HMS Zealous (R39)
HMS Zealous moored at Gourock, March 1945
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Zealous |
Ordered | 12 February 1942 |
Builder | Cammell Laird |
Laid down | 5 May 1943 |
Launched | 28 February 1944 |
Commissioned | 9 October 1944 |
Out of service | Sold to Israel, 15 July 1955 |
Israel | |
Name | INS Eilat |
Acquired | 15 July 1955 |
Commissioned | July 1956 |
Fate | Sunk by Egypt on 21 October 1967 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Z-class destroyer |
Displacement | 1,710 tons |
Length | 362.7 ft (110.6 m) |
Beam | 35.7 ft (10.9 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph) |
Complement | 186 |
Armament |
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HMS Zealous was a
Design and construction
The Z-class were War Emergency Programme destroyers, intended for general duties, including use as anti-submarine escort, and were to be suitable for mass-production. They were based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war J-class destroyers, but with a lighter armament (effectively whatever armament was available) in order to speed production.[1][2] The Z-class of eight ships formed the 10th Emergency Flotilla, one of five flotillas of War Emergency destroyers ordered under the 1941 War Construction Programme (the U, V, W, Z and Ca-classes (40 destroyers)).[3]
The Z-class were 362 feet 9 inches (110.57 m)
The ship had a main gun armament of four
Zealous was ordered on 10 February 1942, and was laid down at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 5 May 1942. She was launched on 28 February 1944 and completed on 9 October 1944, being assigned the pennant number R39.[10]
Second World War
After commissioning and working up at
On 6 February 1945, Zealous joined the close escort of Arctic Convoy
On 5 April 1945 Zealous was involved in an attack on a convoy entering the
Post-war service
Zealous was refitted at
Service as Eilat
In 1955 the UK sold Zealous to
On a patrol during the night of 11–12 July 1967, Eilat and two Israeli torpedo-boats encountered two Egyptian torpedo-boats off the Rumani coast. They immediately engaged the vessels and sank both.[29]
Sinking
In an early event in the War of Attrition, Eilat was sunk on 21 October 1967 in Mediterranean international waters off Port Said in the Sinai, hit by three Soviet-made Styx missiles launched by Egyptian missile boats.[30] An Egyptian Komar-class missile boat positioned within the harbour at Port Said fired two missiles at the Israeli destroyer. Eilat's radar did not reveal any suspicious activity or movements because the Egyptians launched the missiles from within the port.[31] Eilat's captain ordered evasive action when the missiles were detected, but the first missile hit the ship just above the waterline at 5:32 p.m. Two minutes later the second missile struck, causing additional casualties. While Eilat began to list heavily, the crew tended to the wounded and engaged in rescue and repair operations while waiting for additional ships of the Israeli Navy to come to their rescue. Approximately one hour later another Egyptian Komar-class missile boat from Port Said harbour fired two more Styx missiles at Eilat. The third missile hit Eilat amidships, causing more damage and further fires, while the fourth went astray and crashed in the water nearby. Eilat sank about two minutes later. Out of a crew of 199, 47 were killed or missing and 90–100 were wounded.[32][11]
Aftermath of the sinking
The sinking just months after its defeat in the
The sinking of Eilat by surface-to-surface missiles inaugurated a new era in the development of naval weapons and the formulation of naval strategy throughout the world.[citation needed] Though not highly publicized at the time, the sinking had a considerable impact on the Israeli Navy. Israel started to develop plans for German-influenced ship designs better suited to missile combat, principally small and efficient boats armed with missiles, able to patrol Israeli shores and undertake offshore operations at high speed, while at the same time able to evade enemy tracking and missiles.[34] The resulting focus on new, more agile, missile-armed boats (see Sa'ar 2-class missile boat) would reap major benefits for the Israeli navy six years later during the Yom Kippur War.[35]
A set of torpedo tubes removed from Eilat before her sinking are preserved at the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum, Haifa, and a Monument to the Fallen of INS Eilat was established just outside the Museum, the work of sculptor Igael Tumarkin.
See also
Notes
Citations
- ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 53–55, 86–87
- ^ Whitley 2000, pp. 124–127
- ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 90–91, 328
- ^ a b Whitley 2000, p. 135
- ^ a b c d e f Lenton 1970, p. 37
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 43
- ^ Friedman 2008, pp. 92–93
- ^ Marriott 1989, p. 52
- ^ Raven & Roberts 1978, p. 48
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 328
- ^ a b c d e f English 2008, p. 110
- ^ Roskill 1961, pp. 162–167
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 315
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 319
- ^ a b Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 73
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 333
- ^ Langran, Mike. "Winter's Rages". BBC History: WW2 Peoples' War. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ Ytreberg, Rune (11 April 2011). "Norske tenåringssoldater kjempet mot tyskerne" [Norwegian teenage soldiers fought against the Germans] (in Norwegian). nrk.no. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 334
- ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 73–74
- ^ "British Destroyers Attack Convoy". jproc.ca. 5 April 1945. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 348
- ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, p. 77
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 350
- ^ Ruegg & Hague 1993, pp. 77–78
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 353
- ^ a b c Critchley 1982, p. 82
- ^ Suez Crisis Archived 21 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Israeli Navy: The Navy Throughout Israel's Wars". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Rabinovich 1988, p. 5
- ^ Bruce & Cogar 1998[page needed]
- ^ Rabinovich 1988, p. 11
- ^ a b "Middle East: A Bitter Exchange". Time. 3 November 1967. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2015. (subscription required)
- ^ Rabinovich, Adam. "Israel Military Intelligence: The Boats of Cherbourg". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Grant 2011, p. 342
References
- Bruce, Anthony; Cogar, William (1998). Encyclopedia of Naval History. Routledge. ISBN 0-81602-697-1.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
- English, John (2008). Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9560769-0-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Grant, R G (2011). Battle at Sea: 3,000 Years of Naval Warfare. Penguin.
- Marriott, Leo (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
- Lenton, H. T. (1970). Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume Two. London: Macdonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-03122-5.
- Rabinovich, Abraham (1988). The Boats of Cherbourg. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0-8050-0680-X.
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
- Roskill, S. W. (1961). The War at Sea 1939–1945: Volume III The Offensive Part II, 1st June 1944 –14th August 1945. History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
- Ruegg, Bob; Hague, Arnold (1993). Convoys to Russia 1941–1945. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.