.gif)
HMS Gloucester (C62)
Encyclopedia
HMS Gloucester was one of the second group of three ships of the "Town" class
Town class cruiser (1936)
The Town-class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930....
of light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s. She was launched on 19 October 1937 prior to commissioning on 31 January 1939.
Gloucester was nicknamed The Fighting G and saw heavy service in the early years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The ship was deployed initially to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and later South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
before joining Vice Admiral Cunningham's
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
fleet in 1940. She was sunk on 22 May 1941 during the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
with the loss of 722 men out of a crew of 807.
Service in the Indian Ocean and South Africa
On 7 April 1939, Gloucester left MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
to take over the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
station as flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Ralph Leathem. She spent much of that year patrolling the Indian Ocean. In December, she was moved to Simonstown, South Africa where she was used, unsuccessfully, against German raiders.
Service in the Mediterranean
She was transferred again in May 1940, this time to the Mediterranean, where she experienced plenty of action. On 7 July, she sailed from AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
bound for Malta with the rest of Vice Admiral Cunningham's fleet to take up convoy duty
Malta Convoys
The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...
. The next day, an Italian air attack hit the ship's bridge killing 18 crew members instantly, including the Captain, F R Garside CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, Commander J R D'Aeth and Lieutenant Commanders Churchill and Lindsay. As a result of the attack, the ship could not be steered from the bridge and was uncontrolled for a time before Lieutenant Commander Reginald P Tanner took charge from the aft steering position. Despite an inoperable bridge, the ship remained with the fleet and saw action on 9 July in the Battle of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
. After the battle, the fleet joined up with the Allied convoys in Malta, before arriving back in Alexandria on 13 July.
While repairs were carried out to the bridge in Alexandria the crew was introduced to their new Captain, Henry Aubrey Rowley DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, and Lieutenant Commander Tanner was promoted to Commander.
The second half of 1940 was spent in the eastern Mediterranean and in the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. On 11 January 1941, while supporting Operation Excess
Operation Excess
Operation Excess was a series of supply convoys to Malta, Alexandria and Greece in January 1941.On 6 January, convoy Excess left Gibraltar for Malta and Greece, covered by the Gibraltar based Force H. Simultaneously, the Mediterranean Fleet from Alexandria covered more supply ships from...
(several coordinated convoys), Gloucester and leaving Malta. She and Southampton came under attack from Stuka dive bombers. Gloucester was hit by a bomb which failed to explode. Southampton was hit by at least two bombs south-east of Malta and caught fire; the resulting blaze spread from stem to stern and trapped a number of men below decks. 81 men were killed with the survivors being picked up by Gloucester and . Heavily damaged and without power, Southampton was sunk by one torpedo from Gloucester and four from . In March, she was at the Battle of Matapan
Battle of Matapan
The naval Battle of Matapan took place on 19 July 1717 off the Cape Matapan, on the coast of the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece, between the combined naval forces of Venice, Portugal, the Papal States and Malta and the Ottoman fleet, under Kapudan Pasha...
and, in April, performed several bombardments along the north African coast. One such mission took place on 21 April 1941. Under the command of Admiral Cunningham, Gloucester, along with battleships , , and , and various destroyers, attacked Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
harbour. A second bomb hit caused minor damage.
Sinking
Gloucester formed part of a naval force acting against German military transports to CreteCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, with some success. On 22 May 1941, while in the Kithera Channel, about 14 mi (12.2 nmi; 22.5 km)14 miles (26 km) north of Crete, she was attacked by German Stuka
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s and sank, having sustained at least four heavy bomb hits and three near-misses. Of the 807 men aboard at the time of her sinking, only 85 survived. Her sinking is considered to be one of Britain's worst wartime naval disasters.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
programme. According to this, the despatch of Gloucester, alone and low on fuel and anti-aircraft ammunition (less than 20% remaining), into danger was a "grievous error". Furthermore, the failure to attempt to rescue survivors after dark was "contrary to usual Navy practice". A survivor commented "The tradition in the Navy is that when a ship has sunk, a vessel is sent back to pick up survivors under cover of darkness. That did not happen and we do not know why. We were picked up by Germans."
Another account of the sinking differs from, and adds to, the BBC report. In this, Gloucester and , both already low on ammunition, had been sent to support the rescue of survivors from the destroyer . Fierce air attacks further depleted their ammunition and they were given permission to rejoin the main fleet. It was during their return that Gloucester was sunk. Fiji was sunk later the same day.
On 30 May 1941, in a letter to the First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, Sir Dudley Pound
Dudley Pound
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB OM GCVO RN was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.- Early life :...
, Admiral Cunningham wrote, "The sending back of Gloucester and Fiji to the Greyhound was another grave error and cost us those two ships. They were practically out of ammunition but even had they been full up I think they would have gone. The Commanding Officer of Fiji told me that the air over Gloucester was black with planes."
The wrecksite is a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act.
Amongst the crew was the former Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
footballer Norman Catlin
Norman Catlin
Norman John Catlin was an English footballer, who showed considerable promise as a schoolboy which was not fulfilled as a professional with Southampton Football Club...
.