HMS Lance (G87)
 The Lance
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HMS Lance (G87) (English for lance ) was one of eight British destroyers of the newly developed L-class of the Royal Navy ordered on March 31, 1938 . The destroyer, built by Yarrow Shipbuilders , was delivered in May 1941. The Lance was one of the four ships of the class that were completed with four 102 mm L / 45 Mk.XVI double arbors and did not receive the 120 mm Mk.XI guns newly developed for the class .
HMS Lance was awarded the Battle Honors Mediterranean 1941 and Malta Convoys 1941-42 during World War II .
history
The Lance was laid on March 1, 1939 at Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow-Scotstoun . The launch of the second Royal Navy ship with this name took place on November 28, 1940. Previously, an L-class destroyer built by Thornycroft from 1913 to 1914 had been called Lance from 1913 until it was demolished in 1921. This Lance is considered to be the Royal Navy ship that fired the first shot in World War I when it stopped the German mine-layer Queen Luise in the Thames estuary.
The commissioning of the new Lance in the British Navy took place on May 13, 1941. She was one of the four boats that, contrary to the original plan, did not receive the six 120 mm Mark XI guns intended for the class in newly developed twin mounts, but were equipped with tried and tested 102 mm Mark XVI twin guns as main armament . They received four instead of the three twin guns of the original plan. For this purpose, the rear structure was changed and both twin guns were raised.
Calls
Home waters
After commissioning, the Lance of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet in Scapa Flow was assigned. On May 22, 1941, she escorted the battleship King George V in its search for the German battleship Bismarck . She suffered engine damage shortly after leaving the base and returned to Scapa Flow for repairs. On May 26th she rejoined the search group and accompanied the King George V back home after the sinking of the Bismarck .
In June she was assigned to the 11th Accompaniment Group stationed in Greenock . On June 22nd, she accompanied the aircraft carrier Furious together with the sister ship Legion as part of an aircraft delivery for Malta through the Atlantic to Gibraltar , where they replaced the “worn” F-class destroyers Fearless and Foxhound on the “ Force H ” . She stayed in the Mediterranean for the remainder of the month, escorting the Ark Royal and other units of the Mediterranean fleet to Malta. In July she returned to Greenock and resumed her duties in escorting and protecting convoys. She spent August 1941 escorting convoys through the waters off the north-west coast of England before returning to Gibraltar at the end of the month to take on similar tasks.
Mediterranean Sea
At the beginning of September, Lance accompanied the Ark Royal on two forays into the area south of the Balearic Islands, which launched hurricane hunters to Malta. The sister ships Gurkha and Lively , the destroyer Forester and the cruiser Hermione were also used to secure the carrier during the first advance . The carrier Furious , the battleship Nelson and the destroyers Zulu , Foresight and Legion were also involved in the second advance . A total of about 50 new hurricanes had flown into Malta by the 13th .
From September 24th, the Lance was involved in securing convoy GM.2 from Gibraltar to Malta ( Operation Halberd (Halberd) ). To secure nine transporters, two cover groups formed by the Force H and the reinforcements of the Home Fleet were with the Ark Royal , three battleships, five cruisers, sixteen destroyers, including the Lance and her sister ships Gurkha , Legion and Lively as well as Laforey and Lightning with the 120 mm armament. At the same time, three empty transporters from Malta ran unsecured towards the advancing units. In the course of the operation, the convoy and the cover groups were permanently attacked between September 26 and 27, both from the air and by submarines, but on September 28, eight transports finally reached Malta. Only the Imperial Star transporter was sunk itself damaged in order to maintain the unit's speed and unity. In addition, four Ark Royal aircraft were lost.
After this successful mission, the Lance returned to Gibraltar with the other ships in the fleet. There it underwent maintenance that lasted from October 1st to October 12th.
On 14 October 1941, the Force H ran with the battleship Rodney , the Ark Royal , Hermione and seven destroyers east again and launched on 18 from the support 450 sm Distance eleven Albacore - and two Swordfish -Torpedobomber to Malta (Operation Callbay ) . With the association ran a new Force K , which moved to Malta with the cruisers Aurora , Penelope and the destroyers Lance and Lively , where they arrived on October 21. In addition to securing the supply convoys for Malta on the final section, the task of Force K was to attack convoys of the Axis powers to North Africa. The first two search violations in the night of October 25th to 26th and on 1st / 2nd November were unsuccessful.
