HMS Fury (H76)
 The fury
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HMS Fury (H76) was an F-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that entered service in 1935. During the Second World War , the destroyer was awarded the Battle Honors “Spartivento 1940”, “Mediterranean 1941”, “ Malta Convoys 1941–42 ”, “Atlantic 1941–43”, “Arctic 1942–43”, “Sicily 1943”, “Salerno 1943” "," Aegean 1943 "and" Normandy 1944 ". On June 21, 1944, the Fury was badly damaged by a mine hit off Normandy and was never repaired.
Building history
The ship was ordered on March 17, 1933 from the 1932 budget. The keel of the F-class destroyer was laid on May 19, 1933 at J. Samuel White in Cowes , Isle of Wight and the Fury was launched on September 10, 1934. The destroyer was put into service on May 18, 1935.
The Fury was the 11th ship with that name in the Royal Navy. The last name was the destroyer Fury of the Acorn class from 1911 to 1921 .
Mission history
Together with her sister ships, the HMS Fury initially formed the 6th destroyer flotilla in the Home Fleet . The 6th Flotilla moved to Gibraltar from September 1935 to April 1936 because of the Abyssinia crisis between Great Britain and Italy . The Spanish civil war then led to the participation of the flotilla in the so-called neutrality patrols off the southern Spanish coast from January 1936 and from April with part of the flotilla in front of the Spanish ports on the Bay of Biscay . A part of the flotilla was used for these tasks until 1939 in addition to the use of the flotilla in the Home Fleet. On December 11, 1936, Edward VIII left Great Britain for Boulogne-sur-Mer on the Fury on the day after his abdication . From May 1939 the Fury belonged to the "8th Destroyer Flotilla", as the flotilla was renamed when the flotillas of the tribal destroyers , which had previously been numbered separately , were classified in the numbering system.
War missions
After the start of the war, the ship remained with the Home Fleet, but was repeatedly used for submarine hunts together with other destroyers . With the 8th Flotilla, the destroyer was mostly used to protect the heavy units of the Home Fleet. At the end of 1939 he was part of the security of the battleship Nelson when it ran into a mine when entering Loch Ewe and was badly damaged.
On April 17, 1940, the Fury belonged to the security of the damaged heavy cruiser Suffolk , which after its artillery attack on the German air force base near Stavanger had lost its oars in a bomb and ran back over the North Sea to Scapa Flow at reduced speed and with the machines steering . At the beginning of May 1940, the Fury , Fortune and Foresight were delivered by the flotilla to Harwich in order to counter any German activities in the southern North Sea under the "Nore Command". On the march south with other destroyers, she was commanded to support the badly damaged destroyer Kelly , who wanted to reach an English port in tow with the Bulldog . The destroyers Kandahar and Gallant were also used to secure the tow . The unit was attacked by the Air Force on May 10, but eventually reached the Tyne . The Fury began service with the aforementioned sister ships on May 18 in Harwich.
Relocation to Force H
In June 1940, the Admiralty assigned Fury to the newly formed Force H , based in Gibraltar . The 8th flotilla with Faulknor , Foresight , Forester , Firedrake , Fortune and Greyhound was relocated . The first task of the new unit was the neutralization of the French navy in Mers-el-Kébir ( Operation Catapult ). In September, the ship was used in the failed attempt to occupy Dakar ( Operation Menace ). The 17 destroyers used in this association were provided by the Royal Navy. In addition to the Fury , the Faulknor , Foresight , Fortune and Forester also belonged to this association. It then took part in the occupation of French Cameroon by Free French and British troops ( see Faulknor ).
On November 7, 1940, the Fury with Faulknor , Duncan , Firedrake , Fortune and Forester belonged to the association of the Force H, which ran from Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, with the carrier Ark Royal and the cruiser Sheffield under Vice Admiral James Somerville , the "Force F" with the battleship Barham , the cruisers Berwick and Glasgow as well as the destroyers Encounter , Gallant , Greyhound and Griffin as reinforcements for the Mediterranean fleet to the south of Sardinia. The destroyers Faulknor , Fortune and Fury led the "Force F" as mine sweepers to Malta, which disembarked 2,150 soldiers as reinforcements. On the night of November 9th to 10th, the association passed undetected in the Strait of Sicily the Italian “14. Destroyer Flotilla ”with Vivaldi, Da Noli, Pancaldo, Malocello . The Force F united with the Mediterranean fleet coming from the east south of Malta. The destroyers used as fast mine sweepers then ran back to the Force H.
From November 15th, the next mission followed with the Force H and the destroyers Faulknor , Fortune , Wishart , Forester , Firedrake , Duncan and Foxhound in the area southwest of Sardinia, in which the Argus took twelve hurricane fighters and two Skua bombers to flight to Malta started (Operation White), of which only four hurricanes and one Skua reached the destination due to strong headwinds . The Fury also took part in the sea battle at Cape Teulada on November 27, 1940, which developed from a convoy operation through the Mediterranean.
In the following year, the destroyer was repeatedly used with the Force H in the Mediterranean . It served as an escort for aircraft carriers , from which fighter planes were flown to Malta , and for convoys , which mostly transported war material for the British troops in North Africa and supplies for Malta. The ship was also used as a fast mine sweeper.
With the Force H ( Renown , Ark Royal , Sheffield and Faulknor , Foresight , Forester , Foxhound , Fury and Hesperus ), the ship was initially involved in the search for the Bismarck , but had to lag behind when the heavy units advanced north due to lack of fuel. In a subsequent advance into the Atlantic Ocean with Faulknor , Foxhound , Forester and Fearless in the course of the search for German suppliers , the German blockade breaker Alstertor sank himself on June 23, 1941 when the destroyer group approached. In addition to the German occupation, 78 former prisoners are also taken of the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis saved. In the following months the destroyer ran several times as part of the security for other Malta convoys in the Mediterranean. The last deployment took place in September 1941.
Back at the Home Fleet
In October 1941, the Fury returned to the Home Fleet, was overhauled for further use on the Humber and also received two 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannons . From the spring of 1942, the Fury then served several times as an escort for northern sea convoys , with which the Soviet Union was supplied with war material. For the first time the destroyer was used to cover the convoys PQ 12 from Iceland to Murmansk and the convoy QP 8 running in the opposite direction . The German aerial reconnaissance discovered PQ 12 on March 5 and on the 6th the Tirpitz went to sea with four destroyers from Trondheim to intercept the convoy. The German surface units did not discover the convoy and broke off their advance after the sinking of a straggler from QP 8. The British expected the Tirpitz to march back to Trondheim immediately and, with Faulknor , Fury , Intrepid , Icarus , Bedouin , Eskimo , Tartar and Punjabi, sent eight of their twelve destroyers to a position near Bodø , where they launched the German battleship on the night of March 12th should attack. The plan failed because the Tirpitz remained in Narvik for another day before starting the march back. The British destroyers were able to withdraw undetected.
At the following Northern Sea Escort PQ 13 , Fury formed the security of the convoy that left Iceland on March 23 with the destroyer Eclipse , the Hunt destroyer Lamerton , two anti- submarine trawlers and three former Norwegian whaling boats. Later the light cruiser Trinidad joined the convoy. A severe storm from March 25th to 27th led to the association being largely disbanded. The security ships tried to reunite the ships of the convoy. On the morning of the 29th, Trinidad and Fury ran in front of a reunited section and looked for a second group, which had also found each other again and to which the Oribi had already joined two Soviet destroyers from Kola Bay . They met the German destroyers Z 24 , Z 25 and Z 26 , which had left Kirkenes on March 28 to attack the convoy after a BV-138 airboat had sighted transporters of the convoy. In a battle hampered by heavy snowdrifts, the Trinidad radar-based Z 26 was unable to maneuver. When she finally wanted to sink this destroyer with a torpedo, the downed torpedo - probably because of a frozen guidance compass - turned into a circle and hit the cruiser. The own torpedo killed 34 men on the cruiser, whose drive temporarily failed and which could only continue its journey slowly. The two operational German destroyers recovered part of the crew from the sinking Z 26 and continued their search for the convoy, from which they had already sunk a ship that had been blown up on the approach. Fury pursued and shot at her largely ineffective, she is said to have shot at the Eclipse by mistake . Oribi and the Soviet destroyers took up the battle and received artillery hits from the superior German destroyers, who broke off the battle because they could not find any more merchant ships. Fury returned to the damaged Trinidad and escorted her to Murmansk. On the march, she fended off another submarine attack.
Fury returned from April 10, 1942 with the QP 10 back to Iceland, which she secured together with the cruiser Liverpool and the destroyers Oribi , Punjabi , Eclipse and Marne . It was then used at the end of May on the PQ 16 and QP 12 convoys as part of the remote security and in June as part of the Keppel- led local security of the PQ 17 alongside the destroyer Offa , three Hunt escort destroyers and four Corvettes of the Flower class . The convoy was disbanded due to an expected attack by heavy German units on July 4, 1942 and suffered heavy losses from submarines and the air force.
Use during surgery pedestal
In August 1942, the Fury was used with other units of the Home Fleet in the Mediterranean in Operation Pedestal , a vital supply corridor for Malta. She forms with four cruisers and the destroyers Ashanti , Intrepid , Icarus , Foresight , Pathfinder and Penn as well as the Derwent , Bramham , Bicester and Ledbury of the Hunt class the escort of the thirteen vans destined for Malta and one tanker. Foresight was used as a mine sweeper in the Sherki Canal . The convoy was recognized early and attacked almost permanently by submarines and the Axis forces' air forces. The escorts lost the three cruisers Nigeria , Cairo and Manchester and the destroyer Foresight in these attacks and additional speedboat attacks near Sicily .
