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KMS BIS First of the Bismarck-class along with sister ship Tirpitz, these two were the largest Second World War battleships ever built for Germany’s Kriegsmarine and Bismarck most famously went on to destroy HMS Hood before being scuttled herself two days later.
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KMS Bismarck was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard Hamburg on 1 July.
She was launched on 14 February.
Bismarck was commissioned on 24 August.
UNSINKABLE SAM Apparently there was a cat on board that survived the sinking of Bismarck, but after being rescued by crew from HMS Cossack that too suffered the same fate, again the cat survived the sinking and was then kept on HMS Ark Royal but after it too sank, the cat known as ‘Unsinkable Sam’ (aka Oscar) survived and lived out the rest of the war living in a seaman’s home in Belfast. Sam died in 1955. HMS Rodney firing on Bismarck which is burning in the distance.
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WORLD of warships magazine november 2018
SMARCK 19 41
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She took part in an operation to block Allied shipping from North America to Great Britain during which time she was involved in a battle with HMS Hood and with the help of the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, sank the British battlecruiser. Two days later, Bismarck was herself attacked by Fairey Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal and after suffering severe damage was scuttled by her crew with heavy loss of life.
The wreck of Bismarck was discovered by Robert Ballard a retired United States Navy officer who is well known for finding the wrecks of RMS Titanic and John F Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo Boat PT-109.
An expedition to investigate the wreck of Bismarck was conducted by a team of researchers using Russian-built minisubmarines.
The documentary Expedition: Bismarck filmed in May-June, used Mir submersibles to reconstruct the sinking of Bismarck.
The survivors of KMS Bismarck being picked up by HMS Dorsetshire.
SPECIFICATION Dimensions
Length 824ft., Beam 118ft., Draught 32ft., Surface displacement 50,900 tons.
Propulsion
12x Wagner boilers with 3x Blohm & Voss steam turbines producing 150,000hp to 3x shafts.
Speed/Range
30knots, 35mph/8,099nm, 9,320 miles.
Complement
2,192. 8x 15in L47 main guns. 12x 5.9in L55 SK-C28/guns. 16x 105mm L65 SK-C/37/SK-C/33 guns.
Firepower 16x 37mm L83 SK-C/30 cannons. 12x 20mm L65 MG C/30 anti-aircraft cannons. 8x 20mm L65 MG C/32 anti-aircraft machine guns. Air wing
4x Arado Ar 196 floatplane aircraft.
A flight of Fairey Swordfish over HMS Ark Royal. november 2018 WORLD of warships magazine
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CONTENTS
As the World of Warships magazine sees in 2020, we welcome on board the online games company wargaming.net. As suggested in the title it is an online game site where you can battle with warships, tanks, aircraft and spaceships and as a coincidence, its warship game is called 'World of Warships', although not related to this publication. The site also gives the history on various battleships. Marko Valentic and his team will each month supply us with a feature supported by images from the game, starting off this issue with HMS Indomitable. David Reynolds gives us the news from around the world plus a feature on Hospital ships and the role they play at sea. Other features this month include; The Battle of Cromarty by Mike Williams, John Duggan in New Zealand tells us about a new patrol boat for the Solomon Islands whereas Derek Fox covers the projected aircraft carrier CVA-21. Also, Allan George gives us a story about the escape of Polish warships to Great Britain in 1939 and we have the next chapter on Scapa Flow, while Paul Baker writes about John F Kennedy and the torpedo boat PB 109. Other ships this issue include the Bismarck and Hatsuyuki. Plus we have more excellent artworks from Andy Hay. Do get involved with the magazine by emailing me at wowm.ed@kelsey.co.uk The magazine is available from WH Smith and all good newsagents or see pages 46-47 for an enticing subscription offer. Enjoy the mag. Charles Waters Editor
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WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine February 2020
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ON THE COVER: HMS St Albans. MoD/Crown copyright.
ON THE BACK: USS Huntington, USS Dayton and USS South Dakota laid up at Philadelphia in 1961.
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FOLD-OUT GATEFOLD FEATURE
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NEWS
12
HOSPITAL SHIPS
Naval news from around the world.
Medical support at sea is part of a warship’s operational function, but when deployed in hostile maritime battle space a naval force requires capability on a larger scale that can deliver emergency care, surgical expertise and care for mass causalities.
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PICTURE ROUND-UP
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NEW PATROL BOAT FOR THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
An assortment of images sent in by some of our readers.
The Royal Australian Navy recently announced the gifting of another Guardian-class patrol boat to one of the country’s nearby neighbours, the Solomon Islands, which is located in the Coral Sea to the northeast of Australia.
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THE BATTLE OF CROMARTY
The underwater threat posed to the mighty dreadnoughts of the British Grand Fleet (GF) had been brought home in the most telling fashion conceivable on 23 September 1914, when the armouredcruisers Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy were sunk with the loss of 1,459 men by Commander Otto Weddigen’s U-9
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SCAPA FLOW – PART 4
One of the most dramatic incidents in naval history occurred in June 1919 when the German fleet was scuttled at the Royal Navy base of Scapa Flow. The High Seas Fleet had been interned under the terms of the Armistice while negotiations took place over the fate of the ships.
USS JOHN F KENNEDY AND THE PT 109
There is an aura that surrounds American President John F Kennedy. A future Ford-class aircraft carrier is the second carrier to be named for the President slain by an assassins’ bullet in Dallas in 1963. John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s military career was forged in the South Pacific and is forever linked to the torpedo boat PT 109.
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PROJECTED ROYAL NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER CVA-21
By the early 1960s, the Royal Navy had disposed of most of its wartime constructed aircraft carriers but still possessed one of the largest carrier fleets in the world.
ESCAPE OF THE POLISH WARSHIPS TO GREAT BRITAIN IN 1939
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Right under the noses of the Germans poised to invade Poland, three Polish destroyers escaped to Great Britain in September 1939. They were followed shortly afterwards by two submarines.
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BOOK REVIEWS/LETTERS
A choice of books from Pen and Sword Publishing to spent some of that Christmas money on.
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SUBSCRIPTION
48
WARGAMING
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JDS HATSUYUKI DD-122
See these pages for a great deal on taking out a subscription for the magazine.
New to World of Warships Marko Valentic and his team from wargaming.net give us the history on HMS Indomitable and you are invited on to their online wargaming site.
World of Warships Magazine Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL EDITORIAL Editor: Charles Waters Email: wowm.ed@kelsey.co.uk Contributors: Andrew Hay, Rebecca Screaton, Derek Fox, Mike Williams, Campbell McCutcheon, Paul Baker, David Reynolds Allan George, Jon Duggan and Marko Valentic Designer: Mark Aston ADVERTISEMENT SALES Hill View Media Ltd, Ben Foster ben@hillviewmedia.com Tel 01366 728 488, 07976 256 205 Production: MANAGEMENT Managing Director: Phil Weeden Chief Executive: Steve Wright Finance Director: Joyce Parker-Sarioglu Publisher: Paul Appleton HR & Operations Manager: Charlotte Whittaker Retail Distribution Managers: Eleanor Brown/ Steve Brown Audience Development Manager: Andy Cotton Senior Print Production Manager: Nicola Pollard Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Kelly Orriss DISTRIBUTION IN THE UK Marketforce (UK) 2nd Floor 5 Churchill Place Canary Wharf London E14 5HU Tel: 020 3787 9001 DISTRIBUTION IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Newspread Tel: +353 23 886 3850 PRINTING PCP, Telford Published: January 10, 2020 ISSN: 9 772516 757006 Kelsey Media 2019 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties. Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/ . If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey. co.uk.
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Lead ship of the Hatsuyuki-class of destroyers serving with the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) has 28 years of active service.
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FLEET’S NEW CARRIER COMMISSIONED THE ROYAL NAVY’s second Queen Elizabeth-class, HMS Prince of Wales, has been commissioned by HRH Prince Charles. To date, more than £100m has been spent dredging the harbour at Portsmouth and enhancing facilities including an upgrade to the Princess Royal Jetty which will be home to both carriers. For the first time both carriers were seen at Portsmouth as HMS Queen Elizabeth returned from a three-month deployment in the United States to conclude a further phase of trials for the F-35, called Westlant 19. The QE retuned to Portsmouth with an F35 on deck after the aircraft suffered minor technical problems. It was quickly repaired and on 6 December 2019, the aircraft made history when it lifted off and became the first F-35B to lift off from a carrier or warship alongside. The £3.1 billion Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are the largest, most capable and powerful surface warships
The Royal Navy’s two new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, both pictured at Portsmouth.
ever constructed in the UK. Both will have a company group of Royal Marines based aboard to provide force
protection and deliver a high readiness capability to rescue downed pilots, known as Joint Personnel Rescue (JPR).
RUSSIA’S ONLY AIRCRAFT CARRIER CATCHES FIRE
The Admiral Kuznetsov which is currently in maintenance suffered extensive damage in the fire.
Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, caught fire during repair work at Moscow’s Arctic Sea Port of Murmansk in early December. Six people are understood to have been injured and one person was listed as missing. The fire broke out during maintenance work in a power unit creating a thick plume of black smoke which was seen from the upper
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WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine febrUARY 2020
deck. An inquiry has been launched to establish how the blaze started. Admiral Kuznetsov is the Russian navy’s largest warship and its sole aircraft carrier capable of carrying horizontal take-off and landing aircraft. The warship made its first combat deployment in 2016 to the Mediterranean when fighter aircraft launched operations into Syria.
The US Navy’s new USS Gerald R Ford, the first of the new generation Ford-class carrier.
SHIPS BOOKAZINES
of technical issues. But the US Navy has stated that it is confident that the systems will deliver the new capability the fleet is seeking to launch and recover more aircraft – known as the sorties rate. The aim for deck officers on the Gerald R Ford is to boost the rate to 160 over a 12-hour period compared to the 120 launches and recoveries recorded by the Nimitz-class. Observers suggest that such a massive change from ‘steam powered’ to ‘electromagnetic energy’ will suffer teething problems. In the past, deck officers have had to calculate the weight of the aircraft and payload in order to generate the correct level of steam power. The new EMALS system is fully computer controlled and delivers an exact level of electric energy to launch aircraft off the deck. In the meantime, land based testing continues to ‘iron out’ concerns with the high tech launch-and-recovery systems as the sortie rate is not hitting the required level. World of Warships will be publishing a special publication about the USS Gerald R Ford in the next few months. For more details and to order an early copy see www.kelsey.co.uk
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SCAPA FLOW
THE GERMAN HIGH SEAS FLEET ITS SURRENDER, SCUTTLING AND SALVAGE
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The USS Gerald R Ford completed a significant series of exercise late last year before returning to Naval Station Norfolk as the warship moves closer to be declared a fully operational aircraft carrier in 2020. This year (2020) will see the carrier commence aircraft compatibility trials, which will see pilots flying on and off the USS Gerald R Ford. This will provide vital training for the deck crews and will test the warship’s new launch and recovery systems. This training period will see aircraft from across the carrier air group taking part in landings and take-offs, although it is understood the F-35C, which will not take part in the package of training. Certification is due to take place next month (March) and will be a major milestone for the first of the new Ford-class carries. If approved an initial air group of 50 aircraft, including F-18s, electronic attack planes and early warning aircraft will join the ship. The ship will be powered by two reactors generating huge energy which will provide the capability to power the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and the new Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) which have been criticised by Congress after a series
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INDIA AIMS TO LEASE AKULA SUBMARINE THE Indian Government have commences discussions for the lease of a third Akulaclass nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. India already has one nuclearpowered submarine, the Chakra, leased from Moscow.
It came in 2012. India is also expected to lease a second submarine of the Akula-class but an official announcement has not been made yet. Nuclear-powered submarines must under international laws be leased, not purchased.
The Indian Navy are seeking to lease a further nuclear submarine from the Russian Navy
DANISH WARSHIP BOUND FOR THE GULF The Danish Navy is to join the European Task Force deployed in the Strait of Hormuz.
THE Danish government is to deploy a frigate to the Persian Gulf this year (2020) to support a mutli-national maritime operation to maintain ‘freedom of movement’ in the Strait of Hormuz. Defence Minister Trine Bramsen said: “This contribution can help ensure that our ships can sail freely without running into any safety risks.” The warship will join the European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of
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WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine febrUARY 2020
Hormuz, which was bolstered by a vessel from the Netherlands Navy late in 2019. In addition, the contribution consists of one to two officers who will be working at the French-led headquarters in Abu Dhabi for 12 months. The European initiative will work in parallel with the US led escort operation, which has been running for six months. Their role is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to merchant
vessels. The narrow waterway is of huge strategic importance. It links the Gulf States with the Indian Ocean, and serves as a throughway for a third of the world’s liquified natural gas and almost a quarter of total global oil exports. In 2015, the Iranian authorities seized a Maersk ship in the Strait of Hormuz over an unpaid debt that the Danish company had not been made aware of. The ship was later released.
TURKISH CARRIER
The Turkish Navy will receive its first aircraft carrier next year, but there is confusion about what aircraft it will operate. Ankara had been planning to buy the US stealth fighter, the F-35B, but Washington has announced it will not sell the aircraft to Erdogan’s government. Called the TCG Anadolu it will be Turkey’s biggest domestically built warship and has been based on Spain’s Juan Carlos design. The initial plan was for the Anadolu to be a bespoke helicopter carrier to support its primary role of amphibious operations. But the Turkish Navy changed its plans and opted for a fully equipped flight deck with a ski- jump ramp in front, in readiness to purchase the F-35B aircraft. According to government sources, Turkey planned
to buy as many as 100 F35s of the ‘B’ and ‘A’ variants. The move to prevent Turkey buying the F35 was announced after President Tayyip Erodogan ignored warnings that if Ankara purchased the Russian S-400 air defence system, the F35 deal would be cancelled. Turkey had been a Level 3 partner in the Joint Strike Fighter programme and the new Turkish vessel was expected to operate a joint force of 12 F35s and 12 helicopters. But days after the S-400s arrived in Turkey; Ankara was informed their place in the programme had been withdrawn. Turkey had been rebuilding its military capability in the past five years, but the procurement of the air defence system has caused serious concern across NATO.
AL KARAMA
UK ASSISTANCE TO CHILE The Royal Navy’s survey vessel HMS Scott has deployed to the South Atlantic in December to assist the Chilean military in a search for a C-130 military plane. UK forces based in the Falkland Islands, have already been helping with the search effort – sending a military liaison team and an A400M aircraft, crewed with personnel to carry out a visual search. The ocean survey vessel operated under the command of Chile’s amphibious landing vessel CNS Sargento Aldeya.
A FORMER Irish Navy vessel, which was decommissioned three years ago, was bought by a Libyan warlord according to a report by the United Nations Security Council. According to the UN the vessel, named as the Le Aisling, was sold for 110,00 Euros by the Irish Government in March 2017 to a company in the Seychelles that trades in the Netherlands. It was then renamed the Avenhorn and registered in Belize by the Dutch company on 3 August 2017, as a ‘patrol vessel’. It was then sold in March 2018 to Universal Services, UAE, for $525,000, with Universal telling the seller that it was to be used for counter-piracy and maritime operations near Egypt. Then it was registered in Panama and listed as a pleasure yacht before ending up in the hands of General Khalifa Haftar’s government opposition forces in Libya. The former Irish coastal patrol vessel was fitted out with three cannons and renamed the Al Karama and is being used in attacks against the Tripoli based Government of Accord. The United Nations concludes that the sale to Libya was in breech of UN sanctions, but little appears to have been done to impose the ruling. febrUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
The RFA Argus pictured in the Persian Gulf during Operation Granby, when she first deployed as Primary Casualty Receiving Ship (PCRS). Picture David Reynolds/DPL
HOSPITAL
SHIPS GENERATING MEDICAL CAPABILITY AT SEA Medical support at sea is part of a warship’s operational function, but when deployed in hostile maritime battle space a naval force requires capability on a larger scale that can deliver emergency care, surgical expertise and care for mass casualties. The Falklands (1982) and Gulf (1990) wars proved the value of hospital ships – albeit they were adopted vessels taken up from commercial trade. 12
WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine FEBRUARY 2020
T
he challenge for the Royal Navy is that such vessels are expensive bigticket items and in today’s iscally challenged economy, defence chiefs rarely regard such specialist ships as a ‘must have’ until conlict erupts. Then in the case of the Royal Navy a commercial vessel often has been taken up from trade and converted for the role. However, in the past three years there has been growing pressure in the UK for the Department of International Development to fund a dedicated capability. The move comes as the merchant ship, RFA Argus, which currently provides a unique form of hospital support, and has been in service since 1982 is despite a recent major overhaul, due to be retired in the next decade leaving the military with no naval resource for deployed British military forces. The Gulf War (Operation Granby) highlighted a series of military concerns facing British forces, including the threat of a chemical attack, which could cause a serious logistical challenge in evacuating and treating injured personnel. At the time the Royal Navy had no oficial hospital ship and there was concern about the justiication of procuring or assigning a dedicated vessel to the role of ‘hospital ship’, which may not see a lot of operational use. Commander Paxton Dewar, a Royal Navy medical oficer, proposed installing a medical complex within a naval support ship, which could be used to treat and evacuate casualties and would not need to be oficially, listed a hospital ship. His concept was called the Primary Casualty Receiving Ship (PCRS) and was irst deployed in Operation Granby. It gave the Navy a capability but also allowed the ship to retain its operational role. His vision saw a surgical capability and hospital wards being installed inside the RFA Argus and deployed into the Persian Gulf in support of the deployed UK force on land and at sea. Argus formerly the MV Contender Bazant, had been taken up from trade by the Ministry of Defence in 1982 to support the Falklands war and was then purchased and commissioned into service as a naval support ship in 1984 with the speciic role as an Aviation Training ship for Sea King helicopter pilots.
The hospital complex aboard RFA Argus is intricate and includes a surgical capability. Picture Noel Harrison/DPL
International rules on the declaration of a vessel as a ‘hospital ship’ are governed by the Geneva Convention, which states that dedicated hospital ships must be painted white and clearly highlighted as a medical facility. But while the UK needed the capability there was a reluctance to dedicate such a large asset to a permanent medical role. Commander Dewar’s concept of a PCRS provided an opportunity for the deployed hospital and allowed the ship to remain grey and not displaying any red crosses. The hospital aboard RFA Argus has expanded since it was irst deployed
and includes a fully equipped 100bed medical complex an emergency department, resuscitation and surgical facilities, and a radiology suite complete with a CT scanner and if needed it can all be unbolted and removed. Since commissioning in 1990 the Argus hospital has received wide acclaim and deployed on operations in the Adriatic in support of the UK’s contribution to the United Nations operation, then in support of the mission in Sierra Leone and in 2003 off southern Iraq where Argus was deployed in support of amphibious operations off the Al Faw Peninsula. The importance of a ship such as Argus was highlighted when the vessel was deployed for six months in 2015 supporting the UK response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, known as Operation Gritlock. The ship’s capability was instrumental in providing support to the personnel on the ground using boats and Merlin helicopters to transport personnel and materials to all areas of Sierra Leone. She effectively acted as a logistics hub to support the work ashore and did not embark any ebola patients to her 100-bed medical facility.
Medics aboard RFA Argus take part in a medical evacuation exercise to hone their skills. Picture Chris Smith/DPL FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
ABOVE: Sea King helicopters on the deck of the RFA Argus during her deployment to Croatia in the Balkans on United Nations mission. Picture David Reynolds/DPL BELOW: The SS Uganda a commercial ship taken up from trade and converted for use as a hospital ship in the 1982 Falklands war. Peter Holdgate /DPL
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BACKGROUND During the 17th century the concept of a hospital ship evolved to support sick and wounded sailors. Their role was to deliver essential treatment and transit sailors to the hospitals ashore. The earliest record of a hospital ship is the Goodwill in 1608 and it is belived she served in the Mediterranean. Throughout the reigns of Charles II and James II, two ships were kept for this role and deployed when war broke out with France 1689. From 1742 until 1828, stationary hospital and convalescent ships were moored in the main naval divisional ports of Chatham, Plymouth, and Portsmouth. During the Crimean War hospital ships were used to evacuate injured soldiers from the Siege of Sevastopol in a leet of converted vessels. In 1907, Hague convention protected hospital ships and gave them immunity from attack providing they bore prescribed distinguishing marks – that being a large red cross. During the First World War, the RMS Mauretania and the Aquitania were among many ships converted for service as hospital
ships and by the end of the war the leet had more than 70 in service. The capability expanded in the Second World War, although despite their status ive hospital ships were sunk by the Germans. In the post war years there was no obvious or operational demand for hospital ships. UK operations in Malaya, Aden and Cyprus were supported by land based medical teams, but in 1982, commanders quickly identiied that the pending conlict in the south South Atlantic would require the support of hospital ships. The Navy requisitioned the P&O cruise ship Uganda to be converted for use as a hospital ship alongside the survey ships HMS Hydra, Hecla and Herald. But the Royal Yacht, which was constructed so that it could be converted into a hospital ship, was not deployed. Uganda sailed for the Atlantic from Gibraltar with 136 medical staff, and her call sign was ‘Mother Hen’. The irst casualties the ship received were from HMS Shefield. By the end of the campaign, the ship’s crew treated 730 casualties, 150 of whom were Argentine prisoners.
Argus pictured on deployment in the Gulf where she can support Royal Marine operations, deploy naval helicopters and provide the PCRS role. Picture Pete Holdgate/DPL
THE FUTURE The US Navy has for many years deployed a dedicated hospital ship, but at a time when the Royal Navy is facing manpower shortages a dedicated vessel may be seen as yet another challenge at a time when personnel are needed for the carriers and the frontline fleet. A ship funded and managed by DFID would still need to be maintained and managed when not deployed and would still need a military contingent aboard if deployed in support of UK operations. The fleet’s favoured concept remains that of the PCRS. A hybrid vessel that is able to deliver care while at the same time utlising its capability in support of the wider fleet present a more flexible option. When not deployed in its PCRS role Argus has supported amphibious operations assisted in humanitarian missions and provided a tier one medical resource on operations off West Africa.
The challenge for DFID or the Ministry of Defence in funding a dedicated ship will be how to utilize the ship when not on operations while maintaining the policy of the Geneva Convention that the vessel is only used in a medical role. When she was in office at DFID Penny Mordaunt indicated that she fully supported the concept of her then department exploring the cost of a specialist ship. But at a time when the National Health Service is seeking uplift in its budget and defence is calling for more investment, it is unlikely that
a decision to spend more than £300 million on a new hospital ship will be politically acceptable. While large American aircraft carriers are all fitted with major surgical facilities, the United States still opts to maintain hospital ships. The capability is also maintained by Russia who list three vessels dedicated to the role, Peru who has converted a former passenger ship, Indonesia, which has adapted a former landing ship, and Brazil with four hospital vessels. China operates two hospital ships in support of the People’s Liberation Army and Navy (PLAN). In addition Spain operates Mercy ships and India lists one vessel, although it is not clear if this ship is still operational. The United States Navy operates two hospital ships the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort. Both are converted San Clemente-class tankers, displacing approximately 70,000 tonnes and have a 1,000 bed capacity and 12 operating theatres, they are also equipped for the widest range of medical treatment options. Mercy is home based on the Pacific coast and Comfort, the Atlantic. Both are activated in response to need rather than being permanently in operation. ■
The US hospital ship Comfort, a converted commercial ship, which has extensive facilities. Picture Bill Masha/DPL
FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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PICTURE ROUND-UP ARA LIBERTAD The Argentine Navy Sail Training vessel ARA Libertad has made her first visit to London for 17 years. She was berthed in the West India Dock in London from 2529 October and was open to the public over the weekend 26-27 October. The photo shows Libertad passing Gravesend on 29 October en-route to her next port of call in Dublin. DAVID WALTER
GOING DUTCH The Dutch frigate HNLMS Van Speijk (F828) visited London from 6-11 November, including the Remembrance Weekend. Attached is a photo of her outward bound journey passing Gravesend on 11 November. DAVID WALTER
VISITORS TO PORTSMOUTH
FGS LUBECK AND HMS BLAZER Two photos taken by Derek Fox in Portsmouth, one is the German frigate FGS Lubeck (F214) pictured leaving on 11 November 2019 after a weekend visit, while the other is the Royal Navy’s Archer-class patrol vessel HMS Blazer (P279). DEREK FOX
French patrol vessel FS Pluvier – P678 departed Portsmouth on 4 November after a weekend visit.
Unusual visit of the Portuguese frigate NRP D Francisco De Almeida – F334 arriving on 4 November. She was originally the Dutch HNLMS Van Galen and was sold to Portugal in 2006. DAVID WALTER
FEATURE
NEW PATROL BOAT FOR
SOLOMON
ISLANDS The Royal Australian Navy recently announced the gifting of another Guardian-class patrol boat to one of the country’s nearby neighbours, in this case the Solomon Islands which is located in the Coral Sea to the northeast of Australia. JON DUGGAN
T
he Australian Navy is gifting 21 Guardian-class vessels built by shipbuilder Austral at their facilities at Henderson in Western Australia, just south of Perth.
RSIPV Gizo (05)
So far recipients have included:1. Papua New Guinea – HMPNGS Ted Diro (P401); 2. Tuvalu – HMTSS Te Mataili II (802); 3. Tonga – VOEA Ngahau Koula (P301); 4. Samoa – RMIS Nafanua II (04); and now, 5. Solomon Islands – RSIPV Gizo (05). Other nations that will be receiving their vessels between 2020 and 2023 are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu where they will be used to police EEZs, SAR, detect illegal activities and participate in Disaster Relief/Humanitarian Aid. The vessels will be supported by Austral’s Service centre in Cairns, Queensland… close to the Coral Sea. This is not the irst time that the Australian Government had been ‘neighbourly’ towards its neighbours having previously provided 22 Paciicclass patrol boats that were delivered between 1987 and 1997. These vessels were 31.5 x 8.1 x 1.8m with a range of 1,500nm and had a crew of 18.
The Guardian-class offer a signiicant improvement being 39.5 x 8 x 2.5m with a range of 3,000nm and a crew of 23. During the handover of Gizo, attended by the Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister – Manasseh Sogavare and Australia’s Minister for Defence Industries – Melissa Price, the CEO for Austral – David Singleton was reported saying: “We’re very proud of the fact we have delivered ive Guardian-class Patrol Boats in less than 12 months, and even prouder of the consistently positive feedback we are receiving from the Paciic Island nations operating them.
