HMS Glowworm (H92)

HMS "Glowworm" (H92) was a G-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She entered service in the interwar period and initially served in the Mediterranean. She had a brief but distinguished career in the Second World War. She was an early war loss when she fought an unequal engagement with the German cruiser "Admiral Hipper" on 8 April 1940, being heavily damaged before ramming the "Admiral Hipper", and then sinking.

Construction and commissioning

"Glowworm" was ordered from the yards of John I. Thornycroft and Company, at Woolston, Hampshire on 5 March 1934 under the 1933 Build Programme. She was laid down on 15 August 1934 and launched on 22 July 1935. She was commissioned on 22 January 1936 at a total cost of £248,785.

Career

"Glowworm" served in the Mediterranean Fleet until the outbreak of war in September 1939. She was initially deployed with the 1st Destroyer Flotilla at Alexandria and tasked with intercepting enemy merchant ships. In October the Flotilla was transferred to the Western Approaches Command, and "Glowworm" sailed for the UK on 19 October, with her sisters HMS "Gallant", HMS "Grafton" and HMS "Greyhound". They arrived at Plymouth on 22 October and were deployed in the South Western Approaches. "Glowworm" carried out convoy escort duties and anti-submarine patrols until 12 November when she was transferred to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla based at Harwich, for North Sea patrol and escort duties, which she carried out throughout December and into January and February 1940.

On 22 February she was hit by the Swedish ship "Rex" whilst at anchor in fog off Outer Dowsing. "Glowworm" suffered significant structural damage and was under repair at a commercial dockyard in Hull until late March. On completion of the repairs, she was transferred back to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, rejoining it at its base at Scapa Flow on 20 March. Two days later she was deployed to screen major fleet units in the North Sea and the North Western Approaches. On 5 April "Glowworm" was part of the escort of the battlecruiser HMS "Renown", along with the destroyers HMS "Greyhound", HMS "Hero" and HMS "Hyperion". The ships were part of the cover for the minelaying operation, Operation Wilfred. On 7 April, "Glowworm" was detached from the task force to search for a man lost overboard.

Final battle

On the morning of 8 April 1940 "Glowworm" was on her way to rejoin the "Renown" when she encountered the German destroyers "Z 11 Bernd von Arnim" and then the "Z 18 Hans Lüdemann" in the heavy fog around 08:00. The destroyers were part of a German naval detachment, led by the heavy cruiser "Admiral Hipper", on its way to land invasion troops at Trondheim as part of the German invasion of Norway ("Operation Weserübung"). A skirmish broke out and the German destroyers fled, signalling for help. The request was soon answered by the "Admiral Hipper". Although hopelessly outgunned, "Glowworm" accepted the fight and, while receiving several heavy hits, fired torpedoes at the German cruiser. They missed, and in a final desperate effort to sink or at least seriously damage her opponent, "Glowworm" then attempted to ram "Admiral Hipper". One of the "Hipper"’s shells hit the "Glowworm"’s mast. As this crashed down, it caused a short circuit of the wiring, causing the ship's siren to start a banshee wail which nobody was able to stop. As the ships collided, "Admiral Hipper" suffered major damage, with a large underwater gash in her bow. "Glowworm" was pushed under the cruiser's bow and her entire forecastle up to the bridge was sheared off. For several minutes she drifted, on fire, alongside "Admiral Hipper", then capsized and sank north-west of Trondheim. 111 of the ship's company were killed and 39 were taken prisoner.

During the engagement "Glowworm" had broken radio silence and informed the Admiralty of her situation. She was not able to complete her transmission though, and all the Admiralty knew was that the "Glowworm" had been confronted by a large German ship, shots were fired, and contact with the destroyer could not be reestablished. In response, the Admiralty ordered the "Renown" and her single destroyer escort (the other two had gone to friendly ports for fuel) to abandon its post at the Vestfjords and head to the "Glowworm"'s last known location. At 10:45, the remaining eight destroyers of the minelaying force were ordered to join as well. The "Admiral Hipper" had meanwhile departed the scene damaged, and made her way to Trondheim.

The "Glowworm"’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, killed when she sank, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, thus becoming the first VC recipient of the Second World War. He received this honour in part due to the recommendation of his opponent, Captain Hellmuth Heye of the "Admiral Hipper", who wrote to the British authorities via the Red Cross, giving a statement of the valiant courage Lt Cdr Roope had shown when engaging a much superior ship in close battle.

References

*Colledge
*cite web
author=
year=
url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4394.html
title=Allied Warships: Destroyer HMS Glowworm of the G class
format=
work=
publisher=
accessdate=17 December
accessyear=2007
*cite web
author=Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd)
year=2002
url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-25G-Glowworm.htm
title= HMS GLOWWORM - G-class Destroyer
format=
work=
publisher=
accessdate=17 December
accessyear=2007