HMS ''Jervis'', was a J-class destroyer 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 ...

named after Admiral John Jervis (1735–1823). She was laid down by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, at

Hebburn-on-Tyne Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

on 26 August 1937. The ship was launched on 9 September 1938 and commissioned on 8 May 1939, four months before the start 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 ...

. Designed as a

flotilla leader A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The flotil ...

to the J-class destroyers, who were intended to make up the

7th Destroyer Flotilla The 7th Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish ki ...

, ''Jervis'' was the sister ship of, and identical to, , leader to the K class (forming the 8th Flotilla) and similar to of the N class. However, despite an impressive war record (she earned 13 battle honours) she remains virtually unknown compared to her sister, ''Kelly''.

Service history

1939 (Home Waters)

When war broke out in September 1939, ''Jervis'' was under the command of Captain Philip Mack, and was leader of the

(DF) based in the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

. The first six months of hostilities was taken up with sweeps across the North Sea, in "appalling weather conditions" which saw the Flotilla suffer a succession of storm and collision damage. During this time ''Jervis'' captured three blockade runners, one on the second day of the war, and helped search for the merchant ship . In March 1940 ''Jervis'' was involved in a collision with SS ''Tor'', a Swedish freighter, that put her in dock for the next three months for repairs.

1940 (Mediterranean)

During this time Mack, as Captain (D) led the Flotilla from , and in May 1940 sailed with her for the

Mediterranean 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

to take command of the 14th Destroyer Flotilla. ''Jervis pennant number changed to G00 around this time In July, after working-up trials, she joined him in

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 ...

, where he resumed command. For the next two years ''Jervis'' saw action in a constant round of operations; sweeps along the coast, bombarding shore targets for the Army, protecting convoys to Malta, and screening major fleet movements.

1941

In 1941 ''Jervis'' was involved in a number of fleet actions. In March she was at

Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan ( el, Ναυμαχία του Ταινάρου) was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian navy, from 27 t ...

. In the course of the battle she was involved in the destruction of the Italian cruiser which had been crippled by heavy guns in attempting to recover the , which had been stricken by an aerial torpedo. Then ''Jervis'' came alongside ''Pola'' and boarded her, taking off the wounded before, with the destroyer , torpedoing and sinking ''Pola''. In April she led the force that annihilated an Axis convoy at the action off Sfax. In May she was in the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

, where many

ships were lost, including her sister ship ''Kelly''. During the summer ''Jervis'' ran supplies to the beleaguered port of

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

and in December led the destroyers at the

First Battle of Sirte The First Battle of Sirte was fought between the British Royal Navy and the ''Regia Marina'' (Italian Royal Navy) during the Mediterranean campaign of the Second World War. The engagement took place on 17 December 1941, south-east of Malta, ...

. On returning to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, she was damaged in an Italian human torpedo attack which left her in dock for six weeks. The same attack badly damaged the battleships and . Her Chaplain, George Sherlock, was awarded the

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

for "outstanding zeal, patience, and cheerfulness and for setting an example of wholehearted devotion to duty."

1942

Released at the end of January, she resumed operations. In April she joined the Malta Strike Force, although without Mack who left ''Jervis'' in March due to ill-health and was replaced as captain of ''Jervis'', and Captain (D), by A.L Poland. He would command her, and lead the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, for the next year. In March 1942, under Poland's leadership, she again led the destroyers at the

Second Battle of Sirte The Second Battle of Sirte (on 22 March 1942) was a naval engagement in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Gulf of Sidra and southeast of Malta, during the Second World War. The escorting warships of a British convoy to Malta held off a much ...

1943

On the night of 1/2 June, an Italian convoy of two supply ships escorted by a destroyer and a torpedo boat, was intercepted off the Straits of Messina by ''Jervis'' (commanded by Captain A.F Pugsley) and the Greek destroyer '' Queen Olga''. A

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

bomber dropped flares and after a short battle lasting half an hour, the two Allied destroyers sank the . ''Jervis'' also saw action during the landings in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Calabria, Salerno, and

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

, as well as operations in the Adriatic. She supported both the Eighth Army and

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. In the Autumn of 1943 ''Jervis'' was in the Aegean supporting the ill-fated operation against the Dodecanese Islands. On 16/17 October with , sank the submarine chaser at

Kalymnos Kalymnos ( el, Κάλυμνος) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ): ...

1944 (Home Waters)

Having returned to Britain after a re-fit, and no longer Flotilla leader, ''Jervis'' saw action at the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

under Lieutenant Commander Roger Hill, and in the closing stages of the war. She was decommissioned in September 1944, paying off at Chatham prior to a further, major re-fit.

1945 and post-war

Re-commissioned in May 1945, ''Jervis'' saw further service in the Mediterranean, policing the aftermath of World War II. She paid off into the reserve at Chatham in May 1946, and was then laid-up in the

Gareloch The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands. The loch is well used for recreational boating, water sports and ...

where she was used for training of local

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

. Placed on the Disposal List in October 1947, she was one of a number of ships used for explosives trials in

Loch Striven Loch Striven ( gd, Loch Sroigheann) is a sea loch extending off the Firth of Clyde, and forms part of the Cowal peninsula coast, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Loch Striven extends off of the Firth of Clyde just north of the Isle of Bute, where ...

during 1948.

Fate

''Jervis'' was handed over to the British Iron and Steel Corporation for demolition in January 1949 and allocated to Arnott Young, arriving at

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

, on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

for breaking up in September.

"Lucky Jervis"

''Jervis'' had a reputation as a lucky ship (in contrast to her sister, ''Kelly'', who seemed to have more than her share of bad luck). Despite a long and active career, in 5½ years of war and 13 major actions, not one of her crew was lost to enemy action, possibly a unique record. An example of her luck might be seen in her action at Anzio in January 1944. Supporting the landing with gunfire, ''Jervis'' and her sister ship, '' Janus'', were attacked by enemy aircraft using Henschel Hs 293 glider bombs. Both were hit; ''Janus''’ forward magazine exploded, sinking her with the loss of nearly 160 of her crew; ''Jervis''’ bow was blown off, leaving her to be towed stern-first to safety. Astonishingly, not one of her crew was harmed in this incident, and she was able to rescue over 80 of ''Janus''’ crew.

Battle honours

''Jervis'' was awarded 13

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s for her service during the Second World War.HMS ''Jervis''; Battle Honours
at britainsnavy.co.uk; retrieved 8 July 2020 *

1940–44 *

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

1940–42 *

Malta convoys The Malta convoys were Allied supply convoys of the Second World War. The convoys took place during the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre. Malta was a base from which British sea and air forces could attack ships carrying supplies ...

1941–42 * Matapan 1941 *

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...

1941 *

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, ...

1941 * Sirte 1942 *

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

1943 * Salerno 1943 * Aegean 1943 * Adriatic 1944 *

1944 *

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

1944 Only and , who served in the Mediterranean with ''Jervis'' matched this record; it was exceeded by , the Mediterranean Fleet flagship, which saw service in both World Wars.

Notes

References

* *G.G.Connell, ''Mediterranean Maelstrom: HMS Jervis and the 14th Flotilla'' (1987) * * * * * * * * *

External links

HMS ''Jervis'' on naval-history.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jervis (F00) J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne 1938 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom