HMS Volage (R41)
Encyclopedia
HMS Volage (R41) was a V-class
destroyer
of the British
Royal Navy
, commissioned on 26 May 1944, that served in the Arctic and the Indian Oceans during World War II
. She was the fifth Royal Naval ship to bear the name (a sixth was planned during World War I as a modified V class destroyer
but the order was cancelled in 1918).
She was ordered on 1 September 1941 as part of the 8th Emergency flotilla and fitted for Arctic service.
On 22 October 1946, Volage and HMS Saumarez
were badly damaged by mines laid in the North Corfu Channel
. She was subsequently constructed as a Type 15
fast anti-submarine
frigate
, with the new pennant number
"F41", during 1952-1953, and scrapped in 1972.
(leader), Valentine, Venus
, Verulam
, Vigilant
, Virago
, Vixen
and Volage. of the Home Fleet. She joined the Fleet at Scapa Flow
and commenced active service on August with her flotilla on an exercise for a planned operation (Operation Offspring) off Norway. (During one exercise, oiling from HMS Howe, the two ships locked together and Volage suffered superficial damage.) On 10 August, 26DF escorted other warshipsOffspring included aircraft carriers HMS Indefatigable
, Trumpeter
, Nabob
and cruisers HMS Kent
and Devonshire
. for air attacks on shipping and shore targets between Lepsoy and Haramsa islands, Norway.
From September 17 to September 23, Volage joined the screen for a strong forceEscort for JW60 and RA60 consisted of battleship HMS Rodney
, cruiser HMS Diadem
, aircraft carriers HMS Campania
and Striker
screened by destroyers HMS Marne
, Meteor
, Musketeer, Saumarez
, Scorpion
, Venus
, Verulam
, Virago
and Volage. providing cover for Convoy JW60
, en route to Kola Inlet, northern Russia and repeated the role for the return convoy RA60
to Loch Ewe
between 29 September and 3 October. The escort had been assembled in case of attack by the German battleship Tirpitz
but Tirpitz had been disabled by an air attack
some days before and the outward passage was uneventful. On the return, however, two merchant ships were lost to U-310.
During the rest of October 1944, Volage was included in the escort for aircraft carriers on two anti-shipping and one reconnaissance operation off Norway.
. She was refitted in Leith
for foreign service and subsequently arrived at Trincomalee
in February 1945.
Towards the end of the month, on 24th September, Volage was part of the escort for aircraft carriers on an air photo-reconnaissance of the Malacca Straits. The opportunity was taken en route to bombard targets in the Andaman Islands
(Operation Stagey).The force for Operation Stagey included aircraft carriers HMS Empress
, Ameer, cruiser HMS Kenya, destroyers HMS Vigilant
, Virago
and frigates.
On 14 March, Volage, Saumarez
and Rapid
formed Force 70 for a reconnaissance of Langkawi Sound
and sailed for the Malacca Straits (Operation Transport). The reconnaissance task was abandoned soon after and, instead, Force 70 patrolled for enemy shipping. The British ships bombarded the railway works at Sigli
, on Sumatra
, on 17 March and resuming their anti-shipping sweep, without success, off the Nicobar islands
.
Force 70 arrived off the Andamans on 19 March with the intent of entering the natural harbour at Port Blair
and attacking any shipping found there. Volage had developed engine defects which limited her to the use of only one propeller shaft and consequentially she remained offshore, firing air bursts over the shore batteries. Rapid was hit by 6 inch fire from shore batteries shortly after entered the harbour, disabled and unable to make headway. Volage was also hit and briefly disabled by shore fire while Rapid was being towed to safety by Saumarez; three of Volages ratings were killed and another eight wounded. All three ships of Force 70 reached Akyab under their own power.
