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HMS Curacoa (D41)

January 01, 1970

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Curacoa.

HMS Curacoa was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub-class and spent much of her career as a flagship. The ship was assigned to the Harwich Force during the war, but saw little action as she was completed less than a year before the war ended. Briefly assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1919, Curacoa was deployed to the Baltic in May to support anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. Shortly thereafter the ship struck a naval mine and had to return home for repairs.

Curacoa at anchor, 1941
History
United Kingdom
NameCuracoa
NamesakeCuraçao
OrderedMarch–April 1916
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid down13 July 1916
Launched5 May 1917
Commissioned18 February 1918
ReclassifiedConverted to anti-aircraft cruiser, 1939–1940
Nickname(s)Cocoa Boat[1]
FateSunk in collision with RMS Queen Mary, 2 October 1942
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeC-class light cruiser
Displacement4,190 long tons (4,260 t)
Length450 ft 3 in (137.2 m) (o/a)
Beam43 ft 5 in (13.2 m)
Draught14 ft 8 in (4.5 m) (mean)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Complement460
Armament
Armour
General characteristics (where different)
TypeAnti-aircraft cruiser
Displacement5,403 long tons (5,490 t) (deep load)
Armament

After spending the rest of 1919 and 1920 in reserve, she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet until 1928, aside from a temporary transfer to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1922–1923 to support British interests in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis. Curacoa was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1929.

In 1933, Curacoa became a training ship and in July 1939, two months before the start of the Second World War, she was converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser. She returned to service in January 1940 and, while providing escort in the Norwegian Campaign that April, was damaged by German aircraft. After repairs were completed that year, she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for two years. In late 1942, during escort duty, she was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, with the loss of 337 men.

Design and description edit

The C-class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to come within torpedo range.[2] The Ceres sub-class was a slightly larger and improved version of the preceding Caledon sub-class. The ships were 450 feet 3 inches (137.2 m) long overall, with a beam of 43 feet 5 inches (13.2 m) and a mean draught of 14 feet 8 inches (4.5 m). Displacement was 4,190 long tons (4,260 t) at normal and 5,020 long tons (5,100 t) at deep load.

Curacoa was powered by two geared Parsons steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, which produced a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW). The turbines used steam generated by six Yarrow boilers which gave her a speed of about 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph).[3] During her sea trials on 14 February 1918, Curacoa reached her designed speed at 40,428 shp (30,147 kW).[1] She carried 935 long tons (950 t) of fuel oil. The ship had a crew of about 460 officers and ratings.[3]

The main armament of the Ceres-class ships consisted of five BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline and designated '1' to '5' from front to rear. While identical in number to the Caledons, the layout was considerably improved in a number of ways. The gun formerly between the bridge and fore funnel was moved to a superfiring position over the forward gun with wider firing arc than in its old position. The others were also moved, one aft of the rear funnel, and the last two were in the stern, with one gun superfiring over the rearmost gun. The two QF 3-inch (76 mm) 20-cwt[Note 1] anti-aircraft (AA) guns were positioned abreast the fore funnel. The torpedo armament of the Ceres class ships was identical to that of the Caledons, with eight 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes in four twin mounts, two on each broadside.[3] The Ceres class was protected by a waterline belt 1.5–3 in (38–76 mm) thick and over the steering gear had a protective deck armour that was 1 in (25 mm) thick. Unlike her sister ships, her conning tower was removed before she was completed.[4]

Construction and career edit

 
Stern view of Curacoa in 1918, showing the aft six-inch gun

Curacoa was ordered in March–April 1916[4] as part of the Repeat War Programme. She was the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy[5] and named to commemorate the capture of the Dutch island of Curaçao in 1807.[1] The ship was laid down at Pembroke Royal Dockyard on 13 July.[6] She was launched on 5 May 1917 and completed on 18 February 1918.[7] Her first commander was Captain Barry Domvile.[1] On commissioning, Curacoa became flagship of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, part of the Harwich Force, serving there for the rest of the war.[8][9] In association with John Cyril Porte's birthday and a medal ceremony at RNAS Felixstowe, her crew was inspected by King George V at Harwich on 26 February.[1][10] From June onwards, she participated in reconnaissance sweeps ordered by Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt, commander of the Harwich Force.[11] Sometime in 1918, a pair of 2-pounder (40 mm) Mk II "pom-pom" light AA guns were installed.[12]

