HMS Warwick (D25)
HMS Warwick
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Warwick |
Builder | Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn |
Laid down | 10 March 1917 |
Launched | 28 December 1917 |
Commissioned | 18 March 1918 |
Fate | Sunk by U-413, 20 February 1944 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Admiralty W-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,100 tons |
Length |
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Beam | 29 ft 6 in (9.0 m) |
Draught |
|
Propulsion | 3 Yarrow type Water-tube boilers, Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 2 shafts, 27,000 kW ) |
Speed | 34 knots (63 km/h) |
Complement | 110 |
Armament |
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HMS Warwick (D25) was an
Construction and design
On 9 December 1916, the
Warwick was 312 feet (95.1 m)
Warwick's main gun armament consisted of four
Warwick was laid down at Leslie's Hebburn shipyard on 10 March 1917. She was launched on 28 December 1917 and completed 18 March 1918.[7] She was the sixth ship with the name Warwick to be commissioned into the Royal Navy.[8]
Service history
First World War
Warwick commissioned on 21 February 1918, joining the
Warwick was present at Scapa Flow in November 1918 when the Grand Fleet received the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war.[citation needed]
Inter-war years
Following the completion of repairs from mine damage, Warwick recommissioned into the
In January 1926, Warwick recommissioned into the
Second World War
By the time of the
In May 1940, Warwick was deployed for operations off the Norwegian coast during the Norwegian campaign, before returning to convoy duties based out of Liverpool at the end of the month.[9] On 15–16 June 1940, Warwick and the destroyer Witch reinforced the escort of the convoy US.3, consisting of the troopships Andes, Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Empress of Canada, Mauretania and Queen Mary, carrying 14,000 Australian and New Zealand troops on the last part of the convoy's voyage to Britain.[36][37] On 30 August 1940, Warwick stood by the liner Volendam after the liner, carrying 321 British children being evacuated to Canada, had been torpedoed by U-60.[9][38] In November 1940, with the formation of distinct escort groups, she joined 7 EG.[9] On 23 December 1940, Warwick was mined in the Mersey Channel and badly damaged, having to be beached.[9][39] Repairs were slow, and she did not leave Liverpool until April 1942.[9]
In May 1942, Warwick was deployed to the West Indies for operations in the Caribbean, operating from Curaçao and Trinidad until August, and then operated out of New York until December that year.[9]
In December Warwick returned to Britain. From 26 January to 21 June 1943, she was converted to a long-range escort at Dundee.[9] One of the ship's boilers was removed to allow extra fuel capacity, thus sacrificing speed for endurance and range and extra accommodation. A heavy depth charge armament was fitted, with 96 charges carried, which could be dropped in 14-charge patterns and a Hedgehog anti submarine mortar fitter, with two 4-inch guns removed in compensation. A Type 271 radar was fitted above the ship's bridge.[40][41]
In July 1943 Warwick was on anti-submarine duties in the Bay of Biscay, supporting Operation Musketry, the Royal Air Force Coastal Command's Bay offensive.[42] In late September to early November 1943, the destroyer took Operation Alacrity, the establishment and supply of Allied air bases in the Azores which served to close the Mid-Atlantic gap, with Warwick escorting convoys carrying airmen and supplies to set up the air bases.[9][43] From 25 November 1943 to 13 January 1944, Warwick was refitted at a commercial yard in Grimsby.[9]
In January 1944, having returned to Britain, Warwick was assigned to lead an escort group operating in the Southwest Approaches, guarding against attacks by German S-boats and submarines.[44] On 19 February 1944, Warwick, under the command of Commander Denys Rayner, and the destroyer Scimitar were ordered from Devonport to hunt a submarine that had been reported near Trevose Head. On 20 February, Warwick was hit on the stern by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-413,[c] 20 nmi (23 mi; 37 km) southwest of Trevose Head.[9] Warwick sank in minutes, after her after engine room bulkhead collapsed.[9] Sixty-seven of Warwick's crew were killed,[9][47] with 93 survivors being rescued.[47][42][d]
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ July according to English.[9]
- ^ Warwick was hit by an acoustic torpedo according to Roskill,[45] and a pattern-running circling torpedo according to Blair.[46]
- ^ There were 94 survivors according to English.[9]
References
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 164–165
- ^ English 2019, p. 83
- ^ a b c d Preston 1971, pp. 102, 105, 107
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 83–84
- ^ Lenton 1970, p. 23
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 155
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 105
- ^ Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 381
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x English 2019, p. 91
- ^ Terry 1919, p. 130
- ^ Terry 1919, pp. 130, 165–166
- ^ Terry 1919, p. 185
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 24
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 35
- ^ Preston 1971, pp. 35–36
- ^ "Destroyer in Lough Foyle: A Steamer Searched". The Times. No. 43047. 2 June 1922. p. 8.
