The vessel was built at deptford dockyard by the master shipwright edward stevens and launched about 1 march 1596, she carried a crew of 300 when at sea, of whom 190 were classed as mariners, manning the guns and fighting the ship. She escaped the indignity of the breakers yard by somehow breaking free of her moorings,and she ran hard aground in prussia cove south west cornwall. Operations in the eastern mediterranean, 11 to 15 june 1940. She was stationed in the mediterranean when the first world war began and participated in the pursuit of the german battlecruiser sms goeben and light cruiser sms breslau. In ww2 after a refit in 1942, she escorted convoys in the indian ocean until recalled for the d day landings. After garnering more battle honours than any other british warship during two world wars, warspite famously ran aground at prussia cove in the late 1940s and then was towed around to mounts bay where she remained for several years to be dismantled. Do you have any info on the state of the battleship hms warspite off st michaels mount a location, depth and any other details would be helpful.
This acclaimed study recounts the warspites furious surface engagements f. After being repaired, the former wreck of hms thetis was commissioned as hms thunderbolt to lieutenant commander richard crouch in 1940. Hms warrior was a warriorclass armoured cruiser built for the royal navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Ms derelict wreck of the warspite, seagulls perch on top. Warrior was transferred to the grand fleet in december 1914 and remained there for the rest of. Jan 01, 2014 this could be a standalone book or a beginning of the new series. Steve witt after her guns had been taken out, in april 1947, warspite was sent under tow from portsmouth to the breakers on the clyde. On 23rd april 1947 whilst on passage to the breakers yard the tow parted and ship ran aground in prussian cove, 6 miles east of penzance.
Later in the day the mediterranean fleet sailed from alexandria to carryout an attack. The most famous ship to carry the name warspite with a fighting record unparalleled in british naval history was launched at devonport on a late november day in 19. Hms warspite intervened and engaged successively two 8 and two 6 cruisers at long range, which after a few salvos turned away. One of four admiralclass battlecruisers ordered in mid1916, hood had design limitations, though her design was revised after the battle of jutland and improved while she was under construction. He went to cornwall to see her aground and, on establishing with the workmen that he was a warspite veteran, was taken over to the wreck for a final look and to pay his respects.
Although this book looks at all eight warships to carry the name warspite, the focus is on the seventh, a superdreadnaught that served in both world wars. Thunderbolt sank the italian submarine tarantini on 15 dec 1940 in the bay of biscay of france. Wwii shipwrecks vanish after plundering by illegal scavengers. Full account of any day is available by clicking on the link above that day. Jan 01, 2010 a great book which brings together stories from every aspect of the royal navys ships, warspite. The first ship to open fire on dday warfare magazine. Launched in 19 hms warspite was a queen elizabeth class battleship which won more battle honours than any other ship in the history of the royal navy. Tudor warship mary rose pdf download pdf book library. To warspite went the honour of being the first ship to open fire on dday, with her shells pummelling a german gun battery that showed signs of life. Royal navy ww2 wrecks disappear after being destroyed by. Hms warspite, battleship british warships of world war 1. Debate over identity of long rock shipwreck as it reappears.
The remains of a shipwreck which ran aground near penzance over years ago have once again become exposed following a succession of storms at low tide on the beach at long rock, the skeletal. Hms warspite was the most successful british capital ship of the 20th century you have to go back to nelsons victory to find comparable distinction. Hms warspite queen elizabethclass 15in gun battleship including. Each year the rn northern diving group divers replace a white ensign at the stern of the royal oak. Off the dorset coast, the most intact and diveable battleship wreck is hms empress of india, a royal sovereign class vessel of 14,150 tons wreck tour 70, december 2004. The hms warspite association ensign, carrying the battleships many battle honours, is dipped in salute at the marazion memorial. In 1943 she was badly damaged by an early guided missile, demonstrated how far naval warfare had changed since she was laid down in 1912. Ms dukw pulling alongside wreck, one man climbs to deck with mooring rope, others follow him.
Hms warspite in the second world war 19391945 the wartime. The sudden loss of hms barham hms barham was a battleship built for world war i but had had an extensive refit in the 1930s. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name between 1596 and the 1990s, it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a superdreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to german naval power, during the arms race that helped. Hms warspite was held in reserve at portsmouth and placed on disposal list and sold to bisco for demolition by metal industries at faslane on 12th july 1946. To hms warspite went the honor of being the first ship to open fire on dday, with her shells pummeling a german gun battery that showed signs of life. I have tried to visualize how it would be to see these mighty vessels for real. Hms warspite was a queen elizabethclass battleship built for the royal navy during the early 1910s.
