Warspite

by Iain Ballantyne

  Midshipman John Corbett’s map of Scapa Flow. Taken from the Midshipman’s journal he kept while aboard HMS Warspite. John Corbett.

  On 9 June Force H sailed out of Scapa Flow, led by HMS Nelson and bound for Gibraltar. With the Nelson was Warspite plus Rodney, Valiant the carrier Indomitable and a large destroyer escort. On the way down to Gibraltar, Force H hit more heavy weather. Midshipman Corbett wrote in his journal:

  Warspite is taking the heavy weather as usual, seas breaking over the forecastle and quarterdeck carrying away ammunition lockers, carley rafts and guard rails. It has been necessary to train A turret on the port beam and close the starboard hatches.

  On 28 June 1943, leave was cancelled and Warspite, in company with Valiant and Formidable, plus escorts, left Gibraltar bound for Algiers at sixteen knots. Arriving on 30 June, she took on some mail and passengers then departed that afternoon for Alexandria. As Cape Bon was rounded Midshipman Corbett saw the wreck of HMS Havock visible above the shallow waters. The destroyer, which had played such an important part in the First Battle of Narvik and at Matapan, was disabled by a 15-inch shell from the Italian battleship Littorio at the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942. Making for Gibraltar dockyard, she ran aground and was later hit by torpedoes from an Italian submarine. As Warspite sailed past in the summer of 1943, Havock’s wreck was a reminder of hard times left behind.

  Force H was to be divided into three Divisions of battleships with attendant carriers, cruisers and destroyers.

  They were:

  Division 1 – HMS Nelson, HMS Rodney and HMS Indomitable.

  Division 2 – HMS Warspite, HMS Valiant and HMS Formidable.

  Division 3 – HMS King George V and HMS Howe (also known as Force Z).

  During the forthcoming invasion of Sicily Division 2 would leave from Alexandria and Division 1 was to sail from Gibraltar. Division 3 was to be held in reserve at Algiers as a mobile reserve, ready at a moment’s notice to sail wherever the Italian fleet threatened to make an appearance.

  The Mediterranean was too quiet for Midshipman Corbett’s liking and he entered the following comment in his journel:

  It is very much of an anticlimax if not disappointing,. It would have been grand to have left astern the wreckage of a few enemy aircraft and E boats. The trouble is I have joined this Navy far too late in the war to do anything.’

  The KGV battleship King George V which, together with sister ship HMS Howe, made up Division 3 (or Force Z) in the British naval armada assembled for the final assault on Italy. Goodman Collection

  It was the quiet before the storm. Warspite entered Alexandria for the first time since the bloody summer of 1941 on 5 July and two days later left for her part in the Sicily invasion.

  Warspite and the rest of Division 2 met up with Division 1 south of Malta in the early hours of 9 July. By daylight the following morning this awesome gathering of firepower was arrayed off the target island. Watching the guns of other ships invest Italian and German positions ashore with severe punishment was not much fun for young Midshipman Corbett, still itching for his baptism of fire. He told his journal:

  We did not see Sicily but saw some flashes as we patrolled up and down some fifty miles off the coast. What was even more infuriating was seeing the cruisers Penelope and Aurora being detached to bombard Catania and other missions later. I thought they would have seen enough of the war already. It’s so discouraging not doing anything after losing so much sleep preparing.

  Midshipman John Corbett’s map of his theatre of war. Taken from the Midshipman’s journal he kept while aboard HMS Warspite. John Corbett

  Two days after the landings at Sicily started, Warspite made the first visit by a Royal Navy battleship to Malta in nearly three years. She received a rousing welcome, the ramparts of the fortress island crowded with cheering people. Sailing from Malta not long after, Warspite took up station ninety miles off Sicily to carry on waiting for the Italian fleet to respond. During this period, the British battle fleet was subjected to repeated attacks from torpedo bombers and submarines. Midshipman Corbett’s journal entry for 16 July 1943 revealed Warspite may have come close to receiving a mortal blow:

