1 9 4 2
June Post refit trials and commissioning.
29th Build completion and commenced Acceptance Trials.
30th Passage to Scapa Flow to work-up for operational service.
July
1st Arrived
at Scapa
Flow
to begin work-up with ships of the Home Fleet.
August Work-up in continuation with
Home Fleet.
26th Passage
to Rosyth with HM Destroyers OFFA, ECLIPSE and INGLEFIELD to escort HM
Battleship HOWE to Scapa Flow.
(Note: HMS HOWE had just completed
final fit of radar completed storing ready for service at
Rosyth where she
was to begin work-up.)
29th Returned to Scapa Flow with HMS HOWE and escorting
destroyers.
September
2nd Deployed
to provide cover during minelay by ships of 1st Minelaying Squadron in Northern
Barrage
(Operation SN89 – For details of all
minelaying operations see Naval Staff History (Mining).)
8th Provided
Distant Cover with HM Battleships ANSON and DUKE OF YORK during passage of
Russian Convoy PQ18 to Kola Inlet and
return Convoy QP14 from North
Russia.
(Note: Cover was also provided for an
operation to support the allied garrison on Spitzbergen
Operation GEARBOX and during this
phase the ship was deployed with HM Destroyers
BRAMHAM, KEPPEL, MACKAY and MONTROSE.. For details of all Russian Convoy
operations
see CONVOYS TO RUSSIA by RA Ruegg, THE RUSSIAN
CONVOYS by
B Schoefield,
CONVOY ! by P Kemp, ARCTIC
CONVOYS by R Woodman.)
24th Returned to Scapa Flow with Home Fleet units.
October Deployed with 10th Cruiser
Squadron, Home Fleet.
9th Present
at Scapa
Flow
during visit to Home Fleet by Prime Minister and Sir Stafford Cripps.
Took part in
exercises including bombardments as part of visits programme.
Following visit deployed at Scapa Flow for support of capital ships and patrol in NW
Approaches.
Nominated for support of planned
allied landings in North
Africa as part of Central
Naval Task
Force (Operation TORCH)
27th Passage
to Gibraltar with HM Cruiser DELHI, HM Aircraft Carrier ARGUS, HM Escort Aircraft
Carriers BITER and
DASHER for support of TORCH landings.
November Prepared for support duties at Gibraltar.
8th Deployed
with HM Landing Ship (Infantry) LARGS, HMS BITER, HMS DASHER, HM
Cruisers AURORA and DELHI for support of landings by 1st US Rangers and 1st
Armoured
Division at Oran.
9th In
action with HMS AURORA with Vichy French destroyers TRAMATONE, TORNADE,
TYPHON and EPERVIER during which the
attempt to interfere with landings was repulsed.
EPERVIER was hit, set on fire and
driven ashore and TYPHON withdrew after being damaged..
10th Bombarded
coastal batteries with HM Battleship RODNEY and HMS AURORA which resulted
in final
surrender at Oran following the bombardment of harbour consequent on
failure of the
attempt to
negotiate future use of Vichy
warships.
(For details see RELUCTANT ENEMIES by
W Tute, ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE
CLOSELY by C Barnett and the Naval
Staff History)
14th Released
from TORCH and took passage to resume Home Fleet duties.
20th Deployed at Scapa Flow for Squadron service in Home Fleet.
(Note: Operational experience had
shown that bridge area including radar aerial unit was subject
to
significant Blast effect from forward armament. Aerial was subsequently
re-sited on
a foremast
platform.)
December Home Fleet deployment in
continuation.
17th Deployed
with HMS SHEFFIELD, HM Destroyers MUSKETEER and MATCHLESS as Force
R for Russian Convoy escort and cover
duties.
19th Joined
escort for Russian Convoy JW51A with HMS SHEFFIELD, HM Destroyers BEAGLE,
MATCHLESS and
OPPORTUNE.
24th Detached
from JW51B and took passage to refuel at Murmansk
25th At Murmansk with ships of Force R. Anchored in Varenga Bay
27th Passage
with Force R ships to provide cover for final stage of passage into Kola Inlet
of
Convoy JW51B.
