Part of the
Acorn Archive
Hearts of Oak
HMS Duke of
York
King George V
Class Battleship
Built John Brown & Co., Ltd., Clydebank,
Scotland
Launched
28th February 1940 as HMS ANSON
Completed
4th November 1941 as HMS DUKE OF YORK
Pennant:
17
745ft
x 103ft x 29ft
35,000
grt; 42,237 tons displacement.
Complement
: 1,422 to 1,900.
Armour Protection
Main Belt 15ins /
Ends 5 to 7ins / Lower Belt 3ins.
Deck : 7ins total.
Turrets 11 to 16ins
8 x Admiralty 3 drum type Boilers (300 psi working
pressure)
4 x Parsons single reduction geared Turbines; 4 shafts
110,000 shp
28
knots
3,700
tons fuel oil storage
Range : 6,000 nautical miles at 14 knots
Armament ….
Main Battery 10 x 14ins Mk VII
8 two quad turrets, 2 one dual turret
Quick
firing 16 x
5.25ins Mk I, in 8 twin turrets
48 x 2pdr Mk VIII pom-poms
4
rocket projectors.
2
x Aircraft
History
1941
The
sixth ship of this name;
HMS
DUKE OF YORK was commissioned in November.
6th
November : While working up at Scapa Flow, Flag of Vice Admiral ATB Curteis
(VA2, Home Fleet) was transferred from HMS RENOWN until December.
9th
December : Left Scapa Flow and arrived on the Clyde on 12th.
13th
December : Operation Arcadia - carried Prime Minister Winston Churchill and
party to Annapolis, USA, for the first meeting of the Anglo-American General
Staff, arriving on 22nd and waited at Hampton Roads for the return
journey.
HMS DUKE OF
YORK escorted Convoys
PQ12 to PQ18,
QP9 to QP14, JW55A, JW55 B and RA55A
1942
3rd
January : Shake-down cruise to Bermuda arrived 5th.
17th
January : Left Bermuda, arrived Greenock on 25th arrived Scapa Flow 30th.
28th
February : Left for Hvalfjord, Iceland arrived 2nd March. Began
search around reported position of Bear Island for German battleship, TIRPITZ,
next day with HMS RENOWN. Returned on 10th.
22nd
March : Left Scapa Flow, with HMS KING GEORGE V, to escort Russian (Murmansk)
convoys PQ13 and QP9; returned 28th.
22nd
April : Escorted Russian convoys PQ14 and QP10.
1st
May : Ordered to replace HMS KING GEORGE V as flagship of CiC Admiral Sir John
Tovey, whose ship had been damaged in a collision, and returned to Scapa Flow
on 5th when flag was transferred.
15th
May : Escorted Russian convoys PQ16 and QP12, returning to Scapa Flow on 29th.
June
: Visit of HM King George to Home Fleet and was accommodated on HMS DUKE OF
YORK.
29th
June : Escorted convoys PQ17 and QP13, returning 8th July.
Flag
of CiC transferred to HMS KING GEORGE V.
PQ17 left Reykjavik 27th June and dispersed on
1st Sea Lord's orders the evening of 4th July, as there was a German
surface attack threatened. Admiral Tovey's distant covering force( which sailed
from Scapa Flow on 28th – 29th June ),included HMS DUKE
OF YORK, HMS VICTORIOUS, HMS CUMBERLAND, HMS NIGERIA and USS WASHINGTON.
Twenty four ships were lost from convoy PQ17.
July-September
: Based at Hvalfjord, Iceland and escorted Russian convoys PQ18 and QP14. (Battle
Honour: Arctic 1942-3)
Ten
merchant ships were lost by air attack, three by U-boat.
27
arrived safely.
One of
the ships lost from PQ18
was the ATHELTEMPLAR.
26th
September : Returned to Scapa Flow.
October
: At Rosyth for repair, returning to Scapa Flow on 28th.
30th
October : Flag of Vice Admiral E Neville Syfret, FO Force H. Left Scapa Flow to
support the North African landings in French North Africa (Operation Torch) in November
1942. In company with HMS NELSON, HMS RODNEY, HMS RENOWN, HMS VICTORIOUS, HMS
FORMIDABLE, HMS ARGONAUT, HMS BERMUDA and HMS SIRIUS.
8th
November : Operation Torch - Involved in the landings at Oran Harbour, North
Africa (Battle Honour: Africa 1942)
15th
November : Transferred Flag to HMS NELSON.
18th
November : Left Gibraltar for UK, arriving on 26th.
December
- March : Refit at Rosyth.
1943
8th
May : Flagship of CiC, Home Fleet, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser.
31st
May : Operation FH - Left Scapa Flow for Hvalfjord, to cover Allied reliefs at
Spitsbergen, returning to Scapa Flow on 13th June.