In April 1919, Curacoa joined the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the newly established Atlantic Fleet.[8][13] The following month, however, she was deployed to the Baltic as part of the British intervention in the Russian Civil War in support of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. On 7 May, Rear-Admiral Walter Cowan transferred his flag to the ship from her half-sister Caledon. Ten days later, the ship was en route from Helsinki to Liepāja when she struck a mine with her stern, 70 miles (110 km) east of Reval (now Tallinn).[14] One crewman was killed and three injured by the explosion.[15] Cowan, who was taking a bath at the time, was dumped out of the bath, running to the bridge dressed only in an overcoat until clothing could be brought up from his "day cabin".[14] Curacoa was able to reach a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) after some repairs and reached Reval later that day. After temporary repairs there, she returned to the UK for permanent repairs at Sheerness Dockyard; her rudder fell off while passing The Skaw and the ship could only be steered with her engines for the last 500 miles (800 km) to the dockyard.[15]

Curacoa was under repair through July[16] and was placed in reserve after the repairs were completed.[17] She remained in reserve through November 1920,[18] but later served as the flagship of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet through 1928.[8] The ship was detached to the Mediterranean Fleet in September 1922 during the Chanak Crisis and arrived in Smyrna (now İzmir), Turkey, on 23 September. While there her crew assisted with the evacuation of refugees from the city after much of the city was destroyed by fire. Curacoa remained in the Mediterranean until at least February 1923.[19] During the mid-1920s, her original 9-foot (2.7 m) rangefinders were exchanged for 12-foot (3.7 m) models.[12]

On 4 September 1929, the ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet as the flagship of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, which was commanded by her first captain, Barry Domvile.[8][20] She remained in the Mediterranean until 1932.[8] She became a gunnery training ship on 18 December 1933 and continued in that role until 1939.[8] In 1935, she was one of four Royal Navy ships featured in the British film Brown on Resolution, where she played a German battlecruiser.[21] In July 1939, a few months before the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, she began a conversion into an anti-aircraft cruiser[22] at Chatham Dockyard.[7] This consisted of replacing all of her six-inch guns with eight QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk XVI dual-purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, in the positions formerly occupied by Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5 six-inch guns. A quadruple mount for the two-pounder Mk VII "pom-pom" light AA gun was installed in No. 2 gun's position. Quadruple Vickers 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AA machinegun mounts replaced the three-inch guns and her torpedo tubes were removed. Her masts were cut down and her existing fire-control systems were replaced by a pair of High-Angle Control System Mk III systems and a pom-pom director. A Type 279 early-warning radar was also installed. To counter the additional weight high in the ship, 200 long tons (203 t) of ballast was added. Although the weight of the ballast alone was more than that of the new equipment, it increased her metacentric height from 2.93 to 3.41 feet (0.9 to 1.0 m) at deep load.[23]

Second World War edit

 
A stoker plugging a leaking boiler tube inside one of Curacoa's boilers at Rosyth, Scotland

The conversion was completed on 24 January 1940[7] and Curacoa was assigned to the Home Fleet. During the Norwegian Campaign, the ship escorted a British troop convoy to Åndalsnes (Operation Sickle) in mid-April. Together with the light cruiser Arethusa, Curacoa landed the battalion of the Sherwood Foresters at Molde; the quay at Åndalsnes had proved to be too small to allow more than one cruiser at a time to disembark their troops before daylight. Curacoa returned home, but was ordered back to Åndalsnes to protect the beachhead there from German aircraft, arriving on 22 April. Repeatedly attacked over the next several days, the ship was hit on the forecastle by a 250-kilogram (550 lb) bomb dropped by a bomber from the Third Group of Demonstration Wing 1 (III./Lehrgeschwader 1) on the evening of the 24th. The bomb killed eight crewmen, who were buried at Veblungsnes after the ship returned home for repairs. Several hours before she was hit, her captain reported that she was running low on four-inch ammunition.[24]

After her repairs were completed, Curacoa was assigned to the Western Approaches where she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for most of the next two years.[25] By September 1941, Type 285 and Type 282 fire-control radars had been fitted.[26] As part of the deception efforts for Convoy PQ 17, the ship formed part of a decoy convoy that sailed on 29 June 1942, but was not spotted by the Germans.[27] By September 1942, her anti-aircraft suite had been reinforced by five single mounts for 20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA guns; a Type 273 long-range surface-search radar was added.[26]

Collision edit

 
RMS Queen Mary, 20 June 1945, in New York Harbor carrying US troops from Europe

On the morning of 2 October 1942, Curacoa rendezvoused north of Ireland with the ocean liner Queen Mary, which was carrying approximately 10,000 American troops of the 29th Infantry Division.[28] The liner was steaming an evasive "Zig-Zag Pattern No. 8" course at a speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph), an overall rate of advance of 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph), to evade submarine attacks.[29] The elderly cruiser remained on a straight course at a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and would eventually be overtaken by the liner.[30][31]

Each captain had different interpretations of The Rule of the Road believing his ship had the right of way.[29] Captain John Wilfred Boutwood of Curacoa kept to the liner's mean course to maximize his ability to defend the liner from enemy aircraft, while Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth of Queen Mary continued their zig-zag pattern expecting the escort cruiser to give way.[32][33]

We could see our escort zig-zagging in front of us[Note 2] - it was common for the ships and cruisers to zig-zag to confuse the U-boats. In this particular case however the escort was very, very close to us.

