HMS Electra (H27)
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HMS Electra before the war wearing the single white stripe of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Electra |
Ordered | 1 November 1932 |
Builder | Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn |
Cost | £253,350 |
Laid down | 15 March 1933 |
Launched | 15 February 1934 |
Commissioned | 13 September 1934 |
Stricken | 1 January 1946 |
Identification | Pennant number: H27 |
Motto |
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Honours and awards | Atlantic 1939–40; Norway 1940; BISMARCK Action 1941; Arctic 1941; Java Sea 1942 |
Fate | Sunk, Battle of the Java Sea, 27 February 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | E-class destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 329 ft (100.3 m) o/a |
Beam | 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m) |
Draught | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines |
Speed | 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph) |
Range | 6,350 nmi (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 145 |
Sensors and processing systems | ASDIC |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: | |
Operations: |
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HMS Electra was a one of nine E-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea, Electra was a witness to many naval battles, including the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse. The ship's wreck was discovered in 2003 and had been badly damaged by illegal salvagers by 2016.
Description
The E-class ships were slightly improved versions of the preceding
The ships mounted four 45-
Construction and career
She was ordered on 1 November 1932 as part of the 1931 Naval Programme; launched on 15 February 1934 at the
Upon commissioning in 1934, she was attached to the
Early Second World War service
At the beginning of
Her next assignment was to escort a convoy out of Pentland Firth, along with HMS Exmouth and Inglefield. During a violent storm which lasted over two days, an ammunition locker on the forecastle broke loose, and was sliding around the deck. The locker was full of shells and needed to be secured. After a short time, several volunteers managed to corral the loose object. After a boiler cleaning at Rosyth in December 1939, Electra continued escorting convoys and hunting U-boats in the Western Approaches area until April 1940. Some of the convoys she is known to have escorted include ON 14, HN 14, ON 16, HN 16, ON 18, HN 18, ON 20, and HN 20.
Norway
In early April 1940, Electra escorted two convoys to Norway and back. The first trip, which also included HMS Escapade and the cruiser HMS Southampton, was uneventful. On the second trip, the convoy was attacked by German bombers. An ex-Polish liner serving as a transport was sunk, but the rest of the convoy arrived safely. After the convoy was delivered, Electra was tasked to drop off two Army officers at a desolate location. During this time, Electra shot down a German bomber with her 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns.
A few days later, Electra, being equipped with Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep (TSDS)
On 13 June 1940, she escorted the
Her first assignment after her repair work was completed was to escort the ships of the 1st Minelaying Squadron, along with the destroyers
In December, she was again on patrol seeking a German surface raider that had been reported as breaking out into the
The first four months of 1941 saw Electra performing mostly convoy work around the
Hunt for Bismarck
In early May, the
At about 0535, the German forces were sighted by Hood and, shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commenced at 0552. At 0601, Hood took a 38 cm (15-inch) shell from Bismarck in the after magazine, which caused a massive explosion, sinking the ship within two minutes. Electra and other destroyers were about 60 nautical miles (111 km) away at the time. Upon hearing that Hood had sunk, Electra raced to the area, arriving about two hours after Hood went down. They were expecting to find many survivors, prepared hot coffee and rum, set up the medical facilities for the casualties, rigged scrambling nets and heaving lines, and placed life belts on the deck where they could be quickly thrown in. From the 94 officers and 1,321 enlisted men who were aboard Hood, only 3 survivors were found. Electra rescued these three and continued searching. Shortly thereafter, Icarus and Anthony joined in the search and the three ships searched the area for more survivors. No more survivors were found, only driftwood, debris, clothing, personal effects, broken rafts and a desk drawer filled with documents. After several hours of searching, they left the area. With the sea as cold as it was, survival in the water was measured in minutes. There was little probability that anyone was left alive in the water. (See Battle of the Denmark Strait).
After dropping off the survivors in Iceland, she refuelled and then sailed immediately to escort the damaged Prince of Wales to Rosyth. After arriving, the men went on a quick shore leave, their first in many months. Then in a period of two weeks, she went to Scapa Flow, then made a run down the West Coast of England, then to Ireland, then refuelled at Derry and then escorted a troop convoy into the Atlantic.
After this, she went into refit at Green & Silley Weir in the Royal Docks at London for six weeks, escorting a convoy to Sheerness on the way. When she came out of the yard, she sported a new disruptive camouflage paint scheme of blues, greens, and greys. Just two days out of the yard, she was on convoy duty again, escorting a convoy through what was called "Bomb Alley". The convoy came under heavy attack by German aircraft but suffered no losses. She then went on to Scapa Flow for assignment.
