HMS Volage (R41)
HMS Volage in May 1944
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Volage |
Ordered | 1 September 1941 |
Builder | J. Samuel White |
Laid down | 31 December 1942 |
Launched | 15 February 1943 |
Commissioned | 26 May 1944 |
Decommissioned | 1956 |
Identification | Pennant number R41/F41 |
Honours and awards |
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Fate | Sold 28 October 1972;[2] scrapped by Pounds at Portsmouth 1977 |
Badge | "On a Field White, a Red Admiral butterfly Proper" |
General characteristics V-class destroyer | |
Class and type | V-class destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 363 ft (111 m) |
Beam | 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m) |
Draught | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 37 knots (43 mph; 69 km/h) |
Range | 4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 29 kn (54 km/h) |
Complement | 180 (225 in flotilla leader) |
Armament |
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General characteristics Type 15 frigate | |
Class and type | Type 15 frigate |
Displacement | 2,300 long tons (2,337 t) standard |
Length | 358 ft (109 m) o/a |
Beam | 37 ft 9 in (11.51 m) |
Draught | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 31 knots (36 mph; 57 km/h) (full load) |
Complement | 174 |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Armament |
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HMS Volage was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, commissioned on 26 May 1944, that served in the Arctic and the Indian Oceans during World War II. She was the fifth Royal Naval ship to bear the name (a sixth was planned during World War I as a modified V-class destroyer but the order was cancelled in 1918).
She was ordered on 1 September 1941 as part of the 8th Emergency flotilla and fitted for Arctic service.
On 22 October 1946, Volage and the destroyer
Second World War service
Home Fleet
Volage completed her trials and she was commissioned on 26 May 1944 into the 26th Destroyer Flotilla (26DF)[note 1] of the Home Fleet. She joined the Fleet at Scapa Flow and commenced active service on August with her flotilla on an exercise for a planned operation (Operation Offspring) off Norway. (During one exercise, oiling from the battleship HMS Howe, the two ships locked together and Volage suffered superficial damage.[3]) On 10 August, 26DF escorted other warships[note 2] for air attacks on shipping and shore targets between the islands of Lepsøya and Haramsøya in Norway.[2]
From 17 to 23 September, Volage joined the screen for a strong force
During the rest of October 1944, Volage was included in the escort for aircraft carriers on two anti-shipping and one reconnaissance operation off Norway.[2]
Indian Ocean
As the surface naval threat in western Europe had greatly reduced with the sinking, in November 1944, of Tirpitz, Royal Naval units were transferred to the far East to confront the Japanese[
Towards the end of the month, on 24 September, Volage was part of the escort for aircraft carriers on an air photo-reconnaissance of the
On 14 March, Volage, and the destroyers Saumarez and
Force 70 arrived off the Andamans on 19 March with the intent of entering the natural harbour at
On 25 March, Force 70, now consisting of Saumarez, Virago, Vigilant and Volage sailed on an anti-shipping sweep between the Andamans and the
During April, Volage was used in convoy protection and the interception of the supply ships for the force of German u-boats operating in the Indian Ocean. She then sailed to Durban for refit, removal of Arctic fittings and enhancement of her radar and other detection equipment. She did not rejoin her flotilla until July and so missed the successful action against the Japanese cruiser Haguro.[2]
In August, prior to the
According to a crew member, John Mills, Volage was the first
Volage stayed at Penang into September as radio ship until shore facilities had been established and then supported the landings at
Postwar service
Volage returned to Trincomalee for local duties and subsequently departed for service in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, with the
She underwent major conversion work at the
Volage was never re-commissioned. She was placed on the disposal list and sold to BISCO on 28 October 1972 and towed to Pounds breakers' yard at Portchester later that year.[2]
Corfu Channel Mining
After steaming from Corfu at 13:30 on 22 October 1946, the destroyers Saumarez and Volage and the cruisers
At 16:06 (or 16:15, according to Leggett), Volage struck a second mine. That mine was also later determined to be a German-manufactured EMC. Volage reportedly hit the mine head on; "In a split second forty feet of the destroyer, from the fore peak to just in front of 'A' gun turret, had vanished. Mess decks, store rooms, the paint shop, the cable locker containing tons of anchor cable, the anchors themselves, literally dissolved in the air" (Leggett 1976:71–72). Fragments of the bow were observed flying into the air, and other fragments, "some weighing up to half a ton" landed on the ship, some on to the bridge (Leggett 1976:72). Leggett (36) and Meçollari (96–99) chart the site of Volage's mining off the north point of the Bay of Saranda. As previously noted, despite their damage, both destroyers remained afloat, and subsequently returned to Corfu under tow. Saumarez suffered 36 dead, 25 of whom were missing and presumed killed, while Volage lost eight men, seven of whom were missing, presumed killed (Leggett 1976:154–155).