The photogragh was taken in the summer of 1947 possibly early august and has come to light by myself whilst sifting through some old family albums. The royal navy is rebuilding and has lots of work to do. No warship name in british naval history has more battle honours than warspite. During the interwar period the ship was deployed in the atlantic ocean and the mediterranean sea, often serving. Despite pleas to be kept as a museum ship this was ignored by the government and she was due to be scrapped in 1947. Warspite, during her 32 years service she had endured bombing, shellfire, ramming, mines and a missile attack, and fought all over the world from jutland in the great war, to the normandy. This book covers all the warspites, but the vast bulk of the book is about the hms warspite that fought in ww1 and ww2. A storm in april 1947 sank it in mount bay and, despite multiple efforts to refloat it, its wreck remained there until 1950. Iain ballantyne author of hms london 2003, hms rodney 2008, killing the bismarck 2010 and many others is one of the best naval historians currently writing. A 3d sonar scan of the remains of british warship hms electra, one of several war wrecks in the java sea thought to have been plundered by metal scavenging operators. Hms warspite bombarding german positions in normandy, june 1944. Warspite was close to end up as a museum ship but as descibed earlier fate would have it otherwise. It came at a time when dark clouds of war loomed over europe, with britain involved in a deadly battleship construction race with germany. The first ship to open fire on dday extract adapted from warspite by iain ballantyne.
But it soon turned into a neardisaster when fire broke out close to the vessels nuclear reactor, torpedo store and ten tons of diesel oil. This could be a standalone book or a beginning of the new series. Hms warspite 03 of the royal navy british battleship. This ww2 wreck from the operation pedestal lies in 100 meters 328feet nearby kelibia tunesia. Hms hood pennant number 51 was the last battlecruiser built for the royal navy. Warspite salvage men break up the battleship warspite, run aground on the. The construction of iron armour bolted onto a teak ship has survived to leave a wreck that is inverted and rising 10m from a 30m seabed. The first ship to open fire on dday extract adapted from.
Wwii shipwrecks vanish after plundering by illegal. Mar 08, 2020 the remains of a shipwreck which ran aground near penzance over years ago have once again become exposed following a succession of storms at low tide on the beach at long rock, the skeletal. Hms warspite in the second world war, the wartime memories project. Yet her memory passed into undeserved oblivion until the remains of this magnificent flagship were dramatically raised to the surface in 1982 after 437 years at the bottom of the solent. It seems almost inconceivable now, but this short stretch of cornish coast between marazion and st michaels mount should have witnessed the death of one of the royal navys most famous battleships, h. Saw action at dday and walcheren and left her for the bpf in march 1945. The day a visit by a nuclear submarine almost turned into. Nov 22, 2016 a 3d sonar scan of the remains of british warship hms electra, one of several war wrecks in the java sea thought to have been plundered by metal scavenging operators. Hms warspite 03 of the royal navy british battleship of. However, she didnt get far and, after breaking her tow in a gale, ran aground in. Hms hood was hit by a shell by german battleship, bismarck, in 1941 and today marks the 75th anniversary of that day. Where the grand old lady lies still each autumn the hms warspite. Hms warspite 1666 was a 70gun thirdrate ship of the line launched in 1666. Thirty years ago a nuclear submarine, hms warspite, sailed up the river mersey to take part in the annual battle of atlantic celebrations.
Manchester took part in operation pedestal, an operation to. The two warships were found in indonesian waters, at a depth of about 200ft, 90 miles north of bawean island, and 60. Hms warspite was a queen elizabeth class battleship that served in both world wars, taking part in the battle of jutland in 1916 and the battle of matapan in 1941. The first ship to open fire on d day extract adapted from hms warspite bombarding german defences on d day a heavily modernised ship that saw much action in both wars, her c turret was by this time beyond repair. Ballantyne also touches on the other warspites which have served over the centuries, but the main focus for this book, is the first and second world war service of the wellknown battleship. A few weeks later, in may 1939, they began their training on board hms caledonia, based at rosyth. By the late 1990s a diving team from hms cochrane began surveying the wreck annually. Warspite was a great ship later classed as a second rate of the english tudor navy. Part of the bestselling conway anatomy of the ship series, tudor warship mary rose provides the finest possible graphical representation of the mary rose. Our new protagonist is captain john naiser who is commander of hms warspite, an experimental heavy cruiser. After a short lull, during which hms warspite fell back on hms malaya who was now proceeding ahead of hms royal sovereign. Battles of narvik warspite engaging shore batteries during the second battle of narvik warspites first task was to escort convoy hx9 carrying fuel from nova scotia to the uk.
