All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB. In company with the monitor Erebus, she carried out a preparatory bombardment of targets around Le Havre prior to Operation Astonia on 10 September, leading to the capture of the town two days later. It was finally demolished the same year. 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. Although Italian ships withdrew first, Italian aircraft forced the British ships back by 1700 hours. Crew from HMS Valiant came in first, HMS Barham second and HMS Resolution third. [80] She joined the Eastern Fleet at Trincomalee in March 1942. The fleets did not meet; Warspite withdrew to Addu Atoll and then to Kilindini on the East African coast to protect the convoy routes. In Jun 1939, Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham came abroad as the new commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. [91] She reached Malta on 19 September and undertook emergency repairs before being towed to Gibraltar on 12 November. [30] After the process finished in 1926, Warspite assumed the role of flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet. [4], The Queen Elizabeth class was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) 15-inch (381mm) Mk I guns in four twin-gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. 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. ww2dbaseWarspite 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. Class: Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, Armament (1944): 8x 381 mm guns, 10x 152 mm guns, 4x 102 mm guns, 32x 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, 16x 20 mm guns, 16x 12,7 mm machine guns, 4x 533 mm torpedo tubes, Displacement: 33,410 tons The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation run by volunteers. 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. VALIANT. To HMS Warspite went the honor of being the first ship to open fire on D-Day, with her shells pummeling a German gun battery that showed signs of life. The British Royal Navy battleship, HMS Warspite, arrived at Malta's Grand Harbour to a rapturous welcome from the islanders. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. [103] The stone was unveiled by Admiral Sir Charles Madden and prayers were read by a former crew member. In mid-August, she set out to bombard Bardia and on 6 November she sailed from Alexandria to provide cover for the Battle of Taranto, a torpedo-bomber attack on ships in Taranto harbour. [43] In June 1939, Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham replaced Dudley Pound and took Warspite to Istanbul for talks with the Turkish government. Battleship HMS Warspite, battleship HMS Barham, battleship HMS Valiant, carrier HMS Formidable, and nine destroyers of the British Mediterranean Fleet departed Alexandria, Egypt to hunt for an Italian fleet known to have departed bases in Italy. British battleship HMS Warspite hit Italian battleship Giulio Cesare at the range of 24 kilometers, making it one of the longest naval gun hits of the war. The salvage boat Barnet, standing guard overnight under the Warspites bows was holed in the engine room, towed off and eventually drifted ashore at Long Rock, a few miles to the west. Apparently he was known as Geordie. A large crowd and the media watched on as the salvage crew set to work. Anxious to ensure that the Germans did not acquire an additional 200 warships, the Allies insisted that the Regia Marina must sail for Allied ports. D-Day and Battle of Normandy media library: archives photos and videos, Souvenir shop featuring t-shirts, caps, mugs, models or posters inspired by D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, D-Day Overlord - Marc Laurenceau 2003-2023. She was hit directly once; a second near-miss ripped open the torpedo bulges while the third missed altogether. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ. [54][55] The shell pierced Giulio Cesare's rear funnel and detonated inside it, blowing out a hole nearly 6.1 meters (20ft) across, while fragments started several fires and their smoke was drawn into the boiler rooms, forcing four boilers off-line as their operators could not breathe which reduced the ship's speed to 18 knots (33km/h; 21mph). We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Warspite returned home in mid-1943 to conduct naval gunfire support as part of Force H during the Italian campaign. As it made its way to Rosyth in order to change its guns, it hit a magnetic mine and after short repairs it resumed service off Normandy. 28/09/44-01/05/46 HMS Pembroke/HMS Marlborough. Stanley Braithwaite HMS Warspite, L.Sea. Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. HTML tags are not allowed. [28] In June 1917, Warspite collided with a destroyer, but did not require major repairs. Repaired throughout the First World War after various additional incidents, it was engaged in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean during the Interwar period. [5], Warspite was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with 15-foot (4.6m) rangefinders. This information will help us make improvements to the website. At 2100 hours, when the Commander-in-Chief was in position . [83] Although the Italians had surrendered, the Germans had anticipated this and moved forces into position to block the Allied landings. When the contract with the salvage firm expired, they withdrew their machinery and equipment, effectively meaning The Wolverhampton Metal Company Ltd had to start from scratch, building up a salvage crew and acquiring the necessary equipment. Samuel died from an accidental explosion on board HMS Warspite, Able Sea. Towing a ship of Warspite's dimensions proved difficult, and at one stage she broke all tow lines and drifted sideways through the Straits of Messina. Message Board. Warspite underway in the Indian Ocean, 16 July 1942. Stkr1. 150 miles off Cape Matapan, Greece at 0635 hours, Italian seaplane spotted a group of four Allied cruisers, and three Italian cruisers moved in to attack, engaging in combat at 0812 hours, to be joined by the big guns of Italian battleships at 1055 hours; after the morning's exchange of shellfire, all four Allied cruisers were damaged by near misses. ww2dbaseWarspite served mostly in the Mediterranean Sea in the years following WW1. [77] Repairs and modifications began in August, including the replacement of her deteriorated 15in guns, the addition of more anti-aircraft weapons, improvements to the bridge, and new surface and anti-aircraft radar. Between 8 and 9 September, Force H, covering the landings at Salerno, came under fierce German air-attack and narrowly avoided being torpedoed. Samuel Hopkins served with the Royal Navy aboard HMS Warspite in WW2. [83], At 0500 on 6 June 1944, Warspite was the first ship to open fire,[94] bombarding the German battery at Villerville from a position 26,000 yards offshore, to support landings by the British 3rd Division on Sword Beach. [33] In March 1933, she was rammed in fog by a Romanian passenger ship off Portugal, but did not require major repairs. Had posted this querie in my local Fife forum (within this website) and got help finding his file - great! 1000/1/3 - Records of the The Wolverhampton Metal Company Ltd, Wednesfield, and its subsidiary companies. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all of which missed their target. [100][101] According to the contractors, it remains the largest salvage operation ever carried out in British waters. [22], Warspite was hit fifteen times during the battle,[23] and had 14 killed and 16 wounded; among the latter warrant officer Walter Yeo, who became one of the first men to receive facial reconstruction via plastic surgery. George Edward Joseph "Cabby" Harris HMS Warspite, Able Sea Samuel Edward Hopkins HMS Warspite (d.2nd August 1943). By Dec 1944, Royal Navy warship involvement in the Atlantic was reduced to very little, and she was decommissioned on 1 Feb 1945 before the European War had ended. Repairs to her propeller shafts and the replacement of the guns took until early August; she sailed to Scapa Flow to calibrate the new barrels with only three functional shafts, limiting her top speed to 15 knots,[83] although by now the Admiralty considered her main role was that of a bombardment vessel. [46], In April 1940, Warspite had started her voyage back to the Mediterranean when the Germans invaded Denmark and Norway; she rejoined the Home Fleet on 10 April and proceeded towards Narvik. 26 . Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project. 