  Warspite back at Malta for the first time in three years. Note the 15-inch gun out of alignment which earned the battleship a rebuke. C. Pearson Collection

  Last evening the 1st Division of Force H struck a spot of bother which I believe was aimed at us. At 17.00 we were seen by an enemy aircraft which sent out a sighting report. Soon after we altered course to the east to fill in some time and the 1st Division, coming north from Malta, was attacked soon after midnight by torpedo bombers which I think meant to have us. Indomitable was hit by a torpedo in the boiler room and her speed reduced to eleven knots. As a result Formidable joined the 1st Division and Indomitable returned with us to Malta.

  Once his ship was back at Malta, Captain Packer seized an opportunity to make representations to Admiral Cunningham at his headquarters on the island. He asked the Admiral to allow his old flagship to carry out a bombardment and was granted permission immediately. Both Warspite and Valiant were ordered to leave their anchorage and steam to Sicily to carry out a bombardment of enemy positions in Catania which was proving a tough nut to crack. Unfortunately, when it was time to sail Valiant had to be left behind as she got tangled up in anti-submarine nets.

  Meanwhile Warspite had to be in position to start firing by 6.30p.m. and conclude by around 7.00p.m. She would need to do some hard steaming to make that deadline. Somehow her engineers managed to squeeze twenty-two-and-a-half knots out of the Warspite, which was pretty remarkable for a thirty-year-old ship. However, just when she was making good progress, her old steering problem struck again. Careering off on a mad circle, she nearly collided with one of her destroyer escorts.

  Midshipman Corbett got a good view of it through his X turret periscope:

  We swung to port but the swing was arrested and then, going out of control again, we swung violently to starboard at full speed. The water washed the port side of the quarterdeck and the starboard bilge hull was almost out of the water though the sea was flat calm. We went through 180 degrees in almost our own length. We stopped as the circle was completed and then were under control again. We must have lost twenty minutes all told but, as such action is Warspite’s traditional preliminary to battle, no one was really upset.

  The Warspite’s initial range was 15,000 yards but by 7.00p.m. this was down to 7,000 yards and each turret had fired fourteen rounds. Midshipman Corbett watched the fall of shell:

  It was very hazy and through my periscope I could see little but huge bursts and palls of smoke. A few very small shore batteries made very little effective reply. In X turret we had gun failure. But missed no salvos as the other gun fired each salvo till the jam was cleared and the right hand gun caught up. While this was going on a submarine was seen and some Focke Wulf 190s passed down the starboard side. We missed them astern by miles. The port side, not to be outdone, fired a few shots at some of our own Spitfires, there being no better target available.

  At 7.02p.m. the last shell was fired and Warspite withdrew at top speed. Despite several air alerts, she made it back safely to Malta by morning. Proud as ever of his old flagship, Admiral Cunningham couldn’t resist sending a humorous compliment to Captain Packer. ‘Operation well carried out. There is no doubt that when the old lady lifts her skirts she can run.’1 From that moment on, the Warspite was known throughout the fleet as ‘The Old Lady’.

  The Warspite’s 15-inch guns firing on Catania, July 1943. C. Pearson Collection

  Warspite’s fire mission left a significant part of Catania in ruins, causing what would today be termed ‘collateral damage’. This possibility evoked little sympathy in the Warspite’s crew who remembered the dreadful price paid by the blitzed British naval cities of Portsmouth and Plymouth.

  On 19 July the enemy tried to inflict some payback via a big raid on Malta. Midshipman Corbett noted in his journal:

 
The Warspite’s secondary armament firing during the bombardment of Sicily. C. Pearson Collection.

  On Monday night Malta had its biggest raid for some months. I’ve never in my life seen such a barrage put up. It was not so much the quantity but the way the barrage just went on for so long. The amount of Bofors ammunition expended must have been colossal. I heard a buzz that Nelson had three near misses but do not know for sure. We had a grandstand view without any danger.

