HMS Britomart was a of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She served during the Second World War and was sunk in 1944 in a friendly fire

Friendly fire

Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...

 incident.

Construction and commissioning

Britomart was ordered on 11 August 1937 and was laid down at Devonport Dockyard

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 on 1 January 1938. She was launched on 23 August that year, and commissioned on 24 August 1939. She was adopted by the civil community of Clowne

Clowne

Clowne is a village and civil parish in the Bolsover district of Derbyshire, England. It forms part of the Bolsover constituency. Clowne lies north east of Chesterfield and south west of Worksop. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Clune...

, Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 in 1942 following a successful Warship Week

Warship Week

Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the adoption of a Royal Navy warship by a civil community. A level of savings would be set to raise enough money to provide the cost of building a particular naval ship...

 National Savings campaign.

In the North Sea

After completing contractors' trials in August 1939 she took up her war station in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 as part of the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla. In September she joined the flotilla, consisting of HMS Bramble, Hazard, Hebe

HMS Hebe (J24)

HMS Hebe was a that saw service in the Royal Navy in the Second World War. She was built at the Devonport Dockyard and she was commissioned in 1936. Her pennant number was N 24, later J 24....

, Sharpshooter, Speedy

HMS Speedy (J17)

HMS Speedy was a that saw service in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was built by William Hamilton & Co. at Port Glasgow, Scotland and completed at J. S. White & Co. at Cowes, Isle of Wight. She was commissioned in 1939...

 and Seagull

HMS Seagull (J85)

HMS Seagull was a , and the first Royal Navy ship to be built entirely without rivets. She was completed on 30th March 1938.During the Second World War she helped escort 21 Arctic convoys, and participated in Operation Neptune...

 at Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

. They were subsequently deployed on minesweeping operations to ensure a clear passage for Home Fleet ships passing in and out of the Fleet anchorage. The flotilla carried out these duties until November, when they were transferred to the Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

 following the sinking of the battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 HMS Royal Oak. They were deployed at Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

. They resumed service in the North Sea in December 1939, ensuring the passages through the East Coast Mine Barrier were kept clear of mines.

January 1940 saw the flotilla transferred for Atlantic convoy defence duties, based out of Stornoway

Stornoway

Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...

 and covering the passage of convoys to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Britomart and Bramble sailed for a refit in Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

 in March which lasted until May. They rejoined the fleet at Scapa Flow in June and commenced their sweeping duties. This kept them occupied until February 1941, when Britomart, Bramble, Hebe and Sharpshooter were transferred to Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

 to sweep convoy routes as part of the Nore Command. Britomart came under air attack on 15 March whilst sweeping off Rye, East Sussex

Rye, East Sussex

Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...

 and was hit by a bomb. It struck near the wardroom

Wardroom

The wardroom is the mess-cabin of naval commissioned officers above the rank of Midshipman. The term the wardroom is also used to refer to those individuals with the right to occupy that wardroom, meaning "the officers of the wardroom"....

, killing everyone inside and causing considerable damage. She made for Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 under her own steam and escorted by Sharpshooter. Her repairs lasted from April to May, and on her return to service in June she joined the 3rd Escort Group with HMS Hazard and Bramble. August saw them based at Stornoway and deployed as local escorts for the Atlantic convoys, as well as their usual sweeping duties.

With the Arctic convoys

Britomart was nominated in August 1941 for detached service in North Russia, carrying out sweeping duties to ensure the safe passage of Russian convoys

Arctic convoys of World War II

The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...

 to and from Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. Her sisters HMS Gossamer, Leda and Hussar

HMS Hussar (J82)

HMS Hussar was a Royal Navy minesweeper. She was sunk by friendly fire from RAF fighters off the coast of Normandy on 27 August 1944 in the same incident as HMS Britomart.-References:...

 were nominated at the same time, and ordered to join HMS Halcyon

HMS Halcyon (J42)

HMS Halcyon was a built for the Royal Navy in 1933. She was the lead vessel in the class. Her pennant number was J42.Halcyon was built by John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., at Clydebank, in Scotland. She was laid down on 27 March 1933 and launched on 20 December of the same year...

, Harrier and Salamander, which were already at Archangel

Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...