I said to my mate "You know she's zig-zigging all over the place in front of us, I'm sure we're going to hit her."

And sure enough, the Queen Mary sliced the cruiser in two like a piece of butter, straight through the six-inch [sic] armoured plating.

— Alfred Johnson, eye witness, BBC: "HMS Curacao Tragedy"[34]

At 13:32, during the zig-zag, it became apparent that Queen Mary would come too close to the cruiser and the liner's officer of the watch interrupted the turn to avoid Curacoa. Upon hearing this command, Illingworth told his officer to: "Carry on with the zig-zag. These chaps are used to escorting; they will keep out of your way and won't interfere with you."[35] At 14:04, Queen Mary started the starboard turn from a position slightly behind the cruiser and at a distance of two cables (about 400 yards (366 m)). Boutwood perceived the danger, but the distance was too close for either of the hard turns ordered for each ship to make any difference at the speeds that they were travelling. Queen Mary struck Curacoa amidships at full speed, cutting the cruiser in half. The aft end sank almost immediately, but the rest of the ship stayed on the surface a few minutes longer.[36]

Acting under orders not to stop due to the risk of U-boat attacks, Queen Mary steamed onwards with a damaged bow. She radioed the other destroyers of her escort, about 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) away, and reported the collision.[37] Hours later, the convoy's lead escort, consisting of Bramham and HMS Cowdray,[38] returned to rescue approximately 101 survivors, including Boutwood.[Note 3] Lost with Curacoa were 337 officers and men of her crew, according to the naval casualty file released by The United Kingdom National Archives in June 2013.[40][Note 4] Most of the lost men are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial and the rest on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Those who died after rescue, or whose bodies were recovered, were buried in Chatham and in Ashaig Cemetery on the Isle of Skye.[39] Under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, Curacoa's wrecksite is designated a "protected place".[42]

Those who witnessed the collision were sworn to secrecy due to national security concerns.[43] The loss was not publicly reported until after the war ended, although the Admiralty filed a writ against Queen Mary's owners, Cunard White Star Line, on 22 September 1943 in the Admiralty Court of the High Court of Justice. Little happened until 1945, when the case went to trial in June; it was adjourned to November and then to December 1946. Mr. Justice Pilcher exonerated Queen Mary's crew and her owners from blame on 21 January 1947 and laid all fault on Curacoa's officers. The Admiralty appealed his ruling and the Court of Appeal modified the ruling, assigning two-thirds of the blame to the Admiralty and one third to Cunard White Star. The latter appealed to the House of Lords, but the decision was upheld.[44]

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight; 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun; one long ton or 2240 pounds.
  2. ^ To the eye-witness, the cruiser's movements may have appeared differently relative to their own ship's movements.
  3. ^ The number of survivors has ranged from 26 to 108 in sources published over the years.[39]
  4. ^ The number of dead reported over the years has varied from "over 300" to 339.[41]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Dent 2012, p. 173
  2. ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 38, 42, 48
  3. ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 61
  4. ^ a b Raven & Roberts 1980, p. 62
  5. ^ Colledge 2006, p. 86
  6. ^ Thomas & Holmes 1997, p. 2
  7. ^ a b c Friedman 2010, p. 414
  8. ^ a b c d e f Whitley 1999, p. 70
  9. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.: II – Harwich Force". The Navy List: 13. December 1918. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  10. ^ Robertson, Professor R. (1991). (PDF). The '14–'18 Journal: 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  11. ^ Newbolt 1931, pp. 344–45
  12. ^ a b Raven & Roberts 1980, p. 75
  13. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.:I–Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 10. May 1919. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  14. ^ a b Bennett 2002, p. 109
  15. ^ a b Head 2009, p. 148
  16. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.:I–Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 701. August 1919. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.:I–Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 711. September 1919. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands &c.:I–Atlantic Fleet". The Navy List: 400. December 1920. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  19. ^ Halpern 2011, pp. 391, 400, 425–26, 432–37
  20. ^ Dent 2012, p. 174
  21. ^ Great War Society (July 2008). "St Mihiel Trip-Wire: July 2008". WorldWar1.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  22. ^ Raven & Roberts 1980, p. 216
  23. ^ Raven & Roberts 1980, pp. 216, 220–21, 428
  24. ^ Haarr 2010, pp. 68–69, 72–73, fn. 49, p. 421
  25. ^ Kelly 1997, p. 160
  26. ^ a b Raven & Roberts 1980, p. 428
  27. ^ Admiralty Historical Section 2007, p. 55
  28. ^ Balkoski 2005, pp. 37–38
  29. ^ a b Butler 2004, pp. 319–320
  30. ^ Plowman 2014, p. 368
  31. ^ Speight 2015, p. 159
  32. ^ Kelly 1997, pp. 160–62
  33. ^ "List of Captains of the Queen Mary" (PDF). QueenMary.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  34. ^ "HMS Curacoa Tragedy". BBC News. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  35. ^ Kelly 1997, p. 162
  36. ^ Kelly 1997, p. 163
  37. ^ Kelly 1997, p. 164
  38. ^ Wilson, Edgar Edward. "Wilson, Edgar Edward (IWM Interview)". Imperial War Museums. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  39. ^ a b Dent 2014, p. 182
  40. ^ Dent 2014, pp. 182–83
  41. ^ Dent 2014, p. 183
  42. ^ "Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986". SI2008/950. Office of Public Sector Information, The National Archives. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  43. ^ Pearce 2006
  44. ^ Kelly 1997, pp. 165–66