  A week later he noted:

  Last Sunday evening excitement was caused during a raid on Valetta when a bomb landed some two cables off on our starboard beam. I thought it sounded much more like a crashing aircraft as it didn’t have the whistle of a bomb and made a crash rather than an explosion. Sparks flew in a manner suggesting a petrol tank exploding....As no wreckage was seen, and a diver could find no trace of it the next day, we must, however, accept it as a bomb. During the attack a Junkers 88 was caught in a searchlight beam. Our starboard 4-inch fired two rounds as he crossed our stern and made good his escape.

  The view from Warspite of another British warship firing an anti-aircraft barrage at night to deter torpedo bombers. C. Pearson Collection.

  After Taranto the Italian fleet avoided using its main naval port, opting for other bases including Spezia (seen here in an RAF reconniassance photograph with major units of the Italian fleet moored alongside). With a mighty Allied naval force gathered for the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943, the Italians preferred to stay in harbour. Taylor Library.

  Warspite’s sailors and marines being briefed on the next phase of the campaign against Italy. Crews of smaller ships were surprised by the battleship’s informal dress code. C. Pearson Collection

  Even the Italian Navy fleetingly threatened to contest the seas. Midshipman Corbett wrote in his journal:

  On Monday evening we were suddenly ordered to be at half an hour’s notice for steam. Next morning it was announced that two Italian battleships had risked coming out but immediately turned around and went back in to port.

  The high temperatures of summer 1943 did not make the waiting easy, with Warspite as unsuitable for the hot climate as ever. But at least the regime aboard the Warspite allowed people to take suitable measures, as Petty Officer Charlie Pearson remembered:

  Nobody wore what you’d call regulation uniform. We just wore shorts. It could be quite amusing when people on smaller ships came alongside the Spite and saw us dressed like that. Being the crew of a battleship, they thought we would be real Pusser’s Navy’s – spit and polish sticklers for regulation uniforms at all times. They would ask ‘what the hell’s going on?’ And we’d smile back at them and say ‘normal rig mate, what’s the matter with you?’ The Warspite was such an easy-going ship sometimes.

  A series of cartoons depicting a sailor’s life ashore in Malta. C. Pearson Collection.

  Noel Coward entertains Warspite’s crew during his visit to the battleship at Malta. C. Pearson Collection.

  Towards the end of July Mussolini was deposed and imprisoned, but soon set free by the Germans who returned him to power while they took full control of the conduct of the war. But this could not save Sicily and, by mid-August, Allied forces had taken the island, the Germans managing to withdraw 100,000 troops across the Straits of Messina to the mainland. While these dramatic events were happening the fleet used Malta with impunity and waited for orders to intervene which never came.

  Any disappointment and frustration young Midshipman Corbett might have felt over the German escape trick was washed away with the excitement of going up for a forty minute flight in a bomber.

  We had a ‘dog fight’ with another Wellington and dive bombed a small island, both incidents being against all the rules. We went out to sea and returned to look at the Warspite. She looked fine from the air. There was no mistaking any of the ships and even the smallest boats were easily seen. It was just like a relief map.

  Midshipman John Corbett’s map of Malta’s harbours. Taken from the Midshipman’s journal he kept while aboard HMS Warspite. John Corbett.

  In mid-August Warspite received an unexpected celebrity visitor. Captain Packer bumped into Noel Coward who was putting on a show ashore for wounded troops evacuated from Sicily. As none of his crew had seen Coward’s film In Which We Serve, Captain Packer sent a midshipman ashore with a note to ask the entertainer if a copy was locally available. Luckily Coward had one with him and this was sent across to the battleship. Shortly afterwards Coward visited Warspite as his plane had been delayed and while aboard gave an impromptu concert.