. After preparing for Arctic service they sailed for Iceland in September and on 29 September they joined convoy PQ-1

Convoy PQ-1

Convoy PQ-1 was the second of the Arctic Convoys of World War II by which the Western Allies supplied material aid to the Soviet Union in its fight with Nazi Germany...

 with the cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 HMS Suffolk

HMS Suffolk (55)

HMS Suffolk was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK), with the keel being laid down on 15 November 1924...

. The convoy arrived at Archangel on 11 October and the flotilla commenced their Russian deployment. Between October 1941 and January 1942 Britomart was engaged in sweeping operations in the Barents Sea

Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

, ensuring the safe movement of traffic in and out of the ports of Archangel and Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

. On 7 February she joined Sharpshooter in escorting the inward bound convoys PQ-9 and PQ-10 until their arrival in Murmansk on 10 February. On 13 February they joined the return convoy QP-7 through the Barents Sea, before being detached on 15 February and returning to Murmansk.

PQ-17

Britomart served in North Russia until March 1942, when she was nominated to return to the UK. On 21 March she and Sharpshooter joined the return convoy QP-9 at Kola Inlet. They sailed with the convoy as far as Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

, which they reached on 3 April. They then sailed to the UK, where they were taken in hand for a refit. The refit lasted throughout May, during which time a Type 271 radar was fitted. She sailed for Reykjavík again in completion of these works and on 27 June 1942 joined convoy PQ-17

Convoy PQ-17

PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied World War II convoy in the Arctic Ocean. In July 1942, the Arctic convoys suffered a significant defeat when Convoy PQ 17 lost 24 of its 35 merchant ships during a series of heavy enemy daylight attacks which lasted a week. On 27 June, the ships sailed...

 with HMS Salamander and Halcyon. The convoy was ordered to scatter by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 on 4 July in view of the presumed threat of attack by the German capital ship

Capital ship

The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...

s Tirpitz

German battleship Tirpitz

Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...

, Admiral Scheer

German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer

Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June...

 and Admiral Hipper

German cruiser Admiral Hipper

Admiral Hipper, the first of five ships of her class, was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper–class of heavy cruisers which served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; Admiral Hipper...

. Britomart was deployed on 5 April with several of the smaller escorts to search for the scattered merchant ships. She and the escorts gathered up six merchants and made for Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya

Novaya Zemlya , also known in Dutch as Nova Zembla and in Norwegian as , is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the northern island...

, whilst under continued air attack. The battered ships arrived at Archangel on 11 April, and Britomart resumed her sweeping duties.

Sweeping in the Barents

She carried these duties out throughout August 1942 and into September, and on 13 September was part of the local escort for convoy QP-14, with HMS Halcyon, Hazard and Salamander. On 18 September they joined two Soviet destroyers in escorting the inward bound convoy PQ-18

Convoy PQ-18

Convoy PQ-18 was one of the Arctic convoys sent from Britain to aid the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942 and arrived in Arkhangelsk on 21 September 1942....

, which had come under air attack. The convoy arrived on 20 September and Britomart resumed her sweeping duties. She was next deployed on 17 November with HMS Halcyon, Hazard, Salamander and Sharpshooter in escorting convoy QP-15 through the Barents Sea. They were detached on 20 November and returned to Archangel. Britomart was briefly in the UK at the start of 1943, but was nominated to return to Russia as part of the escort for convoy JW-52, and joined the assembled convoy at Loch Ewe

Loch Ewe

Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...

. She deployed on 17 January with the corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s HMS Lotus

HMS Lotus (K130)

HMS Lotus was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy.She was built by Henry Robb Limited, of Leith, Scotland and launched on 16 January 1942. Originally named HMS Phlox, she was renamed in April 1942 after the previous HMS Lotus was transferred to the Free French Navy...

 and Starwort, and three naval trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

s. The convoy came under air attack on 24 January, but these were ineffective. They arrived on 27 January and Britomart resumed her usual duties.

On 24 July 1943 she helped get a fire under control after an attack by four ME-109s started a fire on the SS Llandaff. The attack took place about 20 miles NE of Kildin Island

Kildin Island

Kildin is a small Russian island in the Barents Sea, off the Russian shore and about 120 km from Norway. Administratively, Kildin belongs to the Murmansk Oblast of the Russian Federation....

