HMS Ivanhoe (D16)
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HMS Ivanhoe (D16) was a destroyer of the I-Class of the British Royal Navy . During the Second World War , the destroyer was awarded the Battle Honors "Atlantic 1939", "Norway 1940" and "Dunkirk 1940".
During a mining operation on August 31, 1940, the British Association northwest of Texel got into a German mine lock. The heavily damaged Ivanhoe had to be sunk by the destroyer Kelvin .
History of the ship
The ship was launched on February 11, 1937 as part of a class of eight destroyers at Yarrow in Glasgow . It was put into service on August 24, 1937. It belonged to half of the ships that could be equipped as mine layers, but the two stern guns and the two torpedo tube sets then had to be taken off board as a counterbalance for the mine load.
The destroyer was assigned with its sister ships to the "3rd Destroyer Flotilla" in the Mediterranean Fleet , where they replaced the A-class destroyers . The operations of the flotilla during the Spanish Civil War included participation in the so-called neutrality patrols off the Spanish coast in the western Mediterranean in order to protect British interests and prevent arms deliveries to the warring parties.
After the war began, the flotilla was ordered back to the waters around the British Isles . During an escort mission on October 14, 1939, together with Inglefield and Intrepid, southwest of Ireland, the German submarine U 45 was sunk.
The destroyer was then assigned to the 20th (minelayer) destroyer flotilla. At the beginning of the Second World War, this flotilla laid defensive minefields off the British coast and offensive minefields in the German Bight . From February 3, 1940, Ivanhoe was again used as a destroyer. She belonged to the fourth destroyer flotilla. In February 1940, Ivanhoe managed to land a German freighter off the Norwegian coast, which was sunk by its own crew to prevent capture by the British destroyer. On February 16, the Ivanhoe was part of the group of ships around Philip Vian, which freed the prisoners of the Altmark .
In April 1940, the ship was supposed to lay mines in the coastal waters of Norway , which was still neutral at the time, together with other destroyers as part of Operation Wilfred . Here was Ivanhoe escorting the battlecruiser Renown used when he is on 9 April 1940 before Ofotfjord a short indecisive battle with the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau provided that in the operation weserübung served as remote backup. The destroyer itself was not used because of the bad weather.
From late May to early June 1940, the destroyer and many other ships evacuated the Allied troops encircled around Dunkirk ( Operation Dynamo ).
During an offensive mining operation on August 31, 1940, Express, north-west of Texel, ran into a German mine barrier and lost its bow . The accompanying destroyers Esk and Ivanhoe wanted to come to the aid of the damaged ship. Both also ran into mines. The Esk sank, the severely damaged Ivanhoe was only able to save a few survivors, another 25 were later found by the Germans. Because of their severe damage which had Ivanhoe by Kelvin at 53 ° 26 ' N , 3 ° 45' O are sunk. Only the Express could be brought in despite its damage.
literature
- Michael J. Whitley: Destroyers of World War Two. An international encyclopedia. Arms and Armor Press, London et al. 1988, ISBN 0-85368-910-5 .
Web links
HMS Inglefield † (Flotilla Leader)
HMS Icarus |
HMS Ilex |
HMS Imogen † |
HMS Imperial † |
HMS Impulsive |
HMS Intrepid † |
HMS Isis † |
HMS Ivanhoe †
built for Turkey: HMS Inconstant | HMS Ithuriel †
Demirhisar Class : Demirhisar | Sultanhisar | Muavenet ex Inconstant