On 25 March, Force 70, now consisting of Saumarez, Virago, Vigilant and Volage sailed on an anti-shipping sweep between the Andamans and the Malaya
n coast (Operation On Board). Next day, Force 70 located and attacked an enemy convoyCombinedfleet.com records that sub-chasers CH-63 and CH-34 escorted two storeships, Teshio Maru and Risui Maru, that were carrying food for the Japanese garrisons on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. No mention of another two transports. of four transports escorted by two Japanese anti-submarine vessels that were en route from Singapore to Port Blair with supplies, troops and "comfort women
". Ships' gunfire and torpedoes were used without successIn this action, Force 70 expended 18 torpedoes and 3,160 rounds of 4.7in ammunition. The action was later described by the Senior Officer as exasperatingly unsatisfactory. until Liberator aircraft, from No. 222 Group RAF
, provided support. The four transports were then sunk by a series of air and surface attacks, during which one Liberator crashed. There were 52 Japanese survivors taken prisoner from the convoy and delivered to Trincomalee on 28 March.
During April, Volage was used in convoy protection and the interception of the supply ships for the force of German u-boats operating in the Indian Ocean. She then sailed to Durban for refit, removal of Arctic fittings and enhancement of her radar and other detection equipment. She did not rejoin her flotilla until July and so missed the successful action against the Japanese cruiser Haguro.
In August, prior to the Japanese surrender, Volage prepared to support the planned landings in Malaya (Operation Zipper
). She was part of the screen for capital ships of the East Indies Fleet sailing to Penang
and later (31 August), she sailed from Trincomalee to join the naval forces for the re-occupation of Penang.
According to a crew member, John Mills, Volage was the first Allied ship into Penang and the local Japanese surrender was made on the dockside nearby. When Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Commander-in-Chief, South East Asia Command
, and General Bill Slim, C in C of 14th Army, passed through Penang en route to Singapore
for the Japanese surrender in the East Indies, they spent a brief period on Volage and Mountbatten addressed the ship's crew.
Volage stayed at Penang into September as radio ship until shore facilities had been established and then supported the landings at Port Dickson
.
in Malta. Prepared for service at Portsmouth before passage to Malta. On 22 October 1946, she struck a mine in the Corfu Channel, close to Albania (at a time of mutual suspicion) and lost her bow section as far as "A" turret (see section below). She was repaired in Malta, returned to Britain in 1949 and went into Reserve.
She underwent major conversion work at the Chatham Dockyard
during 1952–1953 to become a Type 15 anti-submarine frigate
, rejoined the Fleet in 1954 (with a new pennant number
- "F41") and served in the Dartmouth Training Squadron for two years. In 1956 she went into Reserve for a second time, at Portsmouth and in 1964 she was used for the harbour training of Royal Marines
.
Volage was never re-commissioned. Placed on the Disposal List and sold to BISCO on 28th October 1972 and towed to Pounds (a breakers’ yard) for breaking-up at Portchester
later that year. Some reports state that she was slowly dismantled over several years.
approached Kepi Denta (Denta Point) at the southern edge of the Bay of Saranda. At 14:47, the lead ship, HMS Mauritius signalled a port turn and a new course of 310 degrees. A reconstructed track course in Leggett (1976:36) depicts the turn outside the bay while Meçollari (2009:96-99) reconstructs the turn past the point and inside the bay. At 14:53 hours, while underway on this new course, HMS Saumarez struck a mine, later determined to be a German EMC (GY in British nomenclature) contact mine of Second World War manufacture. The EMC was a spherical weapon 44 in (1.12 m) in diameter with seven Hertz horns (a German-invented chemical detonator that closed the circuit for firing) with a charge of 661 lbs (300 kg) (Campbell 1985:270). The blast occurred a few feet forward of the bridge on the starboard side, opening an approximately “thirty-foot section…from the keel to just below the bridge” to the sea (Leggett 1976:35). Saumarez stopped and began to drift, with a fire from spilled fuel engulfing the bow area as the bow, flooded from the explosion damage, settled beneath the surface. HMS Volage approached to assist and take Saumarez in tow. After one failed attempt (the line parted) a new towline was secured and Volage proceeded to tow Saumarez at 15:30 (Leggett 1976:60-61).
