A Destroyer at War: The Fighting Life and Loss of HMS Havock from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean 1939-42

by Richard H Osborne, David Goodey

Overview

It was headline news on 8 April 1942: ‘One of the Navy’s most famous destroyers, a ship which survived bombs, torpedoes and full scale battles, has been wrecked’. That destroyer was HMS Havock, described in another newspaper as ‘Britain’s No 2 Destroyer of this war – second only in fame and glory to the Cossack.’

Havock had earned her reputation guarding the convoys across the Atlantic in 1939 and at Narvik in the abortive bid to stave off the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Havock was then transferred to the Mediterranean, fighting at the Battle of Cape Spada in 1940 and in 1941 at the Battle of Matapan and in the evacuations of Greece and Crete.

Havock’s duties in the Med continued, escorting the convoys to the besieged island of Malta and the equally beleaguered garrison at Tobruk. Then in the Battle of Sirte in 1942 Havock was badly damaged and she limped into Malta for repairs. There she was heavy bombed and when Havock made a bid to reach Gibraltar, she was wrecked off Cape Bon. Her crew was captured and imprisoned in the infamous Laghouat internment camp.

The authors have tracked down fifty of the surviving crew and from interviews have been able to compile one of the most detailed, and certainly one of the most dramatic, histories of a destroyer during the Second World War. Destroyer at War tells the story of the battles and operations of a famous ship, and its sad destruction, through newspaper reports, official documents, and the words of the men who sailed and fought in HMS Havock as she earned an astonishing eleven battle honors in her brief but glorious career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526709004
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	11/13/2017
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Richard Osborne is a retired lecturer in Pharmacology who was born in Portsmouth in 1948 and awarded a Ph.D in Neurochemistry by Imperial College in 1974. He has always had a keen interest in ships joining the World Ship Society in 1962 and serving as its Chairman from 2000 to 2012.

David Goodey’s father, Albert William Goodey, joined the Royal Navy on 26 April 1938 at the age of 20. Having completed training at Chatham as a Rating in the engineering division he took his first commission in the new Hero-class destroyer HMS Havock on 29 September 1938. Albert remained part of Havoc’s crew until 14 November 1941 – just five months before she was lost.

Table of Contents

Foreword David Goodey ix

Acknowledgements xiv

Glossary of Technical Terms and Abbreviations xvi

Chapter 1 A Ship is Born 1

Chapter 2 Spanish Civil War (January 1937 - March 1939) 10

Chapter 3 Run up to War (March 1939 - March 1940) 22

Chapter 4 The Battle for Narvik (April 1940) 29

Chapter 5 The Invasion of Holland (May 1940) 50

Chapter 6 Mediterranean Maelstrom (May 1940 - February 1941) 57

Chapter 7 The Battle of Matapan (27 - 30 March 1941) 76

Chapter 8 Convoys and the Tripoli Bombardment (April-May 1941) 94

Chapter 9 Evacuation of Greece and Crete (April - June 1941) 106

Chapter 10 No Rest for the Wicked: Syria, Tobruk, Groundings and More Convoys (June 1941 - March 1942) 127

Chapter 11 The Slow Death of HMS Havock: The Second Battle of Sirte and Beyond (March - April 1942) 147

Chapter 12 Prisoners of War in Laghouat (April - November 1942) 173

Chapter 13 Court Martial 198

Appendices

Appendix I Particulars of HMS Havock 229

Appendix II Report of Proceedings of HMS Havock during the Action off Narvik, 10 April 1940 230

Appendix III Copy of W/T (Wireless Transmission) Log of HMS Havock, Communications during the First Battle of Narvik, 10 April 1940 235

Appendix IV HMS Havock Ship Movements 239

Appendix V Two Speed Destroyer Sweep 245

Appendix VI Cablegram from Lieutenant Commander G.R.G. Watkins to his Wife, 13 April 1942 246

Appendix VII Report of Commanding Officer of HMS Havock, Lieutenant Commander Watkins, on the Loss of his Command 247

Appendix VIII HMS Havock Roll of Honour 255

Appendix IX HMS Havock Decorations, Medals and Awards 261

Notes and References 265

Bibliography 279

Index 283