HMS Spartan was a Dido-class
light cruiser of the Bellona subgroup of the Royal Navy. She was a modified
Dido design with only four turrets but improved anti-aircraft armament - also
known as Dido Group 2.
Construction and Commissioning
Spartan was built by
Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom, with her keel being
laid down on 21 December 1939. She was launched on 27 August 1942, commissioned
on 12 July 1943 and completed on 10 August 1943.
History
Commissioned with a Devonport
crew under the command of Captain P.V. McLaughlin, Royal Navy, Spartan was
originally intended for service with the Eastern Fleet, but after a couple of
months with the Home Fleet, spent mainly working-up at Scapa Flow, on 17 October
1943 she left Plymouth Sound for the Mediterranean, sailing by way of Gibraltar
and Algiers, she arrived at Malta on 28 October 1943 to be temporarily attached
to the Mediterranean Fleet. She went on to Taranto to join the 15th Cruiser
Squadron on 8 November.
On the night of 18–19 January
1944 Spartan carried out a diversionary bombardment in the Terracina area,
and—with the cruiser Orion and four destroyers—provided useful supporting fire
during the Garigliano River Operations. There was only minor opposition from
shore batteries, and during the bombardment Spartan alone fired 900 rounds.
Operation Shingle—the landing
of troops at Anzio—began on 22 January 1944, and Orion and Spartan were
detailed to provide gun support. There was little opposition, and Spartan
returned to Naples to remain available at short notice.
On 27 January she was ordered
to report to CTF 81 for anti-aircraft protection duties off Anzio. At sunset on
29 January the Luftwaffe began a glide bomb attack on the ships in Anzio Bay.
At the time of the attack Spartan was anchored. Smoke had been ordered in the
anchorage but was not fully effective owing to the short time it was in
operation and the strong breeze. Spartan was making smoke from stem to stern
but was not herself covered.
About 18 aircraft approached
from the north and circling over land, delivered a beam attack against the
ships that were silhouetted against the afterglow. Due to the timing of the
attack the aircraft were seen only by very few, and radar was ineffective owing
to land echoes.
By the time the warning had
been received and the ships had opened fire in the general direction of the
attack, six bombs were already approaching the anchorage, most of them falling
into the water. But at about 18:00 a radio-controlled Henschel Hs 293 glide
bomb hit Spartan just aft of the after funnel and detonated high up in the
compartments abreast the port side of the after boiler room, blowing a large
hole in the upper deck.
The main mast collapsed and
boiler rooms were flooded. Steam and electrical power failed, a serious fire
developed and the ship heeled over to port. About an hour after being hit,
Spartan had to be abandoned, and 10 minutes later she settled on her beam ends
in about 25–30 ft (7.6–9.1 m) of water.
Five officers and 41 ratings
were posted killed or missing presumed killed, and 42 ratings were wounded.
Bibliography
Campbell, N.J.M. (1980).
"Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's
Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85.
Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben
& Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all
Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th
revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.
Friedman, Norman (2010).
British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.
Lenton, H. T. (1998). British
& Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute
Press.
Raven, Alan & Roberts,
John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute
Press.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).
Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two
(Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
Whitley, M. J. (1995).
Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell.
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British light cruiser HMS Spartan newly completed off Barrow-in-Furness, UK. [Imperial War Museum FL3094]
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| The landing at Anzio, 22 January 1944. HMS Spartan bombarding enemy shore positions as Allied landing craft close in on the beaches. The cruiser was disabled and abandoned after a direct hit from a German radio-controlled gliding bomb (Henschel HS 293) off Anzio on 27 January 1944. |
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Crest of HMS Spartan.
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HMS Spartan.
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The British cruiser HMS Spartan, 11 August 1943, Greenock. [Imperial War Museum A18722]
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| The British cruiser HMS Spartan, 11 August 1943, Greenock. [Imperial War Museum A18723] |
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| The British cruiser HMS Spartan, 11 August 1943, Greenock. [Imperial War Museum A18724] |
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| The British cruiser HMS Spartan, 11 August 1943, Greenock. [Imperial War Museum A18722] |
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| The British cruiser HMS Spartan, 11 August 1943, Greenock. [Imperial War Museum A18725] |
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Captain P V McLaughlin and Commander G W M Ambrose of HMS Spartan. [Imperial War Museum A18726]
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| Captain P V McLaughlin and Commander G W M Ambrose of HMS Spartan. [Imperial War Museum A18727] |
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HMS Spartan passing astern of HMS Orion at Anzio the week before her loss.
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