“Faster, with improved seakeeping, better amenities and an enhanced mission capability – including the integrated stern launch and recovery – the Guardian-class Patrol Boats provide our neighbours with a much improved naval asset to carry out border patrols, regional policing, search and rescue and many other operations.” In this way Australia is ensuring that some of its neighbours are able to enforce the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) with assistance from both the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy who frequently send vessels to visit. ■ FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
BATTLE CROMARTY The underwater threat posed to the mighty dreadnoughts of the British Grand Fleet (GF) had been brought home in the most telling fashion conceivable on 23 September 1914, when the armoured-cruisers Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy of the 7th Cruiser Squadron where sunk off the Mass lightship with the loss of 1,459 men by Commander Otto Weddigen’s U-9. A single small coastal submarine had destroyed an entire squadron of capital-ships. MIKE WILLIAMS
An overall diagrammatic sketch of the scene of the ‘Incident’, with the location of the principal units.
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dmiral Sir John Jellicoe in command of the massed GF had the unenviable task of containing the German High Seas Fleet within its home water through imposing a distant blockade demanding such exposed cruiser sweeps of the contested North Sea. This was an exhausting process on both men and machines which when compounded by the enhanced and growing perception of the abilities and potential of U-boats to attack them wherever they went even in harbour, was a fear which had recently driven even the mighty GF to
A striking view of the battle-cruiser Queen Mary, capturing her at the Fleet Review in late July 1914 just before the outbreak of The First World War.
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its improvised base at Loch-na-Keal on Mull, from its main Scapa Flow anchorage after a number of U-boat scares around the Orkney’s. In late October 1914, the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron (1BCS) of the GF, formed around the Flagship of the dashing Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty’s Lion, along with Queen Mary and New Zealand, accompanied by their screen of light cruisers and phalanx of destroyers, which had been on yet another sweep of the North Sea, were ordered to head for the supposedly secure, important, forward base of the GF at Invergordon in the Cromarty Firth to coal and get some much needed rest, with Scapa Flow still deemed too open and vulnerable to surprise attack after yet another submarine scare there on 17 October. In relating what was to follow, it has indeed been fortunate for posterity that the very telling personal recollections of two individuals onboard Queen Mary under the command of Captain Rudolf Bentinck, namely Major Gerald Rooney (Royal Marines), and Midshipman Arthur Bagot have survived, and their accounts have been extensively incorporated into the fabric of this tale. I have drawn heavily upon these eye-witnesses to
ABOVE: Generally credited as being the last photograph to have been taken of the Queen Mary, this evocative image captures a number of interesting points on her last day at Jutland. LEFT: The Queen Mary in late 1913 on passage down the Solent, in this image her majestic appearance can be fully appreciated. Here the obvious presence of her itted torpedo net upon its deck edge shelve renders this photo to her immediate trials period, conirmed by her possession of a funnel identiication band.
try and inally discover exactly what actually transpired from their unique perspective. On Sunday the 25th Queen Mary and her companions entered Cromarty Firth during the morning watch and moved up to lay-off Invergordon, where she anchored allowing the collier Holmpark to come alongside taking in 1,600 tons of coal. In a letter Beatty gave a very good indication of how well employed his ships had been since the outbreak of war, by mentioning that his squadron had steamed 5,400 miles at sea during August, and around 6,000 miles during each of the following two months. He also commented upon how his ‘Great Coal Eaters’ had required to undertake coaling evolutions on average every four days because of this demanding time at sea. On this distant Monday afternoon of 26 October 1914, in the early phase of the First World War, there occurred a little known incident long forgotten, an event which clearly demonstrated the nervousness, and indeed feeling of acute vulnerability that the mighty capital ships of the GF had about one arm of the elusive German Navy, its U-boats. In this affair paradoxically the public’s very favourable perception towards the vigilance of the ships involved and their capacity to defend themselves, was directly countered by the Royal Navy’s recognition of their inabilities to oppose such a threat, when the anchored ships of the 1BCS opened ire at a ‘sighting’ off Invergordon, in what would later become known to a select few as ‘The Battle of Cromarty’. Onboard Queen Mary, hands had
been called at 06.10 to clean ship, in preparation for what was thought to be yet another routine day in harbour. Lion had secured the store ship Calder alongside at 06.20 ready to embark supplies, casting her off again at 10.20, as the general scene inside the wide expanse of Cromarty Firth on that day saw the three battle-cruisers of the 1BCS, undertake routine service and domestic matters, sheltered and at peace within the protected conines of this defended anchorage, with their own anti-torpedo nets deployed. From the viewpoint of Queen Mary, New Zealand was in the dry-dock loating about half a mile away just to the west off Invergordon Ferry, while
Lion lay astern of her in the deep water channel to the south-east of the town. This morning for the moored 1BCS had been an uneventful and customary one, but all of this was to change just after midday. At around 12.15 a signal was received onboard Queen Mary from the Flagship, conveying that a submarine was purportedly within the Firth, with speculation on the bridge noting that it might have followed a steamer into the anchorage, upon which Captain Bentinck ordered that red watch, man her aft 4in gun battery, nearest the Firth’s entrance. However apart from this precaution there was and, inexplicably, no further action taken. ➤
Coaling ship, here the crew of the dreadnought Collingwood coal alongside a secure berth at Plymouth around 1912, a markedly easier task than from a collier. In this particular evolution it appears that they were well served by the on-shore facilities. FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE An unidentiied Bellerophon-class dreadnought entering Cromarty Firth as seen from the Sutors of Cromarty at the entrance. What the extent and nature of the hurriedly provided late 1914 defences were has been impossible to determine.
Through glasses I could not discern any periscope, but the upper portion of a conning tower appeared to be throwing up the water in a forward direction. I gave the order to the signalman to ire the spotting maxim at it, and immediately gave the order to sound the alarm, with the bearing ‘red 90’, and about ten seconds afterwards open ire. The fore battery opened almost at
RIGHT: Present at Cromarty on the day of the ‘Battle’, Lion the renowned early war lagship of Admiral Beatty, which fought at all the major naval actions of the First World War in this celebrated capacity.
Queen Mary carried 16 4in pieces in two eight-gun batteries in single casements. Both of these groupings where carried on the forecastle deck, in well appointed iring positions with a concentration of no less than six pieces ahead, four astern, and eight on either beam being possible. The only negative factor to note about this outit was that many considered its 25- pound projectile to be light to counter German torpedo-boats, but they were deemed more than capable of dispatching a U-boat. Shortly afterwards, blue watch was called to man the forward 4in gun battery, but there was seemingly a great deal of delay in getting these guns manned, two messages were sent to the quartermaster to have this piped without any effect, but eventually they were manned. By 12:30 all her secondary batteries spotting machine guns Maxim machine-guns were closed-up onboard the generally accepted crack gunnery ship of the 1BCS. This usually lackadaisical mood was in direct contrast to the predictable extreme reaction such a sighting in Scapa Flow had upon the GF, and the inevitable tremendous commotion it produced there, a fact gleaned from more that one source, leaving this slow initial reaction at Cromarty on that day strange to relate. The most obvious sign of a stirring within the Firth was the raising of steam in the some 40
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supporting trawlers and drifters in the anchorage before the ‘action’ opened with a marked discrepancy in times between two oficial sources. Queen Mary’s logbook records: ‘12.30 open ire with 4in guns on supposed submarine’, while that of Lion notes: ‘12.57 opened ire with 4in guns at an object which appeared to be a submarine’, before noting her cease ire at 13.03. No explanation for these marked discrepancies has been discovered, but a telling indication of the effect of such gunire can be drawn from the following two personal extracts, which only confuse the entire chronological sequence of events still further: ‘I gave the 4in guns a range of 1,000yds, zero delection, and the gunnery lieutenant came up and decided to put everything to zero, so as to get a lat trajectory. About 12.30 or 12.20 the signalman of watch called out, ‘there’s a submarine sir’, the lookout reported it at the same time, and there was a general shout from below of ‘There she is.’ Over on the south side of the irth, about 900 to 1,000yds off, and heading straight up towards New Zealand in the loating dock, appeared some submerged object, or a submarine, moving at about 10kts speed, throwing up a jet of water from her periscope or conning tower, presumably to a height of three or four feet. About 20ft abaft this another spurt of spray was being lung up.
once, also the after battery, under the irst lieutenant. The rounds fell about halfway, 500yds off, and the guns got the range by degrees, but the iring was undoubtedly very bad, the ranges given being by no means good, so ire was much scattered’. (Rooney) ‘13.00 Wave seen moving up harbour abeam of us at 200 to 300yds about 12kts. Opened ire, ditto Lion. Maxim gun hit straight away. Shots ricocheted into village and wood opposite. Fired about three or four rounds from each gun’. (Bagot) Midshipman Bagot’s observations appear to have had underestimated the range, but indicates the approximately 30 4in shells, which were dispatched by Queen Mary’s portside secondary batteries alone at this ‘target’, guided by spotting machine-gun ire, with presumably Lion’s ire of a similar weight in an estimated ive minutes fusillade. Obviously the poor performance revealed in Queen Mary’s secondary armament shoot earlier on the 8th of that month with New Zealand had still not been corrected in the short span of time granted their crews, it being immediately accepted that this defensive ire had been badly directed with potentially very serious collateral effects ashore. ‘The Lion also opened ire lamentably short at irst, all the iring seemed wild. The Maxim also jammed, but its spotting duty was
complete. The shots from the 4in ricocheted in shore, and commenced to burst on the beach, in the woods, and on the hillside, in a dangerous manner, especially when the wash passed abeam. The shells apparently passed over or through the little village of Jemimaville’. (Rooney) It is conveyed that Queen Mary ceased iring at 13.04 only as the wave of the ‘target’ disappeared, as concern was now directed towards the southern shore, especially where the ricochets and overs from the squadron’s ire had appeared to have fallen in and around the hamlet of Jemimaville, a small village on the northern coast of the Black Isle overlooking the Firth. On the bridge of Queen Mary, Captain Bentinck, Commander Llewelyn, Lieutenant’s Scholtz, Cowan and Ewart, along with Major Rooney, had witnessed this dangerous ‘friendly’ ire landing onshore. Bentinck ordered a cease ire even as Lion purportedly continued, as he was inclined to think it was the wash of a destroyer which had passed up some time previously, but the majority on the bridge were still certain that the object was a submarine.
Also present at Cromarty in late October 1914 was New Zealand, a much valued gift from a loyal Dominion seen here late in the war with a number of important physical changes to her structure.
One vital issue is to be highlighted, that no record deinitely mentions or even alludes to who ordered ire to commence, it appears that Lion opened ire irst but no one has authoritatively veriied this fact or mentioned the individual responsible. Indeed, a query now came from Lion to ascertain what had actually been ired upon, the Admiral himself stating that he considered that it had looked like the wash of a destroyer immediately conirming Bentinck’s impression, as the drama still continued but this time sanity prevailed: ‘An alarm was now raised from the upper deck, that the ‘submarine’ was
visible again, still to the southward, passing down harbour, and the guns were trained in that direction, but the captain gave the order, very wisely, not to open ire without his permission. Invergordon pier was now crowded with town folk, and all the shipping crowded with men, picket boats were swarming around, and tugs and destroyers stood by the loating dock to beat off any attack. But nothing more appeared’. (Rooney) It is striking to note the telling discrepancies in rendered times clearly noted in all oficial and private sources, as confusing as the overall incident itself and what had actually transpired. But from weighing-up all accounts it is perhaps feasible to advance that after an initial sighting around 12:15 presumably from Lion, the ships of the 1BCS went to man the secondary armament in a markedly measured fashion by 12.30, eventually opening ire upon a leeting and elusive ‘target’ slowly travelling up the Firth for an approximately ragged ive-minute barrage shortly after 12:55 with all ire ceasing by 13:05 as the object faded. I believe this to be a credible summation of this incident's timeline. ➤
A nice postcard view of Jamimaville in the halcyon days of peace during 1920, capturing its quiet charm, presumably little changed despite its shattering experience in late 1914 at the hands of the 1BCS.
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FEATURE
A superb study of Queen Mary’s near sisters, Lion and Princess Royal at anchor off Rosyth, the famous lair of Beatty’s ‘Big Cats’, the GF’s battle-cruisers. These three capital ships were very similar and are dificult to differentiate, but Queen Mary from the building programme following her sisters possessed a far more ‘rounded’ central funnel than the ‘lat’ example in the others as perhaps her most prominent distinguishing external feature.
