HMS ''Calypso'' (D61) was a

C class cruiser The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven groups known as the ''Caroline'' class (six ships), the ''Calliope'' class (two ships), the ''Cambrian'' class (four ships), the ' ...

of the ''Caledon'' sub-class of the

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 ...

, launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940 by the Italian submarine . ''Calypso'' was built by

Hawthorn Leslie and Company R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982. History The company was formed ...

. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down in February 1916 and she was completed in June 1917.

First World War

''Calypso'' fought in the

Second Battle of Heligoland Bight The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, also the Action in the Helgoland Bight and the , was an inconclusive naval engagement fought between British and German squadrons on 17 November 1917 during the First World War. Background British minela ...

on 17 November 1917, when she and her sister ship were part of the force that intercepted Imperial German Navy

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

near the German coast. During the battle, ''Calypso''s bridge was struck by a shell which killed everyone on the bridge including the captain and caused the accidental firing of a ready torpedo.

Interwar

''Calypso'' went to the rescue of the Greek royal family in 1922 after King Constantine of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

abdicated and a military dictatorship seized power. The King's brother,

Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ανδρέας; da, Andreas; – 3 December 1944) of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantino ...

was banished for life by a revolutionary court and was forced to flee with his family, which included his 18-month-old son Philip who would later become

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. The British Government had received news of the situation, and dispatched ''Calypso'' to evacuate the family. They boarded with minimal possessions. Philip was carried on board in a cot made from an orange box. The family were taken to Brindisi,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where they were put on a train to Paris. On 2 November 1924, the destroyer was steaming in the

Grand Harbour The Grand Harbour ( mt, il-Port il-Kbir; it, Porto Grande), also known as the Port of Valletta, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been substantially modified over the years with extensive docks ( Malta Dockyard), wharves, a ...

upon returning to

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, from a cruise in the Western

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

when she accidentally rammed and sank a

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

from ''Calypso''. All four people aboard the motorboat were saved by a boat from the destroyer .holywellhousepublishing.co.uk A HARD FOUGHT SHIP: The story of HMS Venomous: What's New
/ref>

Second World War

During the early part of 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 ...

, ''Calypso'' served with the 7th Cruiser Squadron on Northern Patrol duty as a blockade ship in the North Sea between Scotland and Iceland. On 24 September 1939, ''Calypso'' intercepted the German merchant ship Minden south of Iceland. The crew of ''Minden'' scuttled their ship before she could be captured. On 22 November, ''Calypso'' captured the German merchant ship ''Konsul Hendrik Fisser'' off Iceland. Following the sinking of the on 23 November, ''Calypso'' was involved in the search for the German warships and . In early 1940, ''Calypso'' was sent to Alexandria in the eastern Mediterranean. ''Calypso'' was the first British naval vessel to be sunk by the in the Second World War. Two days after

declared war on Great Britain, ''Calypso'' was on an anti-shipping patrol against Italian ships travelling to Libya when she was struck by a torpedo from the Italian submarine ( (Lieutenant Commander) ) about south of Cape Lithion in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

in the Eastern Mediterranean at 00:59 on 12 June 1940. Thirty nine sailors from ''Calypso'' perished in the sinking.Playfair, Vol. I, pages 109–110. The majority of her survivors were rescued by the destroyer and taken to Alexandria.

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

HMS ''Calypso'' at Uboat.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calypso C-class cruisers Ships built on the River Tyne 1917 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by Italian submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in June 1940