HMS Jackal (F22)

HMS ''Jackal'' was a J-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Completed in 1939, ''Jackal'' served in the Norwegian campaign and the Dunkirk evacuation before being deployed to the Mediterranean in 1941. ''Jackal'' took part in the Battle of Crete, and was scuttled after being heavily damaged by German bombers on 12 May 1942.

Construction and design

HMS ''Jackal'' was ordered, along with the rest of the J class, on 25 May 1937,Whitley 2000, p. 118. and was laid down by John Brown and Company, Limited, at Clydebank in Scotland on 24 September 1937, launched on 25 October 1938 and commissioned on 13 April 1939,Whitley 2000, p. 117. the first of the J class to be completed.

As completed, ''Jackal'' had a main gun armament of six QF Mark XII guns in three twin mountings, two forward and one aft. These guns could only elevate to an angle of 40 degrees, and so were of limited use in the anti-aircraft role, while the aft mount was arranged so that it could fire forwards over the ship's superstructure to maximise the forward firing firepower, but was therefore incapable of firing directly aft. A short range anti-aircraft armament of a four-barrelled 2 pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft mount and eight .50 in machine guns in two quadruple mounts was fitted, while torpedo armament consisted of ten torpedo tubes in two quintuple mounts.Whitley 2000, p. 117–118.

In an attempt to strengthen its anti-aircraft armament, one of ''Jackal''s banks of torpedo tubes was removed in favour of a single 4 inch Mk V anti-aircraft gun, while four Oerlikon 20 mm cannon replaced the .50 in machine guns.

Operational history

Home Fleet

After commissioning and workup, ''Jackal'' joined the 7th Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the 7th Flotilla moved to the Humber,English 2001, p. 72. Duties included carrying out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort missions in the North Sea, English Channel and the Western Approaches. On 6 September 1939, ''Jackal'' and sister ships and escorted the Norwegian steamer SS ''Batavia'', carrying the staff of the British embassy in Berlin across the North Sea from Rotterdam to the Tongue lightship in the Thames estuary. ''Jackal'' collided with ''Janus'' at Kirkwall in Orkney on 14 October 1939, and after repair operated off the east coast of Britain for the next few months. On 28 February 1940, ''Jackal'' was badly damaged in a collision with the Swedish merchant ship ''Storfors'' (which was sunk), and was under repair at Blyth Shipbuilding Company, Northumberland until April 1940.

When repaired, ''Jackal'' was deployed in support of Allied forces in the Norwegian campaign, escorting troopships and carrying out shore bombardments, before being transferred to Harwich, as part of the Nore Command, carrying out convoy escort and patrol operations. In July 1940, ''Jackal'' took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, patrolling to protect the evacuation ships. Following Dunkirk, ''Jackal'' returned to the routine of convoy escort and patrols. On 11 October ''Jackal'', together with the battleship and the destroyers , , , , and , shelled Cherbourg harbour.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 38. On 29 November 1940, ''Jackal'', ''Javelin'', ''Jupiter'', and ''Kashmir'' were deployed to try to intercept a sortie by the German destroyers ''Karl Galster'', ''Hans Lody'' and ''Richard Beitzen'' that resulted in ''Jackal''s sister ship ''Javelin'', commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, being torpedoed and badly damaged.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 44.

Mediterranean Fleet

In April 1941, ''Jackal'' was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet. In May 1941 ''Jackal'' formed part of the escort for Operation Tiger, a convoy carrying tanks from Gibraltar to Alexandria, before being detached to shell Benghazi together with , ''Kelvin'', ''Kashmir'' and ''Kipling'' on the night of 10/11 May,Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, pp. 61–62. with ''Jackal'' being near missed (at a distance of ) by a bomb that failed to explode on 11 May. On 20 May, Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete, and ''Jackal'' sailed the next day for the region to intercept German attempts to carry out landings by sea. On 23 May, ''Jackal'', ''Kelly'', ''Kelvin'', ''Kashmir'' and ''Kipling'' were deployed to search for and attack German invasion forces, but were attacked by German dive bombers, with ''Kelly'' and ''Kashmir'' being sunk. ''Jackal'' evacuated troops from Heraklion and Sphakia on 28 and 31 May, with Allied forces on Crete surrendering on 1 July.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, pp. 64–65.