Captain Bentinck stood by his contention that it was a wash, he saw no periscope but Engineer-Commander Rattey said he actually saw one foot of periscope, while Commanders James and Pennell actually ‘observed’ a torpedo, Lieutenants O’Manny and Ewart only wash on a bank, but Cowan was certain it was a submarine, while the enlisted signalmen and lookouts on the bridge were also all convinced it had been a submarine. A landing party from Queen Mary was eventually mustered and sent ashore at 15.30, where they found a few villagers and quickly established what had occurred at Jemimaville. Critically the village although hit, had miraculously escaped serious damage and more importantly there were no fatalities, but there was one very serious casualty. A couple of the houses had perforated upper-works, in one case a 4in shell had gone through the apex of the roof passing out the other side causing slates to ly everywhere. Herein lay a very personal tragedy, a single individual whose life was to be inexorably changed through the events of that day, and the effects of this one shell, which had it not been for the consummate skill of the local doctor would have ended then. Baby Alexandria McGill just ten months old, was lying in her cradle which fortunately had a stout wooden hood, when the whole second loor of the house fell in, the hearthstone lying across the cradle when she was found, neighbours thought her dead as one of her legs was hanging off, but the doctor took charge and cleared her lungs and later that day sewed on her little leg just below the knee. She had a scar all her life and one leg was shorter than
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A rare image of a Maxim machine-gun on a rudimentary mounting onboard a British capital ship in harbour, with the watch looking out for any threat. Examples of these guns were much employed for the spotting and direction of Queen Mary and Lion’s secondary batteries at the ‘Battle of Cromarty’.
the other, she never danced, wore a swimsuit or went bare legged, and was very self conscious of this disigurement throughout her life. The only acknowledgement from the Navy in this pre-compensation age was a small silver rattle shaped like a ship’s bell, inscribed ‘A present to Baby McGill from HMS Lion, October 1914’. This rogue device inally detonated over the road, showering the area in fragments, holing walls and breaking every window in the vicinity, while another couple of wayward shells had ploughed their way into the ields about 100yds south from the village, cutting up furrows in their impact before bursting. Fortunately, the majority of the errant shells ired in the ‘action’ appeared to have landed likewise, that is harmlessly in the woods to the south or on the edge of the village. No fragments could be found by the initial inspection parties, it being subsequently discovered that relic hunters had already descended upon the scene immediately after the bombardment, and had collected every single piece over the course of the afternoon. So ended the incident as far as
the Royal Navy was concerned, but within the 1BCS there was some soul searching now for an explanation as to what had truly ensued. Manifest to all within the 1BCS was the palpably poor level of accurate 4in defensive gunnery displayed, and to correct this an improved degree of gunnery training and practice shoots was arranged to correct this telling defect as soon as possible, so their was at least one positive and noteworthy service beneit derived from this iasco. Given this day’s events the story continued within the 1BCS, especially on the lower deck where endless yarns arose, all based upon a supposition that the submarine was imbedded in the mud bank to the south in Udale Bay, and would eventually come to light one day. While such rumours were tolerated within the 1BCS it became accepted by all service personnel concerned, that as far as possible the general public was to be kept in the dark about this particular embarrassing naval episode. Nothing was to be said about it, even in the Admiral of the GF’s usually detailed post-war coverage of the First World War, he only dedicated a very brief dismissive passage to this entire event:
‘On the 26th a submarine was reported inside Cromarty harbour, but Sir David Beatty, who was there with the battlecruisers, stated, after investigation, that he did not consider the report was true’. (Jellicoe) Indeed, the very brief logbook entries from Lion and Queen Mary, are signiicantly all that was oficial penned by the bridge personnel, strangely inconsequential and non-informative given the extremely unusual nature of the episode which had occurred. But obviously such highly visible goings on could not be completely covered up, especially among its many civilian witnesses, and that very evening in the stop-press column of the Inverness Courier there appeared the irst public mention of the event. Here it was publicly conveyed that a number of reports had reached the paper's ofice from Invergordon and Dingwall to the effect that German submarines (note plural) had broken into Cromarty Firth, were subsequently heavily engaged by British warships, and it was believed two of the hostile submarines had been sunk. Although it was admitted that no oficial conirmation of the report was available, there was undoubtedly heavy iring going on in Cromarty Firth for several hours (although just ive minutes seems likely from my investigation), and that great excitement reigned in not only Invergordon but all the towns and villages along the Firth whence the iring was distinctly evident. It was conirmed that the paper had elicited these ‘facts’ from several independent eye-witnesses, one of whom added that he understood considerable damage was done to buildings on the Cromarty side of the Firth by the iring, a vital correct point among so much otherwise speculative and second-hand accounts. The Inverness Courier persisted delving into this important local story, and the following day they had another far more revealing piece on this incident, titled, ‘Rumoured Submarine Attack - Excitement in the North’, primarily as seen by local irst hand witnesses. Here there was general praise and pleasure among the inhabitants that the 1BCS had proved to be so vigilant and apparently very effective in the manner in which they had performed. Obviously the confused
Not of the best quality, but it shows Lion in a typical scene not often captured, in this case it is not a collier alongside to starboard but the repair ship Assistance, the battle-cruiser possibly undergoing refurbishment and maintenance following her ight at the Dogger Bank.
and inaccurate iring by the battlecruisers was not apparent to those on shore, only the general impression of the ships beating off the enemy in a proicient fashion through their rapid and seemingly competent ire, at least as seen by these distant civilian observers. However, there was by then some understandable fervent oficial discomiture over the event, Major Rooney wrote: ‘A full and wonderful account appeared in the Inverness Courier, headed ‘The Battle of Cromarty’, which was promptly suppressed. Also a tacit understanding, that the less said about it the better. But who knows’. From this telling concluding comment, it is perhaps appreciated that while being shrouded in secrecy at that time for obvious profound service considerations during the war, this perceptive participant realised that it should be related in some fashion one day. It now has, due principally to his and Bagot’s invaluable private diary entries. The threats established by enemy
submarines, torpedoes and mines were certainly real and would inlict signiicant if not fatal damage upon many a ine ship of the Royal Navy throughout The First World War, and Second World War. The direct physical impact of such nefarious instruments of destruction were palpable and obvious, not so apparent was the insidious psychological inluence inherent in such a hidden underwater menace upon the minds and ultimately the abilities of personnel to perform under such continuous pressure without breaking or acting in an uncharacteristically lustered manner upon perceiving such a threat to be near, as was displayed by the apprehensive and fatigued crews onboard the 1BCS at the forgotten ‘Battle of Cromarty’. Readers just might like to know what happened to the characters whose experiences and evocative recollections have been so deeply involved in this article, and some of the other identiied members of Queen Mary’s crew. In March 1916, Midshipman Arthur Bagot was posted to the sloop Pantranion for service in the Mediterranean, later seeing action in the new destroyers Tirade sinking UC.55 off the Shetlands in 1917. Captain Bentinck, Lieutenant’s Cowan and O’Manny also left Queen Mary for other posts over the following months and undisclosed fates, but regrettably Major Rooney, Commander Llewelyn, Lieutenants Scholtz and Ewart, where lost along with this battle-cruiser and 1,266 members of her crew, leaving just 21 survivors after her explosive demise at Jutland on 31 May 1916. ■
Although it is another view of the main battle-cruiser anchorage off Rosyth during The First World War, albeit on a dull and misty day, this is included here because of its evocative rendering of a scene of heavy units and supporting light craft found in such a busy anchorage, as might have been witnessed at Cromarty in late October 1914. FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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CONFINED THEN SCUTTLED SCAPA FLOW Part 4 One of the most dramatic incidents in naval history occurred in June 1919 when the German fleet was scuttled at the Royal Navy base of Scapa Flow. The High Seas Fleet had been interned under the terms of the Armistice while negotiations took place over the fate of the ships. Fearing that all of the ships would be seized and divided among the allied powers, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter decided to scuttle the fleet.
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n Armistice between the Allied forces and those of Germany, Austro-Hungary and their allies was signed at Compiègne, France, on 11 November 1918 and this effectively ended the First World War. But the question remained of what steps to take next, as the German armed forces remained intact. The German Navy had been held at its home ports of Wilhelmshaven and Kiel following the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and ventured out only once more during the remainder of the conlict, before
the surrender came two years later. But under the terms of the armistice, in return for the lifting of the allied blockade of Germany, the ships were to be given up and handed to the Allies. The bulk of the German High Seas leet and their submarine force were surrendered in November 1919. Over 200 submarines sailed for Allied ports during the following two weeks, while the surface leet of more than 70 vessels was to sail for Allied or neutral ports to be interned while the ships’ fates were being decided by the peace
negotiations. The Allied powers agreed that Germany’s U-boat leet should be surrendered without the possibility of return, but were unable to agree upon a course of action regarding the German surface leet and what to do with the ships. The Americans suggested that the ships be interned in a neutral port until a inal decision was reached, but the two countries that were approached – Norway and Spain – both refused. Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss suggested that the leet be interned at Scapa Flow,
The Royal Navy’s battlecruiser HMS Lion leads the German cruisers into Scapa Flow. The German leet was searched and checked for contraband, weapons and ammunition, and then the ships were led to Scapa in groups of ive or so for internment. Lion was one of several RN ships that escorted the German ships into the anchorage. Along with the rest of the First Battlecruiser Squadron, she guarded the interned ships until she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in April 1919. (Supplied by Campbell McCutcheon)
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ABOVE: Rear-Admiral Meurer boards HMS Queen Elizabeth for the surrender negotiations. Admiral Beatty is on the far right. Beatty took the opportunity to humiliate the Germans and referred to Meurer as a ‘wretch’ throughout the negotiations. (Campbell McCutcheon collection) LEFT: British sailors wearing gas and lame masks as they encounter their wartime enemy. Many of the British sailors mistrusted the Germans and expected them to come out ighting, even though by this stage the war had ended. (Campbell McCutcheon collection) BELOW: Some of the combined leet of 250 Royal Navy vessels that ensured the German High Seas Fleet would surrender quietly. (Campbell McCutcheon collection)
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feature HMS Queen Elizabeth, Admiral Beatty’s lagship, was the lead ship of her class of dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s, and was often used as a lagship. Commissioned on 22 December 1914, she served in the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet, and also saw action in the Second World War.
with a skeleton crew of German sailors, and guarded in the interim by the Grand Fleet. The terms were transmitted to Germany on 12 November 1918, instructing them to make the High Seas Fleet ready to sail by 18 November, or the Allies would occupy Heligoland. On the night of 15 November, Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer, the representative of Admiral Franz von Hipper, met
Admiral David Beatty aboard Beatty’s lagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth. Beatty presented Meurer with the terms, and work to surrender the leet got under way, starting with the U-boats, which were to surrender to Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt at Harwich, under the supervision of the Harwich Force. Meanwhile, the surface leet was to sail to the Firth of Forth and surrender to Beatty. They would then be led to
Scapa Flow and interned, pending the outcome of the peace negotiations. Meurer asked for an extension to the deadline, aware that the sailors were in a mutinous mood (which earlier had led to the mutiny at Wilhelmshaven), and that the oficers might have dificulty in getting them to obey orders. However, Meurer eventually signed the terms after midnight. The U-boats were the irst craft to be
With depth charges at her stern, a British destroyer makes a sweeping turn to port, with a line of ive German battleships behind. (Campbell McCutcheon collection)
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ABOVE RIGHT: The Allied Naval Commission at Kiel ensured that the terms of the agreement of the Armistice were carried out. This included unloading all armaments and shells from the German ships. (Campbell McCutcheon collection) RIGHT: Admiral of the Fleet Earl David Richard Beatty on the quarterdeck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. He commanded the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. He succeeded Jellicoe as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, in which capacity he received the German High Seas Fleet’s surrender. BELOW: German capital ships Emden, Frankfurt and Bremse entering Scapa Flow. (Royal Navy oficial photographer)
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feature surrendered, and they began to arrive at Harwich on 20 November 1918, with a total of 176 eventually being handed over. However, Hipper refused to lead his leet to the surrender, delegating the task to Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, who commanded the leet aboard Friedrich der Grosse. The German ships were disarmed, emptied of ammunition and small arms, and made ready for sea by noon on 19 November 1918, with the exception of the battlecruiser Von der Tann, which was late getting up steam. With the capital ships in the lead, headed by Seydlitz, the long line of vessels, representing the pride of the Imperial Navy, passed the mouth of the Jade and headed to sea. They then
steamed into the Heligoland Bight, and through the mineields of the North Sea, to Scotland. At 6.45am on 20 November 1919 Reuter radioed to Beatty that forty-nine destroyers would rendezvous with the British ships. The leet was met by the British light cruiser HMS Cardiff on the morning of 21 November 1918; she led the German ships towards the Allied leet which was to escort the Germans to Orkney. This massive lotilla consisted of over 370 British, American and French warships, while there were seventy German ships in total; the battleship König and the light cruiser Dresden had engine trouble and had to be left behind. The destroyer V30 struck a mine while crossing, and sank; two men
The extraordinary sight of the German High Seas leet interned at Scapa Flow. The interned leet included ive battlecruisers, eleven battleships and six light cruisers, as well as two mine-laying cruisers and numerous smaller torpedo boats of various sizes. The torpedo boats were moored in rows south of the island of Cava and down Gutter Sound to the west of the island of Fava. The great grey ships lay at anchor, becoming a common sight among the people of Orkney, and dwaring the smaller tender vessels that serviced them for the winter of 1918-19.
were lost and the ship was abandoned. The German ships crossed the North Sea and were escorted into the Firth of Forth, where they were anchored. Beatty then signalled to them: ‘The German lag will be hauled down at sunset today and will not be hoisted again without permission.’ The German lags thus came down at 3.57pm and were not raised again for seven months. British guns had been trained on the ships as they arrived on the Forth, and the Allied crews were ready for action. The British, French and American leet that awaited the Germans was prepared for a possible ight, and many of the sailors wore their blast protection just in case. But as it turned out, the surrender was peaceful and the Germans were
Four of the German warships interned in Scapa Flow. As well as Baden, König Albert, Kaiserin and Derflinger, the leet included Seydlitz, Moltke, Von der Tann and Hindenburg. The large battlecruisers, which measured up to 700ft in length, were anchored in a north-south row on the west side of the island of Cava. The large battleships lay in the deep water to the north-east of Cava, with the cruisers moored further east in shallower water.
