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Honour - 'Scharnhorst' 1940 |
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| Description |
The action took place in the Norwegian Sea at 68º 45'N, 4º 30' E. At the end of the German conquest of Norway, the last British and French embarked to return to the UK and the remaining fighters landed on Glorious, which was escorted by the Destroyers Acasta and Ardent. Despite good flying conditions no air patrols were sent up, and the force was surprised by the German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. The two destroyers immediately engaged the German ships with guns and torpedoes and using smoke tried to cover the retreat of the aircraft carrier. However Glorious was hit many times and soon sank, The German force's main attention then turned to the destroyers. Ardent sank first and the final torpedo from Acasta struck Scharnhorst causing minor damage. But she was then hit and sank. Only 46 out of about 1,500 RN, RAF and Army personnel survived.
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| HM Ships | ||||
| Acasta | Ardent | |||
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This page last edited -
01 April, 2013.
Copyright © Ian M King, except where otherwise indicated. |
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