Bibliography edit

  • Admiralty Historical Section (2007). The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys. Naval Staff Histories. Abingdon, UK: Whitehall History in association with Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-5284-9.
  • Balkoski, Joseph (2005). Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy (3rd ed.). Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3237-1.
  • Bennett, Geoffrey (2002). Freeing the Baltic. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Birlinn. ISBN 1-84341-001-X.
  • Butler, Daniel Allen (2004). The Age of Cunard: A Transatlantic History 1839–2003. ProStar Publications. ISBN 978-1-57785-348-0.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Dent, Stephen (2012). "Warship Note: HMS Curacoa – What's in a Name?". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2012. London: Conway. pp. 172–74. ISBN 978-1-84486-156-9.
  • Dent, Stephen (2014). "Warship Note: The Loss of HMS Curacoa". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2014. London: Conway. pp. 181–83. ISBN 978-1-84486-236-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Haarr, Geirr H. (2010). The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-057-4.
  • Halpern, Paul, ed. (2011). The Mediterranean Fleet 1920–1929. Navy Records Society Publications. Vol. 158. Farnham, UK: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-2756-8.
  • Head, Michael (2009). "The Baltic Campaign, 1918–1920, Pt. I". Warship International. XLVI (2). International Naval Research Organization: 135–50. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Kelly, Peter (1997). "The Tragic Loss of HMS Curacoa". In McLean, David; Preston, Antony (eds.). Warship 1997–1998. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 160–166. ISBN 0-85177-722-8.
  • Newbolt, Henry (1996). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. V (reprint of the 1931 ed.). Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-255-1.
  • Pearce, G. I. R. (2006). All My Yesterdays. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-5511-6.
  • Plowman, Peter (2014). Across the Sea to War. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-922013-12-5.
  • Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
  • Speight, James G. (2015). Fork-Tail Devil. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4969-6423-6.
  • Thomas, David & Holmes, Patrick (1997). Queen Mary and the Cruiser: The Curacoa Disaster. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-548-9.
  • Watton, Ross (1989). The Cunard Liner Queen Mary. Anatomy of the Ship. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-599-X.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1999). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.

Further reading edit

  • Dunn, Steve R. (2022). The Harwich Striking Force: The Royal Navy's Front Line in the North Sea, 1914–1918. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-3990-1596-7.
  • Niven, David. (1981). Go Slowly Come Back Quickly. ISBN 0-340-28347-5. pp. 121–123 describe the incident

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Curacoa (D41).
  • HMS Curacoa on naval-history.net