At 16:06 (or 16:15, according to Leggett), Volage struck a second mine. That mine was also later determined to be a German-manufactured EMC. Volage reportedly hit the mine head on; “In a split second forty feet of the destroyer, from the fore peak to just in front of ‘A’ gun turret, had vanished. Mess decks, store rooms, the paint shop, the cable locker containing tons of anchor cable, the anchors themselves, literally dissolved in the air” (Leggett 1976:71-72). Fragments of the bow were observed flying into the air, and other fragments, “some weighing up to half a ton” landed on the ship, some on to the bridge (Leggett 1976:72). Leggett (36) and Meçollari (96-99) chart the site of Volage’s mining off the north point of the Bay of Saranda. As previously noted, despite their damage, both destroyers remained afloat, and subsequently returned to Corfu under tow. Saumarez suffered 36 dead, 25 of whom were missing and presumed killed, while Volage lost eight men, seven of whom were missing, presumed killed (Leggett 1976:154-155).
Following the Corfu Channel Incident
, both destroyers successfully reached Corfu, and subsequently were sent to Malta. No known attempt was made to salvage or recover material from the bow of Volage, which sank at the site of the mine explosion. Saumarez was written off as a constructive loss and sold on 8 September 1950, and was reported scrapped in October 1950.
, a U.S. and Malta-based not-for-profit organization, began a comprehensive, ongoing archaeological survey of the coast of Albania in cooperation with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology (AIA) and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology
(INA). The inaugural season, conducted from the R/V Hercules, involved a multibeam sonar survey with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) assessment of targets to the 120 m contour. The area surveyed was from the border with Greece, through the Corfu Channel (but not into Greek waters) and to the Bay of Saranda, 21 kilometer from the border. A total of 125 anomalies were encountered, and 67 were assessed with the ROV during the 2007 season. The majority of anomalies were found to be geological mud and mud/sand formations created as silt from the mouth of the Butrint River to the south is transported by current in a N-S direction. Fifteen shipwrecks were identified, fourteen of which were classified as “modern” and one of which was an ancient wreck of ca. 300-275 BCE. One of the fourteen other targets, briefly examined in 2007, was later (2009) determined to be the bow of HMS Volage.
During the 2009 field season the sonar target in this area was re-examined by James P. Delgado
of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Jeffrey Royal of the RPM Nautical Foundation, ROV specialist Kim Wilson, and George Robb, Jr., President and founder of the RPM Nautical Foundation, who immediately assessed the potential of the 2007 “wreck” as the possible bow of Volage in response to Delgado’s question of whether the surveys of 2007-2009 had encountered any traces of the Corfu Channel Incident
. After consultation with Dr. Adrian Anastasi as the AIA and Albanian government representative, it was decided to non-intrusively reassess the site on 28 June 2009. An hour-long ROV dive was made to the site on that afternoon.
The site is located in the area of the mining of HMS Volage. The seabed is a loose mud and silt. The sonar anomaly delineated by multibeam in 2007 and reconfirmed in 2009 is approximately 15 by 10 meters in area and has a height of 1.5 meters above the current level of the seabed. Active siltation and burial of the vessel remains at the site is visible. Some localized scouring and uncovering of cultural material is also possible. The majority of the remains visible were a section of a steel ship’s hull, with explosion damage consistent with an implosion, exposed steel frames, electrical wiring, and a series of diagnostic artefacts. While identification of the site would have been better aided by the recovery of one or more diagnostic artefacts, because of the possibility of the site being the bow of HMS Volage and hence a war grave, no disturbance was planned and nothing was disturbed or removed from the site. The British and Albanian governments were notified of the find and provided with video and still images of the site after the survey.
U and V class destroyer
The U and V class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two flotillas, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-"...
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...
of the British
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...
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...
, commissioned on 26 May 1944, that served in the Arctic and the Indian Oceans during 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...
. She was the fifth Royal Naval ship to bear the name (a sixth was planned during World War I as a modified V class destroyer
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...
but the order was cancelled in 1918).