7th
July : Operation Camera - HMS DUKE OF YORK along with HMS Anson, HMS Malaya and HMS
Furious and a US task Force consisting of USS ALABAMA and USS SOUTH DAKOTA
carry out a diversionary sortie off Norway to divert attention from imminent
landings in Sicily. This sortie was undetected by the Germans.
27th
July : Operation Governor - Diversionary operation for the Sicily landings.
October
1943, she resumed operations in Arctic waters.
2nd
October : Operation Leader - Left Scapa Flow to assist in attacks by aircraft
from USS Ranger on shipping off of Norway on 4th.
4th October
Operation Leader - HMS DUKE OF
YORK along with HMS ANSON and USS TUSCALOOSA provides cover for air strikes by
aircraft from USS RANGER against German shipping of Norway.
12th
December : Operation FV - Escort cover for Russian convoys JW55A.
23rd
December : Left Akuroyri to cover return convoy JW55B.
26th
December : Intercepted German battlecruiser SCHARNHORST, and sunk her by
gunfire and torpedoes off North Cape. (battle honour: North Cape 1943)
On
the morning of December 26th, DUKE OF YORK was providing distant
cover for Convoy JW55B when the cruisers HMS NORFOLK, BELFAST, and SHEFFIELD
began shadowing the German battleship SCHARNHORST. At 1651, DUKE OF YORK opened
fire; an hour and a half later, at a range of more than 18,000 yards (about 10
miles), she hit Scharnhorst's boiler room. The fatal blow enabled the British
ships to close to 3,000 yards, and at 1745 Scharnhorst sank in 72°16N, 28°41E.
27th
December : Arrived Kola Inlet, and departed for Scapa Flow the following day,
arriving on 1st January 1944.
DUKE
OF YORK remained in Arctic waters until September 1944.
1944
March
: Operation FY - Escort cover for Russian convoys JW58 and RA58, returning to
Scapa Flow 3 April.
29th
May : Operation Brawn and Operation Proteus - Airstrike attacks on the TIRPITZ.
Both operations cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
10th
June : Left Scapa Flow for Rosyth to receive new CiC, Home Fleet, Admiral Sir
Henry Moore. Returned to Scapa Flow on 17th.
14th
July : Operation Mascot - Unsuccessful
naval air attack on TIRPITZ.
17th July
as Admiral Moore's (C in C Home Fleet) Flagship covers air
raids by carrier aircraft from HMS FORMIDABLE, HMS
INDEFATIGABLE and HMS FURIOUS on TIRPITZ in Kaafjord. The raid is unsuccessful.
18th
August : Operation Victual and Operation Goodwood - Escort cover for Russian
convoys JW59 & RA59A (operation Victual). This was also combined with an
air strike on the TIRPITZ (Operation Goodwood) Returned to Scapa Flow on 3rd
September.
20th -
22nd August Covers further
air raids against TIRPITZ by aircraft from
HMS FORMIDABLE, HMS INDEFATIGABLE, HMS FURIOUS, HMS
TRUMPETER and HMCS NABOB.
18th
September : Left Scapa for Liverpool to undergo refit and modernisation until
end March 1945.
1945
March
: Allocated to British Pacific Fleet ,
leaving Liverpool 4th April to work up at Scapa Flow until 25th
when she departed in company with HMS ANSON and others to the Far East, calling
at Malta, Port Said, Suez, Colombo and arrived at Sydney in July.
31st
July : Left Sydney for Manus; At Manus when Japan surrendered.
After
an eight-month refit, she joined the British Pacific Fleet and took part in the
bombardment of the Japanese home islands in August 1945.
9th August
As part of Task Force 37 involved in sorties against North Honshu
and Hokkaido.
28th
August : Arrived Tokyo with flag of Admiral Fraser (CiC British Pacific Fleet).
2nd
September : Present at signing of Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.
9th
September : Left Tokyo for Hong Kong and from there, left for Manila.
1946
June
: Transferred flag of CiC, BPF; left Hong Kong for Plymouth on 11th.
11th
July : Arrived Plymouth and flag of Admiral Fraser.
Went
into refit. After refit, became Flagship of CiC Home Fleet, Admiral Sir Neville
Syfret.
1949
April
: Flag transferred to HMS IMPLACABLE.
July
1949 to September 1951 - Flagship of Reserve fleet.
2nd
September 1951 – Due to leave Portsmouth for Birkenhead.
Delayed
by bad weather, she actually left on the 3rd September,
hit
a bad fog bank at Land’s End. Arrived Birkenhead 7th September.
6th
November 1951 - Towed to Gareloch for laying up.
13th
May 1957 - Sold to Shipbreaking Industries; arrived Faslane for breaking up.
Sources
"Convoys to Russia
1941-1945" Ruegg and Hague.
"Chronology of the War at
Sea 1939-1945" Rohwer and Hummelchen
"British Battleships"
Parkes.
Thanks to Dave Mallinson
and
Royal Naval
Museum
HM Naval Base (PP66)
Portsmouth, Hampshire UK
PO1 3NH
Raymond
Forward