. Llandaff was part of a small convoy bringing timber from the White Sea

White Sea

The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...

 to Kola Inlet.

Assigned to the Normandy landings

She escorted several more convoys through the Barents in February 1943 and continued her sweeping duties until October. She briefly came under air attack whilst sweeping off Cape Artica, and was hit by two bombs. They bounced off the deck without exploding.

She returned to the UK in November 1943, having escorted convoy RA-54A and after arriving on 14 November she underwent a refit. On completion of the refit she was nominated to join the newly formed 1st Minesweeping Flotilla, along with HMS Harrier, Gleaner, Halcyon

HMS Halcyon (J42)

HMS Halcyon was a built for the Royal Navy in 1933. She was the lead vessel in the class. Her pennant number was J42.Halcyon was built by John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., at Clydebank, in Scotland. She was laid down on 27 March 1933 and launched on 20 December of the same year...

, Hussar, Jason

HMS Jason (J99)

HMS Jason was a . She was named after the hero in Greek mythology and was the sixteenth Royal Navy ship to carry the name Jason. She was laid down on 12 December 1936, launched on 6 October 1937, and was completed on 9 June 1938. She survived the Second World War and was sold in 1946 to become...

, Salamander, Seagull

HMS Seagull (J85)

HMS Seagull was a , and the first Royal Navy ship to be built entirely without rivets. She was completed on 30th March 1938.During the Second World War she helped escort 21 Arctic convoys, and participated in Operation Neptune...

 and Speedwell. Throughout February and March 1944 they carried out their duties in the North Sea, and were subsequently nominated for minesweeping support during the planned allied landings in Normandy (Operation Neptune

Operation Neptune

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...

).

They sailed for Portsmouth in April 1944 and joined Force S. They were instructed to clear the approach channels to the beach head anchorage areas, and had three Motor Launch

Motor Launch

A Motor Launch is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue....

es and four Isles class

Isles class trawler

The Isles class trawlers were a class of naval trawler used by the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II....

 danlayer

Danlayer

A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans...

s attached to the flotilla for these duties. Britomart took part in preparatory exercises with the ships of Force S, and carried out night sweeping exercises with the Flotilla. After briefings in Portsmouth she deployed in Channel 9 in advance of the assault convoys.

The operation was delayed by 24 hours on 4 June, and they sailed from the Solent

Solent

The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...

 on 5 April to commence operations. They carried out their sweeps, and on completion of this by 6 June they began clearing the anchorages. They were deployed on 8 June to begin widening the approach channels and carrying out defence patrols off the Eastern Task Force landing areas. They carried this out throughout July, under constant threat of attack from E-Boat

E-boat

E-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....

s and midget submarine

Midget submarine

A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...

s. By August Britomart was deployed off Arromanches with HMS Harrier, Jason, Hussar, Gleaner and Salamander. They were transferred to the Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 area for mine sweeping operations in the anchorage selected for the bombardment of enemy positions by HMS Warspite and the monitor

Monitor (warship)

A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...

s HMS Erebus

HMS Erebus (I02)

HMS Erebus was a World War I monitor launched on 19 June 1916 and served in both world wars. She and her sister HMS Terror are known as the Erebus class...

 and Roberts

HMS Roberts (F40)

HMS Roberts was a Royal Navy Roberts class monitor of the Second World War. She was the second monitor to be named after Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts....

. They came under shore fire on 23 August during these operations, but by 26 August they had received permission to remain in the area to complete the clearances instead of returning to Arromanches.

Sinking

Whilst carrying out these clearances on 27 August 1944, the flotilla came under rocket attack by RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 Typhoon

Hawker Typhoon

The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...

s. Britomart and Hussar took direct hits and were sunk. Salamander had her stern blown off and sustained heavy damage, while Jason was raked by machine gun fire, killing and wounding several of her crew. Two of the trawlers were also hit. The incident was found to be due to the failure of the Flag Officer British Assault Area to ensure that the approval of the extended minesweeping operation had been passed to those concerned with the air operations over the beaches. The ships were assumed to be enemy craft, since the air commanders believed that no allied ships were in the area at the time.