On November 9th, the Force K with the two cruisers and Lively and Lance seized the Italian convoy Beta from the five freighters Duisburg (7389 BRT, 1926 Hapag), Maria (6339 BRT), Rina Corrado (5180 BRT), Sagitta (5153 BRT ) and San Marco (3,113 GRT) as well as the two tankers Minatitlan (7599 GRT) and Conte di Misurata (5014 GRT), which was secured by the six Italian destroyers . Led by the Maestrale , her sister ships Gregale and Libeccio , the similar Alfredo Oriani and the somewhat older Fulmine and Euro formed the security association. The convoy ran from Naples through the Strait of Messina to Tripoli . For security the convoy was followed by a cover group with the heavy cruisers Trento and Trieste as well as four destroyers of the Soldati class from Messina . On November 8, a Maryland bomber from the 69th RAF Squadron from Malta discovered the convoy east of Malta and the alerted Force K ran out and found the convoy with its radar equipment and attacked it shortly after midnight 135 nm east of Syracuse . Led by the Aurora , Lance , Penelope, and Lively followed . With her first three salvos, Aurora hit the destroyer Grecale at the end of the convoy, which lay dead and burning. Then the two cruisers focused their fire on the top ship Maestrale . There it was initially believed that the approaching ships were their own cover group and that they were being attacked from the air. When the mistake was recognized, commands could no longer be communicated because antennas and radio had failed due to the fire. The destroyers Fulmine and Euro , who were on the side of the attack , recognized the situation correctly and tried to attack the British ships. Fulmine sank after several hits from Penelope and Lance . Euro received six hits, with the cruiser's 152 mm shells penetrating the light destroyer smoothly. The British concentrated on the destruction of the transporters and tankers of the convoy, which continued to run in double rows and whose seven ships were all sunk. The fire from the security units was only returned when it appeared threatening. Torpedoes were not used by the Italians because they were afraid of hitting their own ships. The only slightly lagging Italian cover group caught up with the convoy and intervened with the heavy cruisers in the battle. She walked around the convoy just like the attackers and could not intervene effectively, since her own convoy always remained between them until Force K left at full speed to Malta after the transporters were destroyed. None of the more than 200 shells fired by the heavy guns of the Italian cruisers hit the target.
The battle, also known as the battle for the Duisburg convoy , led to the destruction of over 35,000 tons of material for the Africa Panzer Group , including 389 vehicles and 17,500 tons of fuel, including jet fuel for the German Air Force and over 200 soldiers.
The total British success was made possible by the British radio reconnaissance, which had precise information about the convoy and its local security. The long-range scout was used specifically to disguise the intrusion into enemy radio traffic. In the night battle, the British units were superior because they were able to maneuver themselves unnoticed into a favorable attack position with the help of radar and shoot the convoy in a targeted manner. In addition, there were misjudgments by the Italian commanders, which led to less favorable decisions.
On the morning of the 9th, the participating Italian naval units and other destroyers and hospital ships returned to the battlefield and were able to save 704 survivors of the sunk ships. The British submarine Upholder torpedoed the destroyer Libeccio , which was busy rescuing survivors and sank some time later in tow. Force K reached Malta despite attacks by Italian torpedo planes. Only the Lively had suffered minor splinter damage in the night battle.
On November 23, the Lance ran together with the other ships of Force K due to reports of a convoy from Taranto to Benghazi from Malta. Since an Italian submarine had reported the departure, all convoys should call at the next port. A convoy destined for Benghazi from the Aegean Sea did not receive this order and was attacked by Force K on November 24, 100 nm west of Crete . The German supply ships Maritza (2910 BRT) and Procida (1842 BRT) were set on fire and sunk, although their escort from the Italian torpedo boats Lupo and Cassiopea the Spica class did everything to avert this fate. On the night of the 25th, Force K encountered the Adriatico transporter (1976 BRT), which ran from Reggio (Calabria) to Benghazi without escort , and sank it.
After a short layover in the dock in Malta, the Lance returned to its accompanying duties. On December 17, she was involved in the first naval battle in the Gulf of Syrte , when the Force K ran against the units of the Mediterranean Fleet to take over the security of the transporter Breconshire . The battle ended without a result, as both sides concentrated on securing their escorts and did not recognize them at the enemy.
The Italian convoy to North Africa, which was stopped during the battle, resumed its march to Tripoli after it was broken off. When the British realized this, the Force K with the cruisers Neptune , Aurora and Penelope as well as the destroyers Kandahar , Lance , Lively and Havock was to try on December 19 to bring parts of the convoy off Tripoli. The cruisers ran into a newly laid Italian mine lock. Neptune sank after four mine hits with around 550 men of the crew. Only one survivor could be saved. The Kandahar , who came to her aid , also ran into a mine and was so badly damaged that she had to be abandoned and sunk by the Jaguar, which had meanwhile arrived, after the crew had been taken over. Penelope was slightly damaged and escorted to Malta by the Lively . The badly damaged flagship Aurora returned with Lance and Havock as backup.
In January 1942, the Lance was used by three supply companies for Malta. During these operations, a task force of the Mediterranean Fleet under Rear Admiral Philip Vian led light cruisers and destroyers transports from Alexandria west to near Malta. Force K left one day after the convoy with all operational ships and empty transporters and met the unit coming from the east on the following day. You exchanged the transporters and usually also a destroyer and then returned to the respective base.