RIGHT: An American War Bonds advert referring to the German surrender as the greatest humiliation ever known . (Campbell McCutcheon collection) february 2019 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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The amazing spectacle at Scapa Flow of the anchorage illed with the warships of the German Imperial Fleet.
SMS Kรถnigsberg arriving in British waters on 16 November 1918, following the ending of the First World War, to negotiate the terms of the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet. (Campbell McCutcheon collection)
Some of the German leet interned at Scapa Flow.
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subdued, with the defeated sailors obeying Allied orders without protest. Once in the Forth, each of the German ships was checked before sailing for Scapa Flow, with all craft heading north between 22 and 26 November 1918. Once in Scapa, the destroyers were taken to Gutter Sound and the battleships and cruisers to the north and west of the island of Cava. Eventually, a total of 74 ships were interned, Kรถnig and Dresden having arrived on 6 December accompanied by the destroyer V129, which replaced the sunken V30. The last ship to arrive was the battleship Baden on 9 January 1919. And, moored in rows, they remained at Scapa. Continues in the April issue.
The German leet, having surrendered, awaiting delivery to Scapa Flow. (Campbell McCutcheon collection)
One of the German cruisers being escorted into Scapa Flow in 1918.
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feature German battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz at Scapa before the scuttling. She was ordered from Blohm & Voss, Hamburg in 1910 and commissioned in May 1913, becoming the fourth battlecruiser built for the High Seas Fleet. She was named after Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, a Prussian general during the reign of King Frederick the Great. Measuring 658ft 2in in length, she had four propellers, which were powered by Parsons turbines totalling 88,510shp giving a speed of 26.5 knots. Seydlitz saw limited action in the Baltic Sea, when she provided screening for the German lotilla that at Battle of the Gulf of Riga attempted to clear the Gulf in 1915. After her sinking, she was raised on 2 November 1928 and scrapped by 1930 in Rosyth.
FEATURE
JFK AND THE PT 109
P John F Kennedy on board PT-109.
There is an aura that surrounds American President John F Kennedy. A future Ford-class aircraft carrier is the second carrier to be named for the President slain by an assassins’ bullet in Dallas in 1963. Widely regarded as one of the best US Presidents, John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s military career was forged in the South Pacific and is forever linked to the torpedo boat PT 109. lw
The famous coco nut sh el
th ith e etch
ed message .
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T 109 was a patrol torpedo boat of the PT 103-class and was one of hundreds of similar vessels built from two layers of inch mahogany and rushed into service in the early years of America’s war in the Paciic. The hull was laid down at the shipyard of Elco, in Bayonne in New Jersey on 4 March 1942. She measured 80 feet overall and had a displacement of 56 tons. Power came from three 12 cylinder 1,500hp Packard gasoline engines and gave the small craft a top speed of 41 knots. Elco launched PT 109 on 20 June and was itted out at New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn in July 1942. Each of the PT boats were itted with muflers on their transoms to direct the engine exhausts under water, both to mask the engine’s noise for quiet operations and conversely to allow the ship’s company to hear approaching enemy aircraft and ships. They were armed with a single 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun at the stern, twin M2 .50 calibre anti aircraft machine guns, a smoke generator as well as their complement of four obsolete and ineffective 21in Mk 8 (First World War vintage) torpedoes. PT 109 on her inal mission also had a US Army 37mm antitank gun on the foredeck that replaced a small two-man life raft and a pair of depth charges. PT 109 was home to a crew of three oficers and 14 enlisted men. To add to the ineffectiveness of the torpedoes few of the PT boats were itted with radar at the start of the war and PT 109 never received a set. Other deiciencies with the PT boats were that due to marine growth and the inability in the South Paciic to remove them, their top speed steadily decreased until they were slower than the Japanese warships they were designed to hunt down and destroy. They were also loaded with highly volatile aviation fuel, which could explode if struck by a direct hit to the engine compartment. The PT boats were required to close an enemy to a range of around two miles, well within the range of Japanese destroyers’ guns before iring their ineffective torpedoes. They usually attacked at night, but when their torpedoes were in the water their wakes gave away the position of the iring ship
to the enemy. Yet another fault in the design was that when the torpedoes were launched, the launcher used a black powder charge to launch them. This would sometimes ignite the grease on the torpedoes themselves and the resultant lash would again give away the presence of the PT boat and all surprise was immediately lost. PT 109 was transported to the South Paciic theatre of operations onboard the Liberty ship SS Joseph Stanton in August 1942. Once at Nouméa, New Caledonia she was painted a lat, dark green overall. From there she sailed to the Solomon Islands and joined Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 based on Tulagi island. From 7 December 1942 to 2 February 1943 she participated in combat operations around Guadalcanal until the Japanese withdrew from the island. John F Kennedy, meanwhile, had been completing his training in PT boats at Rhode Island. Despite being declared medically unit to serve with a bad back, asthma and other illnesses, JFK used his father Joseph P Kennedy’s connections to ensure that he got to ight against the Japanese. After a short period working as an ensign in the Ofice of Naval Intelligence at Pearl Harbor, in January 1942 he was reassigned to South Carolina because he had had an affair with a Danish journalist called Inga Arvad. On 27 July 1942 the young naval oficer joined the Naval Reserve Oficers Training School in Chicago which was completed on 27 September. John F Kennedy volunteered to join the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island and was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade). JFK’s inluential father, once again, pulled strings to get his son an interview with Lieutenant Commander John Bulkeley commander of the squadron. He was impressed by the young man’s communication skills and appearance and his skilled knowledge of sailing which JFK had done in the waters off Massachusetts since he was a small child. Kennedy completed his training on 2 December and was soon in command of motor torpedo boat PT-101, a 78-foot Huckins PT boat in the training squadron, Motor Torpedo Squadron 4. Kennedy’s squadron was then
ordered to patrol the Panama Canal, well away from the perceived front line much to Kennedy’s chagrin. The future President then used his connections and inluence to persuade Massachusetts Senator David I Walsh, Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee to divert his assignment to the Solomon Islands. His arrival at the front line was a bloody affair. He arrived at Tulagi Island aboard the Rochambeau on 14 April, which had been attacked by aircraft that had left its captain dead and Kennedy helping hand shells to the gunners, giving him his irst taste of battle. PT-109 was assigned to the young lieutenant and he took command on 23 April. The boat was in poor shape and in need of many repairs, which Kennedy actively helped in to get her seaworthy. His irst battle orders were to take the vessel to the Russell Islands ahead of the invasion of New Georgia. Once Rendova Island had been secured, the PT boats set up a rudimental base at Lumbari on the island, known for its exotic diseases including malaria, dengue and elephantiasis as well as huge cockroaches, rats and ear fungus. From Rendova Island the PT boats were ordered to patrol and attack Japanese resupply barges, on the so-called Tokyo Express, whenever they were sighted. A Japanese air raid on the base by 18 aircraft saw PT-117 and PT-164 destroyed while two torpedoes blown off the latter circled the harbour erratically until running ashore on a beach without exploding. American codebreakers had cracked a message at the end of July indicating that ive Japanese destroyers would be sailing from the Solomon’s Bougainville Island through Blackett Strait to supply provisions to the garrison on Vila Plantation on Kolombangara Island. A mission was hurriedly organised whereby a force of PT boats would lay in wait for the arrival of the Japanese ships. The resulting skirmish would later become known as the Battle of Blackett Strait. On 1 August, 15 PT boats, including PT 109 sailed from Rendova at 6.30pm. The force was divided into four divisions of roughly four boats each. PT 109 was with PTs 162, 159 and 157. Their position was the farthest north of the groups, nearly midway up Kolombongara Islands west coast. When the Japanese warships arrived
nearly 30 torpedoes were ired, but none of them achieved their desired aim. Much of the blame for this was laid on the fact that nearly all the PT boats lacked even the most basic radar sets and were unable to locate the enemy vessels. Many of the torpedoes exploded prematurely or ran at a low depth and passed directly under the Japanese warships’ hulls leaving them able to safely arrive at their destination and unload troops and supplies. As the battle neared its end at 2am on 2 August 1943, PT 162, 169 and 109 were ordered to continue patrolling the areas. The night was moonless and cloudy and pitch black. Kennedy had ordered the engines to idle when to his shock and horror he saw the fast approaching hull of the Japanese destroyer Amagiri on a collision course at a speed of between 23 and 40 knots. In the seconds it took the destroyer to cover the distance between the two vessels JFK tried to turn his command and ordered the 37mm anti-tank gun to be ired. It was a futile act as the destroyer crashed into the wooden boat cutting it cleanly in two. A huge explosion ripped through the hull as the aviation fuel erupted into lame sending the American crew into the shark infested waters. Two men were killed instantly. PT-169 ired two torpedoes at the Japanese destroyer which missed completely, while sister ship PT 162’s torpedoes failed to ire at all. Now it was a ight for survival for John F Kennedy and the survivors of PT 109. He remained calm and in control. Summoning unknown levels of courage and determination, Kennedy collected the ten men to survive the explosion and started swimming for land. He himself, despite his life long bad back, put the straps to Patrick McMahon’s life preserver into his mouth and swam with him on his back for four hours through shark and crocodile infested waters to the tiny uninhabited Plum Pudding Island. The men had no water and little food on the island that measured just 100 yards in diameter. They hid in the treeline so as not to be seen by passing Japanese shipping. The following day John F Kennedy made another swim of two miles into the Ferguson Passage to try and attempt to signal any passing PT boats. He found none. On 4 August they swam to the Olasana Island and found ripe coconuts
but still no fresh water. The next day Kennedy and George Ross swan the half mile to neighbouring Naru Island and discovered a small canoe together with some crackers, candy and a iftygallon drum of drinkable water left by the Japanese. Kennedy loaded it into the canoe and paddled the supplies back to his men on Olasana Island. To his surprise Kennedy found two Solomon Islanders, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who gave the starving Americans some yams, vegetables and cigarettes. John F Kennedy and Gasa then devised a plan to get a message back to Rendova Island to organise a rescue and it involved coconuts. Kennedy etched a message into a coconut that the two Solomon natives took back. It would take another two days until the Americans were inally rescued from the island by PT 157. To the American press eager for good news stories from the front, Kennedy’s failure was transformed into a success story of survival against the odds. The New York Times proclaimed KENNEDY’S SON IS HERO IN PACIFIC AS DESTROYER SPLITS HIS BOAT”. Other papers wrote “KENNEDY’S SON SAVES 10 IN PACIFIC”, and “SHOT FROM RUSTY JAP GUN GUIDES KENNEDY RESCUERS”. For his heroism, Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal as well as the Purple Heart, but also made him a war hero, which did not damage his reputation when he started his career in politics after the war. Later while serving as President of the United States a scale model of PT-109 was in the oval ofice together with the preserved coconut which was fashioned into a glass paperweight on Kennedy’s desk. It is now in the John F Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts. During his campaign to become elected to the US Senate, JFK reached out the hand of friendship to Kohei Hanami, Commanding Oficer of the Amagiri and the two men became friends. Years later JFK’s daughter Caroline accepted the role of US Ambassador to Japan. Interestingly Plum Island was later renamed Kennedy Island. The front portion of the wreck of PT-109 was found by a dive team in May 2002 at a depth of 1,20 feet in an expedition headed by famed Robert Ballard. ■ FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
PROJECTED ROYAL NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER By the early 1960s, the Royal Navy had disposed of most of its wartime constructed aircraft carriers but still possessed one of the largest carrier leets in the world. DEREK FOX
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I
t had four front line leet carriers: Eagle, Ark Royal, Hermes, the modernised Victorious, plus the light carrier Centaur. Two further ships, Albion and Bulwark, were in the process of conversion into helicopter commando carriers. Of these, only two, the Eagle and Ark Royal, were large enough to operate an effective air wing based on the newer and larger aircraft coming into service such as the Phantom ighter and Buccaneer S.2 strike aircraft, and even those two ships could only operate relatively small air groups compared with the big American carriers. As all of the RN carriers had been designed and laid down at the end of the Second World War or earlier the vessels would be approaching the end of their useful lives by 1970. Therefore, it was announced in the Defence white paper of 1962 that design work would begin on a new class of large leet aircraft carriers which were planned to enter service in the 1970s, to be called the CVA-class. CVA 01 was to replace HMS Victorious and Ark Royal, CVA 02 the Hermes, and CVA 03 the Eagle. Once the Chiefs of Staff had given their approval for the new carriers, the
Image by Wakazashi, Hood, and Bombhead; CoA courtesy of K.W. Vestergaard
Board of the Admiralty began work on possible designs. These ranged from a 42,000-ton vessel up to a 76,000-ton ship based on the American Forrestalclass carrier then in service with the US Navy. This design would have had four steam catapults but was rejected early on because of its size and cost. However, studies undertaken by the navy had shown that a 42,000-ton carrier would carry an air group of 27 aircraft, whereas a 55,000-ton vessel could embark 49. This was an 80% increase in aircraft capacity for only a 30% increase in displacement and the navy pressed for a carrier which would be larger than the existing Eagle or Ark Royal. As soon as the likely costs for the design became apparent the government expressed concerns about the projected size of the new carriers and insisted on changes. These could only be achieved by reducing the deck area available and removing nearly all of the ships armour protection, and also by reducing the number of steam
catapults from four to two. Even with these design changes the total tonnage still exceeded 55,000 tons full load. DESIGN The inal design of the new aircraft carrier was for a ship over 900 feet long at the waterline with a light deck width of 184 feet. Propulsion was to be provided by six Admiralty boilers and three Parsons steam turbines delivering 135,000shp through three shafts for a top speed of 28-30 knots. The fully angled light deck arrangement was altered to incorporate a wide ‘taxi-way’ on the starboard side of the island which would allow the movement of aircraft from the lifts to the catapults without having to cross the angled deck. The island itself was 200 x 18 feet and would have access tunnels in it to allow movement of deck tractors and personnel from one side to the other. Two lifts would provide access to the hangar deck: one being on the centreline just forward of the island and the other a deck-edge lift aft on the ➤
AIRCRAFT CARRIER CVA 01 AS PROJECTED Dimensions
Length: 963ft overall, Beam: 184 feet Flight Deck: 122ft Waterline, Draught: 32ft, Displacement: 55,000 tons Full Load.
