HMS ''Argonaut'' was a of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

which saw

active service Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Constructed at the Cammell Laird shipyard,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, ''Argonaut'' was laid down in 1939, launched in September 1941, and formally commissioned into service on 8August 1942. She saw service in the Mediterranean in 1942, and was badly damaged on 14 December. After being repaired she took part in Operation Overlord, the Normandy Landings, and Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, before serving as an escort carrier group flagship. After the war she was laid up and scrapped in 1955.

History

Mediterranean service

During October and November 1942, ''Argonaut'' served as part of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. The cruiser formed part of Force H, based in Gibraltar and commanded by Vice Admiral Sir E.N. Syfret. It was charged with guarding the landings against possible attack from

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

naval forces. HMS ''Argonaut'', in particular, was dispatched on a diversionary mission into the Mediterranean. In December 1942 ''Argonaut'' joined the newly formed Force Q, commanded by Rear Admiral

Cecil Harcourt Admiral Sir Cecil Halliday Jepson Harcourt (translated to Chinese as zh , t= 夏慤 , j=haa6 kok3 , labels=no; 11 April 1892 – 19 December 1959) was a British naval officer. He was the ''de facto'' governor of Hong Kong as commander-in-chi ...

, with the mission of disrupting German–Italian convoys on the Tunisian coast. In addition to ''Argonaut'', ForceQ included the cruisers and , and the destroyers ''

Quentin Quentin is a French male given name from the Latin first name ''Quintinus'', diminutive form of '' Quintus'', that means "the fifth".Albert Dauzat, ''Noms et prénoms de France'', Librairie Larousse 1980, édition revue et commentée par Marie-T ...

'' and . On 1December, ''Argonaut'' and the other ships in Force Q took part in the

Battle of Skerki Bank The Battle of Skerki Bank was an engagement during the Second World War which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of 2 December 1942. Force Q, a flotilla of Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers, attacked Convoy ...

– attacking and largely destroying an Italian convoy. While the Axis forces lost four troop ships and the destroyer the Allies emerged from the engagement intact. On the following day, the German Air Force sank HMS ''Quentin'' westward of Cap Serrat. The Royal Navy during the Second World War A13757

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A13757

Damaged

On 14December 1942, ''Argonaut'' was heavily damaged when the struck the cruiser with two torpedoes from a spread of four, causing serious damage. The bow and stern sections of the cruiser were effectively blown off and the steering wrecked. Though only three crew members were killed, the damage was so severe that German authorities mistakenly believed the ''Argonaut'' had been sunk. The ship was patched up and limped to Algiers for more temporary repairs. It then sailed for the United States, where it underwent a seven-month reconstruction, completed in November 1943.

Repairs and later service

When the ''Argonaut'' returned to the UK, it was refitted and received the new Type 293and 277radars. It took part in bombardment duties on D-Day under the command of Captain Longley. It also supported the Allied invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon, before seeing duty as an escort carrier flagship. Subsequently, the ship conducted a sweep of the Aegean Sea, sinking a number of small Axis craft, before sailing east to the Indian Ocean, where ''Argonaut'' joined the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...

in 1945. After the war, she was laid up on return to the UK in 1946 and saw no further service before being scrapped in 1955.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

HMS ''Argonaut'' at naval-history.net

World War II cruisers

* http://www.hmsargonaut.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Argonaut (61) Dido-class cruisers Ships built on the River Mersey 1941 ships World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in December 1942