HMS ''Jersey'' was a 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

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Construction and career

On 25 March 1937, the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

placed orders for the eight destroyers of the J class, including one ship, ''Jersey'' to be built by J. Samuel White and Company at

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on the

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. ''Jersey'' was laid down on 20 September 1937 and launched on 26 September 1938.English 2001, p. 71. ''Jersey'' was commissioned on 28 April 1939. Following commissioning, ''Jersey'' worked up at Portland through to July 1939. On 12 August 1939, ''Jersey'' joined the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, based at

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in the

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.English 2001, p. 78.

7 December 1939

''Jersey'' was torpedoed off Haisborough Sands by the , which was returning unseen from laying a minefield. Ten of the ship's company were killed and extensive damage caused. The ship's hull was repaired at the

Henry Robb Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially as Robbs, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based at Leith Docks in Edinburgh. Robbs built small-to-medium sized vessels, particularly tugs and dredgers. History The company was founded on 1 April ...

shipyard in Leith in around 25 days, but she had to return 24 hours after relaunch when the propeller became entangled in the defence nets around the harbour mouth. She was eventually relaunched safely on 30 December 1939. Following further damage in 1940 ''Jersey'' was towed to the Humber for repairs and did not return to her flotilla until 28 October 1940.

2 May 1941

''Jersey'' struck an Italian aircraft-dropped mine off

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

's Grand Harbour and sank next to the Grand Harbour breakwater. Thirty-five crew members were killed. When ''Jersey'' sank it blocked the entrance to Malta's Grand Harbour, meaning movements into and out of the harbour were impossible for several days. The destroyers , and were left marooned in the harbour until the wreck was cleared. Some of the ships that rescued the surviving crew had to take passage to

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. On 5 May the wreck broke into two sections. It was only after 1946 that the after section was cleared from the entrance, in a series of controlled demolitions carried out between 1946 and 1949. Further salvage and clearance work was done in 1968 to make the harbour safe for large vessels.

About the wreck

* Ship sunk at: Valletta, Malta * Position: 35° 54'N, 14° 30'E * Depth (m.): 19 max. / 15.8 min. * Orientation: 175°

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jersey (F72) J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the Isle of Wight 1938 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in May 1941 Ships sunk by mines Shipwrecks of Malta