Russian convoy
Shortly after arriving at Scapa Flow, she was detailed to serve as Senior Escort for the first of
To the Far East
On Monday, 20 October 1941, the crew of Electra got word that they, together with
On 2 November, the three ships put into Freetown. They had shore leave and left the next day. They refuelled on the way and arrived at
On 29 November, the destroyers Encounter and Jupiter, detached from the Mediterranean Fleet, joined at Colombo and the five ships sailed later that day. The ships were joined at sea by the battlecruiser Repulse which had sailed from Trincomalee. The force then set course for Singapore, where they arrived on 2 December. They spent a few days there with shore leave and refit, while awaiting orders. On 1 December, it was announced that Sir Tom Philips had been promoted to full Admiral and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet. A few days later, Repulse started on a trip to Australia with HMAS Vampire and HMS Tenedos, but the force was recalled.
Force Z at Singapore
Early in the morning of 8 December, Singapore came under attack by Japanese aircraft. Prince of Wales and Repulse shot back with anti-aircraft fire. No planes were shot down and the ships sustained no damage. After receiving reports of the
At 2055, Admiral Philips cancelled the operation and ordered the force to return to Singapore. On the way back, they were spotted and reported by the
Electra sent out radio messages that Repulse and Prince of Wales had sunk and that Admiral Tom Phillips had gone down with them. Even after they were rescued, some survivors of Repulse manned Action Stations on Electra, to free Electra sailors to rescue more survivors. In particular, Repulse gunners manned the 'X' and 'Y' 4.7-inch mounts and the ship's dentist of Repulse assisted Electra's medical teams with the wounded. In total, nearly 1,000 survivors of Repulse were rescued, of which Electra saved 571, some of whom would later be captured at Malaya and the Dutch East Indies when both were surrendered by the British three months later, and some were lost aboard British ships sunk by the Japanese in the Indian Ocean and at the Battle of the Java Sea. Electra and the other destroyers returned to Singapore to drop off the survivors, refuel and replenish their ammunition.
Convoy duty
The next three weeks or so saw Electra escorting convoys, and resting in Singapore in between. She had 'crossed the line' (
Some of the convoys that Electra was known to have escorted included:
- BM-9B, which left Bombay on 22 December 1941, carrying the vehicles and stores for the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade; Electra escorted this convoy from 3 January 1942 until its arrival at Singapore on 6 January.
- BM-10, which left Bombay on 8 January 1942, with the 44th Indian Infantry Brigade Group (6000 men), and vehicles and stores for the 18th Division; Electra was part of the escort between 20 January and 22 January.
- BM-11, (mentioned above) which left Bombay on 19 January 1942, carrying 5 light anti-aircraft batteries, 1 light tank squadron, and the 18th Division (except the 53rd Brigade Group), a total of 17.000 troops; Electra was part of the escort from 24 January until its arrival at Singapore on 29 January.
- BM-12 Return trip to Bombay; Electra was part of the escort from 7 February to 9 February while the convoy went through the Sunda Strait.
Starting on 3 February, they also had the task of towing the destroyer HMS Isis which had been undergoing refit from Singapore to Java. They were attacked by a Japanese high-level bomber on the way, but sustained no damage. (T. J. Cain in his book HMS Electra states that it was an I-class destroyer, and that Electra was the tow ship; Steve Gartland in an article in "The Sun" states that the destroyer being towed was HMAS Vendetta, that the tow ship was a tug named Ping Wo, and that Electra was an escort out of Tanjung Priok starting on 17 February.) Just before Singapore fell, Electra and other destroyers escorted the remaining merchant ships to Tanjung Priok, Java.
Battle of the Java Sea and loss
On 26 February 1942, Electra arrived at Surabaya from Tanjung Priok, along with HMS Exeter, HMAS Perth, the Dutch light cruiser Java, and the destroyers Jupiter and Encounter. HMS Dauntless, HMS Danae, and HMAS Hobart remained at Tanjung Priok. On 27 February, the striking force left Surabaya, the three British destroyers in the lead, with Electra in the center, Jupiter to port, and Encounter to starboard; followed by the Dutch cruiser De Ruyter, HMS Exeter, USS Houston, HMAS Perth, and HNLMS Java; followed by two Dutch and four American destroyers. (See Battle of the Java Sea.)
That afternoon, they made contact with the enemy. Electra managed to evade the shells and torpedoes in the first round. At 1715, Exeter received a hit which destroyed a 4-inch (102 mm) gun mount and then exploded in a boiler room, causing her to lose speed. At 1725, seeing that Exeter was in trouble, Electra headed toward the enemy ships, followed by the other two British destroyers, to cover Exeter's escape. After several near misses from gunfire from the Japanese light cruiser Jintsū, Electra fired back, scoring several hits on Jintsū and the destroyer Asagumo disabling her engines, she also managed to score hits on destroyers Minegumo and Tokitsukaze. During this slugging match, Electra sustained several hits, which knocked out A and X gun mounts, wrecked the electrical system forward, cut off all communications, destroyed a searchlight platform, damaged the after boiler room, and ruptured the main steam line. Electra came to a stop, fired off her torpedoes, and started to list to port. After a fire started under 'B' gun mount and 'Y' mount ran out of ammunition, abandon ship was ordered. One surviving whaleboat got away after being loaded with wounded, but it was destroyed by a shell shortly after. She sank shortly afterwards on the afternoon of 27 February 1942, bow first, with the White Ensign still flying.