Propulsion
6 Admiralty or Foster Wheeler boilers and three Parsons Geared Turbines delivering 135,000shp to 3 shafts.
Speed/Range
28 knots.
Compliment
2,750 - 3,200.
Firepower
1 x twin launcher for GWS 30 Sea Dart Surface to Air missile system 4 x GWS 22 Quadruple Sea Cat SAM missile launchers
Air wing
18 F-4 Phantoms, 18 Buccaneers, 4 Gannet AEW, 5 Sea King ASW Helicopters. FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
Image by Wakazashi, Hood, and Bombhead; CoA courtesy of K.W. Vestergaard
starboard side. This was seen to be a better arrangement than the deck-edge lift that had been itted on Ark Royal and Hermes port side which had been found to interfere with lying operations. Two 250-foot steam catapults were to be itted, one forward to starboard, and the other at the waist position on the port side. At the stern an open fantail would allow the running of jet engines from aircraft under maintenance in the hangar without interfering with light deck operations. For self-defence the CVA 01 carriers were to be itted with the new GWS 30 Sea Dart surface to air missile system, with a twin launcher being mounted on the fantail at the stern. For close in defence four quadruple GWS 20 Sea Cat SAM launchers were also planned, although the principle defence was to be entrusted to the ship’s aircraft and a new class of eight type 82 area defence destroyers of which the irst, HMS Bristol, was under construction. Electronics would have been the latest available, and included the Anglo/Dutch 3D type 988 search and target tracking system then under
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development. This would have been placed under a huge dome on top of the island. There would also have been one or possibly two type 909 radars for the Sea Dart SAM system. In the event the type 988 was cancelled as there were too many technical problems but the ships would probably have carried instead the type 984 ‘Dustbin’ radar which was itted successfully in Eagle, Victorious and Hermes, or possibly one or two type 965 AKE-2 aerials as itted to Ark Royal. The air group of the CVA 01s was planned to be a mix of up to 36 F4 Phantoms or Buccaneer S2 aircraft, 4 Gannet AEW Airborne early warning aircraft, 5 Sea King ASW helicopters, and 2 SAR helicopters. By early 1963, the minister of defence Peter Thorneycroft announced that due to costs only one carrier would be built, and the air wing would consist of a combined Royal Air Force/Royal Navy VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft based on the supersonic Hawker P.1154 aircraft then under development. This aircraft would later mature into the Harrier VTOL.
CANCELLATION After the general election of 1964, the new Labour government looked to cut back on defence spending and were concerned about the spiralling costs of the CVA project. Design changes meant that the size of the carrier luctuated frequently and the Government insisted that the navy keep to a maximum of 53,000 tons. The Royal Air Force also strongly opposed the building of a new carrier and stated that their long range aircraft, which would include 50 F-111 strike aircraft to be purchased from the United States and its own TSR 2 strike aircraft, could do a better job operating from land bases. In 1966, the Secretary of State for Defence Dennis Healy published a white paper in which he came down on the side of the RAF and inally cancelled the CVA 01. Also cancelled were seven of the eight planned type 82 destroyer escorts, although the irst of class, Bristol, was to be completed and used to test the new weapons then coming into service. To soften the blow of the CVA 01 cancellation it was planned to provide funds for the modernising of the carriers Ark Royal and Eagle to enable them to operate the American McDonnell Douglas Phantom F4 Fighter, however, a later decision to withdraw from east of Suez weakened the case for the retention of aircraft carriers. Although Ark Royal’s reit went ahead in 196770, the Eagle was retired early in 1972. Meanwhile Victorious was decommissioned early in 1969 after a ire, and the Hermes was converted into a commando carrier. Ark Royal was
to soldier on a few years more until her bad material condition forced her withdrawal in 1978, bringing to an end ixed wing aviation in the Royal Navy. The following years were tough times for the navy, which had to ight hard battles with the treasury for funding. The very mention of the words ‘Aircraft Carrier’ was frowned upon in government circles. However, it was acknowledged that the anti-submarine helicopter could have a useful role to play, so plans for a ‘Through Deck Cruiser’ were proposed. Although the design was to go through many funding issues, permission was eventually given to build three Invincible-class ships which were intended to operate in the anti-submarine role in the North Atlantic. These ships, which were essentially light carriers, could operate a large force of helicopters. Fortunately for the navy the Hawker P.1127 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft had matured into the Harrier, and later Sea Harrier, at just the right time for these ships, and re-instated ixed wing lying in the Fleet Air Arm. The Sea Harrier went on to become a very successful aircraft for the navy, performing well in the Falklands conlict. There is no doubt that the cancellation of the CVA 01 and subsequent early retirement of the navy’s ixed wing carriers had serious repercussions in later years. If the Sea Harrier had not been available in 1982 the result of the Falklands War would have been very different. Although the Invincibles were very successful ships they were too small to carry an effective air wing that could deploy for long periods. In 2007, the Royal Navy returned to the large leet carrier idea, with a proposed design even larger than the CVA 01. With the construction of these ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy has rejoined the ‘big carrier’ club. ■ Image: Imperial War Museum. FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE
Escape of Polish Warships to Great Britain in 1939 ALLAN GEORGE
Right under the noses of the Germans poised to invade Poland, three Polish destroyers escaped to Great Britain in September 1939. They were followed shortly afterwards by two submarines.
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he order of battle of the Polish Navy at the outbreak of war was four destroyers, a large minelayer, plus ive submarines supported by several torpedo boats, mine sweepers, minelayers, auxiliary vessels and two obsolete gunboats. At the instigation of General Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart, head of the British Military Mission in Warsaw, the Polish naval authorities were persuaded to put in place plans for most of Poland’s surface striking force, the destroyers and submarines, to escape to Britain and continue the ight against the enemy. The authorities had come to accept the navy would be easily overcome when the much expected invasion came. But it took considerable persuasion to get the Poles to send away most of their navy’s attacking capability, in the escape which became known as the Peking Plan. This operation was calculated to avoid the destruction or capture of at least three Polish destroyers, and possibly more warships. The Polish authorities had accepted these ships would be more effective in ighting the Germans alongside the Royal Navy, than on their own in the Baltic. As a result, the three destroyers, Burza, Grom and Blyskawica, sailed to Great Britain just prior to the invasion, with the submarines following, if it was possible, after defensive operations off the Polish coast. For Burza, Grom and Blyskawica, to escape they would have to sail before
the invasion started, while they could still move freely and avoid having to ight their way out of the Baltic, where they would have been easy targets for the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. The destroyers received sealed orders which were to be opened on receiving a signal. On 29 August 1939, the day after Britain signed a defence pact with Poland, the ships received the signal. Their captains opened the sealed envelopes and read their orders instructing them to sail to Britain immediately. All three, perhaps in anticipation of the signal, had steam up and slipped their moorings in Danzig in just an hour. The ships swiftly steamed through the Baltic past the German coast, north through the straits separating the Danish island of Zealand and Sweden, and on into the Kattegat. They sailed past the German light cruiser Konigsberg, and a destroyer, but as they were not yet at war, they were just ships passing in the night, ignoring each other. The next day, as German forces drove eastwards into Poland, the destroyers steamed at their best speed through the Skagerrak, south of Norway, and into the North Sea. It wasn’t until they were well into the North Sea they learned German troops had invaded Poland, and they were at war. For most of the day they were shadowed by German seaplanes. During the day, they rendezvoused with the Royal Navy W-class destroyers Wanderer and Wallace, which then escorted them
safely into port of Leith. These three modern destroyers were a welcome addition to the strength of the Royal Nay, and they were to prove their worth. THE FIVE SUBMARINES The Polish squadron of ive submarines: Wilk, Orzel, Sep, Rys and Zbik, were committed to the Worek Plan. This was designed to form a screen preventing German forces making an amphibious landing on the Polish coast, stopping German warships bombarding coastal fortiications, and protecting the naval base on the Hel peninsula, north west of Danzig. They were also tasked with laying mineields in the Gulf of Danzig and attacking German ships transiting between Germany and East Prussia. In essence it was a defensive plan, and because of this it failed. The Polish naval staff did not fully understand the offensive nature of submarine warfare, and plans by the Submarine Squadron commander for a more free-ranging and aggressive operation were refused. It was envisaged the submarines would operate independently, seeking and attacking enemy ships across the Baltic. The result was the Polish submarines were committed to operating in relatively shallow waters, had little chance of detecting German vessels, yet were exposed to potential attack from the air. The plan was aborted in mid-September as the Germans did not attempt any amphibious landings, and the opportunities for the submarines to attack enemy ships was limited. The submarines were also ordered to be prepared to escape to Great Britain should Polish naval bases be captured, alternatively, if that was not possible, to attempt internment in a neutral country. ESCAPE OF WILK The submarine Wilk, during Plan Worek, identiied a German destroyer Erich Steinbrinck on 2 September, but was unable launch an attack as she was already being hunted by enemy minesweepers. It became obvious it was time to make an escape, especially when the decision was backed up by a signal from the Polish Admiralty for all the submarines to proceed to Great Britain. The next day Wilk was able to lay a small mineield, but on 4 and 5
September came under a sustained depth charging, which fortunately didn’t do a great deal of damage. She lay quietly on the sea bed until the attacks ceased. On 11 September she saw the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and prepared to launch an attack, but the cruiser changed course and Wilk was not in a position to follow through with the attack. Three days later, off the Danish coast she spotted the German destroyer Richard Beitzen and a torpedo boat. Apparently, they thought she was a Swedish submarine and so didn’t attack. Wilk slipped away through the Kattegat and made her way across the North Sea to Great Britain, arriving on 20 September. Like the other Polish warships, she was pressed into service in the Royal Navy, and undertook a number of patrols before being relegated to training duties. ESCAPE OF ORZEL The escape of Orzel was more involved. The submarine had been ordered to try and ambush the Schleswig Holstein, a German pre-Dreadnought battleship, when she tried to leave Gdynia. The battleship had arrived a few days before the invasion, on what was claimed to be a courtesy visit. However, she had opened up with her 11in guns on a Polish military base – an act which was believed to have been the irst action of the invasion. As there was no sign of Schleswig Holstein moving out of Gydnia, Orzel sailed into the Baltic to look for other targets. But she ran into a group of German minesweepers which attacked and damaged her. One depth charge exploded close to her, knocking out all main lights and starting an oil leak. Lying low, her captain waited until night and sailed under the cover of darkness to the neutral port of Tallinn in Estonia to make repairs. Under international law, belligerent ships could remain in neutral ports for only up to 24 hours. Initially the Estonians were quite helpful and assisted in repairing the damage. However, the Estonian authorities, acting under German diplomatic pressure, interned Orzel and her crew. They removed her charts and navigation equipment and started to remove her armament. This was foiled by the non-
cooperation of the crew, including, at one stage sabotaging a hoist, which prevented the Estonians taking away her aft torpedoes. Finally, during the hours of darkness a few days later, her crew overpowered the Estonian guards on board, and the submarine sailed out of the harbour. Once the harbour authorities realised what was happening, they ired on her with machine guns. On the way out, Orzel grounded on a sandbank, where she came under light artillery ire, destroying her wireless aerials. But she was able to get off the sandbank without too much fuss and slipped out into the Baltic. Lacking charts and navigational equipment she quietly edged her way along the Swedish coast, where the captured Estonians were put ashore in a rubber dinghy. Orzel took two days to creep past Denmark and out into the North Sea. Eventually she arrived off the Scottish coast, but couldn’t contact the British authorities as her radio aerials had been damaged in the Estonian gunire. However, following emergency repairs, she was able to signal the Royal Navy, who ordered her to rendezvous with a British destroyer, which escorted her to port. SEP When the Germans invaded on 1 September, Sep took up her patrol sector allocated under Plan Worek and the next day attacked a German destroyer Friedrich Ihn, managing to ire one torpedo, which missed, before being heavily depth charged. This caused some damage to the submarine. The following day she was attacked again, suffering further damage, resulting in leaks. As her position was compromised, Sep sailed towards the Swedish island of Gotland. The next few days were taken up with the crew working to repair the damage, having been refused permission to return to the base at Hel because of the nearness of enemy forces. On 13 September she received a signal permitting her to sail to Great Britain and if that was not possible, to sail to a Swedish port and be interned. Initially it was decided she would attempt the voyage to Great Britain. However, her condition deteriorated ➤ FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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FEATURE further, and, when submerged she leaked dangerously, making it impossible for her to pass German patrols successfully. Two days later her captain took the decision to sail for Sweden and Sep arrived off Stockholm on 17 September, requesting permission to enter and carry out repairs. Unfortunately, the damage to the submarine was such that it would not be possible to complete the work, before the permitted time in a neutral port under international law had expired. As a result, she was disarmed and interned for the rest of the war. RYS Rys was also interned in Sweden on 18 September. She had been attacked by German aircraft and warships on the day after the invasion had started. The following day she received orders to lay a mineield off the Polish coast. That night she was detected by minor German warships and dived to escape. However, she could not escape underwater, so surfaced, attacked the surprised Germans, created confusion, and escaped at speed on the surface. On 4 September she was depth charged again by enemy aircraft, which caused some minor damage. She returned to the naval base at Hel for repairs, and sailed again shortly afterwards. After a fruitless time sailing in the Baltic and evading enemy forces she entered a Swedish port to be interned for the rest of the war. ZBIK When the Germans invaded on 1 September, Zbik was patrolling off the Polish coast in accordance with Operation Worek. The next day she was attacked by a German U-boat, U 23, which ired a magnetic torpedo that exploded too soon, so Zbik submerged without any damage. On 9 September Zbik laid a small mineield close to the coast, which in October accounted for an enemy minesweeper. Three days later Zbik was ordered to sail out of the area northwards. This was followed by a further order to attempt to reach Great Britain. However, in heavy weather she sustained damage to a hatch, which created a leak causing seawater to reach her batteries and produce chlorine gas. Her ability to dive was severely limited and the decision