She was ordered on 1 September 1941 as part of the 8th Emergency flotilla and fitted for Arctic service.
On 22 October 1946, Volage and HMS Saumarez
HMS Saumarez (G12)
HMS Saumarez was an S class destroyer of the Royal Navy, completed on 1 July 1943. As a flotilla leader, her standard displacement was 20 tons heavier than other ships of her class...
were badly damaged by mines laid in the North Corfu Channel
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident refers to three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications...
. She was subsequently constructed as a Type 15
Type 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...
fast anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
, with the new pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
"F41", during 1952-1953, and scrapped in 1972.
Home Fleet
Volage completed her trials and she was commissioned on 26 May 1944 into the 26th Destroyer Flotilla (26DF)26th Destroyer Flotilla was established with V class destroyers: HMS HardyHMS Hardy
Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Hardy, most of the later ones have been named for Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy , captain of HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar:...
(leader), Valentine, Venus
HMS Venus
Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Venus, after Venus, the goddess of love in Roman mythology: was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1758. She was reduced to 32 guns in 1792 and renamed HMS Heroine in 1809. She was sold in 1828. was a 36-gun fifth rate captured from the Danish in...
, Verulam
HMS Verulam
HMS Verulam was an Admiralty V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie and was launched on 3 October 1917. She struck a mine off the island of Seiskari in the Gulf of Finland on the night between 3–4 September 1919, and sank....
, Vigilant
HMS Vigilant
Thirteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Vigilant:*HMS Vigilant was a schooner, which served on the Canadian lakes. She was captured by the French in 1756....
, Virago
HMS Virago
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Virago, after the term virago, to mean a strong, warlike woman: was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1805 and sold in 1816. was a wooden paddle sloop launched in 1842 and broken up in 1875. was a Quail-class torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1895,...
, Vixen
HMS Vixen
HMS Vixen was an armoured composite gunboat, the only ship of her class, and the third ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was the first Royal Navy vessel to have twin propellors.-Design:...
and Volage. of the Home Fleet. She joined the Fleet 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...
and commenced active service on August with her flotilla on an exercise for a planned operation (Operation Offspring) off Norway. (During one exercise, oiling from HMS Howe, the two ships locked together and Volage suffered superficial damage.) On 10 August, 26DF escorted other warshipsOffspring included aircraft carriers HMS Indefatigable
HMS Indefatigable (R10)
HMS Indefatigable was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy. Indefatigable was present at the formal surrender of the Japanese on 2 September in Tokyo Bay. She later helped to repatriate Allied POWs held in Japan and was used as a spotting ship for later US nuclear tests in...
, Trumpeter
HMS Trumpeter (D09)
The USS Bastian was an escort aircraft carrier built by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding of Tacoma, Washington, laid down on 25 August 1942 and launched 15 December 1942...
, Nabob
HMS Nabob (D77)
HMS Nabob was a Bogue-class escort aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Navy during 1943 and 1944. The ship was built in the United States as USS Edisto but did not serve with the United States Navy.She was laid down on 20 October 1942, launched 22 March 1943, and transferred under...
and cruisers HMS Kent
HMS Kent (54)
HMS Kent was a heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She was the lead ship of the Kent subclass. After completion the ship was sent to the China Station where she remained until the beginning of the Second World War, aside from a major refit in 1937–38...
and Devonshire
HMS Devonshire (39)
HMS Devonshire was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the London subgroup of the County class, and saw service in the Second World War.-Early career:...
. for air attacks on shipping and shore targets between Lepsoy and Haramsa islands, Norway.
From September 17 to September 23, Volage joined the screen for a strong forceEscort for JW60 and RA60 consisted of battleship HMS Rodney
HMS Rodney
Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Rodney, at least the last five after Admiral George Brydges Rodney. A seventh was planned but never completed:...
, cruiser HMS Diadem
HMS Diadem
Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Diadem, after the diadem, a type of crown: was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line launched in 1782. She became a troopship in 1798 and was broken up in 1832. was a 14-gun sloop purchased in 1801. She was renamed HMS Falcon in 1802 and was...