Although only four cargo ships and the damaged tanker Ohio reached Malta, they ensured the continued existence of the island as an operational base in the access route of the Axis powers to the North African theater of war. The Fury left Malta on August 14 with the cruisers Kenya and Charybdis and the destroyers Ashanti , Intrepid , Icarus and Pathfinder and reached Gibraltar with these despite further air attacks.
Further missions in the North Sea and North Atlantic
From autumn 1942, deployments in the North Sea followed. So in September 1942 as part of the so-called "Fighting Escort" led by the Scylla of 16 destroyers, including the Faulknor , at PQ 18 and then with Faulknor , Marne , Meteor , Milne , Offa , Onslaught , Onslow and Tartar while walking towards the opposite Convoy QP 14 . With this, the Fury drove again in December together with the Faulknor in an association in the North Sea, which was supposed to support JW 51A if necessary and then secured the return RA 51 with Faulknor , Inglefield , Echo , Eclipse and Beagle from December 30, 1942 , the ran to Iceland and Great Britain without any enemy contact. From February 19, 1943, the Fury belonged again to a "Fighting Escort Group" with the cruiser Scylla and a total of thirteen destroyers on the convoy JW 53 and from March 1 with nine other destroyers to the return flight RA 53 ; Faulknor was also involved in both missions .
After her return to the local waters, Fury was used from the spring of 1943 to secure Atlantic convoys. It was mostly used by the “4th Support Group”. These quick groups were formed to work with escorts and to reinforce the security of convoys under attack and, due to the type of operation, were usually deployed from Iceland. However, operations from the Clyde or Newfoundland did occur.
Support the Allied advance in the Mediterranean
In mid-1943, however, the destroyer was relocated to the Mediterranean again. Both in Operation Husky , the Allied landing on Sicily , and in Operation Avalanche (landing near Salerno ) it served as cover for heavy formations. She also belonged to the escort forces of the ships of the Italian fleet handed over to the Allies and came to Alexandria in mid-September 1943 , where the Fury was assigned to the units of the Navy for the less successful Dodecanese campaign .
On 20./21. In September 1943, the Fury began its mission in the Aegean Sea with the transport of 340 soldiers and over 50 tons of supplies from Haifa to Leros in order to strengthen the British garrison there. After a German convoy was reported by a British submarine, the cruisers Penelope and Sirius and the destroyers Faulknor and Fury captured and shot at the northeastern tip of Stampalia on October 7th . The expiring British unit was attacked in Scarpanto-Strasse by Ju 87 of II./ StG.3 and Ju 88 of LG.1 and II./ KG.51 and Penelope was damaged by bomb hits. On 15./16. October the attempt of the cruiser Phoebe to provide another convoy with Faulknor and Fury failed due to German air raids. In the following nights, the Fury fired on Leros with the Exmoor and the Polish Krakowiak and with Penn and Aldenham . On the 29th, the destroyer was used to secure the damaged cruiser Birmingham en route to Alexandria.
From December 1943 a more extensive overhaul of the ship began at the naval shipyard in Gibraltar.
Last use
When landing in Normandy ( Operation Neptune ), Fury initially provided artillery support to the Canadian troops that landed on Juno Beach . In the next few days it was also used in other sections. On June 21, she ran into a mine off Sword Beach . After the ship was subsequently stranded due to engine damage, repairs were not carried out due to the serious damage.
HMS Fury was removed from the list of active warships on September 18, 1944 and scrapped shortly afterwards.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Portsmouth newspaper archives reveal the secret departure of Edward VIII.
- ^ Royal Navy Organization 1919-1939.
- ^ A b Service History HMS Fury (H 76) - F-class Destroyer.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 20.-29. August 1940, North Atlantic
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 23-25 September 1940, Central Atlantic, Operation Menace
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 4th-14th November 1940, Mediterranean, Coat u. Crack
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 15-17 November 1940, Mediterranean
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 18.-27. May 1941, North Atlantic, Operation Rhine Exercise
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 1st - 13th March 1942, Northern Sea
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 24.-31. March 1942, Northern Sea
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War, August 10-15, 1942 Mediterranean
literature
- Michael J. Whitley: Destroyers of World War Two. An international Encyclopedia. Arms and Armor Press, London 1988, ISBN 0-85368-910-5 .
Web links
HMS Exmouth (Flotilla Leader ) †
Echo / Navarion 
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Eclipse † |
Electra † |
Encounter † |
Escapade |
Escort † |
Esk |
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HMS Faulknor (Flotilla Leader)
Fame / Generalissimo 
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Fearless † |
Firedrake † |
Foresight † |
Forester |
Fortune / Saskatchewan |
Foxhound / Qu'Appelle |
Fury †