From January 6th to 8th the Lance was Lively , Jaguar and Havock involved in MF.2, with which the transporter Glengyle (9919 GRT), used alone, reached Malta. Sikh replaced the Havock in Force K. The following company, MF.3, was supposed to bring four transporters to Malta. The Vians association lost the Lance's sister ship Gurkha on the approach to a German submarine and a transporter with propulsion problems, which the air force sank on the way to Benghazi despite being secured . In exchange for Jaguar, Force K managed the three remaining transporters Ajax , City of Calcutta (8063 GRT) and Clan Ferguson (7347 GRT) up to 19 June with the operational Penelope and the destroyers Sikh , Zulu , Lance , Lively as well as Legion and Maori to Malta. In January's last supply company for Malta (MF.4), the Breconshire (9776 GRT) approaching from Alexandria under the protection of three light cruisers, an old anti-aircraft cruiser and eight destroyers was joined by Force K with Penelope and the destroyers, which set sail on the 25th Zulu , Lance , Legion , Lively and Maori were included, who had again accompanied two empty transporters to the east. When they met, the units exchanged not only the transports but also the Kingston for the Lance , which arrived in Alexandria with the units of the Mediterranean Fleet on January 28, 1942. Axis air raids on British units were unsuccessful.
With the supply operation MF.5 for Malta, which followed on February 12, the Lance returned to Force K. The convoy was the most secure of the year until then. The flak cruiser Carlisle and the Lance as well as three Hunt destroyers secured the transporters Clan Campbell (7255 BRT) and Clan Chattan (7262 BRT), four other Hunt destroyers the Rowallan Castle (7798 BRT). In addition, Vian led a cover association with the light cruisers Naiad , Dido , Euryalus and the destroyers Jervis , Kipling , Kelvin , Jaguar , Griffin , Havock , Hasty and Arrow . The convoy, which was recognized by the Axis forces' aerial reconnaissance, was attacked by German bombers on the 13th. Clan Campbell had to call at Tobruk after being hit by a bomb. Shortly before meeting the Force K, Clan Chattan was hit so badly that the transporter had to be sunk. Force K joined the association as planned with the cruiser Penelope and the destroyers Zulu , Sikh , Legion , Lively , Fortune and Decoy as well as four empty transporters, which shortly afterwards also lost the last transporter destined for Malta by a bomb hit in another air raid with Rowallan Castle . Force K returned to Malta after exchanging Decoy and Fortune for Lance , where the association arrived without a transporter on February 15. Also Zulu , Sikh and Lively ran with Vian's Association and the empty vans to Alexandria, which was reached on 16 without further loss. Unnoticed by the British, there were also two Italian formations around the battleship Caio Duilio with two cruisers and seven destroyers and two heavy cruisers with four destroyers at sea, which searched in vain for the British formations.
On February 16, the Lance went to the shipyard in Malta for repairs.
End of career
In March 1942 the Lance spent repairs, which were scheduled to be completed in April, in the dock. On April 5, she was hit by a bomb during an air raid on the docks. She was thrown from the pedestals and partially filled with water. On April 9, she was bombed again in another air raid and work on her was stopped. The wreck was subsequently recovered and towed to Chatham Dockyard in Kent . A full examination should determine the need for repairs before returning to active service. This showed that repairs were not economically viable, and so the ship was written off as a total loss. In 1944 the Lance was put on the scrap list and sold for scrapping.
literature
JJ Colledge, Ben Warlow: Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy. (Rev. ed.) Catham, London 1969/2006, ISBN 9781861762818 , OCLC 67375475.
Web links
- The Lance at uboat.net (engl.)
- Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN, HMS LANCE - L-class Destroyer (accessed December 17, 2007)
- Allied Warships: The L-Class Destroyers (accessed January 9, 2006)
- L + M class
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b HMS LANCE (G 87) - L-class Destroyer
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 18.-27. May 1941, North Atlantic Company Rhine Exercise.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 22-23 June 1941, Atlantic.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 8-14 September 1941, Mediterranean Operation Status .
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War , 24.-30. September 1941, Mediterranean Operation Halberd , supply convoy GM.2 from Gibraltar to Malta.
- ↑ Rohwer: Sea War , 14. – 19. October 1941, Mediterranean Operation Callbay .
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 7th-9th November 1941, Mediterranean.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 23-25 November 1941, Mediterranean.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 15-19 December 1941, Mediterranean, British escort operation MF.1 to Malta.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 5th-9th January 1942, Mediterranean, British utility company MF.2 for Malta.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 16. – 20. January 1942, Mediterranean Sea, British supply company MF.3 for Malta.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 24.-28. January 194, Mediterranean Sea, British supply company MF.4 for Malta.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 12-16 February 1942, Mediterranean, British supply operation MF.5 for Malta.
Laforey † | (Larne) / Gurkha † | Lance † | Legion † | Lightning † | Lively † | Lookout | Loyal †
(Marksman) / Mahratta † | Marne | Martin † | Matchless | Meteor | Milne | Musketeer
Poland :
(Myrmidon) / ORP Hurricane †
Turkey :
Alp Arslan |
Kilicali Pasha |
Maresal Fevzi Cakmak |
Piyale Pasha