, aircraft carriers HMS Campania
HMS Campania
Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Campania after the region of Campania in Italy:*The first , purchased in 1914, was a passenger liner converted to a seaplane tender. She collided with and in 1918 and sank in the Firth of Forth. The wrecksite was designated under the Protection of...
and Striker
HMS Striker
Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Striker: was an Attacker-class escort carrier, built as USS Prince William. She was transferred to the Royal Navy under lend-lease and was launched in 1942. She was returned to the US Navy in 1946 and sold for breaking up. was a landing ship,...
screened by destroyers HMS Marne
HMS Marne
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Marne, after the River Marne in France, site of the First Battle of the Marne in 1914: was an Admiralty M class destroyer launched in 1915 and sold in 1921. was an M class destroyer launched in 1940. She was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1958 and...
, Meteor
HMS Meteor
Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Meteor after the meteor, a space object.*HMS Meteor was a 12-gun gunvessel, previously in civilian service as Lady Cathcart. She was purchased in 1797 and initially named Gunboat No. 34. She was sold in 1802.*HMS Meteor was an 8-gun bomb vessel,...
, Musketeer, Saumarez
HMS Saumarez
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Saumarez, after Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez: was a Parker class destroyer leader launched in 1916 and sold in 1931. was an S-class destroyer launched in 1942 and sold in 1950....
, Scorpion
HMS Scorpion
Ten vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Scorpion after the carnivorous arthropod:* HMS Scorpion , a 14-gun sloop which sank in the irish Sea in 1762.* HMS Scorpion , a 16-gun sloop sold in 1802....
, Venus
HMS Venus
Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Venus, after Venus, the goddess of love in Roman mythology: was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1758. She was reduced to 32 guns in 1792 and renamed HMS Heroine in 1809. She was sold in 1828. was a 36-gun fifth rate captured from the Danish in...
, Verulam
HMS Verulam
HMS Verulam was an Admiralty V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by Hawthorn Leslie and was launched on 3 October 1917. She struck a mine off the island of Seiskari in the Gulf of Finland on the night between 3–4 September 1919, and sank....
, Virago
HMS Virago
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Virago, after the term virago, to mean a strong, warlike woman: was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1805 and sold in 1816. was a wooden paddle sloop launched in 1842 and broken up in 1875. was a Quail-class torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1895,...
and Volage. providing cover for Convoy JW60
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...
, en route to Kola Inlet, northern Russia and repeated the role for the return convoy RA60
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 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...
between 29 September and 3 October. The escort had been assembled in case of attack by the German battleship 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...
but Tirpitz had been disabled by an air attack
Operation Paravane
Operation Paravane was the attack carried out by RAF Bomber Command on September 15, 1944 against the German battleship Tirpitz at harbour in the far north of Norway. The Tirpitz was a major threat to the convoys supplying the Soviet Union. Flying via a Soviet airfield, two squadrons attacked...
some days before and the outward passage was uneventful. On the return, however, two merchant ships were lost to U-310.
During the rest of October 1944, Volage was included in the escort for aircraft carriers on two anti-shipping and one reconnaissance operation off Norway.
Indian Ocean
As the surface naval threat in western Europe had greatly reduced with the sinking, in November 1944, of the Tirpitz, Royal Naval units were transferred to the far East to confront the Japanese. The 26DF, including Volage, was consequently nominated for service with the Eastern Fleet in the Indian OceanIndian 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...
. She was refitted 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....
for foreign service and subsequently arrived at Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
in February 1945.
Towards the end of the month, on 24th September, Volage was part of the escort for aircraft carriers on an air photo-reconnaissance of the Malacca Straits. The opportunity was taken en route to bombard targets in the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
(Operation Stagey).The force for Operation Stagey included aircraft carriers HMS Empress
HMS Empress
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Empress:*HMS Empress was previously the 91-gun screw powered second rate HMS Revenge. She was renamed HMS Empress in 1891, on her conversion to a training ship. She was sold in 1923....
