Commissioned with a Devonport crew under the command of Captain P.V. McLaughlin, Royal Navy, Spartan was originally intended for service with the Eastern Fleet, but after a couple of months with the Home Fleet, spent mainly working-up at Scapa Flow, on 17 October 1943 she left Plymouth Sound for the Mediterranean, sailing by way of Gibraltar and Algiers, she arrived at Malta on 28 October 1943 to be temporarily attached to the Mediterranean Fleet. She went on to Taranto to join the 15th Cruiser Squadron on 8 November.
On the night of 18–19 January 1944 Spartan carried out a diversionary bombardment in the Terracina area, and—with the cruiser Orion and four destroyers—provided useful supporting fire during the Garigliano River Operations. There was only minor opposition from shore batteries, and during the bombardment Spartan alone fired 900 rounds.
Operation Shingle—the landing of troops at Anzio—began on 22 January 1944, and Orion and Spartan were detailed to provide gun support. There was little opposition, and Spartan returned to Naples to remain available at short notice.
Spartan bombarding enemy shore positions as the landing craft of the U.S. 5th Army close in on the beaches in the opening stages in the battle for Rome. Smoke can be seen rising from the beachhead.
On 27 January she was ordered to report to CTF 81 for anti-aircraft protection duties off Anzio. At sunset on 29 January the Luftwaffe began a glide bomb attack on the ships in Anzio Bay. At the time of the attack Spartan was anchored. Smoke had been ordered in the anchorage but was not fully effective owing to the short time it was in operation and the strong breeze. Spartan was making smoke from stem to stern but was not herself covered.
About 18 aircraft approached from the north and circling over land, delivered a beam attack against the ships that were silhouetted against the afterglow. Due to the timing of the attack the aircraft were seen only by very few, and radar was ineffective owing to land echoes.
By the time the warning had been received and the ships had opened fire in the general direction of the attack, six bombs were already approaching the anchorage, most of them falling into the water. But at about 18:00 a radio-controlled Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb hit Spartan just aft of the after funnel and detonated high up in the compartments abreast the port side of the after boiler room, blowing a large hole in the upper deck.
The main mast collapsed and boiler rooms were flooded. Steam and electrical power failed, a serious fire developed and the ship heeled over to port. About an hour after being hit, Spartan had to be abandoned, and 10 minutes later she settled on her beam ends in about 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 m) of water.
Five officers and 41 ratings were posted killed or missing presumed killed, and 42 ratings were wounded.
Notesedit
^From ship's official log at the National Archives
Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN0-8317-0303-2.
Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-5267-9327-0.
Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-048-7.
Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-922-7.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
spartan, other, ships, with, same, name, spartan, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, june, 2008, learn, when, rem. For other ships with the same name see HMS Spartan This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message HMS Spartan was a Dido class light cruiser of the Bellona subgroup of the Royal Navy She was a modified Dido design with only four turrets but improved anti aircraft armament also known as Dido Group 2 Spartan newly completed off Barrow in Furness August 1943History United Kingdom NameSpartan BuilderVickers Armstrongs Barrow in Furness Laid down21 December 1939 Launched27 August 1942 Completed10 August 1943 Commissioned12 July 1943 note 1 FateSunk 29 January 1944 General characteristics as built Class and typeDido class light cruiser Displacement5 950 long tons 6 050 t standard 7 200 long tons 7 300 t full load Length485 ft 148 m p p 512 ft 156 m o a Beam50 ft 6 in 15 39 m Draught14 ft 4 3 m Installed power62 000 shp 46 000 kW Propulsion4 Parsons geared turbines 4 Admiralty 3 drum boilers 4 shafts Speed32 25 knots 59 73 km h 37 11 mph Range1 500 mi 2 400 km at 30 knots 56 km h 35 mph 4 240 mi 6 820 km at 16 knots 30 km h 18 mph Complement530 Armament8 QF 5 25 inch 133 mm dual purpose guns 4x2 12 2 pounder anti aircraft guns 3x4 12 20 mm anti aircraft cannons 6x2 6 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes 2x3 ArmourBelt 3 in 7 6 cm Deck 1 in 2 5 cm Magazines 2 