Oberleutnant Kurt Ubben, a future flying ace with 110 enemy aircraft shot down, claimed a hit on the warship. [95], Warspite arrived off Ushant on 25 August 1944 and attacked the coastal batteries at Le Conquet and Pointe Saint-Mathieu during the Battle for Brest. Her final task was to support an Anglo-Canadian operation to open up the port of Antwerp, which had been captured in September, by clearing the Scheldt Estuary of German strongholds and gun emplacements. Want to know what life was like during the War? The battleship HMS Warspite was wrecked on the rocks of Mounts Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, while being towed to the breakers. In order to lighten the ship with the least possible delay it was decided to remover her 21-ton lower armour plates whole, and for this purpose a 25 ton crane was purchased. They were completed after the start of the Pacific War in December and the ship sailed across the Pacific to join the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in early 1942. ww2dbaseBetween Aug and Dec 1941, Warspite received repairs at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the United States. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated. Cunningham hoped to draw the Regia Marina into battle by sailing towards the "toe" of Italy to cut them off from their base at Taranto. Us that the great assault was at last to take place and . Crew List (Photographs) Directory of Names. She was badly damaged by German radio-controlled glider bombs during the landings at Salerno and spent most of the next year under repair. This could carry four aircraft, but Warspite typically carried only two: from 1938 to 1941 these were Swordfish floatplanes and from 1942 to 1943 Walrus flying boats. Samuel died from an accidental explosion on board HMS Warspite, Able Sea. Diether von Roeder had to be scuttled while Erich Giese was sunk in conjunction with destroyers. Warspite was among a WW1-era battleship class whose existance had much to do with the influences of First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John "Jackie" Fisher and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. When she left the shipyard on the Pacific coast, it was decided that she would join the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean to counter the new enemy power, Japan. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. Permission to beach her at a convenient site was refused and so demolition began where she was lying. [48] Her Fairey Swordfish float-plane sank the German U-boat U-64 with 250lb bombs, becoming the first aircraft to sink a U-boat in the war. After repairs, she bombarded Brest, Le Havre, and Walcheren. [103] The stone was unveiled by Admiral Sir Charles Madden and prayers were read by a former crew member. Memorial to the Warspite at Marazion, Cornwall. The depth charge and A/S bombs exploded close to Warspite. The Kriegsmarine had its back broken in this campaign as almost half its destroyer strength had been destroyed by the Royal Navy. (d.23rd May 1941). [50] The British destroyers soon opened fire on their counterparts, which had almost exhausted their fuel and ammunition following the First Naval Battle of Narvik. [76], In June 1941, Warspite departed Alexandria for the Bremerton Naval Shipyard in the United States, arriving there on 11 August,[28] having travelled through the Suez Canal, across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon, stopping at Manila, then Pearl Harbor and finally Esquimalt along the way. The resolve of the Italian Government had already been wavering by the time of the Allies victory in North Africa; the invasion of Sicily and aerial attacks on mainland Italy encouraged negotiations. Warspite was detached to refuel at Malta on 12 July, the first visit by a British battleship since December 1940. [61] Vittorio Veneto escaped to the west as dusk fell but the British pursued through the night, first detecting Pola on radar and then two of her sister ships. She made it back to Scapa Flow and from there to Devonport for more repair work, rejoining the fleet on Christmas Eve 1915. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. [39] Warspite finally entered Grand Harbour, in Malta, on 14 January 1938 and continued gunnery practice and training. 45. [37], After completion of the refit, Warspite was recommissioned under the command of Captain Victor Crutchley. She underwent a short refit in Durban in April and returned to the UK in May 1943, having sailed approximately 160,000 miles since the war began. Division One and Two rendezvoused in the Gulf of Sirte on 9 July and covered the assembling convoys. This required maximum offensive power and a speed several knots faster than any other battleship to allow them to defeat any type of ship. Although Italian ships withdrew first, Italian aircraft forced the British ships back by 1700 hours. The anti-aircraft (AA) armament were composed of two quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76mm) 20cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns. She returned to Malta at high speed on 18 July, avoiding several air attacks during the night. It was repaired in the United States and later deployed to the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean in June 1943 in order to participate in the H force in Operation Husky in Sicily and Operation Avalanche. If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. However, time had taken its toll and more modern ships were required to continue the war in the Far East. [12] In late 1915, Warspite was grounded in the River Forth causing some damage to her hull; she had been led by her escorting destroyers down the small ships channel. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. The fleet consisted of battleship HMS Warspite, battleship HMS Valiant, battleship HMS Malaya, battleship HMS Ramillies, aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, 12 cruisers, 16 destroyers, and 6 submarines; they escorted four British transport ships. ON 10 Sep, she was among the British ships escorting the surrendering ships of the Italian Navy to Malta. [47] On 13 April, Vice-Admiral William Whitworth hoisted his flag in Warspite and led nine destroyers, three sweeping mines and six in an offensive role, into Ofotfjord to neutralise a force of eight German destroyers trapped near the port of Narvik. British ship. . [79] She was recommissioned on 28 December and undertook sea trials near Vancouver before sailing down the west coast of the U.S. and Mexico, crossing the equator and arriving in Sydney on 20 February 1942. At 1936 hours, HMS Formidable's aircraft returned, joined by land-based aircraft from Crete, Greece, putting cruiser Pola out of action, but failed to catch Vittorio Veneto as she had received temporary repairs and was already en route back to Taranto, Italy. [53] The two fleets eventually met 30 miles from Punta Stilo at the Battle of Calabria on 9 July 1940. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Killed fourteen personnel on board and made sixteen injured: it was so damaged that his crew temporarily lost control. Warspite was launched on November 26, 1913, and entered service on March 8, 1915. During the battle Warspite achieved one of the longest range gunnery hits from a moving ship to a moving target in history, hitting Giulio Cesare at a range of approximately 24km (26,000yd), the other being a shot from Scharnhorst which hit Glorious at approximately the same distance in June 1940. recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. HMS Warspite bombarded on the German Villerville Battery in Normandie, France at the range of 26,000 yards at 0500 hours, northeast of Sword Beach. In August, it patrolled along the Channel and bombarded the cities of Brest, Le Havre and Walcheren. [43] In June 1939, Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham replaced Dudley Pound and took Warspite to Istanbul for talks with the Turkish government. The British Royal Navy battleships HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant bombarded Reggio Calabria at the southern tip of Italy, eliminating a six gun battery. Her tripod mast was removed and a distinctive armoured citadel built up to enclose the bridge and to provide space for her to operate as a flagship. At this stage only individual photographs of sailors are being added and not group photographs. Within each group were bundles of documents. She ran aground off Dunbar on 17 September 1915, which necessitated repairs until 20 November. Add a Name to this List [86] Assigned to Division 2 with Valiant and Formidable, she returned to Alexandria on 5 July in preparation for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. [16], The 5th Battle Squadron then headed north, exchanging fire with both Hipper's battlecruiser force and the leading elements of Scheer's battleships, damaging Markgraf. [28] In June 1917, Warspite collided with a destroyer, but did not require major repairs. It was hit three times by a German plane and accused of the loss of nine killed and fourteen wounded. [67] Cunningham rejected this plan, but on 21 April he sailed with Warspite to bombard the harbour in company with Barham and Valiant, the cruiser Gloucester and several destroyers. British battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Warspite shelled Italian defensive positions at Vlor, Albania overnight in support of Greek advances. Second, it is to showcase After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines. [7], The ship was fitted with flying-off platforms mounted on the roofs of 'B' and 'X' turrets in 1918, from which fighters and reconnaissance aircraft could launch. The crew was picked up by HMS Jervis. [62] Warspite, Valiant and Barham closed on the unsuspecting Italian ships and aided by searchlights, destroyed the heavy cruisers Fiume and Zara and two destroyers at point blank range. For this and other reasons, Warspite gained the nickname the "Grand Old Lady" after a comment made by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in 1943 while she was his flagship. In May 1941, she was damaged off Crete by German dive bombers. HMS Warspite was built at the Devonport dockyard in Plymouth, launched on the 26th November 1915, and became one of Britain's most decorated ships of the twentieth century. Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named Warspite. HMS Warspite is the third planned Dreadnought -class ballistic missile submarine. Also off Norway, Warspite's Swordfish biplane torpedo bomber sunk German submarine U-64, making it the first U-boat sinking by aircraft in WW2. All were sunk during the action. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, Killed fourteen personnel on board and made sixteen injured: it was so damaged that his crew temporarily lost control. Warspite and a British destroyer during Second Battle of Narvik, 13 Apr 1940. She was the sixth RN warship to bear this name which was introduced in 1759 for a . On January 1, 1945, after good and loyal services, HMS Warspite was placed in reserve and then definitively retired from service. She was withdrawn from service at the end of 1944 . Meanwhile, at Crete, Greece, Australian and New Zealand troops counterattacked at Maleme at 0330 hours, but German 5. At 0400 hours, British destroyers HMS Jervis and HMS Nubian approached damaged Italian cruiser Pola, captured her crew, and sank her with torpedoes. Crew complement. It was towed to Gibraltar before finalizing the repairs to Rosyth in Great Britain in March 1944. She was damaged by German aircraft during the Battle of Crete in mid-1941 and required six months of repairs in the United States. [57] As a result of this attack, Warspite and Valiant were able to bombard the Italian supply base in the Adriatic port of Vlor in mid-December. [13], Following the German raid on Lowestoft in April 1916, Warspite and the 5th Battle Squadron were temporarily assigned to Vice-Admiral David Beatty's Battlecruiser Force. Warspite was launched on November 26, 1913, and entered service on March 8, 1915. William Jordan Pike HMS Ajax (d.15th Nov 1942). H.M.S. At the end of WW1, she was among the ships of the Grand Fleet that received the surrendering German High Seas Fleet. It was finally demolished the same year. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. Meanwhile a search up and down the country was on-going for pumps, compressors, generators, cranes and steel air-lines and by April, 3 months after taking over, The Wolverhampton Metal Company Ltd were contemplating their first major attempt to refloat HMS Warspite. HMS Warspite was one of five Queen Elizabeth -class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Warspite's fast group set sail to intercept on 4 April, detecting the Japanese attack on the cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire and later, a scouting aircraft from the cruiser Tone. [64] Having established by aerial reconnaissance that the rest of the Italian fleet had escaped, Warspite returned to Alexandria on 29 March, surviving air attacks without suffering casualties. Vivid was/is an RN Barracks in Plymouth. As soon as the plates were landed on the deck they were cut into quarters and then sent by The Wolverhampton Metal Company Ltd's own barge to their Penzance Siding Depot to be railed to Sheffield. 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