, Ameer, cruiser HMS Kenya, destroyers HMS Vigilant
HMS Vigilant
Thirteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Vigilant:*HMS Vigilant was a schooner, which served on the Canadian lakes. She was captured by the French in 1756....
, Virago
HMS Virago
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Virago, after the term virago, to mean a strong, warlike woman: was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1805 and sold in 1816. was a wooden paddle sloop launched in 1842 and broken up in 1875. was a Quail-class torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1895,...
and frigates.
On 14 March, Volage, Saumarez
HMS Saumarez
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Saumarez, after Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez: was a Parker class destroyer leader launched in 1916 and sold in 1931. was an S-class destroyer launched in 1942 and sold in 1950....
and Rapid
HMS Rapid
Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Rapid: was a 12-gun gun-brig launched in 1804 and sunk in 1808. was a 12-gun schooner captured from the French in 1808 and wrecked in 1814. was a 14-gun brig-sloop launched in 1808 and sold in 1814. was a 10-gun Cherokee class brig-sloop launched...
formed Force 70 for a reconnaissance of Langkawi Sound
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...
and sailed for the Malacca Straits (Operation Transport). The reconnaissance task was abandoned soon after and, instead, Force 70 patrolled for enemy shipping. The British ships bombarded the railway works at Sigli
Sigli
Sigli is a town in Aceh province of Indonesia and it is the seat of Pidie Regency.Sigli is locate 112 kilometers from Banda Aceh.SportPersatuan Sepakbola Aceh Pidie is the football club from Sigli....
, on Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, on 17 March and resuming their anti-shipping sweep, without success, off the Nicobar islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...
.
Force 70 arrived off the Andamans on 19 March with the intent of entering the natural harbour at Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
and attacking any shipping found there. Volage had developed engine defects which limited her to the use of only one propeller shaft and consequentially she remained offshore, firing air bursts over the shore batteries. Rapid was hit by 6 inch fire from shore batteries shortly after entered the harbour, disabled and unable to make headway. Volage was also hit and briefly disabled by shore fire while Rapid was being towed to safety by Saumarez; three of Volages ratings were killed and another eight wounded. All three ships of Force 70 reached Akyab under their own power.
On 25 March, Force 70, now consisting of Saumarez, Virago, Vigilant and Volage sailed on an anti-shipping sweep between the Andamans and the Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
n coast (Operation On Board). Next day, Force 70 located and attacked an enemy convoyCombinedfleet.com records that sub-chasers CH-63 and CH-34 escorted two storeships, Teshio Maru and Risui Maru, that were carrying food for the Japanese garrisons on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. No mention of another two transports. of four transports escorted by two Japanese anti-submarine vessels that were en route from Singapore to Port Blair with supplies, troops and "comfort women
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
". Ships' gunfire and torpedoes were used without successIn this action, Force 70 expended 18 torpedoes and 3,160 rounds of 4.7in ammunition. The action was later described by the Senior Officer as exasperatingly unsatisfactory. until Liberator aircraft, from No. 222 Group RAF
No. 222 Group RAF
No. 222 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Formed on 1 September 1941, based at Ceylon, however squadrons were based around the Indian Ocean. The group undertook long-range bombing and mine-laying operations that took them as far afield as Sumatra and Singapore...
, provided support. The four transports were then sunk by a series of air and surface attacks, during which one Liberator crashed. There were 52 Japanese survivors taken prisoner from the convoy and delivered to Trincomalee on 28 March.
During April, Volage was used in convoy protection and the interception of the supply ships for the force of German u-boats operating in the Indian Ocean. She then sailed to Durban for refit, removal of Arctic fittings and enhancement of her radar and other detection equipment. She did not rejoin her flotilla until July and so missed the successful action against the Japanese cruiser Haguro.
In August, prior to the Japanese surrender, Volage prepared to support the planned landings in Malaya (Operation Zipper
Operation Zipper
During the Second World War, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it was never fully executed. Some of the proposed landings on Penang went...
