1 9 4 3
September Contractors
trials and commissioning.
10th Build completion and commenced Acceptance Trials
Work-up delayed
by trials defects and installation problems.
October Under repair
to
November Under repair
5th Taken in hand in build yard for
completion of Alterations and Additions (A
and A's)
work and repair.
December Under repair
1 9
4 4
January Under repair
(Note:
Modification for use as Carrier Flagship with Aircraft Direction facilities.
was part of the additional work.)
February On completion of work prepared
for work-up in Clyde area.
March Work-up in continuation.
30th Joined escort for HM Battleships ANSON, DUKE OF YORK, HM Aircraft Carriers
FURIOUS, VICTORIOUS and Escort Carriers with HM Cruisers BELFAST,
SHEFFIELD and
JAMAICA screened by Fleet destroyers for air attacks on German
battleship TIRPITZ at Altenfjord
(Operation TUNGSTEN). April
April
3rd Air attacks not successful.
(Note: This Home
Fleet deployment also covered passage of Russian Convoy JW5S)
10th Fighter Direction training at Scapa Flow.
12th Escorted HM Escort Aircraft Carriers EMPEROR and STRIKER with
HMS SHEFFIELD
during air attacks on
shipping off Norway.
On return
started refit in Tyne shipyard.
May Under
refit.
Nominated for
support of allied landings in South
France and took passage.
(Note: To be deployed as Flagship of British Carrier Group TG881.)
June On completion took
passage to Mediterranean.
July On arrival deployed in
central Mediterranean.
August Transferred to US Navy overall
Command for South of France landings.
(Operation
DRAGOON - For details see LANDINGS IN THE SOUTH OF
FRANCE
(HMSO).
Joined HM
Cruiser DELHI and HM Escort Carriers ATTACKER, EMPEROR, KHEDIVE,
SEARCHER and PURSUER to form TG881 for air cover during Assault
Phase of operation.
15th Arrived off Beach Head area and
commenced Fighter Direction operations.
(See above
reference).
28th Released from DRAGOON transferred to
British Aegean Force to intercept craft
evacuating enemy forces from islands.
September Deployed north of Crete to
cover air operations by Escort Carriers.
15th In action against warships in Aegean off Cape Spatha with HM Destroyer TEAZER.
German
escort EXPEL and UJ2171 (HEIDELBERG) were sunk (Operation OUTING I).
24th Covered reoccupation of Aegean Inlands and Greek mainland
with HM Escort Carriers
EMPEROR, HUNTER,
KHEDIVE, PURSUER, SEARCHER and STALKER
(Operation
MANNA).
October
12th Escorted Escort Carriers during support operations and
provided naval gunfire with HM
Cruisers ORION, AJAX, BLACK PRINCE, ARGONAUT, AURORA and COLOMBO.
30th Returned to Alexandria after release from Aegean and Greek operations.
November Deployed in Eastern Mediterranean. Nominated for duty with Eastern Fleet
at Trincomalee.
to
December
1 9 4 5
January Under
refit at Alexandria.
February Passage
to Ceylon.
Match Joined 21st Aircraft Carrier
Squadron.
April
23rd Worked-up for East
Indies military support
operations with HM Escort Carriers
HUNTER, STALKER,
EMPEROR, KHEDIVE, HM Cruiser PHOEBE.
28th Covered assault landings near Rangoon (Operation DRACULA).
May
4th Escorted Escort Carriers during air strikes on shipping off
Tenasserim coast and
airfields.
10th Escorted Escort Carriers during search In 11 Degree Channel
for Japanese warships
evacuating Nicobar and Andaman Islands.
(Note: HM
Battleship QUEEN ELIZABETH, French battleship RICHELIEU, HM
Cruiser CUMBERLAND and Netherlands cruiser TROMP screened by eight
destroyers were also deployed. See THE FORGOTTEN FLEET and
WAR
WITH JAPAN (HMSO).)
11th Covered Escort Carriers during air attacks on Car Nicobar.
14th Search extended to cover 6 Degree Channel for interception of
Japanese warships
by destroyers of 26th Flotilla.
Escort
reinforced by HMS CUMBERLAND (Operation MITRE).
(This operation
culminated in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser HAGURO.
For further
details in SINK THE HAGURO by J Winton and above reference.
16th Covered air strikes by HMS HUNTER and HMS KHEDIVE on Andamans.
June
20th Escorted HMS STALKER, HMS KHEDIVE and HMS AMEER with HM
Cruiser SUFFOLK
screened by five destroyers
during series of air operations including attacks on airfields
and shipping off coast of Sumatra.
Photo-reconnaissance
flights were also made over southern Malaya (Operation BALSAM).
July Escorted Squadron
Carriers during shipping strikes and attacks on targets in Malayan area.
Prepared for assault landings in Malaya (Operation ZIPPER).
August Passage
to ZIPPER operational area.
(Note: This
British operations was postponed at US insistence and implementation of the
PYTHON Scheme to
return long serving service personnel in SEAC to
UK.
See ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by Corelli Barnett
, OPERATION
PACIFIC by E
Gray and above reference.)
September
9th Covered landing operations in Malaya as
escort for ships of 21st Aircraft Squadron with HMS
NELSON, French RICHELIEU, HM Cruisers CEYLON, NIGERIA and CLEOPATRA.
11th At Singapore for surrender ceremony.