55°50′N 8°38′W / 55.833°N 8.633°W / 55.833; -8.633

January 01, 1970
curacoa, other, ships, with, same, name, curacoa, curacoa, class, light, cruiser, built, royal, navy, during, first, world, five, ships, ceres, class, spent, much, career, flagship, ship, assigned, harwich, force, during, little, action, completed, less, than,. For other ships with the same name see HMS Curacoa HMS Curacoa was a C class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub class and spent much of her career as a flagship The ship was assigned to the Harwich Force during the war but saw little action as she was completed less than a year before the war ended Briefly assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1919 Curacoa was deployed to the Baltic in May to support anti Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War Shortly thereafter the ship struck a naval mine and had to return home for repairs Curacoa at anchor 1941History United Kingdom NameCuracoa NamesakeCuracao OrderedMarch April 1916 BuilderPembroke Dockyard Laid down13 July 1916 Launched5 May 1917 Commissioned18 February 1918 ReclassifiedConverted to anti aircraft cruiser 1939 1940 Nickname s Cocoa Boat 1 FateSunk in collision with RMS Queen Mary 2 October 1942 General characteristics as built Class and typeC class light cruiser Displacement4 190 long tons 4 260 t Length450 ft 3 in 137 2 m o a Beam43 ft 5 in 13 2 m Draught14 ft 8 in 4 5 m mean Installed power6 Yarrow boilers 40 000 shp 30 000 kW Propulsion2 shafts 2 geared steam turbines Speed29 kn 54 km h 33 mph Complement460 Armament5 single 6 in 152 mm guns 2 single 3 in 76 mm anti aircraft guns 4 twin 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes ArmourWaterline belt 1 25 3 in 32 76 mm Deck 1 in 25 mm General characteristics where different TypeAnti aircraft cruiser Displacement5 403 long tons 5 490 t deep load Armament4 twin 4 inch 102 mm dual purpose guns 2 single 1 quadruple 2 pounder 40 mm AA guns 2 quadruple Vickers 0 5 in 12 7 mm AA machine guns After spending the rest of 1919 and 1920 in reserve she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet until 1928 aside from a temporary transfer to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1922 1923 to support British interests in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis Curacoa was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1929 In 1933 Curacoa became a training ship and in July 1939 two months before the start of the Second World War she was converted into an anti aircraft cruiser She returned to service in January 1940 and while providing escort in the Norwegian Campaign that April was damaged by German aircraft After repairs were completed that year she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for two years In late 1942 during escort duty she was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary with the loss of 337 men Contents 1 Design and description 2 Construction and career 2 1 Second World War 2 1 1 Collision 3 Notes 4 Footnotes 5 Bibliography 6 Further reading 7 External linksDesign and description editThe C class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to come within torpedo range 2 The Ceres sub class was a slightly larger and improved version of the preceding Caledon sub class The ships were 450 feet 3 inches 137 2 m long overall with a beam of 43 feet 5 inches 13 2 m and a mean draught of 14 feet 8 inches 4 5 m Displacement was 4 190 long tons 4 260 t at normal and 5 020 long tons 5 100 t at deep load Curacoa was powered by two geared Parsons steam turbines each driving one propeller shaft which produced a total of 40 000 shaft horsepower 30 000 kW The turbines used steam generated by six Yarrow boilers which gave her a speed of about 29 knots 54 km h 33 mph 3 During her sea trials on 14 February 1918 Curacoa reached her designed speed at 40 428 shp 30 147 kW 1 She carried 935 long tons 950 t of fuel oil The ship had a crew of about 460 officers and ratings 3 The main armament of the Ceres class ships consisted of five BL 6 inch 152 mm Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline and designated 1 to 5 from front to rear While identical in number to the Caledons the layout was considerably improved in a number of ways The gun formerly between the bridge and fore funnel was moved to a superfiring position over the forward gun with wider firing arc than in its old position The others were also moved one aft of the rear funnel and the last two were in the stern with one gun superfiring over the rearmost gun The two QF 3 inch 76 mm 20 cwt Note 1 anti aircraft AA guns were positioned abreast the fore funnel The torpedo armament of the Ceres class ships was identical to that of the Caledons with eight 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes in four twin mounts two on each broadside 3 The Ceres class was protected by a waterline belt 1 5 3 in 38 76 mm thick and over the steering gear had a protective deck armour that was 1 in 25 mm thick Unlike her sister ships her conning tower was removed before she was completed 4 Construction and career edit nbsp Stern view of Curacoa in 1918 showing the aft six inch gun Curacoa was ordered in March April 1916 4 as part of the Repeat War Programme She was the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy 5 and named to