines. [5] The ships could carry a maximum of 72 mines. [6] The I-class ships were fitted with the ASDIC sound detection system to locate submarines underwater. [7]
Construction and career
Service 1939-40
On 29 November 1939, Icarus sighted the German submarine U-35 between the Shetland Islands and Bergen (Norway), but was unable to launch an effective attack because her ASDIC (sonar) was out of commission. Fellow destroyers Kingston and Kashmir were called to the scene, and Icarus departed. Kingston was able to launch a successful depth charge attack, forcing the U-boat to surface and scuttle itself.
Icarus participated in the Norwegian campaign in 1940, first capturing the 8,514 ton German supply ship Alster (brought to the United Kingdom and renamed Empire Endurance) on 11 April and then taking part in the Second Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.
She participated in Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk in late May and early June 1940. [8]
Bismarck breakout
In early May 1941, the British Admiralty was on the alert that the Bismarck might attempt to break out into the North Atlantic; so Icarus was ordered to Scapa Flow for possible deployment against the Germans. On 22 May, just after midnight, Icarus sailed along with the destroyers Achates, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, and Electra, escorting the battlecruiser Hood and the battleship Prince of Wales to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord, Iceland, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait.
On the evening of 23 May, the weather deteriorated. At 20:55 hrs., Admiral Lancelot Holland aboard Hood signalled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 02:15 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 miles (24 km) intervals to search to the north. At about 05:35, the German forces were sighted by Hood, and shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commenced at 05:52. At 06:01, Hood took a 38 centimetres (15 in) shell from Bismarck in the after magazine, which caused a massive explosion, sinking the ship within 2 minutes. Electra and the other destroyers were about 60 miles (97 km) away at the time.
Upon hearing that Hood had sunk, Electra raced to the area, arriving about two hours after Hood went down. They were expecting to find many survivors, and rigged scrambling nets and heaving lines, and placed life belts on the deck where they could be quickly thrown in. From the 94 officers and 1,321 ratings aboard Hood, just three survivors were found. Electra rescued them, and continued searching. Shortly thereafter, Icarus and Anthony joined in the search, and the three ships searched the area for more survivors. No more were found, only driftwood, debris, and a desk drawer filled with documents. After several hours searching, they left the area.
Later service
She participated in Operation Pedestal, escorting a convoy to Malta in August 1942.
Icarus was involved in many important events of the Second World War, Dunkirk, Spitzbergen, and numerous Atlantic and Russian convoys.
Icarus sank four German U-boats:
A long-time captain of Icarus, Colin Maud, was the Juno beach master at the D-day landings; in the film The Longest Day , he was played by Kenneth More, complete with bulldog.
Lieutenant-Commander John Simon Kerans, famous for his part in sailing HMS Amethyst, down the Yangtze River, a feat made famous in the film Yangtse Incident , also served in Icarus as "number one".
Icarus was paid off on 29 August 1946, handed over to the British Iron & Steel Corporation on 29 October 1946 and broken up at Troon in Scotland.
HMS Intrepid was one of nine I-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.
HMS Ivanhoe was an I-class destroyer built for the 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. Before the start of World War II, the ship was modified so that she could be used to lay mines by removing some of her armament. Ivanhoe was transferred to Western Approaches Command shortly after the war began and helped to sink one German submarine in October 1939. She was converted to a minelayer while undergoing a refit in November–December and laid minefields in German coastal waters as well as anti-submarine minefields off the British coast until she was reconverted back to her destroyer configuration in February 1940. Ivanhoe reverted to her minelaying role during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940 and then laid a number of minefields off the Dutch coast during the Battle of the Netherlands in May. The ship participated in the Dunkirk evacuation until she was badly damaged by German aircraft on 1 June. On her first minelaying mission after her repairs were completed, she struck a German mine and had to be scuttled on 1 September 1940 during the Texel Disaster.
HMS Impulsive was an I-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. She saw service in World War II before being scrapped in 1946. She has been the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
HMS Cossack was a Tribal-class destroyer named after the Cossack people of Ukrainian steppe. She became famous for the boarding of the German supply ship Altmark in Norwegian waters, and the associated rescue of sailors originally captured by the Admiral Graf Spee. She was torpedoed by the German submarine U-563 on 23 October 1941, and sank four days later.
HMS Kandahar (F28) was a K-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s, named after the Afghan city of Kandahar.
HMS Achates was an A-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the late 1920s. Completed in 1930, she initially served with the Mediterranean Fleet. She was sunk on 31 December 1942 during the Battle of the Barents Sea.
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 1936–39, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict.
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 Eskimo was a Tribal-class destroyer, Eskimo served throughout the Second World War, seeing action in Norway, the Mediterranean, the English Channel and in Burma. After the war Eskimo was used as an accommodation and headquarters ship, finally being used as a practice target before being scrapped in 1949.
HMS Electra was a one of nine E-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea, Electra was a witness to many naval battles, including the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse. The ship's wreck was discovered in 2003 and had been badly damaged by illegal salvagers by 2016.
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 Amazon was a prototype design of destroyer ordered for the Royal Navy in 1924. She was designed and built by Thornycroft in response to an Admiralty request for a new design of destroyer incorporating the lessons and technological advances of the First World War. Their great rivals Yarrow produced a similar, competitive design — that of Ambuscade.
HMS Basilisk was a B-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy around 1930. Initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, she was transferred to the Home Fleet in 1936. The ship escorted convoys and conducted anti-submarine patrols early in World War II before participating in the Norwegian Campaign. Basilisk was sunk by German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.
HMS Kashmir (F12) was a K-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s, named after the princely state of Kashmir in British India.
HMS Active, the tenth Active, launched in 1929, was an A-class destroyer. She served in the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of four submarines. She was broken up in 1947.
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 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 Fearless 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. Several months after the start of the war in September 1939, Fearless helped to sink one submarine and sank another one in 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign. She was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on the Vichy French ships at Mers-el-Kébir and the bombardment of Genoa. Fearless helped to sink one final submarine in 1941 and escorted many Malta convoys in the Mediterranean before she was torpedoed by an Italian bomber and had to be scuttled on 23 July 1941.
HMS Kipling (F91) was a K-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.
Z18 Hans Lüdemann was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, the ship spent most of her time training. At the beginning of World War II in September 1939, she was initially deployed to lay minefields off the German coast, but was soon transferred to the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. In late 1939, Z18 Hans Lüdemann helped to lay two offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed one destroyer and twenty merchant ships.
United Kingdom
