HMS Jervis Bay
HMS Jervis Bay in Dakar, 1940
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The HMS Jervis Bay was a British auxiliary cruiser of the Royal Navy , which was converted from the former liner steamer Jervis Bay of the Aberdeen & Commonwealth Line .
history
The line steamer Jervis Bay entered service with the Aberdeen & Commonwealth Line in 1922.
When in 1939/1940 Great Britain's supply depended largely on the Atlantic convoys from the United States , there was a huge need for auxiliary ships to accompany these convoys to protect them from German submarines and surface ships. That is why a good 50 suitable merchant ships were converted into auxiliary cruisers. In the case of Jervis Bay, this change consisted of the installation of seven 15.2 cm guns from the First World War and two equally old 7.6 cm anti-aircraft guns .
Jervis Bay entered service with the Royal Navy in October 1939. She made her first mission in May 1940 as an escort. In October / November 1940 she was the only escort for the HX 84 convoy, consisting of 37 merchant ships , when it was attacked by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer . The captain of Jervis Bay , Edward Fegen, ordered the convoy to disperse and tried to create an artificial smoke screen. With the Jervis Bay , Fegen set course for the Admiral Scheer in order to draw fire on his ship. To do this, he attacked the much larger ship with his guns. The German grenades hit Jervis Bay hard. Fegen himself was wounded and many crew members were killed. Even so, the crew fought on until their ship was sunk. Captain Fegen and many of the crew went down with the ship. The fight with the Admiral Scheer lasted only 22 minutes.
By deploying the crew of Jervis Bay , who, despite their significantly weaker armament, got involved in a battle, it was possible to prevent the convoy from being completely destroyed. Only six ships in the convoy, including Jervis Bay , were sunk. This was also helped by the fact that the convoy dispersed. The Jervis Bay sank 1940. (November 5 position )
The ship's captain, Edward Fegen , who went down with the ship, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross .
Movie
- The battle with the Admiral Scheer and the sinking of the auxiliary cruiser was re-enacted in the British feature film San Demetrio in 1943 .
Web links
swell
- Robert Hewson: Warships. 1939-1945. Gondrom, Bindlach 2000, ISBN 3-8112-1796-8 , pp. 110-111
See also
Coordinates: 53 ° 41 ′ 0 ″ N , 32 ° 17 ′ 0 ″ W.