D
e t a i
l s o
f W a
r
S e r v i c
e
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1 9 4 0
May
Contractors trials.
5th
Commissioned for service
in Home Fleet.
17th
Build completion and
Acceptance trials.
Made
good defects and prepared for work-up
June
Completion
of First of Class Trials
4th
Sailed to work-up
in West Indies
and visited Martinique.
July
Work-up
and trials in continuation.
On
completion took return passage to UK.
1st
Joined 18th Cruiser
Squadron in Home Fleet at
Scapa
Flow.
August
Deployed
on convoy defence and patrol in NW
Approaches.
Nominated for
service in support of French landings
at Dakar.
(Operation
MENACE - For details see
RELUCTANT ENEMIES BY W Tute
and MENACE
by A Marder).
30th
Detached to join Force M with
HM Battleships BARHAM and RESOLUTION,
HM Aircraft
Carrier
ARK ROYAL and HM Cruiser DEVONSHIRE
screened by HM Destroyers
INGLEFIELD, ECLIPSE,
ECHO
and ESCAPADE.
31st
Joined escort for transports with Force
M in NW Approaches.
September
1st
Hit by torpedo from U32 off Hebrides
Escorted
to Clyde
by HM Destroyer ANTELOPE.
4th
Taken in hand for
repair at Greenock.
October
Under repair.
to
December
1 9 4 1
January
Post
repair trials prior to rejoining
Squadron In
Home Fleet.
31st
Prepared for operational
service on completion.
February
Joined
Squadron at Scapa Flow.
Deployed for patrol
in NW Approaches to intercept commerce
raiders.
March
Northern
Patrol in continuation.
26th
Deployed with HM Cruiser NIGERIA to
intercept
commerce raiders attempting to use
Denmark
Strait
for attacks on
Atlantic convoys.
28th
Diverted to join HM Battleship KING
GEORGE
V and two cruisers for interception of
German
pocket battleship
ADMIRAL SCHEER reported on passage to
Atlantic.
Search
proved unsuccessful.
30th
Re-deployed with HM Cruiser NIGERIA
to join HM Battlecruiser HOOD to
cover passage of
UK-Gibraltar route
convoys against attack by German
warships.
April
1st
Escorted HM Aircraft Carrier ARGUS on
passage to Gibraltar with aircraft for a Malta
delivery
by HMS ARK
ROYAL (Operation WINCH)
5th
Joined HE ARK
ROYAL and W Battlecruiser
RENOWN from Force H
in Bay of
Biscay
to search for
German battleships SCHARNHORST and
GNEISENAU following
attacks on
Atlantic convoys.
24th
Escorted HIS ARK ROYAL taking aircraft
to
Gibraltar
further Malta
delivery.
(Operation
DUNLOP)
May
Attached
to Force H at Gibraltar pending transfer to 15th Cruiser Squadron based at
Alexandria.
(Note:
Part of a reinforcement of Fleet in
eastern Mediterranean.)
6th
Joined HM Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH, HM
Cruisers NAIAD and GLOUCESTER
in
Force
F for transit to join Fleet based at
Alexandria
covered by HM Battlecruiser RENOWN,
HMS
ARK ROYAL, HM Cruiser SHEFFIELD,
FAULKNOR, FEARLESS, FORTUNE,
FORESIGHT, FORESTER,
FURY, HAVELOCK
and HARVESTER.
(Operation
TIGER: This also included escort for
convoy taking tanks and aircraft to
Middle
East
covered by ships of Force H. See THE
BATTLE
FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
by
D
MacIntyre,
ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by Corelli
Barnett and the Naval
Staff History (HMSO-2002)
for
details of this operation and
reinforcement of Fleet.)
8th
Passage through Sicilian
Narrows
with ships of Force F as escort
for convoy with six F-Class
destroyers
from Force H.
9th
Joined HM Aircraft Carrier FORMIDABLE
and
15th Cruiser Squadron off Malta
as the escort
for TIGER
convoy to Alexandria.
10th
Under air attacks repelled
by aircraft from HMS FORMIDABLE and
ships AA defences.
12th
On arrival at Alexandria
deployed with
Squadron in support of defence of
Crete.
15th
Landed troops of Leicester Regiment at Heraklion.
Joined HMS
GLOUCESTER, HM Destroyers HAVOCK and
HOTSPUR to form Force
B.
16th
Joined HM Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH
with Force B to give
cover to destroyers
carrying out
patrols to intercept invasion craft on
passage to
Crete.
21st
Joined HM Cruiser GLOUCESTER,
HM Battleships WARSPITE and VALIANT
(Force A)
for support
of HM Cruisers NAIAD, PERTH,
CALCUTTA and CARLISLE, HM Destroyers
KANDAHAR,
KINGSTON
and NUBIAN (Force C)
attacking invasion craft in Kithera
Channel. Under
sustained air attack all day.
22nd
Repelled series of heavy air attacks
during
withdrawal from Kithera
Channel.
Detached
with HMS GLOUCESTER to provide AA
protection to destroyers KANDAHAR
and KINGSTON
picking up survivors from HM Destroyer
GREYHOUND.
Subjected
to further air attacks during which HMS
GLOUCESTER was hit and set on fire.
Left area with the
two destroyers because of continuing
air threat.
During
passage damaged by near miss from single
aircraft causing flooding in the engine
room
which reduced
speed and caused listing.
In
subsequent attack hit by three bombs
which increased list.
Rolled
over and sank an hour later in position
34.35N, 23.10E.
Immediate
rescue of survivors by HM Destroyers
KANDAHAR and KINGSTON impossible
because of
continuing acute danger of air attacks.
Rafts
and boats left for those able to escape
by swimming.
523 members of ship's company were
picked up after nightfall.
(Casualty
List
- note
on casualties)
(Note:
Both cruisers had low stocks of AA
ammunition and the judgement to send them
to
provide defence
during rescue is one of the many
criticisms made
after WW2 in
respect of the
disastrous operations off Crete
in 1941