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to head for neutral Sweden was taken. On arrival on 25 September she and her crew were interned. The following April, the Royal Swedish Navy gathered the three interned submarines Sep, Rys and Zbik, and escorted them along the coast to the naval base of Vaxholm near Stockholm, where they were stripped of armaments. THE WARSHIPS WHICH STAYED IN POLISH WATERS The escape of the three destroyers and two submarines to Great Britain and the internment of the three submarines in Sweden left only two major warships: the destroyer Wicher and the minelayer Gryf, plus a number of minor vessels in Polish waters. On 1 September Gryf , accompanied by some smaller vessels, was ordered to lay a mineield at the entrance to Gdansk Bay, the force was escorted by Wicher. En route they were attacked by a large number of Luftwaffe Ju87 Stuka dive bombers, which caused some minor damage and the minelaying operation was called off. Subsequently on 3 September both Wicher and Gryf, moored in the Hel naval base, were attacked by two German destroyers. The Polish ships, along with a shore battery, returned ire forcing the German ships to withdraw. Later that day the Luftwaffe mounted three air raids on the ships, sinking Wicher and Gryf. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE POLISH WARSHIPS WHICH ESCAPED TO GREAT BRITAIN The warships which escaped to Great Britain, together with Royal Naval vessels manned by Poles had an enviable war record, taking part in many notable operations. These included: ■ The battles at Narvik ■ The Dunkirk evacuation ■ The hunt for the Bismarck ■ Lofoten Islands ■ Actions off Tobruk ■ Escorting Murmansk convoys ■ Dieppe landings ■ Anzio landings ■ Landings in the Azores ■ Battle of the Atlantic ■ Actions in the Dodecanese ■ Landings in North Africa ■ The Normandy landings ■ Service in the Mediterranean, North Sea and the English Channel
BURZA Burza fought as a component of the Royal Navy in operations off Norway in May 1940, following the German invasion. In company with the RN destroyers Vimiera and Wessex, she shelled German positions and an armoured column around Calais to support British troops ashore later that month. The three ships then came under intense air attack which sank Wessex, but Vimiera escaped, and the entire enemy air group then concentrated on Burza. She suffered damage to her boiler room and bows forcing her to sail slowly to Dunkirk stern irst. Following major repairs in Portsmouth dockyard, she joined an escort group and sailed on a number of Atlantic convoys. She also formed a component of the force which established a British air base in the Azores. In 1944, Burza became a training ship, and a year later, a tender for Polish submarines. In 1951 she was returned to the Polish Navy, and after reitting she re-entered service in 1955. In 1960, she became a museum ship and was later replaced in that role by Blyskawica. She was scrapped in 1977. GROM Grom also fought in the Norwegian campaign and apparently was hated by German soldiers, because she closely followed troop movements ashore and spent hours prowling close to the coast waiting to bombard them. However on 4 May 1940, Grom carried out the last of her numerous naval gunire support missions in northern Norway, when she was attacked by a German bomber, which struck her with two bombs and she subsequently sank. BLYSKAWICA Blyskawica had a busy war while serving as a Royal Navy unit. After her arrival in Great Britain she was soon in action, irstly in stalking and attacking a German U-boat off the West coast of Scotland, and in the following November, she and Grom were attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft, during the rescue of downed Allied airmen in the North Sea. Further actions in the North Sea, in company with British destroyers,
followed during the winter. In March 1940 she and Burza escorted three French submarines and their supporting tender, Jules Verne, sailing from Brittany join the RN at Harwich. Subsequently the three Polish destroyers, together with the British Tribal-class destroyer Tartar, escorted a convoy sailing from Norway to Great Britain carrying the Norwegian gold reserves. Later she sailed for Narvik with Burza and Grom. In May 1940, Blyskawica was ired on by a German shore battery in Rombaken Fjord near Narvik. She returned ire and destroyed the enemy guns. Later that month in the same area, she was unsuccessfully attacked by German aircraft, before engaging another shore battery which she put out of action, despite being hit by their shells. The next day later she splashed an enemy aircraft during a heavy air raid, several days later she repeated the feat. At the end of May, she and the destroyer Vega carried out a night reconnaissance of Dunkirk Harbour to discover whether it could be used to evacuate British troops. Subsequently, during the evacuation, she provided anti-aircraft cover over the beaches, and towed damaged ships back to Dover. These included the destroyer Greyhound, which was carrying troops, while at the same time, both ships fought off enemy aircraft. Within a day, she was escorting a further destroyer into Dover – the French ship Cyclone – while also rescuing survivors of yet another French destroyer, the Scirocco which had been attacked and sunk by enemy E Boats. After the wear and tear of a pellmell series of actions, she was sent to her birthplace in Cowes, the yard of J Samuel White, but the action didn’t stop, even while being reitted in the dockyard, as she shot down a German bomber in an air raid. Throughout most of September she escorted Atlantic convoys, then, at the end of the month, she was attached to the 5th Destroyer Sqn to patrol the English Channel, where they were attacked by a group of enemy E Boats. In December she was twice damaged in heavy weather while escorting convoys, and each time had to sail
for Greenock for repairs. While there, she formed part of the Glasgow’s air defence umbrella. Further convoy escort duties followed until storm damage made further repairs necessary in Cowes – where again she helped with the area air defence, and during air raids her crew helped ight ires ashore. Eventually, in August 1942 she returned to North Atlantic convoy escort work. The following year she served in the Mediterranean as part of the screen around a group of cruisers, based in North Africa. 1944 saw Blyskawica taking part in the Battle of Ushant, three days after D Day, as one of a force of Allied destroyers, which encountered several enemy destroyers and a torpedo boat off the Breton coast. In the confused melee at night which ensued, one German destroyer was destroyed and another forced ashore. Six months after the end of the war she and the RN destroyer Onslow bore witness to the demise of 100 U-boats, as they were scuttled in the Atlantic, west of Ireland, a itting end to her war service. Blyskawica has the honour of being the only ship of the Polish Navy to have been awarded the Virtuti Militari Medal, Poland’s highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. This is the oldest military decoration in the world still in use. She has been preserved as a museum ship in Gdynia. In 2006 she was twinned with the Canadian Tribal-class destroyer Haida, which had also fought in the Battle of Ushant, and has similarly been preserved as a museum ship, moored at Hamilton, on Lake Ontario. WILK Wilk sailed on nine patrols without success. The last patrol was between 8 and 20 January 1941, and she was then was assigned to training submariners
before being decommissioned in April 1942, because of her poor physical condition. She stayed in Harwich until 1953 when she was towed to Poland. In 1954 she was declared unit for service, decommissioned from the Polish Navy, and scrapped in 1954. ORZEL Orzel, under Royal Navy control in April 1940 sank a German merchant ship, the Rio De Janeiro, heading for Bergen carrying troops for the invasion of Norway. Two days later she ired a torpedo at a German minesweeper and was forced to dive, but the torpedo missed its target. Further patrols in the North Sea followed which were largely uneventful. However, while on her in seventh patrol in May, this time in the central North Sea, she was ordered to sail for the Skagerrak, the strait between Denmark and Norway. Nothing was subsequently heard from her, and while there are various theories about her loss, the one which has the most currency is that she hit a mine. CONCLUSION The Polish Navy fought with distinction alongside the other Allied navies in many important and successful operations. The warships which escaped, made a considerable contribution to the strength of the Royal Navy at a time when it needed all the assistance it could get. During the war they were joined by a number of British warships loaned to the Polish Navy including two cruisers, nine destroyers, ive submarines and eleven torpedo boats. Polish soldiers fought alongside the British Army in the Western Desert, Italy, Normandy and North West Europe, and Polish airmen with the RAF in the Battle for France, the Battle of Britain, in North Africa and in the Bomber Campaign. ■
TRANSLATIONS OF POLISH SHIPS’ NAMES BURZA, means storm in English, GROM is thunderbolt BLYSKAWIC is lightening. WILK is wolf
ORZEL is eagle SEP is vulture RYS is lynx ZBIK is wildcat
FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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book reviews FITTEST OF THE FIT Health and Morale in the Royal Navy, 1939-1945 Kevin Brown The author is the Curator of the Alexander Fleming Museum at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington and he’s also an expert on the history of medicine. ‘Fittest of the fit,’ was a boast by the Royal Navy of its sailors portrayed on recruitment posters of the 1930s looking both healthy and tanned. This book studies how health, fitness and morale were maintained in the harsh conditions at sea particularly in the Arctic and the Tropics during the Second World War. When the numbers of personnel increased dramatically mid-war, this created an additional challenge and this book looks at how the Navy coped. It also studies the effects of battle, injury and stress related illnesses which is an inevitable consequence of war. This in time led to protective clothing for sailors and medicinal innovations in general. Comparisons are made in the book of other services and not just Navy practice, but it also points out that physical activity should be fun and is then more likely to be continued, which is just the same today. Well worth a read. Charles Waters Editor Hardback, 276 pages, 16cm x 24cm, £25, The Marketing Department, Seaforth Publishing an Imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S Yorkshire, S70 2AS, 01226 734555, ISBN: 978-1-5267-3427-3
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FRENCH ARMOURED CRUISERS 1887 – 1932 John Jordan and Philippe Caresse This impressive book begins with the world’s first modern armoured cruiser the Dupuy-de-Lôme and ends with the six-funnelled Edgar Quinet and Waldeck Roussea covering all types and classes in between including the Dupleix- Gueydon- and Gloireclasses. The book’s main focus is on the technical side of the ships with detailed drawings based on the official plans as provided by John Jordan, while each class of ship is beautifully illustrated by photographs from the extensive collection of Philippe Caresse. There is also a chapter on the part the French Navy and its armoured cruisers played in the Great War between 1914-1918. This book gives the most comprehensive account available of French Armoured Cruisers of the
HITLER’S ‘WONDER’ U-BOATS The Birth of the Cold War’s Hunter Killer Submarines Jak P. Mallmann Showell Launched too late to make an impact on the Second World War, Hitler’s revolutionary Electro-U-boats missed out on most of the action, but went on to become the ancestors of the Cold War’s hunter-killer submarines. These huge submarines had been designed to operate for longer periods underwater thanks to utilising huge numbers of batteries. While sorting through files in the U-boat Museum, author Jak Mallmann Showell came across some personal logbook annotations from men who served on these boats, which went on to become the basis of this book. Along with more than 100 images, this book gives a true account of what it was like to go to war in one of these submarines under extremely difficult conditions. The book contains similar reports from the more conventional schnorkelfitted U-boats which were at sea during the same time. The reader will get a
period and will be a reference point for many years to come. Naval historians and warship enthusiasts will find the book compelling. Highly recommended. Charles Waters Editor Hardback, 272 pages, 25cm x 29.5cm, £40, The Marketing Department, Seaforth Publishing an Imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, S Yorkshire, S70 2AS, 01226 734555, ISBN: 978-1-5267-4118-9
real understanding of the advances made in design during such a short period. Most interesting read. Charles Waters Editor Hardback, 210 pages, 16cm x 24cm, £25, Frontline Books an Imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, Yorkshire, S70 2AS. 01226 734555, ISBN: 978 152672 480 9
THE D DAY LANDINGS Philip Warner This is this third publication of this book, the first in 1980 and then again in 2004, but this one is to commemorate 75 years since this extraordinary event took place. It is about the men that were there and contains many personal accounts of what happened on 6 June 1944 during the greatest seaborne invasion in the history of mankind. Surprisingly, one of the greatest worries seemed to be
Message in a bo ttle
sey.co.u k wow m.ed@kel o the editor: – t s er t t le r u o y d n Se
BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE My late MN father was one of the ships’ crews blackaded in Montevideo by the Graf Spee. He said that when the Graf Spee arrived it was blowing black funnel smoke and making strange clanking noises from the engine room area, which seems consistent with the details mentioned in the article.