- ^ Halpern 2011, p. 401
- ^ "The King and The Fleet: Spithead Review". The Times. No. 43714. 26 July 1924. pp. 13–14.
- ^ "Departure from Portsmouth". The Times. No. 44473. 7 January 1927. pp. 12, 14.
- ^ "Naval, Military, And Air Force.: Cruise to the Baltic". The Times. No. 45227. 12 June 1929. p. 8.
- ^ English 2019, p. 71
- ^ a b "Naval, Military, And Air Force: Destroyer Changes". The Times. No. 45714. 7 January 1931. p. 6.
- ^ "Telegrams in Brief". The Times. No. 46668. 2 February 1934. p. 11.
- ^ "The Services: Royal Navy: The Destroyer Warwick". The Times. No. 46911. 14 November 1934. p. 19.
- ^ "Warwick (Dev.)". The Navy List. September 1939. p. 349. Retrieved 3 February 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Preston 1971, pp. 60–61
- ^ Smith 2021, p. 2
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 59
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Warwick (D 25): Destroyer of the Admiralty V & W class". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events September 1939 (Part 2 of 2): Friday 15th - Saturday 30th". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. naval-history.net. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 19
- ^ Miller & Hutchings 1985, p. 22
- ^ Blair Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 2000, p. 184
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events December 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Sunday 15th - Tuesday 31st". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. naval-history.net. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ English 2019, pp. 54–55
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 247
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 238
- ^ Rayner 1955, p. 179
- ^ Roskill 1960, p. 293
- ^ Blair Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 2000, p. 496
- ^ a b Kemp 1999, p. 229
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939–1942. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
- Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted, 1942–1945. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-64033-9.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- 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.
- Cocker, Maurice (1981). Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893–1981. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7.
- English, John (2019). Grand Fleet Destroyers: Part I: Flotilla Leaders and 'V/W' Class Destroyers. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9650769-8-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link - Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Halpern, Paul, ed. (2011). The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929. Publications of the Naval Record Society. Vol. 158. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781409427568.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-1567-6.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Lenton, H. T. (1970). British Fleet and Escort Destroyers: Volume One. London: Macdonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-02950-6.
- March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
- Miller, William H.; Hutchings, David F. (1985). Transatlantic Liners at War: The Story of the Queens. Newton Abbot, UK: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8511-9.
- Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Vol. V. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Preston, Antony (1971). 'V & W' Class Destroyers 1917–1945. London: Macdonald. OCLC 464542895.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1979). 'V' and 'W' Class Destroyers. Man o'War. Vol. 2. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 0-85368-233-X.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Rayner, Denys (1955). Escort: The Battle of the Atlantic (Second ed.). London: William Kimber.
- Roskill, S.W. (1960). The War at Sea, Volume III Part I. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
- Smith, Peter C. (2021). Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939–1945. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-52679-189-4.
- Terry, C. Sanford, ed. (1919). Ostend and Zeebrugge 23 April – 19 May 1918: the Dispatches of Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Keyes and Other Narratives of the Operations. Oxford University Press. OCLC 543493.
- Whinney, Bob (2000). The U-boat Peril: A Fight for Survival. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35132-6.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Winser, John de D. (1999). B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6.