Ninety years ago today, HMS Warspite, a fast battleship of the Queen Elizabeth-class was launched at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth.

Warspite is arguably one of the Royal Navy's most famous battleships, and participated in both World Wars. While serving with the Fifth Battle Squadron at Jutland on May 31, 1916, her rudder jammed and she made two complete turns while exposed to Reinhard Scheer's High Seas Fleet. One source credits her with absorbing multiple hits of various caliber, and yet Warspite returned home to Scapa Flow.

She would be modernized between the wars, altering her appearance. For a variety of photographs, see this site.

During World War II, she fought in the European and Mediterranean areas, participating in the sinking of both Kriegsmarine and Regia Marina units. Her list of battle honors, as compiled in the authoritative work on her (HMS Warspite, by Stephen Roskill), are reproduced here:

Narvik 1940

Calabria 1940

Matapan 1941

Crete 1941

Libya 1942

North Africa 1943

Sicily 1943

Salerno 1943

Normandy 1944

Walcheren 1944

It was in combat with the latter at Calabria that Warspite established what appears to be the world record for naval gunnery, achieving a hit on the Italian battleship Guilio Cesare at over 26,000 yards. (Sources suggest either 26,400 or 26,600; the point is moot because the distance is fifteen miles either exactly or with a tenth of a mile on the side.)

Warspite also had the distinction of being one of the early targets for guided weapons, as she took a hit from the German Fritz-X/FX-1400 guided bomb. Fritz-X was, in the words of Emmanuel Gustin, "the first successful guided bomb. It consisted of a 1400kg armour-piercing bomb, fitted with four wings in a cruciform arrangement, and a tail ring with spoilers for control. It was usually carried by specially equipped Do 217 or He 177 bombers. In the launch aircraft, an operator steered the bomb to its target using a radio command link." Warspite survived this encounter with the Fritz-X, but was seriously damaged and was never fully repaired.

Her last service was as a fire support vessel, lending her 15" main battery to the landings at Normandy. At this point, one of her 15" turrets was out of service, and she had concrete patches (!?!) keeping her afloat. The FX-1400 had done with one shot what the might of the Germans in two wars and the Italians in one could not do. She also struck a mine on June 13, 1944, and added insult to injury. She saw action also at Walcheren but was otherwise essentially inactive throughout the remainder of the war period.

Sadly, she would not be preserved as was Admiral Lord Nelson's Victory. In March of 1946, the Admiralty handed down her death sentence in seven short words: Approved for HMS Warspite to be scrapped. Yet, the story of this defiant battleship wasn't over. On her way to the breakers in Faslane, Warspite ran aground at Prussin Cove, Mounts Bay, Cornwall on April 23, 1947. Her shattered hulk remained there for nine years as she was scrapped in place. See here for a picture of Warspite shot during this period.

I forgot to publish this after saving. Mea culpa.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 11:18 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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