Following the
Discovery of remains of Volage's bow in 2009
In July 2007, the RPM Nautical Foundation, a U.S. and Malta-based not-for-profit organization, began a comprehensive, ongoing archaeological survey of the coast of Albania in cooperation with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology (AIA) and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA). The inaugural season, conducted from the R/V Hercules, involved a multibeam sonar survey with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) assessment of targets to the 120 m contour. The area surveyed was from the border with Greece, through the Corfu Channel (but not into Greek waters) and to the Bay of Saranda, 21 kilometers from the border. A total of 125 anomalies were encountered, and 67 were assessed with the ROV during the 2007 season. The majority of anomalies were found to be geological mud and mud/sand formations. Fifteen shipwrecks were identified, fourteen of which were classified as "modern" and one of which was an ancient wreck of ca. 300–275 BCE. One of the fourteen other targets, briefly examined in 2007, was later (2009) determined to be the bow of Volage.
During the 2009 field season the sonar target in this area was re-examined by
The site is located in the area of the mining of Volage. The seabed is a loose mud and silt. The sonar anomaly delineated by multibeam in 2007 and reconfirmed in 2009 is approximately 15 by 10 meters in area and has a height of 1.5 meters above the current level of the seabed. Active siltation and burial of the vessel remains at the site is visible. Some localized scouring and uncovering of cultural material is also possible. The majority of the remains visible were a section of a steel ship's hull, with explosion damage consistent with an implosion, exposed steel frames, electrical wiring, and a series of diagnostic artefacts. While identification of the site would have been better aided by the recovery of one or more diagnostic artefacts, because of the possibility of the site being the bow of Volage and hence a war grave, no disturbance was planned and nothing was disturbed or removed from the site. The British and Albanian governments were notified of the find and provided with video and still images of the site after the survey.
The matter was taken further by Albanian scholar Auron Tare who did a research study in the British archives. After 6 months of research in London he discovered the File of the Corfu Channel Incident as well as the famous documents XCU and XCU 1. According to the File the scholars concluded that Volage and the other vessels were taking part of a military operation and not on a 'innocent passage".
Notes
- ^ 26th Destroyer Flotilla was established with V-class destroyers: Hardy (leader), Valentine, Venus, Verulam, Vigilant, Virago, Vixen and Volage.
- ^ Offspring included aircraft carriers Indefatigable, Trumpeter, Nabob and cruisers Kent and Devonshire.
- ^ Escort for JW60 and RA60 consisted of battleship Rodney, cruiser Diadem, aircraft carriers Campania and Striker screened by destroyers Marne, Meteor, Musketeer, Saumarez, Scorpion, Venus, Verulam, Virago and Volage.
- ^ The force for Operation Stagey included aircraft carriers Empress, Ameer, cruiser Kenya, destroyers Vigilant, Virago and frigates.
- ^ Combinedfleet.com records that sub-chasers CH-63 and CH-34 escorted two storeships, Teshio Maru and Risui Maru, that were carrying food for the Japanese garrisons on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. No mention of another two transports.
- ^ In this action, Force 70 expended 18 torpedoes and 3,160 rounds of QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mark IX gunsin ammunition. The action was later described by the Senior Officer as exasperatingly unsatisfactory.
References
- ^ King, Ian M (25 February 2011). "Honour - EAST INDIES 1940-45".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Mason, Geoffrey B (2004). "HMS Volage (R 41) – V-class Destroyer". SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ Mills, John (27 January 2006). "AN EVOLUTION WITH HMS HOWE BATTLESHIP MAY 1944". Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ Mason, Geoffrey B (2004). "HMS Vigilant (R 93) - V-class Destroyer". SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander; Cundall, Peter (September 2005). "IJN Subchaser CH-63". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Mills, John (27 January 2006). "John Mills: Chapter 23". WW" People's War. BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
Bibliography
- Burt, R.A (1985). British Destroyers in World War Two. London: Arms and Armour Press.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. London: Conway Maritime Press.
- Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute Press.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Gardiner, Leslie (1966). The Eagle Spreads Its Claws: A History of the Corfu Channel Incident and of Albania's Relations With the West, 1945–1966. Edinburgh: William Blackwood.
- "Final Judgment, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v. Albania (Corfu Channel Case), December 15" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 1949. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2008.
- Kola, Paulin (2003). The Search for Greater Albania. London: Hurst & Company.
- Ana Lalag, Burning Secrets of the Corfu Channel Incident, Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) Working Paper No. 70, September 2014.
- Leggett, Eric (1976). The Corfu Channel Incident. London: New English Library.
- Manning, T.D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co.
- Meçollari, Artur (2009). Incidenti I Kanalit Të Korfuzit: Dresjtësi e Annuar. Vlorë: Triptik.
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
- Thomson, Stuart (2005). "Maritime Jurisdiction and the Law of the Sea". In Speller, Ian (ed.). The Royal Navy and Maritime Power in the Twentieth Century. London and New York: Frank Cass.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.