HMS Jason was a . She was named after the hero in Greek mythology

Jason

Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...

 and was the sixteenth (and , the final) 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...

 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 a cargo ship. She was eventually broken up in 1950. Her pennant number

Pennant number

In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

 was originally N99, but was changed to J99 in May 1940.

Pre-war Duties

Before the war, HMS Jason carried out surveys of the English

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 and Bristol

Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...

 Channels. She carried out two principal surveys during 1938 and 1939. She was unarmed until the outbreak of the Second World War.

Home Waters

Although HMS Jason had been designed as a minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

, in September 1939, she was converted into an antisubmarine vessel and assigned to 1st Antisubmarine striking force at Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

. Her first minor damage sustained was on on 12 October when she was grounded at Row Point. Repairs were completed by 17 October and she was deployed in home waters for convoy defence, but she put in for more repairs on 3 August 1940, this time because of problems in her boilers.

After the repairs, she was again deployed to convoy defence, this time in the North West Approaches, during which she came under repeated attack from German U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s U-32 and U-28. Although HMS Jason was not damaged in the attacks, four merchant ships were lost and Jason picked up 18 survivors. After one month in that role, yet more repairs were needed after a collision with the rescue tug Scheldt, in which significant structural damage to her stem was sustained. This time repairs were completed at HM Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...

, Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

, and she was, upon release, deployed to the Rosyth Escort Force to defend shipping to and from 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....

.

As part of the Rosyth Escort Force, she was again subject to U-boat attack in October whilst escorting Convoy HX79 (totalling 49 ships) off Rockall

Rockall

Rockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....

. This was part of the most vicious U-boat attacks of the war, with ten ships being lost from Convoy HX79 alone. HMS Jason, however, was undamaged and picked up 78 survivors on 19 October and a further 111 survivors on the 20 October. None of the eight attacking submarines were sunk.

After this, Jason was primarily assigned to an anti-air role, and the number of AA guns was increased c.1941. On several occasions in early 1941, she was required to use this extra armament to fend off attacks from German aircraft. No ship was damaged in any of these attacks, sometimes as a direct result of Jasons anti-aircraft fire.

She was once again put in for repair on 21 July 1941 at Leith

Leith

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

, after which she escorted more convoys through quieter times. In mid-1942, she yet again put in for repair and re-fit which, together with trials, lasted until early 1943. Part of the re-fit was in preparation for her new assignment, which was to operate in Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 waters with ships of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

.

Soviet Waters

Her first assignment in this new rôle was to escort Arctic Convoy

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...

 JW-53 to 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 15 February. Things did not start well, with several ships unable to even begin the journey. The convoy encountered terrible weather from the start, some of the worst experienced by any of the Russian convoys. HMS Jason was the lead ship and under command of Cdr. H.G.A. Lewis. Lewis did a remarkable job of keeping order in the confusion which saw several ships damaged. HMS Sheffield

HMS Sheffield (C24)

HMS Sheffield was one of the Southampton sub class of the Town-class cruisers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She took part in actions against several major German warships. Unlike most Royal Navy ships of her time, her fittings were constructed from stainless steel instead of the...

 had the armour plating torn from one of her turrets by the heavy seas on the first day. The visibility was so poor that it was rarely clear how many ships were keeping up with the convoy, and communication was always troublesome.

On the third day, the escort HM Trawler Lord Middleton suffered flooding and was forced to retreat to 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...

, another escort, Dianella, also left the convoy to escort Lord Middleton. Also that day, the trawler Komiles suffered damage and was forced to retreat to the Faeroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

. An SOS signal was received from Komiles two days later as she had suffered hull damage in the storm.

The next day brought yet more chaos. Heavy seas made visual communication almost impossible, and Jason was damaged by the weather and forced to carry out repairs to the ventilation trunking. By the afternoon, only 22 ships were left in the convoy, the others having retreated. Over the next few days, more destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s and 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 join the escort. But HMS Pytchley and HMS Middleton

HMS Middleton (L74)

HMS Middleton was a Type 2 Hunt class destroyer of the Royal Navy and served in the Second World War. Her rôle was providing support for minelaying operations in the Atlantic and anti-aircraft protection for the North Russian convoys...

 left for Seydisfjord, Iceland, to refuel.

The weather started to clear on the 23 February, but German aircraft sighted the convoy and one day later it was attacked by U-255 and U-622. The escorts managed to defend the convoy and no ships were damaged. Air attacks from 21 Ju-88s

Junkers Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

 followed over the next two days, but were again prevented by the escort from causing any damaging to the convoy.

On 26 February, Soviet destroyers joined the escort and it arrived at the Kola Inlet

Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...

 in Murmansk

Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...

 the following day with only 15 ships making it to the Soviet port.

Along with HMS Britomart

HMS Britomart (J22)

HMS Britomart was a of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was sunk in 1944 in a friendly fire incident.-Construction and commissioning:...

, HMS Jason was stationed in North Russia for the next few months as a minesweeper and patrol. Throughout this period, they were under constant air attack, but neither suffered any significant damage (two bombs hit HMS Britomart and skidded along the deck, but neither exploded). It was noted that standards of the crew had dropped significantly since operation in Soviet waters, but both ships performed so well that the Russians offered to buy them. On 1 November 1943, she joined Convoy RA54 as an escort and returned to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Normandy Landings

From 22 November 1943 through to early 1944, she was going under another extensive re-fit at HMNB Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

. On completion of the re-fit she was nominated to join the newly formed 1st Minesweeping Flotilla, along with HMS Britomart

HMS Britomart (J22)

HMS Britomart was a of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was sunk in 1944 in a friendly fire incident.-Construction and commissioning:...