). She was part of the screen for capital ships of the East Indies Fleet sailing to Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and later (31 August), she sailed from Trincomalee to join the naval forces for the re-occupation of Penang.
According to a crew member, John Mills, Volage was the first Allied ship into Penang and the local Japanese surrender was made on the dockside nearby. When Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Commander-in-Chief, South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II.-Background:...
, and General Bill Slim, C in C of 14th Army, passed through Penang en route to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
for the Japanese surrender in the East Indies, they spent a brief period on Volage and Mountbatten addressed the ship's crew.
Volage stayed at Penang into September as radio ship until shore facilities had been established and then supported the landings at Port Dickson
Port Dickson
Port Dickson or PD to locals is a beach and holiday destination situated about 32 km from Seremban and 90 km from Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia...
.
Post-war
Volage returned to Trincomalee for local duties and subsequently departed for service in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, with the Mediterranean FleetMediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
in Malta. Prepared for service at Portsmouth before passage to Malta. On 22 October 1946, she struck a mine in the Corfu Channel, close to Albania (at a time of mutual suspicion) and lost her bow section as far as "A" turret (see section below). She was repaired in Malta, returned to Britain in 1949 and went into Reserve.
She underwent major conversion work at the Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
during 1952–1953 to become a Type 15 anti-submarine frigate
Type 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...
, rejoined the Fleet in 1954 (with a new pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
- "F41") and served in the Dartmouth Training Squadron for two years. In 1956 she went into Reserve for a second time, at Portsmouth and in 1964 she was used for the harbour training of Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
.
Volage was never re-commissioned. Placed on the Disposal List and sold to BISCO on 28th October 1972 and towed to Pounds (a breakers’ yard) for breaking-up at Portchester
Portchester
Portchester is a locality and suburb 10km northwest of Portsmouth, England. It is part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. Once a small village, Portchester is now a busy part of the expanding conurbation between Portsmouth and Southampton, on the A27 main thoroughfare...
later that year. Some reports state that she was slowly dismantled over several years.
Corfu Channel Mining
After steaming from Corfu at 13:30 on 22 October 1946, the destroyers Saumarez and Volage and the cruisers and HMS LeanderHMNZS Leander
HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of a class of eight ships, the Leander class light cruiser and was initially named HMS Leander.- History :...
approached Kepi Denta (Denta Point) at the southern edge of the Bay of Saranda. At 14:47, the lead ship, HMS Mauritius signalled a port turn and a new course of 310 degrees. A reconstructed track course in Leggett (1976:36) depicts the turn outside the bay while Meçollari (2009:96-99) reconstructs the turn past the point and inside the bay. At 14:53 hours, while underway on this new course, HMS Saumarez struck a mine, later determined to be a German EMC (GY in British nomenclature) contact mine of Second World War manufacture. The EMC was a spherical weapon 44 in (1.12 m) in diameter with seven Hertz horns (a German-invented chemical detonator that closed the circuit for firing) with a charge of 661 lbs (300 kg) (Campbell 1985:270). The blast occurred a few feet forward of the bridge on the starboard side, opening an approximately “thirty-foot section…from the keel to just below the bridge” to the sea (Leggett 1976:35). Saumarez stopped and began to drift, with a fire from spilled fuel engulfing the bow area as the bow, flooded from the explosion damage, settled beneath the surface. HMS Volage approached to assist and take Saumarez in tow. After one failed attempt (the line parted) a new towline was secured and Volage proceeded to tow Saumarez at 15:30 (Leggett 1976:60-61).
At 16:06 (or 16:15, according to Leggett), Volage struck a second mine. That mine was also later determined to be a German-manufactured EMC. Volage reportedly hit the mine head on; “In a split second forty feet of the destroyer, from the fore peak to just in front of ‘A’ gun turret, had vanished. Mess decks, store rooms, the paint shop, the cable locker containing tons of anchor cable, the anchors themselves, literally dissolved in the air” (Leggett 1976:71-72). Fragments of the bow were observed flying into the air, and other fragments, “some weighing up to half a ton” landed on the ship, some on to the bridge (Leggett 1976:72). Leggett (36) and Meçollari (96-99) chart the site of Volage’s mining off the north point of the Bay of Saranda. As previously noted, despite their damage, both destroyers remained afloat, and subsequently returned to Corfu under tow. Saumarez suffered 36 dead, 25 of whom were missing and presumed killed, while Volage lost eight men, seven of whom were missing, presumed killed (Leggett 1976:154-155).
