H. M. S. C A L Y P S O
"CALEDON"
Class cruiser ordered on 8th December
1915 from R & W Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Ltd under an
Emergency War Programme. The ship
was laid down on 7th February 1916
and launched on 25th Jan. 1917
as the 8th RN ship to carry this name.
It was introduced for Sloop in 1783 and last used for a Corvette in 1883 which
was renamed
BRITON IN 1902. Build was completed on 21st
June 1917.
B a t t l e H o n o u r s
None
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On a Field, Red, a female head White, with ornaments
Gold.
Motto
Cave quod recondo : 'Beware of what I hide’
D e t a i l s of W
a r S e r v i c e
1 9 3 9
August
Commissioned for service with RNR crew for Royal Review of the Reserve
Fleet at Weymouth
a refit at Chatham.
9th Attended Royal Review in Weymouth Bay.
Nominated for
service as an RCNVR Drillship
September Took up War Station and joined 7th
Cruiser Squadron, Home Fleet at Scapa Flow..
5th Deployed on Northern Patrol to
intercept blockade runners.
(See THE BLOCKADERS
by K Poolman).
24th Intercepted and captured German
ship MINDEN off Cape Wrath.
October Northern Patrol duty in
continuation based at Sullom Voe.
November
23rd Sailed from Sullom Voe to joined HM Cruisers SUFFOLK and
CERES in search for
German battleships
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU following the sinking of
HM
Armed Merchant Cruiser RAWALPINDI.
(See ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY and Naval Staff History.)
Intercepted
German ship KONSOL HENDRDC FISSER off Iceland.
Boarded
and escorted enemy ship as Prize to Leith.
Nominated for refit
and took passage to Tyne.
December
1st Under refit at Tyne commercial
shipyard.
(Note: Radar for detection of aircraft was not fitted during the refit).
21st On completion transferred to 3rd
Cruiser Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet for
patrol and interception
duty.
24th Passage to Mediterranean from Plymouth.
31st Joined Squadron in Malta
1 9 4
0
January Deployed for trade defence and
Contraband Control in Mediterranean.
to
May
June Transferred to Alexandria to join Fleet after Italy entered the war.
(For details of Mediterranean deployments after outbreak
of war with Italy, see ENGAGE THE
ENEMY
MORE CLOSELY by Corelli Barnett).
11th Joined HM. Battleships WARSPITE and MALAYA, HM Aircraft Carrier EAGLE,
HM Cruisers
ORION, NEPTUNE, SYDNEY (RAN), LIVERPOOL and CALEDON with screen of nine
destroyers
for attacks on Italian supply convoys to Libya.
12th Torpedoed by Italian submarine
BAGNOLINI south of Crete.
Sank
after two and a half hours.
39 of ship's company
lost their lives.
Survivors were
rescued by HM Cruiser CALEDON and HM Destroyer DAINTY.
(Casualty List -
note on casualties)