Warspite, during her 32 years service she had endured bombing, shellfire, ramming, mines and a missile attack, and fought all over the world from jutland in the great. She was on harbour service from 1778, was renamed hms arundel in 1800 and was broken up in 1801. Nov 16, 2016 the wrecks of hms exeter and hms encounter were only rediscovered in may 2008. Welcome to forces reunited the place where you can find information and friends from hms warspite we are the largest and fastest growing community of uk forces veterans on the web with over 500,000 members. Then, one day, the warspite seemed to have disappeared and the culdrose pilots had to use something else as a navigation point. She was renamed hms edinburgh in 1721, rebuilt three times and broken up in 1771. Warspite, from jutland to cold war warrior, iain ballantyne. The remains of the masts lie in the yard at porthenalls house, prussia cove and one portion was. When she was first built the warspite and her sister ships in the queen elizabeth class were at the cutting edge of military technology, with oil replacing coal and newly designed 15in guns. Perspective view download as 1680x1050 download as 1600x1200 download as 1280x1024 download as 1280x960. Hms warspite in the second world war 19391945 the wartime memories project.
One of a class of five her sister ships were queen elizabeth, barham, malaya and valiant, she fought at jutland in 1916, then at narvik, off calabria, matapan, crete and the normandy invasion. Hms warspite, british battleship, ww2 naval history. The wrecks of hms exeter and hms encounter were only rediscovered in may 2008. On january 1, 1945, after good and loyal services, hms warspite was placed in reserve and then definitively retired from service. Hms warspite at prussia cove with the penlee lifeboat on 23 april 1947. Groups of links refer to log book covers and introductory information. Saw action at d day and walcheren and left her for the bpf in march 1945. By standin reporter horton tregarthen recent photo of the warspite taken from a specially diverted relubbus airways flight to mousehole heliport it had always been understood, and indeed, even reported back in the 1950s in the pages of that lesser journal, the cornishman, that scrap metal from the wreck of hms warspite had been stored at the albert quay in penzance, and later transferred to. British warships 19141919 laid down 311012, launched 2611, comp 315, commissioned at devonport in march 1915 and arrived at scapa flow in april to join 5th bs. Completed during the first world war in 1915, she was assigned to the grand fleet and participated in the battle of jutland. George 1942 1944 and joined warspite in march 1944.
In 1916, at the battle of jutland, the warspite was attached to the 5th battle squadron under the overall command of admiral beatty. Other than that battle, and the inconclusive action of 19 august, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the north sea. The log book noted that the damage was dealt with by local action. She was diverted northwards in pursuit of the german battleships scharnhorst and gneisenau which had sunk the armed merchant cruiser. Various shots of the crew on their way to secure the warspite and make it watertight before it can be moved again and broken up. Members who served with hms warspite forces reunited. Boys from the training ship warspite compete in quirky sports contest. Her wreck was recovered and grounded at moelfre bay, anglesey, wales, united kingdom on 3 sep. Second battle on april th, battleship hms warspite and nine destroyers, hms bedouin, cossack, punjabi, eskimo, kimberley, hero, icarus, forester and foxhound, and aircraft carrier hms furious attacked again. After garnering more battle honours than any other british warship during two world wars, warspite famously ran aground at prussia cove in the late 1940s and then was towed around to mount. The first ship to open fire on dday war is boring medium.
Princess anne then went on to officially open the nmrns new exhibition telling the story of the battle of jutland credit. To hms warspite went the honour of being the first ship to open fire on dday, with her shells pummelling a german gun battery that showed signs of life. Jun 06, 2014 to hms warspite went the honor of being the first ship to open fire on dday, with her shells pummeling a german gun battery that showed signs of life. I have the honour to submit the following combined diary of events and report on action of wednesday, 31st may, and thursday, 1st june, 1916. Hms warspite 1758 was a 74gun third rate launched in 1758. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name between 1596 and the 1990s, it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a superdreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to german naval power, during the arms race that helped cause ww1. Hms royal oak capsized as she sank and now lies almost upside down in 33 metres of water. A story showing the annual sports day for the boys of the warspite. The decision was taken to shelter from the storm in mounts bay but the next day, 23 april, the news of warspite s grounding off cudden point was widely reported. Hms frobisher, 9750 ton cruiser, was launched in 1920 at devonport dockyard. Hms warspite was a queen elizabethclass battleship built for the royal navy during the early. When she was first built the warspite and her sister ships in the queen elizabeth class were at the cutting edge of military technology, with oil replacing coal and.
Warspite by iain ballantyne is a fascinating history of what is arguably the royal navys most famous battleship. Bay and, despite multiple efforts to refloat it, its wreck remained there until 1950. Warspite was the first ship to open fire, bombarding the german battery at villerville to support the british landings at. Various shots of the new training ship warspite at greenhithe. The first ship to open fire on dday extract adapted from hms warspite bombarding german defences on d day a heavily modernised ship that saw much action in both wars, her c turret was by this time beyond repair. The moment when hms barhams magazine exploded after being torpedoed in the mediterranean. Hms warspite bombarding german positions in normandy, june strathdee collection image. Commissioned in 1920, she was named after the 18thcentury admiral samuel hood.