commemorate the capture of the Dutch island of Curacao in 1807 1 The ship was laid down at Pembroke Royal Dockyard on 13 July 6 She was launched on 5 May 1917 and completed on 18 February 1918 7 Her first commander was Captain Barry Domvile 1 On commissioning Curacoa became flagship of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron part of the Harwich Force serving there for the rest of the war 8 9 In association with John Cyril Porte s birthday and a medal ceremony at RNAS Felixstowe her crew was inspected by King George V at Harwich on 26 February 1 10 From June onwards she participated in reconnaissance sweeps ordered by Rear Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt commander of the Harwich Force 11 Sometime in 1918 a pair of 2 pounder 40 mm Mk II pom pom light AA guns were installed 12 In April 1919 Curacoa joined the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the newly established Atlantic Fleet 8 13 The following month however she was deployed to the Baltic as part of the British intervention in the Russian Civil War in support of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks On 7 May Rear Admiral Walter Cowan transferred his flag to the ship from her half sister Caledon Ten days later the ship was en route from Helsinki to Liepaja when she struck a mine with her stern 70 miles 110 km east of Reval now Tallinn 14 One crewman was killed and three injured by the explosion 15 Cowan who was taking a bath at the time was dumped out of the bath running to the bridge dressed only in an overcoat until clothing could be brought up from his day cabin 14 Curacoa was able to reach a speed of 9 knots 17 km h 10 mph after some repairs and reached Reval later that day After temporary repairs there she returned to the UK for permanent repairs at Sheerness Dockyard her rudder fell off while passing The Skaw and the ship could only be steered with her engines for the last 500 miles 800 km to the dockyard 15 Curacoa was under repair through July 16 and was placed in reserve after the repairs were completed 17 She remained in reserve through November 1920 18 but later served as the flagship of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet through 1928 8 The ship was detached to the Mediterranean Fleet in September 1922 during the Chanak Crisis and arrived in Smyrna now Izmir Turkey on 23 September While there her crew assisted with the evacuation of refugees from the city after much of the city was destroyed by fire Curacoa remained in the Mediterranean until at least February 1923 19 During the mid 1920s her original 9 foot 2 7 m rangefinders were exchanged for 12 foot 3 7 m models 12 On 4 September 1929 the ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet as the flagship of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron which was commanded by her first captain Barry Domvile 8 20 She remained in the Mediterranean until 1932 8 She became a gunnery training ship on 18 December 1933 and continued in that role until 1939 8 In 1935 she was one of four Royal Navy ships featured in the British film Brown on Resolution where she played a German battlecruiser 21 In July 1939 a few months before the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe she began a conversion into an anti aircraft cruiser 22 at Chatham Dockyard 7 This consisted of replacing all of her six inch guns with eight QF 4 inch 102 mm Mk XVI dual purpose guns in four twin gun turrets in the positions formerly occupied by Nos 1 3 4 and 5 six inch guns A quadruple mount for the two pounder Mk VII pom pom light AA gun was installed in No 2 gun s position Quadruple Vickers 0 5 in 12 7 mm AA machinegun mounts replaced the three inch guns and her torpedo tubes were removed Her masts were cut down and her existing fire control systems were replaced by a pair of High Angle Control System Mk III systems and a pom pom director A Type 279 early warning radar was also installed To counter the additional weight high in the ship 200 long tons 203 t of ballast was added Although the weight of the ballast alone was more than that of the new equipment it increased her metacentric height from 2 93 to 3 41 feet 0 9 to 1 0 m at deep load 23 Second World War edit nbsp A stoker plugging a leaking boiler tube inside one of Curacoa s boilers at Rosyth Scotland The conversion was completed on 24 January 1940 7 and Curacoa was assigned to the Home Fleet During the Norwegian Campaign the ship escorted a British troop convoy to Andalsnes Operation Sickle in mid April Together with the light cruiser Arethusa Curacoa landed the battalion of the Sherwood Foresters at Molde the quay at Andalsnes had proved to be too small to allow more than one cruiser at a time to disembark their troops before daylight Curacoa returned home but was ordered back to Andalsnes to protect the beachhead there from German aircraft arriving on 22 April Repeatedly attacked over the next several days the ship was hit on the forecastle by a 250 kilogram 550 lb bomb dropped by a bomber from the Third Group of Demonstration Wing 1 III Lehrgeschwader 1 on the evening of the 24th The bomb killed eight crewmen who were buried at Veblungsnes after the ship returned home for repairs Several hours before she was hit her captain reported that she was running low on four inch ammunition 24 After her repairs