31st Took
part in action against German warships, the battleship LUTZOW, cruiser HIPPER
and six
destroyers
with HMS SHEFFIELD which were intending to attack JW51B.
Engaged destroyer
RICHARD BEITZEN which turned away in poor visibility.
Subsequent attack by LUTZOW damaged HMS
OBDURATE and a mercantile in JW51B.
(For details o the Battle of the Battle of the Barents
Sea see 73 NORTH by D Pope
and the
Naval Staff
History.)
On release resumed patrol with ships
of Force R as cover for passage of return convoy RA51.
1 9 4 3
January
1st Cover
for passage to RA51 to Iceland in continuation.
4th Arrived
at Seidisfjord after relief of Force R cruisers by
HMS KENT and HMS BERWICK.
8th Passage
to Scapa
Flow
to resume Squadron duties.
31st Nominated for detached service for interception of Blockade
Runners in Atlantic.
February Deployed for interception
patrols in area of Azores.
On completion of second patrol took
passage to Scapa Flow to resume Home Fleet duties.
March Released for replacement of gun barrels and took
passage to Barrow.
Under repair at
Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow.
April Resumed Squadron duties for Home Fleet
interception duties in NW Approaches
May Home Fleet deployment at Scapa Flow in continuation.
to Nominated
for refit at Portsmouth.
June
July Taken in hand for refit by HM Dockyard, Portsmouth.
August Under refit.
September Post refit
harbour and sea trials.
18th Resumed Squadron duties in Home Fleet.
October Home Fleet interception patrol
and operations off Norwegian coast in continuation.
November
2nd Deployed
with HM Battleship ANSON, HM Aircraft Carrier FORMIDABLE, HM Destroyers
ONSLOW and VENUS,
US destroyers USS CAPPS and HOBSON, HM Canadian
Destroyer
HAIDA and Norwegian destroyer STORD
to provide Distant Cover for passage of return
Convoy RA54A from Kola Inlet to Loch
Ewe.
8th Resumed
Home Fleet duties with Squadron at Scapa Flow.
19th Provided
Cruiser Cover with HMS KENT and HMS BERMUDA during passage of Russian
Convoy JW54A from Loch
Ewe to Kola Inlet.
24th On release from cover of JW54A resumed Home Fleet Squadron
duties.
27th Provided
Cruiser Cover with HMS KENT and HMS BERMUDA during passage of Russian
Convoy JW54 from Loch Ewe to Archangel and return Convoy RA54B from Archangel to
Loch Ewe.
December
3rd Released
from cover duties and took passage to Scapa Flow to resume
Home Fleet service.
15th Deployed
with HM Battleship DUKE OF YORK, HM Destroyers SAVAGE, SAUMAREZ,
SCORPION and Norwegian destroyer
STORD to provide Distant Cover during transit of
Russian Convoy JW55A during passage
from Loch Ewe to Kola Inlet.
(Note: Presence of HMS DUKE OF YORK had been decided by the perceived threat of an
attempt by
German battlecruiser SCHARNHORST to attack a convoy to North
Russia).
16th Passage
with HMS DUKE OF YORK and destroyer screen to Murmansk from Kola Inlet for
visit by CinC Home Fleet to CinC of Soviet
Northern Fleet.
18th Sailed from Murmansk to Akureyri, Iceland with same ships.
21st Arrived
at Akureyri.
23rd Sailed
with same ships, as Force 2 to provide Distant Cover for passage of Russian
Convoy
JW55B during passage to Kola Inlet
and that of the return convoy RA55A which was on
passage from
Kola Inlet to UK.
(Note: CinC had been convinced following receipt of ULTRA signals
about German warship
movements
that an attack by SCHARNHORST on JW55B was intended.. See above
references.
Naval Staff History and KING GEORGE V BATTLESHIPS by VE
Tarrant.)
24th Carried
out exercises with HMS DUKE OF YORK and
destroyers to simulate the procedures
intended for
use in the event of an attack.
26th Took
part in sinking of SCHARNHORST with HMS DUKE OF YORK, HM Cruisers
BELFAST, SHEFFIELD and Home Fleet destroyers escorting JW55B after the
German
warship was
sighted and engaged by the Home Fleet cruisers supplementing escort.
(For details see
above references.)
