HMS Eclipse (H08)
 Eclipse during World War II | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Eclipse |
| Namesake: | Eclipse |
| Ordered: | 1 November 1932 |
| Builder: | William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton |
| Cost: | £246,664 |
| Laid down: | 22 March 1933 |
| Launched: | 12 April 1934 |
| Completed: | 29 November 1934 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: H08 |
| Motto: |
Nunquan ("Never eclipsed") |
| Honours and awards: |
Battle honours: Norway 1940 Arctic 1942-42 Sicily 1943 Atlantic 1943 Salerno 1943 Aegean 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk by a mine, 24 October 1943 |
| Badge: | On a Field Blue, the Earth Black over a sun Gold. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | E-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,350–1,405 long tons (1,372–1,428 t) standard 1,886–1,940 long tons (1,916–1,971 t) full load |
| Length: | 329 ft (100 m) o/a 318 ft 3 in (97.00 m) p/p |
| Beam: | 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
| Propulsion: | 3 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 300 psi (2,100 kPa), 620 °F 2 shaft Parsons geared turbines 36,000 shp (26,845 kW) |
| Speed: | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Endurance: | 471 tons fuel oil |
| Complement: | 145 (173 in 1942) |
| Armament: | • 4 × 4.7 inch/45 (120 mm) Mk XVIII (4×1) • 8 × Vickers .50 machine guns (2×4) • 5 × .303 inch machine guns (5×1) • 8 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×4) • 2 × depth charge racks • 60 depth charges 1940 : • 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes replaced by • 1 × 3 in (76.2 mm)/50 and 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon (2×1) |
HMS Eclipse was an E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Atlantic, Arctic, and Mediterranean theatres during World War II, until sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on 24 October 1943.[1]
Service history
From 12 April 1941 Eclipse was refitted at Devonport Dockyard, sailing in early June to rejoin the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla. On 25 June she was deployed to protect the ships of the 1st Minelaying Squadron during a minelay in the Northern Barrage, replacing the destroyer Brighton, which had been damaged in a collision with the cruiser Kenya. At the end of July she was part of the destroyer screen of Force P—the carriers Furious and Victorious, and the cruisers Devonshire and Suffolk—during the raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo (Operation EF).[1]
Operation Gauntlet
In mid-August Eclipse and five other destroyers were deployed as the screen for the cruisers Aurora and Nigeria, as they escorted the troopship Empress of Canada and the auxiliary tanker Oligarch to Spitsbergen in Operation Gauntlet. Canadian troops landed to destroy mining equipment and two radio stations, while Norwegian and Russian civilians were evacuated.[1]
Operation Gearbox
Eclipse remained on screening duty from June to August, transferring to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in July. In September she was deployed with the destroyers HMS Amazon, HMS Bulldog, HMS Echo and HMS Venomous as the screen for the cruisers HMS Cumberland and HMS Sheffield to establish a refuelling facility at Lowe Sound, Spitsbergen, and re-supply the garrison there (Operation Gearbox).
She then refitted at a shipyard on the Humber River before rejoining the Flotilla at Scapa Flow on 20 November.[1]
Sinking of Gaetano Donizetti
The Italian Gaetano Donizetti of 3428 tons, had been confiscated by the Germans to bring arms to Rhodes. The Germans stowed some 1,600 prisoners in the cargo hold. Gaetano Donizetti set sail on 22 September 1943 . The vessel sailed along the east coast of Rhodes, and headed south-west, passing Lindos to the south. The Italian ship was escorted by the German torpedo boat TA10 under Oberleutnant Jobst Hahndorff. This was the former French torpedo boat La Pomone and later the Italian FR 42.
Around 01:10 that night (on 23 September), the convoy was detected by Eclipse under Commander E. Mack, who immediately opened fire. Gaetano Donizetti went down in seconds, taking with her the entire crew and all the Italian prisoners of war. TA10 was heavily damaged and later towed back to Rhodes, where it was scuttled a few days later.
Demise
On 24 October 1943 Eclipse hit a mine east off Kalymnos in position 37°01′N 27°11′E / 37.017°N 27.183°ECoordinates: 37°01′N 27°11′E / 37.017°N 27.183°E. She broke in two and sank within five minutes with the loss of 119 of the ship's company and 134 soldiers (from A Company, 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)).[1]
References
Citations
Bibliography
- English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Christopher Shores, Brian Cull and Nicola Malizia (1987). Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete. London: Grub Street. ISBN 0-948817-07-0.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}
