HMS Terror (I03)

HMS "Terror" was an "Erebus"-class monitor built for the Royal Navy in 1915-16 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Govan, Scotland.

The "Erebus" class monitors were of 7,200 BRT displacement, 405 feet long, with a maximum speed of 12 knots produced by reciprocating engines with two shafts, and a crew of 315. The ship's armament consisted of two 15-inch main guns in a single forward turret, eight secondary 4-inch guns in eight single turrets, two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns in single turrets, as well as eight .50 inch anti-aircraft Vickers machine guns in two quadruple mounts. The class mostly served in the Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) role.

World War I service

"Terror" joined the Dover Patrol in August 1916 and operated against German forces on the coast of occupied Belgium. On 19 October 1917 she was torpedoed by German motor torpedo boats off Dunkirk. There were no casulties and the ship was beached before being towed back to Portsmouth. The damage took three months to repair. In April 1918 HMS "Terror" was in the Long Range Bombardment force for Zeebrugge raid with monitor her sister ship HMS "Erebus" and destroyers Termanent, Truculent, and Manly. On Friday 27 September 1918 HMS "Terror" along with her sister ship HMS "Erebus" provided gunnery support for the Fourth Battle of Ypres. In the early 1920s she was used for gunnery trials against several old warships including SMS "Baden" and HMS "Superb"Fact|date=October 2007

World War II service

At the outbreak of war in 1939 "Terror" was based at Singapore, supporting the defences of the major naval base there, and had to be recalled to serve in theatres closer to home. [Roberts 2000: 138] She mainly served in the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II. After first using her anti-aircraft armament to help defend Malta against the first Italian Regia Aeronautica air attacks on 11 June 1940, HMS "Terror" played an important part in Operation Compass, the British assault against the Italian Tenth Army in Libya.

During the successful advance by the Western Desert Force (later to become the 8th Army "Desert Rats") "Terror" bombarded Italian land forces and fortifications, amongst others the fortified port of Bardia in eastern Libya, firing 660 rounds from her main guns. The ship also served as a water carrier for the advancing British and Commonwealth army.

HMS "Terror" was subjected to diving attacks by German Junkers Ju 88 bombers on 22 February 1941 after leaving Benghazi. She was badly damaged by near misses and abandoned by her crew. Although taken under tow, she sank off Darnah, Libya before reaching the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet base at Alexandria, Egypt.

References

;Notes;Bibliography
* Roberts, John: "British Warships of the Second World War", Chatham Publishing, London 2000 ISBN 1-86176-131-7

External links

* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5460.html. Uboat.net - HMS "Terror"]
* [http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/157598/8330/a0.htm navalhistory.flixco.info - HMS "Terror"]
* Bob's Ship Collection: [http://rasputin.physics.uiuc.edu/%7Ewiringa/Ships/Period2/GreatBritain/Terror.html HMS "Terror"]