Following the Corfu Channel Incident
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident refers to three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications...
, both destroyers successfully reached Corfu, and subsequently were sent to Malta. No known attempt was made to salvage or recover material from the bow of Volage, which sank at the site of the mine explosion. Saumarez was written off as a constructive loss and sold on 8 September 1950, and was reported scrapped in October 1950.
Discovery of remains of Volage’s bow in 2009
In July 2007, the RPM Nautical FoundationRPM Nautical Foundation
RPM Nautical Foundation is a non-profit archaeological research organization dedicated to the advancement of maritime archaeology that includes littoral surveys and excavation of individual shipwreck and harbor sites....
, a U.S. and Malta-based not-for-profit organization, began a comprehensive, ongoing archaeological survey of the coast of Albania in cooperation with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology (AIA) and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology
Institute of Nautical Archaeology
The Institute of Nautical Archaeology is the world’s oldest organization devoted to the study of humanity’s interaction with the sea through the practice of archaeology. INA’s founder Dr. George Bass pioneered the science of underwater excavation in the 1960s through work at Cape Gelidonya and...
(INA). The inaugural season, conducted from the R/V Hercules, involved a multibeam sonar survey with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) assessment of targets to the 120 m contour. The area surveyed was from the border with Greece, through the Corfu Channel (but not into Greek waters) and to the Bay of Saranda, 21 kilometer from the border. A total of 125 anomalies were encountered, and 67 were assessed with the ROV during the 2007 season. The majority of anomalies were found to be geological mud and mud/sand formations created as silt from the mouth of the Butrint River to the south is transported by current in a N-S direction. Fifteen shipwrecks were identified, fourteen of which were classified as “modern” and one of which was an ancient wreck of ca. 300-275 BCE. One of the fourteen other targets, briefly examined in 2007, was later (2009) determined to be the bow of HMS Volage.
During the 2009 field season the sonar target in this area was re-examined by James P. Delgado
James P. Delgado
James P. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, explorer and author.-Life:As a maritime archaeologist who has worked all around the globe, he has spent decades underwater exploration and has uncovered many new archaeological sites across the globe...
of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Jeffrey Royal of the RPM Nautical Foundation, ROV specialist Kim Wilson, and George Robb, Jr., President and founder of the RPM Nautical Foundation, who immediately assessed the potential of the 2007 “wreck” as the possible bow of Volage in response to Delgado’s question of whether the surveys of 2007-2009 had encountered any traces of the Corfu Channel Incident
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident refers to three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications...
. After consultation with Dr. Adrian Anastasi as the AIA and Albanian government representative, it was decided to non-intrusively reassess the site on 28 June 2009. An hour-long ROV dive was made to the site on that afternoon.
The site is located in the area of the mining of HMS Volage. The seabed is a loose mud and silt. The sonar anomaly delineated by multibeam in 2007 and reconfirmed in 2009 is approximately 15 by 10 meters in area and has a height of 1.5 meters above the current level of the seabed. Active siltation and burial of the vessel remains at the site is visible. Some localized scouring and uncovering of cultural material is also possible. The majority of the remains visible were a section of a steel ship’s hull, with explosion damage consistent with an implosion, exposed steel frames, electrical wiring, and a series of diagnostic artefacts. While identification of the site would have been better aided by the recovery of one or more diagnostic artefacts, because of the possibility of the site being the bow of HMS Volage and hence a war grave, no disturbance was planned and nothing was disturbed or removed from the site. The British and Albanian governments were notified of the find and provided with video and still images of the site after the survey.