, 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...

, Harrier, 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:...

, 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 they carried out their duties in the North Sea, and were subsequently nominated for a support rôle during the Normandy Landings.

Prior to the landings, Jason was assigned to sweep channel 9 in front of the landing parties, no mines were discovered, but coastal batteries fired upon her. She continued in support for the next few days, as well as providing an escort for her flagship, HMS Scylla

HMS Scylla (98)

HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939...

. On 18 June, she was involved in a collision which caused significant damage and flooding, and so she was required to retire to Portsmouth for repairs.

Post-invasion Minesweeping Duties

She resumed her service in the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla in August after her re-fit. They were now operating out of Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches

Arromanches-les-Bains

Arromanches-les-Bains is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France....

, with instructions to keep the channel between there and Portsmouth clear of mines.

On 22 August they were deployed to clear a magnetic minefield off Cap d'Antifer

La Poterie-Cap-d'Antifer

La Poterie-Cap-d’Antifer is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A farming village in the Pays de Caux, some north of Le Havre, at the junction of the D111 and D950 roads...

 in preparation for HMS Warspite, 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....

 to move in and bombard enemy positions at 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...

. On 26 August, they were ordered back to their previous rôle between Arromanches and Portsmouth, but upon a specific request from Commander Crick of HMS Jason, who noted that the Cap d'Antifer area was not yet safe, they were allowed to remain in the area for another day and complete the task.

Friendly Fire Incident

"Suddenly there were explosions and action stations sounded. My action station was the flag deck below the bridge. When I came on deck, I saw one ship listing badly, the crew abandoning ship. As I approached the ladder to the bridge, I saw two spitfires heading for the ship at sea level. The first one opened fire on the ship. I dived behind a locker."

Thomas Jackson on HMS Jason

Although this was the responsible request of a mindful commander, and although the continuation of operations off Cap d'Antifer were official, it would end in disaster the following day when a flag officer failed to advise all concerned with air operations of the approval to extend minesweeping operations in the area.

Jason was leading the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla in sweeping operations when, at about noon, an 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...

 reconnaissance aircraft flew over low, the pilot returning the waves from the ships' companies. Yet about ninety minutes later, 16 RAF rocket-firing Typhoons

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...

, of 263 and 266 Squadrons operating from Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

, accompanied by a Polish squadron of Spitfires

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

, swooped out of the sun and attacked HMS Britomart, they then returned for a second attack, hitting HMS Hussar and Salamander. Many of the seamen from the two ships were now in the water being shelled by German shore batteries. As a result of this 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...

 disaster, HMS Britomart and Hussar were sunk and Salamander was a useless wreck floating on the calm water. HMS Jason was damaged but not destroyed and started to rescue survivors. She also deployed a smoke screen to hinder German shore batteries and took HMS Salamander on tow. The ship was saved from sinking, but was damaged beyond repair. Soon, other ships in the area assisted in the rescue of stricken seamen. HMS Gozo and ships of the 6th Minesweeping Flotilla were in the area preparing to join up with HMS Jason and witnessed the attack.

"It is felt that the fury and ferocity of concerted attacks by a number of Typhoon aircraft armed with rockets and cannons is an ordeal that has to be endured to be truly appreciated."

A/Cdr. Trevor Crick of HMS Jason

In total, 117 Royal Navy men were killed and 149 wounded, many seriously. It was the most severe attack endured by any ships during Operation Neptune and as a result, the commander of HMS Jason, Acting Commander Trevor Crick, was granted the military OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 for his "coolness, courage and devotion to duty". Four other ship commanders were made MBEs, including Lieutenant John Sulman of HMS Colsay, who was injured in the back during the incident. The RAF was exonerated, but Acting Commander D N Venables DSC, was severely reprimanded for negligence in not making sure the Flag Officer British Assault Area was informed of the change of order.

HMS Jason was then put in for repair at Portsmouth. It would be a month before she returned to active duty. For the last two months of 1944, she operated out of Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

 sweeping off the Belgium coast. In January 1945, the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla was re-assigned 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 counter mining efforts by German E-boats and midget submarines. In February, HMS Jason was nominated for re-fit in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

In April 1945, she rejoined the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla at Harwich and continued minesweeping 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...

. It was one task that was not completed as soon as VE-Day

Victory in Europe Day

Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...

 dawned, and she continued in this capacity until a serious collision in the North Sea with HMS Hazard caused serious structural damage, forcing a return to Portsmouth for repairs. After repairs, she was again sent to continue clearing mines in the North Sea.

Cargo Vessel

She was sold to Wheelock Marden & Co. on 3 September 1946, renamed Jaslock and converted into a cargo vessel. This career did not last long and she was broken up in 1950.

Commanding officers

The commanding officers of HMS Jason during World War II were as follows:

Commander	From	To
Cdr. A. Jones	01 Apr 1939	28 Sep 1939
Lt. Cdr. D.H. Fryer	28 Sep 1939	21 Jun 1940
Cdr. Reginald Ernest Terry (OBE Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...  from 22 November 1940)	21 Jun 1940	14 Oct 1942
Cdr. H.G.A. Lewis	14 Oct 1942	05 Jan 1944
A/Cdr. Trevor George Payne Crick, DSC Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...  and Bar Medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...  (OBE Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...  from 5 December 1944)	05 Jan 1944	25 Dec 1944
A/Lt. Cdr. Harry Layland Dudley Hoare (Royal Naval Reserve Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903... )	25 Dec 1944	After October 1945