HMS Eclipse (H08)

HMS ''Eclipse'' was an E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Atlantic, Arctic, and Mediterranean theatres during World War II, until sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on 24 October 1943.

Description

The E-class ships were slightly improved versions of the preceding D class. They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . ''Eclipse'' carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings.Lenton, p. 156

The ships mounted four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The E class was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes. One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.

Construction and career

''Eclipse'', the eighth ship of that name to serve with the Royal Navy,Colledge, p. 110 was ordered 1 November 1932, from Denny under the 1931 Naval Programme. She was laid down on 22 March 1933 at their Dumbarton dockyard, and launched on 12 April 1934. The ship was commissioned on 29 November 1934, at a total cost of £246, 664, excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament.

Assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet with her sister ships, ''Eclipse'' served around the British Isles for the next several months, departing Plymouth on 31 August 1935 for the Mediterranean Fleet with most of the rest of the flotilla during the Abyssinia Crisis. The destroyer was based at Haifa from 8 September to 3 October, Alexandria from 4 October to 5 January 1936, and at several bases in the Eastern Mediterranean until her departure from the region in March. She was refitted from 20 March to 30 April at Devonport after returning to the British Isles.

Operation Menace

In autumn 1940, ''Eclipse'' was deployed as part of the protective screen for troopships sailing to West Africa in Operation Menace (for proposed landings at Dakar, later abandoned). She returned home to join the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla after repairs – first at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and subsequently at Gibraltar. In this period, one member of her crew was Charles Causley, the Cornish poet and broadcaster, who served as a Coder. He subsequently published two poems about the ship and this voyage: 'HMS ''Eclipse'' Approaches Freetown'; and 'Immunity', which recounts an inoculation session, and then anticipates the ship's loss later in the war.

From 12 April 1941 ''Eclipse'' was refitted at Devonport Dockyard, sailing in early June to rejoin the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla. On 25 June she was deployed to protect the ships of the 1st Minelaying Squadron during a minelay in the Northern Barrage, replacing the destroyer , which had been damaged in a collision with the cruiser . At the end of July she was part of the destroyer screen of Force P—the carriers and , and the cruisers and —during the raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo (Operation EF).

Operation Gauntlet

In mid-August ''Eclipse'' and five other destroyers were deployed as the screen for the cruisers and , as they escorted the troopship and the auxiliary tanker to Spitsbergen in Operation Gauntlet. Canadian troops landed to destroy mining equipment and two radio stations, while Norwegian and Russian civilians were evacuated.

Operation Gearbox

''Eclipse'' remained on screening duty from June to August, transferring to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in July. In September she was deployed with the destroyers , , and as the screen for the cruisers and to establish a refuelling facility at Lowe Sound, Spitsbergen, and re-supply the garrison there ( Operation Gearbox).

She then refitted at a shipyard on the Humber before rejoining the Flotilla at Scapa Flow on 20 November.

Convoy HX 231

In April 1043 ''Eclipse'' was one of the escorts of Convoy HX 231, which was attacked by 11 U-boats from four flotillas. ''Eclipse'' rescued 16 survivors from the Dutch cargo ship on 9 April, and landed them at Reykjavík the next day.

Sinking of ''Gaetano Donizetti''

The Italian of 3,428 tons, had been seized by the Germans to bring arms to Rhodes. The Germans stowed some 1,600 prisoners in the cargo hold. ''Gaetano Donizetti'' set sail on 22 September 1943 . The vessel sailed along the east coast of Rhodes, and headed south-west, passing Lindos to the south. The Italian ship was escorted by the German torpedo boat under ''Oberleutnant'' Jobst Hahndorff. This was the former French torpedo boat ''La Pomone'' and later the Italian ''FR 42''.

Around 01:10 that night (on 23 September), the convoy was detected by ''Eclipse'' under Commander E. Mack, who immediately opened fire. ''Gaetano Donizetti'' sank in seconds, taking with her the entire crew and all the Italian prisoners of war and German guards and crew. ''TA10'' was heavily damaged and later towed back to Rhodes, where it was scuttled a few days later.

Loss

On 24 October 1943 ''Eclipse'' hit a mine east off Kalymnos in position . She broke in two and sank within five minutes with the loss of 119 of the ship's company and 134 soldiers (from A Company, 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)).

References

Bibliography

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External links

HMS ''Eclipse'' – A Survivors Story

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eclipse (H08)
E and F-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
1934 ships
World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
World War II shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea
Maritime incidents in October 1943
Ships sunk by mines