''Jackal'' was next deployed in support of Operation Exporter, the Allied invasion of Vichy French controlled Syria and Lebanon. On 9 June, ''Jackal'' and ''Janus'' engaged the Vichy French destroyers and when the French ships attacked Australian ground forces. Both ''Jackal'' and ''Janus'' were hit by shells from the French ships, with ''Janus'' sustaining serious damage although ''Jackal'' sustained no casualties, before the French ships retired to port.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, pp. 66–67. On 4 July ''Jackal'' took part in bombardment operations off the coast of Syria.English 2001, p. 73

In August 1941, the Royal Navy was tasked with the replacement of Australian and Indian troops in besieged Tobruk with fresh troops, with the operation being carried out on moonless nights by destroyers and fast minelayers. On the evening of 21 August, ''Jackal'', and were carrying out a run when their fighter cover of Curtiss Tomahawks of No. 2 Squadron SAAF and Hawker Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron SAAF were attacked by German Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, with one of each side's aircraft being shot down and the pilot of the shot down Tomahawk being picked up by one of the destroyers. ''Jackal'' formed part of the escort of the battleship when the torpedoed and sank ''Barham'' on 25 November 1941, with ''Jackal'' helping to rescue survivors and unsuccessfully attempting to attack ''U-331''.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 101. On 1 December 1941, ''Jackal'', , ''Jaguar'' and ''Kipling'' were ordered to intercept three Italian destroyers that were reported to be off Derna, Libya. The British destroyers failed to locate the Italian ships, and were attacked by three Italian SM.79 torpedo bombers. ''Jackal'' was hit on the stern by a torpedo, and was badly damaged, with her steering gear wrecked and her judder jammed. Two of the torpedo bombers were damaged by defensive fire from the destroyers, with one having to force land.Whitley 2000, p. 120. and was under repair at Alexandria until April 1942.

Loss

On 10 May 1942, the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of ''Jackal'', ''Jervis'', ''Kipling'' and set out from Alexandria to intercept an Italian convoy sailing from Italy to Benghazi.Smith 1971, pp. 155–156. The flotilla was sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft on the afternoon of 11 May, and in accordance with orders, as surprise had been lost, the destroyer flotilla abandoned the attack and reversed course. A first wave of German bombers, eight Junkers Ju 88s of I/Lehrgeschwader 1 (I/LG 1) based at Heraklion on Crete, arrived at about 16:31 hrs, sinking HMS ''Lively'' with 3 direct hits.Smith 1971, p. 159. A second wave of nine Ju 88s and four Heinkel He 111s of II/LG 1 from Eleusis, Greece, attacked between 18:09 and 18:33, but caused no damage. A third wave, consisting of ten Ju 88s from I/LG 1, attacked at about 20:00 hrs. ''Kipling'' was quickly sunk by the attacks,Smith 1971, p. 161. while ''Jackal'' was severely damaged by the bomber flown by Gerhard Brenner,Schumann 2007, p. 35. with one direct hit and three near misses. ''Jackal'' was taken under tow by ''Jervis'', but was suffering from an extensive fire and progressive flooding, and the ship was abandoned on the morning of 12 May and scuttled by ''Jervis'' by torpedoing. Nine officers and men from ''Jackal'' were killed, while total losses from the three destroyers were 77 killed.Smith 1971, p. 163.

Notes

References

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External links

HMS Jackal F22:The Wreck

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackal (1938)
J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
1938 ships
World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
Destroyers sunk by aircraft
Maritime incidents in December 1941
Maritime incidents in May 1942
Ships sunk by German aircraft