HMS Jersey (F72)

This article covers the destroyer from World War II , for other ships with this name see HMS Jersey

HMS Jersey

Jersey 1939

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type destroyer class J class Shipyard J. Samuel White , Cowes Order March 25, 1937 Keel laying September 20, 1937 Launch September 26, 1938 Commissioning April 28, 1939 Whereabouts May 2, 1941 sunk after being hit by a mine

Ship dimensions and crew length 108.7 m ( Lüa ) 103.5 m ( Lpp ) width 10.9 m Draft Max. 4.34 m displacement Standard : 1,760 ts Maximum: 2,540 ts   crew 183-218 men

Machine system machine 2 Admiralty boilers , 2 × sets of Parsons geared turbines Machine performance 40,000 PS (29,420 kW) Top speed 36 kn (67 km / h) propeller 2

Armament 6 × Sk 120 mm L / 45 Mk.XII (3 × 2) 4 × Flak 40 mm L / 39 (2pdr) Mk.VIII (1 × 4) 8 × Fla MG Vickers 12.7 mm L / 62 (2 × 4) 10 × torpedo tube ø 533 mm (2 × 5) 20 depth charges , 2 launchers, 1 drop frame Mine detection equipment last: 6 × Sk 120 mm L / 45 Mk.XII (3 × 2) 1 × Flak 102 mm L / 45 Mk.V 4 × Flak 40 mm L / 39 (2pdr) Mk.VIII (1 × 4) 4 × Flak Oerlikon 20 mm L / 70 Mk.II 5 × torpedo tube ø 533 mm (1 × 5) 20 depth charges , 2 launchers, 1 drop frame Mine detection equipment Sensors ASDIC

HMS Jersey (F72) was a British J-class destroyer . The destroyer was awarded the Battle Honor Mediterranean 1941 in World War II .

The Jersey sank on May 2, 1941 in the entrance to the Grand Harbor in Malta after a mine hit. The wreck blocked the entrance to the port for a few days. 35 crew members died when the destroyer went down.

history

HMS Jersey was laid on September 20, 1937 at J. Samuel White in Cowes on the Isle of Wight , launched on September 26, 1938 and on April 28, 1939 as the second ship of the class after that of John Brown & Company built Jackal and assigned to the 7th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet . The destroyer was the sixth ship in the Royal Navy to bear the name of the British Channel Island of Jersey . The acceptance tests then took place until the second half of May. The destroyer then moved to Portland , which served as the base for the retraction of the ship and its crew. The ship also visited the eponymous island of Jersey from July 10th to 15th. In August the destroyer then moved to Scapa Flow to the Home Fleet. In mid-August, the Jervis took part in exercises with the French fleet.

From September 1, 1939, the Jersey stood with her sister ships Jervis , Javelin and Jackal as well as the light cruisers Glasgow and Southampton near the Norwegian coast to stop enemy ships heading home. When Jersey tried to stop the German freighter Johannes Molkenbuhr (5294 GRT) off Bergen on September 4th, the freighter sank itself. The German crew was captured by the Jersey .
During an advance of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron with Southampton , Glasgow , Sheffield and Aurora and all eight destroyers of the 7th Flotilla, the Jersey collided in the North Sea with her sister ship Javelin on September 22, 1939 , had to abandon the mission and return to Leith for repairs . The association also broke off the entire advance after the accident. After repairs were complete, Jersey resumed service with the Home Fleet on October 16. On December 7, 1939, the Jersey and Juno encountered the German destroyers Z 10 Hans Lody and Z 12 Erich Giese , who had carried out a mine-laying operation off the Bay of Cromer on the east coast of England the previous night . The German ships attacked the British with torpedoes and Erich Giese scored a hit on the Jersey , which caused fire and serious damage. The Juno managed to tow her sister ship so that it could be repaired later. The work lasted until September 23, 1940. On October 10, when leaving the Humber , the Jersey triggered a mine and sustained damage that delayed its arrival in Plymouth until October 13.

The destroyer was used for various escort tasks, so on 29/30. December 1940 together with Kashmir and Jupiter when the mine cruiser Adventure deployed a defensive mine barrier in the Sankt-Georgs-Kanal .

In 1941 the destroyer was initially intended to be used to secure convoy trains in the area of ​​the North Western Approaches , but was then handed over to Force H in the second half of January to reinforce it in two advances against northern Italy ( see HMS Jupiter ). Her damage could not be repaired in Gibraltar either, so she also returned home for repairs. In March, her steering gear was repaired in the Portsmoüth Navyyard .

From April 21, 1941, the Jersey moved with other units of the 5th Flotilla in the Mediterranean, in order to be used in the future with Force K of Malta against the supply traffic of the Axis powers from Italy to North Africa. From April 24th to 28th, Jersey then moved with the sister ships Kelly , Kashmir , Kelvin , Jackal and Kipling together with the cruiser Dido and the miner Abdiel from Gibraltar to Malta. Dido , Abdiel and the destroyer Imperial , who had also arrived from Gibraltar , ran after the unloading of their cargoes destined for Malta, together with the destroyers Jervis , Jaguar , Janus , Juno and Nubian of the "14th Destroyer Flotilla", which had previously been used by Force K in Malta were, as well as the empty transporter Breconshire on to Alexandria to the Mediterranean Fleet .

The end of the Jersey

After Force K's unsuccessful search for an Italian escort, Kelly , Jackal and Kelvin were able to enter Malta's Grand Harbor on May 2, but the following Jersey triggered a mine that had been dropped by an Italian plane and sank at position 35 ° 54 '  N , 14 ° 30'  O . The sunken destroyer blocked the entrance to the harbor. The commander of Force K decided to evade to Gibraltar with his flagship Gloucester and the destroyers Kashmir and Kipling , who had previously participated in the rescue of the survivors of the Jersey . Except for 35 men, the crew of the Jersey was rescued by the many participating units.

The wreck of the Jersey broke in the tidal range. In order to keep the Grand Harbor urgently needed for transporters and their rapid unloading usable and to be able to use the three destroyers trapped there again, the remains of the wreck were quickly reduced in size and further destroyed. The final removal of the wreckage took place after the end of the war.

Armament

The armament consisted of six 120 mm cannons in double mounts Mk.XII for use against sea and air targets (two towers in front of the bridge, the rear in an elevated position; one mount on a platform in the rear). As anti-aircraft armament , the destroyer had a 2-pounder quadruple gun Mk.VIII on a platform behind the funnel and two quadruple 0.5-inch (12.7-mm) flak machine guns . Ten torpedo tubes in two sets of five tubes each and 20 depth charges completed the armament.

The poor defense ability of the class against air attacks led from 1940 to the exchange of the rear torpedo tube set for a 102 mm Mk.V flak . Later, the Vickers FlaMGs were also replaced by four individual Oerlikon automatic cannons .

literature

• MJ Whitley: Destroyer in World War II. Motorbuch Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 , pp. 114-118 (N-Class), 219, 215 (English original: Destroyers of World War Two. Arms & Armors Press, London).

Web links

Commons : J, K and N classes  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• HMS Jersey (F72) on uboat.net (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Service History HMS Jersey (F72) -J-class Destroyer.
2. ^ Rohwer: Sea War. September 3–28, 1939, North Sea.
3. ^ Rohwer: Sea War. September 22-23, 1939, North Sea.
4. ^ Rohwer: Sea War. December 6-7, 1939, North Sea.
5. ^ Rohwer: Sea War. December 29/30, 1940, Biscay.
6. ^ Rohwer: Sea War. April 21-28, 1941, Mediterranean.