in 5 1 cm Bulkheads 1 in 2 5 cm Contents 1 Construction and commissioning 2 History 3 Notes 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksConstruction and commissioning editSpartan was built by Vickers Armstrongs at Barrow in Furness United Kingdom with her keel being laid down on 21 December 1939 1 2 She was launched on 27 August 1942 1 2 commissioned on 12 July 1943 and completed on 10 August 1943 1 2 History editCommissioned with a Devonport crew under the command of Captain P V McLaughlin Royal Navy Spartan was originally intended for service with the Eastern Fleet but after a couple of months with the Home Fleet spent mainly working up at Scapa Flow on 17 October 1943 she left Plymouth Sound for the Mediterranean sailing by way of Gibraltar and Algiers she arrived at Malta on 28 October 1943 to be temporarily attached to the Mediterranean Fleet She went on to Taranto to join the 15th Cruiser Squadron on 8 November On the night of 18 19 January 1944 Spartan carried out a diversionary bombardment in the Terracina area and with the cruiser Orion and four destroyers provided useful supporting fire during the Garigliano River Operations There was only minor opposition from shore batteries and during the bombardment Spartan alone fired 900 rounds Operation Shingle the landing of troops at Anzio began on 22 January 1944 and Orion and Spartan were detailed to provide gun support There was little opposition and Spartan returned to Naples to remain available at short notice nbsp Spartan bombarding enemy shore positions as the landing craft of the U S 5th Army close in on the beaches in the opening stages in the battle for Rome Smoke can be seen rising from the beachhead On 27 January she was ordered to report to CTF 81 for anti aircraft protection duties off Anzio At sunset on 29 January the Luftwaffe began a glide bomb attack on the ships in Anzio Bay At the time of the attack Spartan was anchored Smoke had been ordered in the anchorage but was not fully effective owing to the short time it was in operation and the strong breeze Spartan was making smoke from stem to stern but was not herself covered About 18 aircraft approached from the north and circling over land delivered a beam attack against the ships that were silhouetted against the afterglow Due to the timing of the attack the aircraft were seen only by very few and radar was ineffective owing to land echoes By the time the warning had been received and the ships had opened fire in the general direction of the attack six bombs were already approaching the anchorage most of them falling into the water But at about 18 00 a radio controlled Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb hit Spartan just aft of the after funnel and detonated high up in the compartments abreast the port side of the after boiler room blowing a large hole in the upper deck The main mast collapsed and boiler rooms were flooded Steam and electrical power failed a serious fire developed and the ship heeled over to port About an hour after being hit Spartan had to be abandoned and 10 minutes later she settled on her beam ends in about 25 30 ft 7 6 9 1 m of water Five officers and 41 ratings were posted killed or missing presumed killed and 42 ratings were wounded Notes edit From ship s official log at the National ArchivesReferences edit a b c Campbell p 35 a b c Lenton p 67Bibliography editCampbell N J M 1980 Great Britain In Chesneau Roger ed Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 New York Mayflower Books pp 2 85 ISBN 0 8317 0303 2 Colledge J J Warlow Ben amp Bush Steve 2020 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present 5th revised and updated ed Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 5267 9327 0 Friedman Norman 2010 British Cruisers Two World Wars and After Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 59114 078 8 Lenton H T 1998 British amp Empire Warships of the Second World War Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 048 7 Raven Alan amp Roberts John 1980 British Cruisers of World War Two Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 922 7 Rohwer Jurgen 2005 Chronology of the War at Sea 1939 1945 The Naval History of World War Two Third Revised ed Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 59114 119 2 Whitley M J 1995 Cruisers of World War Two An International Encyclopedia London Cassell ISBN 1 86019 874 0 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Spartan 95 HMS Spartan at Uboat net A history of HMS Spartan 41 26 2 N 12 41 2 E 41 43389 N 12 68389 E 41 43389 12 68389 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Spartan 95 amp oldid 1164080641, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