were completed Curacoa was assigned to the Western Approaches where she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for most of the next two years 25 By September 1941 Type 285 and Type 282 fire control radars had been fitted 26 As part of the deception efforts for Convoy PQ 17 the ship formed part of a decoy convoy that sailed on 29 June 1942 but was not spotted by the Germans 27 By September 1942 her anti aircraft suite had been reinforced by five single mounts for 20 millimetre 0 8 in Oerlikon light AA guns a Type 273 long range surface search radar was added 26 Collision edit nbsp RMS Queen Mary 20 June 1945 in New York Harbor carrying US troops from Europe On the morning of 2 October 1942 Curacoa rendezvoused north of Ireland with the ocean liner Queen Mary which was carrying approximately 10 000 American troops of the 29th Infantry Division 28 The liner was steaming an evasive Zig Zag Pattern No 8 course at a speed of 28 5 knots 52 8 km h 32 8 mph an overall rate of advance of 26 5 knots 49 1 km h 30 5 mph to evade submarine attacks 29 The elderly cruiser remained on a straight course at a top speed of 25 knots 46 km h 29 mph and would eventually be overtaken by the liner 30 31 Each captain had different interpretations of The Rule of the Road believing his ship had the right of way 29 Captain John Wilfred Boutwood of Curacoa kept to the liner s mean course to maximize his ability to defend the liner from enemy aircraft while Commodore Sir Cyril Gordon Illingworth of Queen Mary continued their zig zag pattern expecting the escort cruiser to give way 32 33 We could see our escort zig zagging in front of us Note 2 it was common for the ships and cruisers to zig zag to confuse the U boats In this particular case however the escort was very very close to us I said to my mate You know she s zig zigging all over the place in front of us I m sure we re going to hit her And sure enough the Queen Mary sliced the cruiser in two like a piece of butter straight through the six inch sic armoured plating Alfred Johnson eye witness BBC HMS Curacao Tragedy 34 At 13 32 during the zig zag it became apparent that Queen Mary would come too close to the cruiser and the liner s officer of the watch interrupted the turn to avoid Curacoa Upon hearing this command Illingworth told his officer to Carry on with the zig zag These chaps are used to escorting they will keep out of your way and won t interfere with you 35 At 14 04 Queen Mary started the starboard turn from a position slightly behind the cruiser and at a distance of two cables about 400 yards 366 m Boutwood perceived the danger but the distance was too close for either of the hard turns ordered for each ship to make any difference at the speeds that they were travelling Queen Mary struck Curacoa amidships at full speed cutting the cruiser in half The aft end sank almost immediately but the rest of the ship stayed on the surface a few minutes longer 36 Acting under orders not to stop due to the risk of U boat attacks Queen Mary steamed onwards with a damaged bow She radioed the other destroyers of her escort about 7 nautical miles 13 km 8 1 mi away and reported the collision 37 Hours later the convoy s lead escort consisting of Bramham and HMS Cowdray 38 returned to rescue approximately 101 survivors including Boutwood Note 3 Lost with Curacoa were 337 officers and men of her crew according to the naval casualty file released by The United Kingdom National Archives in June 2013 40 Note 4 Most of the lost men are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial and the rest on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial Those who died after rescue or whose bodies were recovered were buried in Chatham and in Ashaig Cemetery on the Isle of Skye 39 Under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Curacoa s wrecksite is designated a protected place 42 Those who witnessed the collision were sworn to secrecy due to national security concerns 43 The loss was not publicly reported until after the war ended although the Admiralty filed a writ against Queen Mary s owners Cunard White Star Line on 22 September 1943 in the Admiralty Court of the High Court of Justice Little happened until 1945 when the case went to trial in June it was adjourned to November and then to December 1946 Mr Justice Pilcher exonerated Queen Mary s crew and her owners from blame on 21 January 1947 and laid all fault on Curacoa s officers The Admiralty appealed his ruling and the Court of Appeal modified the ruling assigning two thirds of the blame to the Admiralty and one third to Cunard White Star The latter appealed to the House of Lords but the decision was upheld 44 Notes edit Cwt is the abbreviation for hundredweight 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun one long ton or 2240 pounds To the eye witness the cruiser s movements may have appeared differently relative to their own ship s movements The number of survivors has ranged from 26 to 108 in sources published over the years 39 The number of dead reported over the years has varied from over 300 to 339 41 Footnotes edit a b c d e Dent 2012 p 173 Friedman 2010 pp 38 42 48 a b c Gardiner amp Gray 1985 p 61 a b Raven amp Roberts 1980 p 62 Colledge 2006 p 86 Thomas amp Holmes 1997 p 2 a b c Friedman 2010 p 414 a b c d e f Whitley 1999 p 70 