GREEK NAVY I saw that the news in the current issue include an entry on the Greek Navy, and that there is said that the service is mentioned as being interested in procuring Adelaide-class frigates from Australia. I am afraid that it is not so anymore. The Australian government discontinued talks with its Greek counterparts some months ago, after getting engaged in more decisive negotiations with Chile. In fact, the last decommissioned Adelaide-class frigates, HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Newcastle – the last of the
As soon as news got out about the great humanity of Capt Langsdorff and his crew, and being on neutral territory, there was much camaraderie shown and beer consumed. Captain Langsdorff visited all of his crew to check on their welfare before shooting himself in the hotel room. My father always reckoned
class built in Australia – are currently earmarked for sale to Chile. Last week the Chilean Parliament informed that a budgetary item of USD 200 millions is approved and included in FY 2020, to pay for those ships. The pair of Australian-built frigates will be used to replace two air defence frigates of the Almirante Latorre-class (former Royal Netherland Navy’s Jacob van Heemskerck-class) acquired second-hand in 2004. The Dutch-built vessels need to be replaced, as from 2025 the logistical support for their Rolls Royce Olympus and Tyne gas turbines will be winding down and
the fear of seasickness and not being able to perform to their full potential. But each and every one performed above and beyond what was expected to make the invasion the success it was. The book is written largely in the order that each individual joined the battle, so it was by air first with the RAF, Gliders and Parachutists, then the Navies,
that had Captain Langsdorff survived the war he would have been completely exonerated at Nuremberg and become an honoured guest speaker at many gatherings. He also thought that the parts in the big film of the action were played with great sincerity. James Wells MRINA
increasingly expensive. The acquisition of the Australian frigates will also materialize a capacity upgrade, by replacing SM-1MRs medium range air defence missiles by more advanced and capable SM-2MRs, which was originally planned for the Almiranteclass ships. This way, the Chilean Navy’s fleet will continue possessing a long range anti-air area defence capability that no other navy in South America has. The Australian frigates are also equipped with short to medium range Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles (ESSM), with each ship fitted with eight-cells modular vertical launchers
the Sappers (a soldier responsible for tasks such as building and repairing roads and bridges, laying and clearing mines, etc.) and others, next were the Armoured Corps, the Infantry, Marines and Commandos, Intelligence and Signals, Medical Services, the Royal Army Service Corps, the Canadians, the Royal Artillery and finally the Chaplains who along with doctors probably saw the worst images of war. One can’t imagine what must have gone through the minds of those thousands of individuals risking life and
containing 32 missiles. Another advantage over the Dutch-built ships – which have no flight deck – is that the Australian frigates have deck and hangar facilities to operate and to accommodate two medium size ASW helicopters. To be handed over during the first half of 2020, the former HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Newcastle are expected to remain in service with the Chilean Navy well into the 2030s. Plans are for them to be replaced for a pair of specially fitted anti-air vessels, from a series of 5,000+ tonnes frigates that is expected to be built locally in Chile. José Higuera
limb for their country, but this book comes as close as we are ever likely to witness. It is a fascinating book and when reading about a Corporal Waters, it reminded me that my dad fought in the Second World War. Highly recommended. Charlie Waters Editor Paperback, 310 pages, 15.5cm x 23.2cm, £14.99, Pen & Sword Military an Imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Yorkshire, 01226 734555, ISBN: 1526764164 FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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video games Armada:
Indomitable Video gaming today reaches a level of realism that is scarcely believable. Here is a Commander's guide to using computer gaming platform 'World of Warships' British Tier VIII aircraft carrier.
T
he jewel atop the crown of Britain’s undisputed sovereignty over the European seas, forged in an age of rapid evolution for the Royal Navy. HMS Indomitable, with her armoured light deck, expanded aircraft facilities, and heavy anti-aircraft artillery, strove to be a jack of all trades in the midst of a war that would put every conceivable aspect of naval combat to the test. HISTORY In April 1937, the irst of four planned Illustrious-class aircraft carriers was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyards at Barrow-in-Furness, England. This irst, fully-ledged, class of modern British carriers was meant to serve as the proving ground for a new Royal Navy doctrine that
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called for maximizing carriers’ ixed defenses, both active and passive. Lacking effective radar, ighter planes couldn’t be expected to scramble in time to intercept an incoming attack in conditions of poor visibility. As a result, the Illustrious-class ships sacriiced plane capacity for an armoured ‘box’ that encased their hangars, including 76mm of plating on the light deck. This feature was a true rarity for its time, and one that wouldn’t be replicated abroad until 1941 with the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho. By November 1937, the fourth and inal ship of the Illustrious series – Indomitable – was laid down at the same English shipyard. Due to delays in the delivery of required materials, construction was put on hold and the
Admiralty took the opportunity to modify Indomitable’s design. The new requirements called for an increase in airplane capacity from 36 to 48, while keeping her weight in line with her three unmodiied sister ships. To achieve this, an additional hangar was added above the originally planned one, and some armor was shaved off the sides and lower decks around the ‘box,’ while the light deck plating was left untouched. Indomitable was completed and entered service in 1941, shortly before the Japanese Empire joined the war on the side of the Axis. In January 1942, she was assigned to the Eastern Fleet – based in the Indian Ocean – to curtail the rapid advance of the Japanese Navy in the East Indies. Before leaving the Indian Ocean, Indomitable would
provide air support for the invasion of Madagascar. With the Battle of Midway sending any chances of further carrier threats to the bottom of the sea, Indomitable was freed up to be sent to the Mediterranean in July 1942 to partake in Operation Pedestal – a heavily armed resupply convoy for the crucial island of Malta. Air cover was essential to the mission’s success, so it’s no surprise that Indomitable became the focus of German and Italian bombers from the outset. The ship was hit with two armour-piercing bombs, one of which struck an unarmoured section of the light deck, starting ires below-decks. Nevertheless, Indomitable’s squadrons of Hawker Sea Hurricanes performed well against the bombers, with ighter ace Lt. Richard Cork shooting down ive enemy aircraft. In 1943, Indomitable found herself again in a large-scale operation in the Mediterranean, as the Allies prepared for the invasion of Sicily, providing
important air cover for the amphibious assault. Shortly after midnight on July 16, a lone bomber approached Indomitable undetected, dropping a single torpedo which struck the ship under the belt on the port side amidships. The damage was heavy, but quick and effective damage control, as well as counter-looding, allowed her to sail back to Malta for repairs under her own power. After undergoing extensive repairs and reitting at Norfolk, Virginia, she was assigned to the Paciic theatre in 1944, where she would serve out the rest of the war. She survived three kamikaze attacks on May 4, 1945. One of the aggressors hit the deck, but the armour withstood the blow and only a few aircraft and sailors were lost as a result; the second kamikaze attack resulted in the plane bouncing off Indomitable’s deck and exploding in the water; and the third attacker was shot out of the sky by the ship’s anti-aircraft batteries.
MODELING THE SHIP The ‘hull A’ version of Indomitable you can control in World of Warships represents the ship in her 1942 coniguration; ‘hull B’ represents the ship in her 1944 coniguration, making use of 20mm Oerlikon and 40mm Bofors AA guns, in addition to the classic British two-pounder pom-poms. In terms of her aircraft squadrons, Indomitable lies the twin-engine De Havilland Sea Hornets, irst operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in 1946. Aircraft: De Havilland Sea Hornets in one squadron of four level bombers and one squadron of six attack aircraft. These twin-engine, multi-role planes were developed as land-based ighter/bombers in the twilight years of the war, but were also adapted for carrier operations with a ‘Sea’ variant, complete with foldable wings to it in the cramped carrier hangars. Secondary battery: 16x 113mm/45 Mk II BD dual purpose guns in eight enclosed double turrets, situated on four separate sponsons located on either side of the ship, both fore and aft. Anti-aircraft armament: 21 twin and 16 single 20mm Oerlikon machine guns; four double 40mm Bofors mounts; six quad 40mm Vickers two-pounder Mk VII Pom-poms. ➤ FEBRUARY 2020 WORLD of WARSHIPS magazine
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video games
COMMANDING INDOMITABLE Commander with 10 skill points ■ Air Supremacy ■ Improved Engine Boost ■ Improved Engines ■ Aircraft Armor ■ Survivability Expert Commander with 19 skill points ■ Air Supremacy ■ Improved Engine Boost ■ Improved Engines ■ Aircraft Armor ■ Survivability Expert ■ Sight Stabilization ■ Demolition Expert ■ Adrenaline Rush CONSUMABLES The ship has ive slots for upgrades. We consider the following combinations to be most effective: ■ Air Groups Modiication 1 ■ Aircraft Engines Modiication 1 ■ Attack Aircraft Modiication 1 ■ Attack Aircraft Modiication 2 or Bombers Modiication 2 ■ Flight Control Modiication 1 Like all other carriers, Indomitable has the standard Damage Control Party I and Fighter I on auto-activation. Her planes – both the rocket and bombequipped varieties – come with two charges of Engine Cooling I to speed up your squadrons’ movement, and four charges of Patrol Fighters I to deploy strategically on the map.
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INDOMITABLE IN COMBAT One of the irst aircraft carriers with an armoured light deck in naval history. The ship’s game version carries two types of aircraft on her deck: 12 attack aircraft and eight bombers, making it two full squadrons of each. Thanks to this, you can launch a full squadron even if the previous one of the same type hasn’t returned from an attack yet, or went down during their assault. All aircraft aboard Indomitable have a high cruising speed for this Tier, allowing you to quickly reach any part of the battleield and carry out vicious attacks against enemy ships. KEY FEATURES: ■ Attack aircraft: six aircraft in a
squadron, with two planes on an attack run. Each aircraft carries eight rockets. Maximum rocket damage – 2,100hp; armour penetration – 27mm; chances of setting a target on ire – 9%. Cruising speed – 188 knots. ■ Bombers: four aircraft in a squadron, with two planes on an attack run. Each bomber can drop six HE bombs. Maximum bomb damage – 4,700hp; armour penetration – 32mm; chances of setting a target on ire – 27%. Cruising speed – 182 knots. ■ Extra credits per battle and 50% more XP provided by the permanent camoulage. ■
IN NEXT MONTH'S ISSUE OF
On sale February 14 2020
HABAKKUK – THE BERGSHIP AIRCRAFT CARRIER By mid-1942 German U-boat Wolf Packs were sweeping the critical trade routes across the Atlantic to telling effect and Allied shipping losses were reaching crippling proportions. Now was the time when ideas which would have been immediately dismissed in peace-time as impractical and indeed insane, were now officially granted a hearing and serious consideration. One idea was to build an artificial iceberg that would serve as an aircraft carrier, from blocks made from a mixture of water and sawdust dubbed ‘Pykrete’ as Mike Williams discovered.
THE TURKISH MINELAYER NUSRET On March 18, 1915, 16 British and French warships rushed the Dardanelles Strait. They combined a total of 240,000 tons of naval might in men-of-war. Excluded from this number were the 80 other Allied ships held in reserve at the island of Tenedos. What a 365-ton Turkish minelayer did ten days earlier stopped that entire invasion fleet setting the stage for the siege of Gallipoli. By Stephen D. Lutz
CLASSIC WARSHIP – THE BATTLECRUISER HMS One of the most ill-conceived operations of the Second World War, was the formation of Force Z to deter the Japanese expansion in the Far East in late 1941. The relatively new Battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the old Battlecruiser HMS Repulse and the new Carrier HMS Indomitable where to form the nucleus of the force. This is the story of one of those ships, the Battlecruiser HMS Repulse as told by Trevor Piper.
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JDS
HATSUYUKI Lead ship of the Hatsuyuki-class of destroyers serving with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and saw 28 years of active service.
SPECIFICATION Dimensions
Length 430ft., Beam 44.6ft., Draught 13.8ft., Surface Displacement 4,000 tons.
Propulsion
2x Kawasaki (Rolls-Royce) Olympus TM3B gas turbines producing 45,000hp with 2x Kawasaki (Rolls-Royce) RM1C gas turbines producing 9,900hp to 2x shafts.
Speed
30knots, 35mph.
Complement
200. 1x OTO-Breda deck gun. 2x Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers.
Firepower
1x RIM-7 Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile launcher. 1x ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket) launcher. 2x 20mm Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs). 2x 324mm HOS-301 torpedo tubes.
Air wing
1x Sikorsky SH-60J(K) Seahawk navy helicopter.
19 79
19 80
19 82
1982 2010
20 10
Laid down at Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Uraga, Japan on 14 March.
JDS Hatsuyuki was launched on 7 November.
Commissioning took place on 23 March.
Hatsuyuki’s roles were: Blue Water Operations; Fleet Support; Hunter and DirectAttack.
She was decommissioned on 25 June after 28 years of active service.
LEFT: JDS Hatsuyuki DD-122. RIGHT: Hatsuyuki’s ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket) launcher.
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