28th Took
passage from Murmansk to Scapa
Flow with HMS DUKE OF YORK and destroyer
screen after
refuelling.
(Note: The 36 survivors from
SCHARNHORST returned to UK in HMS DUKE OF
YORK.)
31st Arrived at Scapa Flow to tumultuous reception from Home
Fleet ships.
1 9 4 4
January Passage to Rosyth for repair
to battle damage
February
20th Resumed Home Fleet duties at Scapa Flow.
26th Deployed
with HM Cruiser BERWICK and Polish cruiser ORP DRAGON to provide cruiser
cover during
passage of Russian Convoy JW57 from UK to Kola Inlet.
28th Resumed
Squadron duties when cover requirement ended.
March Home Fleet deployment in continuation.
29th Joined
HM Aircraft Carrier FURIOUS, HM Escort Aircraft Carriers EMPEROR,
SEARCHER and FENCER, HM Cruisers
ROYALIST and SHEFFIELD with destroyer
screen and
formed Force 2 to provided Distant Cover for passage of Russian Convoy JW58
and return
Convoy RA58.
April
1st Detached
with destroyer screen to join HM Battleship ANSON, HM Aircraft Carrier
VICTORIOUS and HM Cruiser BELFAST to supplement Home Fleet units engaged in
planned air
operations against German battleship TIRPITZ in Altenfjord.
(Operation TUNGSTEN).
3rd Provided
cover for Home Fleet units during TUNGSTEN air attacks from carriers.
For details see CONVOY
! by P Kemp. ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY
by C Barnett
and Naval Staff History..
May Home Fleet deployment in continuation
including preparatory exercises and bombardments
prior to
planned allied landings in Normandy
(Operation NEPTUNE).
June Deployed at Scapa Flow with Home Fleet units to provide Distant Cover of required to
support NEPTUNE operations should any enemy surface forces attempt interference via
NW Approaches.
16th Deployed
with HM Destroyer WHELP in support of replenishment operation for allied
garrison at Spitzbergen.
(Operation GEARBOX
Series.)
25th On completion of GEARBOX resumed Home Fleet duties at Scapa Flow.
July
17th Provided
cover for series of air strikes on TIRPITZ by HM Aircraft Carriers
FORMIDABLE, INDEFATIGABLE and FURIOUS
with HMS DUKE OF YORK, HM
Cruisers KENT and BELLONA (Operation MASCOT – See
above references.)
August
17th Deployed
as part of escort for Russian Convoy JW59 with HM Escort Aircraft Carriers
STRIKER and VINDEX screened by HM
Destroyers CAPRICE, MARNE, METEOR,
MILNE and
MUSKETEER.
(Note: The Russian battleship
ARCHANGELSK (Ex HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN on
loan to
Soviet Northern Fleet) also sailed with this convoy, See CONVOYS TO
RUSSIA and CONVOY !)
28th Sailed from Kola Inlet as escort for return Convoy RA59A
during passage to UK.
September
5th Detached
from RA59A with same ships and resumed Home Fleet duties at Scapa Flow.
15th Deployed
with HM Destroyers ORWELL and OBEDIENT for support of allied garrison
at Spitzbergen (Operation GEARBOX Series).
October Passage to Portsmouth to prepare for refit.
16th Taken
in hand by HM Dockyard Portsmouth for refit prior to planned deployment with
British Pacific Fleet..
(Note: Work undertaken included:
Replacement of X
Turret by two 2Pdr Pom-Pom
mountings.
Aircraft Warning, Surface Warning and
Fire Control Radar outfits modernised.
(Note: For details of development and
use of radar in RN see RADAR AT SEA
by D Howse
Aircraft Homing Beacon fitted.
November Under refit
to
December
1 9 4 5
January Under refit
to April
May Post refit trials
and prepared for Royal visit.
June
6th Embarked
HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth for visit to Channel
Islands, escorted by HM Destroyers FAULKNOR, CAESAR, IMPULSIVE and
BRILLIANT. Returned to Portsmouth with escort on completion of visit.
July Preparations for foreign
service in continuation.
August On completion of Shakedown, Weapon Trials and
Calibrations in Channel area took
passage to Plymouth
