HMS ''Janus'', named after the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...

, was a ''Javelin'' or J-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was ordered from the

Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three pow ...

Limited at

Wallsend-on-Tyne Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

as part of the 1936 Build Programme and laid down on 29 September 1937, launched on 10 November 1938 and commissioned on 5 August 1939.

Service history

North Sea and Mediterranean duties

Off

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

, Norway, on 30 April 1940 the sloop was mistaken for a cruiser and was badly damaged by German

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

dive bombers and had to be sunk by ''Janus''. ''Janus'' served in the North Sea until May 1940 and had participated in over 20 convoy duties in that time. From May 1940 ''Janus'' began Mediterranean duties with the

14th Destroyer Flotilla The14th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from April 1916 to 11 February 1919 and again from 1 June 1940 to January 1944. History World War One The flotilla was first establishe ...

in Alexandria. She participated in the

Battle of Calabria The Battle of Calabria (9 July 1940) known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. Ships of the were opposed by vessels of the Mediterranean Fleet. ...

in July 1940 and the

Battle of Cape Matapan The Battle of Cape Matapan () 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 to 29 March 1941. Cape Matapan is on the so ...

in March 1941, and in the

action off Sfax The Battle of the Tarigo Convoy (sometimes called the Action off Sfax) was a naval battle of the Second World War, part of the Battle of the Mediterranean. It was fought on 16 April 1941, between four Royal Navy destroyers and three Italian dest ...

in April 1941.

Fate

On 23 January 1944 ''Janus'' was struck by one

Fritz X Fritz X was a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Developed alongside the Henschel Hs 293, ''Fritz X'' was one of the first precision guided weapons deployed in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname used both by Allied an ...

guided bomb dropped by a German

He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

and sank off the

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

beachhead in western

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(according to another version, she was sunk by

Henschel Hs 293 The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II Nazi Germany, German Command guidance, radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next y ...

glider bomb or a conventional torpedo – see

article). It took a mere twenty minutes for ''Janus'' to sink. Of her crew only 80 survived, being rescued by and smaller craft. It was recorded that during her last duty ''Janus'' had laid down nearly 500 salvos of 4.7-inch shells in the first two days of the landings in support of allied troops. ''Janus''s badge is still on display at the Selborne dry dock wall.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built by Swan Hunter Ships built on the River Tyne 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 January 1944 Ships sunk by German aircraft Naval magazine explosions {{UK-destroyer-stub