As the Allied armies advanced following the invasion of Normandy, Hussar, Britomart, Jason and Salamander were assigned to the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla (1MF) clearing Axis minefields north of Normandy to open additional ports to supply the advance. On the afternoon of 27 August 1944, they were sweeping off Cap d'Antifer in preparation for the battleship Warspite and monitors Erebus and Roberts to engage Le Havrecoastal artillery delaying the advance of Canadian troops.[1]
The headquarters officer assigning the minesweeping project to 1MF neglected to inform the Flag Officer British Assault Area (Rear‑Admiral Rivett‑Carnac), who was responsible for defending the invasion beaches from E-boats operating out of Le Havre. 1MF was observed on a southwesterly leg of the minesweeping operation and assumed to be German ships proceeding to attack Allied shipping off the invasion beaches. The Admiral's staff requested No. 263 Squadron RAF and No. 266 Squadron RAF to attack the presumed enemy ships. The squadrons responded with 16 Typhoons armed with 20 mm cannon and High Explosive"60 lb" RP-3 unguided rockets. RAF pilots identified 1MF as apparently friendly shipping, but upon questioning their orders were told the Royal Navy had no ships in the area.[1]
In a well-executed attack out of the sun at 13:30, the Typhoons sank Hussar and Britomart; and Salamander was damaged far beyond economical repair and written off as a constructive total loss. Eighty-six British sailors were killed and 124 more were injured. 1MF identified the Typhoons as friendly, and poor visibility into the sun prevented early recognition of the impending "friendly fire". Jason established radio contact to terminate the attack.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abc"SINKING OF HMS BRITOMART AND HMS HUSSAR BY FRIENDLY FIRE". Halcyon Class. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
This article about a specific naval minesweeper of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
hussar, other, ships, with, same, name, hussar, hussar, royal, navy, halcyon, class, minesweeper, world, hussar, during, world, iihistoryunited, kingdomnamehms, hussarordered23, february, 1933builderjohn, thornycroft, company, woolston, southamptonlaid, down28. For other ships with the same name see HMS Hussar HMS Hussar was a Royal Navy Halcyon class minesweeper of World War II Hussar during World War IIHistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS HussarOrdered23 February 1933BuilderJohn I Thornycroft amp Company Woolston SouthamptonLaid down28 August 1933Launched27 August 1934Commissioned16 January 1935FateSunk by RAF Hawker Typhoons on 27 August 1944BadgeOn a Field Red two light cavalry sabres ProperGeneral characteristicsClass and typeHalcyon class minesweeperDisplacement815 835 long tons 828 848 t 1 310 1 372 long tons 1 331 1 394 t full loadLength245 25 ft 74 75 m Beam33 5 ft 10 2 m Draught6 75 ft 2 06 m Propulsion2 x Admiralty 3 drum water tube boilers Parsons steam turbines 1 750 shp 1 305 kW on 2 shaftsSpeed16 5 knots 31 km h Range7 200 nmi 13 330 km at 10 knots 19 km h Complement80Armament2 QF 4 in Mk V L 45 102 mm guns single mounts HA Mk III 4 QF 0 5 in Mk III 12 7 mm Vickers machine guns quad mount HA Mk I 8 0 303 in 7 7 mm Lewis machine gunsAs the Allied armies advanced following the invasion of Normandy Hussar Britomart Jason and Salamander were assigned to the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla 1MF clearing Axis minefields north of Normandy to open additional ports to supply the advance On the afternoon of 27 August 1944 they were sweeping off Cap d Antifer in preparation for the battleship Warspite and monitors Erebus and Roberts to engage Le Havre coastal artillery delaying the advance of Canadian troops 1 The headquarters officer assigning the minesweeping project to 1MF neglected to inform the Flag Officer British Assault Area Rear Admiral Rivett Carnac who was responsible for defending the invasion beaches from E boats operating out of Le Havre 1MF was observed on a southwesterly leg of the minesweeping operation and assumed to be German ships proceeding to attack Allied shipping off the invasion beaches The Admiral s staff requested No 263 Squadron RAF and No 266 Squadron RAF to attack the presumed enemy ships The squadrons responded with 16 Typhoons armed with 20 mm cannon and High Explosive 60 lb RP 3 unguided rockets RAF pilots identified 1MF as apparently friendly shipping but upon questioning their orders were told the Royal Navy had no ships in the area 1 In a well executed attack out of the sun at 13 30 the Typhoons sank Hussar and Britomart and Salamander was damaged far beyond economical repair and written off as a constructive total loss Eighty six British sailors were killed and 124 more were injured 1MF identified the Typhoons as friendly and poor visibility into the sun prevented early recognition of the impending friendly fire Jason established radio contact to terminate the attack 1 References edit a b c SINKING OF HMS BRITOMART AND HMS HUSSAR BY FRIENDLY FIRE Halcyon Class Retrieved 27 January 2014 nbsp This article about a specific naval minesweeper of the United Kingdom is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Hussar J82 amp oldid 1092109936, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