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c II Harwich Force The Navy List 13 December 1918 Retrieved 13 February 2015 Robertson Professor R 1991 John Cyril Porte amp The Felixstowe Flying Boats PDF The 14 18 Journal 30 Archived from the original PDF on 14 April 2018 Retrieved 2 August 2017 Newbolt 1931 pp 344 45 a b Raven amp Roberts 1980 p 75 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c I Atlantic Fleet The Navy List 10 May 1919 Retrieved 13 February 2015 a b Bennett 2002 p 109 a b Head 2009 p 148 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c I Atlantic Fleet The Navy List 701 August 1919 Retrieved 22 March 2016 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c I Atlantic Fleet The Navy List 711 September 1919 Retrieved 22 March 2016 Supplement to the Navy List Showing Organisation of the Fleet Flag Officers Commands amp c I Atlantic Fleet The Navy List 400 December 1920 Retrieved 22 March 2016 Halpern 2011 pp 391 400 425 26 432 37 Dent 2012 p 174 Great War Society July 2008 St Mihiel Trip Wire July 2008 WorldWar1 com Retrieved 25 March 2016 Raven amp Roberts 1980 p 216 Raven amp Roberts 1980 pp 216 220 21 428 Haarr 2010 pp 68 69 72 73 fn 49 p 421 Kelly 1997 p 160 a b Raven amp Roberts 1980 p 428 Admiralty Historical Section 2007 p 55 Balkoski 2005 pp 37 38 a b Butler 2004 pp 319 320 Plowman 2014 p 368 Speight 2015 p 159 Kelly 1997 pp 160 62 List of Captains of the Queen Mary PDF QueenMary com Retrieved 2 October 2017 HMS Curacoa Tragedy BBC News 11 June 2004 Retrieved 27 March 2016 Kelly 1997 p 162 Kelly 1997 p 163 Kelly 1997 p 164 Wilson Edgar Edward Wilson Edgar Edward IWM Interview Imperial War Museums Imperial War Museum Retrieved 27 March 2016 a b Dent 2014 p 182 Dent 2014 pp 182 83 Dent 2014 p 183 Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 SI2008 950 Office of Public Sector Information The National Archives Retrieved 27 March 2016 Pearce 2006 Kelly 1997 pp 165 66Bibliography editAdmiralty Historical Section 2007 The Royal Navy and the Arctic Convoys Naval Staff Histories Abingdon UK Whitehall History in association with Routledge ISBN 978 0 7146 5284 9 Balkoski Joseph 2005 Beyond the Beachhead The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy 3rd ed Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania Stackpole Books ISBN 0 8117 3237 1 Bennett Geoffrey 2002 Freeing the Baltic Edinburgh United Kingdom Birlinn ISBN 1 84341 001 X Butler Daniel Allen 2004 The Age of Cunard A Transatlantic History 1839 2003 ProStar Publications ISBN 978 1 57785 348 0 Colledge J J Warlow Ben 2006 1969 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy Rev ed London Chatham Publishing ISBN 978 1 86176 281 8 Dent Stephen 2012 Warship Note HMS Curacoa What s in a Name In Jordan John ed Warship 2012 London Conway pp 172 74 ISBN 978 1 84486 156 9 Dent Stephen 2014 Warship Note The Loss of HMS Curacoa In Jordan John ed Warship 2014 London Conway pp 181 83 ISBN 978 1 84486 236 8 Friedman Norman 2010 British Cruisers Two World Wars and After Barnsley UK Seaforth ISBN 978 1 59114 078 8 Gardiner Robert amp Gray Randal eds 1985 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1906 1921 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 85177 245 5 Haarr Geirr H 2010 The Battle for Norway April June 1940 Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84832 057 4 Halpern Paul ed 2011 The Mediterranean Fleet 1920 1929 Navy Records Society Publications Vol 158 Farnham UK Ashgate ISBN 978 1 4094 2756 8 Head Michael 2009 The Baltic Campaign 1918 1920 Pt I Warship International XLVI 2 International Naval Research Organization 135 50 ISSN 0043 0374 Kelly Peter 1997 The Tragic Loss of HMS Curacoa In McLean David Preston Antony eds Warship 1997 1998 London Conway Maritime Press pp 160 166 ISBN 0 85177 722 8 Newbolt Henry 1996 Naval Operations History of the Great War Based on Official Documents Vol V reprint of the 1931 ed Nashville Tennessee Battery Press ISBN 0 89839 255 1 Pearce G I R 2006 All My Yesterdays Victoria British Columbia Canada Trafford Publishing ISBN 978 1 4120 5511 6 Plowman Peter 2014 Across the Sea to War Rosenberg Publishing ISBN 978 1 922013 12 5 Raven Alan amp Roberts John 1980 British Cruisers of World War Two Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 922 7 Speight James G 2015 Fork Tail Devil AuthorHouse ISBN 978 1 4969 6423 6 Thomas David amp Holmes Patrick 1997 Queen Maryand the Cruiser TheCuracoaDisaster Leo Cooper ISBN 0 85052 548 9 Watton Ross 1989 The Cunard LinerQueen Mary Anatomy of the Ship Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 599 X Whitley M J 1999 Cruisers of World War Two An International Encyclopedia London Brockhampton Press ISBN 1 86019 874 0 Further reading editDunn Steve R 2022 The Harwich Striking Force The Royal Navy s Front Line in the North Sea 1914 1918 Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 3990 1596 7 Niven David 1981 Go Slowly Come Back Quickly ISBN 0 340 28347 5 pp 121 123 describe the incidentExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Curacoa D41 HMS Curacoa on naval history net 55 50 N 8 38 W 55 833 N 8 633 W 55 833 8 633 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Curacoa D41 amp oldid 1199378434, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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