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. In Apr 1940, she operated off Norway and on 10 Apr she lent gunfire support at Narvik where British ships sank three German destroyers and damaged 5 others (all 5 were eventually scuttled to avoid capture). Like this page to receive our updates. [83] Warspite returned to Britain in March 1944 to continue her repairs at Rosyth. Their efforts to end the circular motion placed her on a course which took her towards the German fleet. These included the Atlantic convoys, Narvik, Norway, Calabria, the Mediterranean, the Malta convoys, Matapan, Crete, Sicily, Salerno, the English Channel, Normandy and the Bay of Biscay. [18] This action gained her the admiration of Warrior's surviving crew, who believed that Warspite's movement had been intentional. Captain Philpotts avoided reprimand on this occasion, but was moved to a shore-based job as Naval Assistant to the new First Sea Lord, Admiral Jellicoe. [98] Her skeleton crew of seven was saved by the Penlee Lifeboat W. & S. There were several attempts to refloat her but the hull was badly damaged. It was towed to Gibraltar before finalizing the repairs to Rosyth in Great Britain in March 1944. [10] Warspite joined the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet following a number of acceptance trials,[11] including gunnery trials, which saw Churchill present when she fired her 15-inch (381mm) guns. Warspite destroyed the heavily damaged Z13 Erich Koellner with broadsides, while damaging Z17 Diether von Roeder and Z12 Erich Giese. Casualties were minor at 9 killed and 14 wounded, but the ship was crippled as one of them pierced the hull. D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia. The Falmouth tug Masterman spent the night on the Hogus Rocks after failing to tow Warspite; and her sister tug Tradesman had 60 feet (18m) of wire wrapped around her propeller when trying to haul Masterman off the rocks. The ship bombarded German positions during the Normandy landings and on Walcheren Island in 1944, despite not being fully repaired. Seeing that they were under pressure, Cunningham took Warspite ahead to assist his cruisers. Twelve of the fourteen BL 6-inch (152mm) Mk XII guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the forecastle deck near the aft funnel and were protected by gun shields. [53] The two fleets eventually met 30 miles from Punta Stilo at the Battle of Calabria on 9 July 1940. He served on the St Cyrus, a tug that was tender to the Repulse in the Atlantic fleet in 1930, on the Boyne in fishery protection and on St Issey in 1935 in the Mediterranean fleet, all based at Chatham and with him as Boatswain. [74] The attack was carried out by Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77Fighter Wing 77). Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named Warspite. [1]:10 Until 1919 a woodpecker was used as the ships' crest; the official badge was a cannon, although the woodpecker continued to be used on the ships' tompions or gun muzzle plugs. [70], During the Battle of Crete, Warspite was used as a floating anti-aircraft battery and[71] like many other ships, suffered severe damage from German air attacks on 22 May. Italian cruiser Fiume, cruiser Zara, destroyer Alfieri, and destroyer Carducci were sunk, while destroyer Oriani was heavily damaged. [26], Upon the completion of her repairs, Warspite rejoined the 5th Battle Squadron. Launched in 1913, the battleship HMS Warspite saw extensive service during both world wars. Many do not survive at all whilst significant proportions of those that do survive are held . [56] Warspite returned to Alexandria on 13 July. Memorial to the Warspite at Marazion, Cornwall. Initially, Warspite was based in Ceylon, forming a fast group with the aircraft carriers Formidable and Indomitable, four cruisers and six destroyers. Warspite was launched on November 26, 1913, and entered service on March 8, 1915. At the Battle of Calabria on 9 Jul 1940, her shell traveled a distance of 26,000 yards to hit Italian battleship Giulio Cesare. 1000 - Records of IMI [Imperial Metal Industries] PLC and subsidiary companies. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. She continued bombardment duties on 7 June, but after firing over 300 shells she had to rearm and crossed the Channel to Portsmouth. 2. Helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by Copyright 2004-2023 Lava Development, LLC., all rights reserved, See all 8 photographs of Battleship Warspite, 24 boilers, 4 direct drive turbines, 4 shafts, 2 oil driven and 2 turbine driven dynamos, 1 reciprocating engine driven dynamo, 8,600nm at 12.5 knots, 3,900 nm at 21 knots, 4x2 381mm, 12x152mm, 4x2 102mm, 4x8 2-lb AA, 4x4 0.5cal machine guns, 4-11in belt, 4-6in bulkheads, 4.25-13in turrets, 4-10in barbettes, 3-11in conning tower, 6in torpedo conning tower, 1-3in deck. To the contractors, it remains the largest salvage operation ever carried out in British waters,. 77 ) British Royal Navy battleship, HMS Barham second and HMS Resolution third JG... Salvage operation ever carried out in British waters the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea in the Indian,. 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