Survivors
That night, about 0235hrs. in the morning of 28 February, 54 survivors of the 173 men on board were picked up by the United States submarine S-38, and were taken to Surabaya. When the submarine surfaced in the middle of the survivors, they were not sure if it was friendly or enemy. One of the survivors recognised the submarine as being friendly because it had an 'Admiralty' type anchor; and at that time, only United States submarines still had this type of anchor. One of the survivors died on the submarine on the way, Leading Seaman Frederick Arthur Castle. After treatment in a Dutch hospital, 42 survivors were taken to Australia by the inter-island steamer General Verspijck, manned by the survivors, where they arrived on 10 March. One more survivor died at the hospital in Surabaya, and 10 others in critical condition were left at the hospital becoming Japanese POW's. 3 died in captivity, Stoker Sidney Thomas Eaglestone, Telegraphist Harry Lancelot Friend and Leading Seaman Charles Henry Palmer.
4 days after the sinking a Japanese destroyer picked up another 6 survivors, of an original 19 on, or trying to hang on to another raft. They became POW's, with 4 dying in captivity, Stoker Petty Officer Joseph Edward Davies, Able Seaman Thomas Joseph Hughes, Able Seaman James George Ernest Peacefull and Chief Petty Officer Engine Room Artificer Samuel Robert Roy Wood. Only 2 survived the war, Lieutenant Stewart Alexander Cruden and Able Seaman Everitt Albert "Eddie" Skerritt.
At least 21 survivors were shipped home on the SS Ceramic from Sydney, New South Wales 25 May 1942 to Norfolk, Virginia (via New Zealand and the Panama Canal), to New York 25 July 1942 and onward to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Liverpool on the 14 Aug 1942. (The Ceramic was lost later in the year with only one survivor from 656 onboard.) Many of the others were loaned to the Royal Australian Navy for up to 2 years. After spending some time recovering in hospital in Australia, at least one of the survivors, Gunner (Torpedoes) Lieutenant Timothy John Cain was put on the liner Nankin, bound for Ceylon, and ultimately, home to Britain. On the way, Nankin was attacked and sunk by the German raider Thor. The survivors, after spending seven weeks on the raider's supply ship Regensburg, were handed over to the Japanese, where they spent the rest of the war in a Japanese prison camp.
On 29 March 1947, a
The wreck
On 19 August 2003, the wreck of Electra was found. It is lying on its port side in approximately 160 feet (49 m) of water, almost completely covered with fishing nets. Her wreck had been badly damaged by illegal salvagers when an expedition surveyed the site in 2016.[6][7][8]
References
- ^ Lenton, p. 156
- ^ Whitley, p. 103
- ^ English, p. 141
- ^ "Technical Details of HMS Electra". navalhistory.flixco.info. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "HMS Electra, destroyer".
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ "HMS Electra (H27)". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ "Java Sea Shipwrecks of World War 2: One of the men who found them reflects on their loss | All About History".
Bibliography
- Barnett, Correlli (1991). Engage the Enemy More Closely: The Royal Navy in the Second World War (1st American ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-02918-2.
- Bradford, Ernle The Mighty Hood (World Publishing Company, Cleveland, 1959)
- Cain, T. J.; Sellwood, A. V. (1976). H.M.S. 'Electra'. London: Futura Publications. ISBN 978-0-86007-330-7.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
- Hoyt, Edwin P. (1977). The Lonely Ships: The Life and Death of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Pinnacle Books. ISBN 0-523-40162-0.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Middlebrook, Martin and Patrick Mahoney, Battleship: The Sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse, (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1979)
- Van der Vat, Dan The Atlantic Campaign: World War II's Great Struggle at Sea (Harper and Row, New York, 1988) ISBN 0-06-015967-7
- Winslow, W. G. The Ghost that Died at Sunda Strait, (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1989), ISBN 0-87021-218-4
- Cox, Jeffrey R. (2014). Rising Sun, Falling Skies. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-4728-1060-1
External links
- Contains information on the wreck of Electra, and pictures of the ship
- Navalhistory
- Uboat.net
- Warsailors
- Warsailors - ON convoys
- DANFS for West Point
- Has a list of Singapore convoys
- Battleships-cruisers.co.uk
- Mac's Web Log
- Axishistory
- Has a more complete list of convoys that Electra escorted, with their dates