HMS ''Hebe'' was one of 21 s built for 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 ...

in the 1930s. Commissioned in 1936, ''Hebe'' served during World War II, notably taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and then serving in the Mediterranean, carrying out minesweeping operations from

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 ...

. After taking part in several operations, including Operations Harpoon and

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. I ...

, and the invasion of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisi ...

, ''Hebe'' was sunk by a mine off Bari in November 1943, with the loss of 37 of the vessel's crew.

Design and description

The ''Halcyon'' class was designed as a replacement for the preceding Hunt class and varied in size and propulsion. ''Hebe'' displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. The ship had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a beam of and a draught of . The ship's complement consisted of 80 officers and ratings.Chesneau, p. 63 She was powered by two

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . ''Hebe'' carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at .Lenton, p. 252 ''Hebe'' was armed with two QF 4-inch (10.2 cm) anti-aircraft guns. She was also equipped with eight

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

s. Later in her career, the rear 4-inch gun mount was removed as were most of the .303 machine guns, while one quadruple mount for Vickers .50 machine guns was added as were up to four single or twin mounts for

20 mm Oerlikon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

antiaircraft guns. For anti-submarine escort, her minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40 depth charges.

Construction and career

''Hebe'' was built at the Devonport Dockyard, being laid down on laid down on 27 April 1936. She was launched on 28 October 1936 and she was commissioned in 1937. Her pennant number was N 24, later J 24. The ship served during the evacuation of Dunkirk, where she rescued 365 officers and men, and sent a gig to rescue Lord Gort on 29 May 1940. She later saw service in the Mediterranean Sea based at

as part of 14th/17th Minesweeper Flotilla. She participated in Operation Harpoon (where she was hit and extensively damaged by a very long range 152 mm shell shot fired by the Italian cruiser ) According to post-battle reports from both sides, ''Raimondo Montecuccoli'' scored a hit on ''Hebe'' at "''approx. 26,000 yards''". Fires erupted aboard ''Hebe'', which received extensive splinter damage. Electrical cables to sweep magnetic and acoustic mines, low power wires, steering gear, echo sounding gear and voice pipes were broken, the Kelvin sounding machine and the Commanding Officer's Cabin damaged, while a whaler was left unseaworthy. ''Hebe'' also participated in Operation Torch, and the invasion of

. She was sunk by a mine off Bari on 22 November 1943. Thirty-seven men from her complement were lost with the ship.

References

Bibliography

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External links

HMS Hebe J 24

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebe (J24) Halcyon-class minesweepers Ships built in Plymouth, Devon 1936 ships World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in November 1943 Ships sunk by mines