  Admiral Cunningham comes aboard HMS Warspite in Malta. C. Pearson Collection

  The following morning the ship was visited by Admiral Cunningham. Midshipman Corbett noted in his journal:

  Admiral Cunningham seems very attached to Warspite and takes a great interest in her. When he came aboard no one was excused divisions and the men were in Number 5s and the officers in Number 10s. Admiral Cunningham said he was glad to be back on his old flagship and that it was just over two years since he had last spoken to her ship’s company. He recalled circumstances were very different. He remembered waking up one morning, in May 1941, at the time of Crete, and having in his fleet only one battleship, one cruiser and three destroyers that were not damaged.

  Admiral Cunningham addresses Warspite’s sailors. C. Pearson Collection

  The Admiral told the crew he expected Italy would be out of the war by Christmas and, after Germany’s defeat, there would be Japan to finish off. Shortly afterwards it was announced that, between May and July, ninety enemy submarines had been destroyed. This was the turn of the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic, with victory for the Royal Navy and its allies assured.

  On 22 August the journal of Midshipman Corbett reported:

  A court martial was held on board the Valiant on Thursday. A rating was charged with cowardice in the face of the enemy. It appears he was a survivor from Mountbatten’s destroyer Kelly which was sunk off Crete in May 1941. His experiences then, when he was washed off his anti-aircraft gun position as the ship rolled over and sank, affected him. He refused to close up for action at his anti-aircraft gun on the cruiser HMS Uganda during a recent air attack. He eventually lost all badges, was dismissed and given a year in prison. It shows the hardness of war. Cowardice in British ships is never likely to be a serious problem and the safest place is in fact on the upper deck at a gun. The case deserves sympathy rather than punishment. However, there can be no exceptions to the rules or people might start trying to abuse them to get a soft job ashore or even out of the Navy, leaving the rest of us to fight on. So we have to be hard on the few unfortunates. It is all very different from a sailor on this ship who was recently given cells for thieving from a shipmate, a despicable crime. He escaped and jumped ship. Swimming ashore, he claimed to be a Merchant Navy seaman who had missed his ship. The authorities were naturally suspicious and caught him out during questioning. He was brought back aboard and has now been given a well deserved ninety days for desertion.

  Just under two weeks later the Allies mounted their invasion of the Italian mainland. On 2 September Warspite and Valiant sailed through the Straits of Messina to carry out a bombardment of enemy fortifications south of Reggio as part of softening up for the assault. An encounter with some fishing boats provided amusement for Ordnance Artificers working on the upper deck, including Petty Officer Charlie Pearson.

  We passed all these Italian fishermen who couldn’t have been frightened at all because they waved and smiled up at the Warspite as she passed. We laughed because we thought: ‘It’s no good you smiling and waving because we’re going to blow up your country’.

  Later, together with some of his officers Captain Packer flew from Malta to Reggio to see the damage the Warspite’s guns had inflicted. They found a moonscape of massive shell craters.

  A second landing on the mainland was to be carried out at Salerno in the Bay of Naples and, on 7 September, Warspite and Force H moved into position
to carry out bombardment of German positions above the invasion beaches. Over the next two days and nights German aircraft made a determined effort to torpedo ships of the bombardment force and Warspite came close to being hit. Captain Packer wrote: ‘The moonlight is a gift for determined aircraft. They attack up moon. They can see us and we can’t see them.’2

  Through a barrage of pom-poms, Oerlikons, 4-inch and 6-inch guns Captain Packer somehow heard a low-flying aircraft which he sensed was a maximum threat.

  Suddenly there was a great shape down-moon about 100ft up off the sea. Things happen terribly quickly – fractions of seconds are minutes. I saw this Ju88 drop his torpedo and I saw it splash and down the voice-pipe to the quartermaster I roared ‘Port 35!’3

  Petty Officer Charles Pearson. C. Pearson Collection

  Able Seaman Peter Finnigan was also on the bridge and leapt out of his skin:

  Almost to my disbelief I saw a torpedo heading straight for us. I roared: ‘Torpedo off the port bow!’

  Captain Packer didn’t rate the Warspite’s chances of escaping unhurt: