HMS Icarus (D03)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Built By: | John Brown and Company, Limited, Clydebank, Scotland |
| Laid down: | 9 March 1936 |
| Launched: | 26 November 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 1 May 1937 |
| Paid off: | 29 August 1946 |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| Penant: | D03 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,340 tons (except Inglefield 1456 tons) (standard) 1,980 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 323 ft (98 m) (except Inglefield 337 ft) |
| Beam: | 33 ft |
| Draught: | 12 ft 5 inch (13 ft 4 inch full load) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons geared turbines, 2 shafts, 3 boilers, 34,000 hp (30 MW) |
| Speed: | 36 knots (70 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 145 |
| Armament: | four (Inglefield 5) 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns eight 0.5 inch (13 mm) AA machine guns 10 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, (2 x5) (8 torpedo tubes in ex "Turkish" ships) 45 depth charges. |
| Armour: | |
| Aircraft: | none |
| Source: | Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 |
HMS Icarus (D03) was an I-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy in World War II.
On 29 November 1939, Icarus sighted the German U-boat U-35 between the Shetland Islands and Bergen (Norway), but was unable to launch an effective attack because her sonar (Asdic) was out of commission. Fellow destroyers HMS Kingston and HMS Kashmir were called to the scene, and Icarus departed. HMS Kingston was able to launch a successful depth charge attack, forcing the U-boat to surface and scuttle.
She participated in the Second Battle of Narvik in April 1940.
In early May 1941, the British Admiralty was on the alert that the Bismarck may attempt to break out into the North Atlantic; so Icarus was ordered to Scapa Flow for possible deployment against the Germans. On 22 May, just after midnight, Icarus sailed along with the destroyers Achates, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, and Electra, escorting the Hood and Prince Of Wales to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord, Iceland, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait.
On the evening of 23 May, the weather deteriorated. At 2055 hrs., Admiral Lancelot Holland aboard the Hood signalled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 0215 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mile intervals to search to the north. At about 0535, the German forces were sighted by the Hood, and shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commenced at 0552. At 0601, Hood took a 38 cm (15 inch) shell from Bismarck in the after magazine, which caused a massive explosion, sinking the ship within 2 minutes. Electra and the other destroyers were about 60 miles away at the time.
Upon hearing that the Hood had sunk, Electra raced to the area, arriving about 2 hours after the Hood went down. They were expecting to find many survivors, and rigged scrambling nets and heaving lines, and placed life belts on the deck where they could be quickly thrown in. From the 94 officers and 1321 ratings aboard the Hood, just 3 survivors were found. Electra rescued them, and continued searching. Shortly thereafeter, Icarus and Anthony joined in the search, and the 3 ships searched the area for more survivors. No more were found, only driftwood, debris, and a desk drawer filled with documents. After several hours searching, they left the area.
She participated and in Operation Pedestal, escorting a convoy to Malta in August 1942.
Icarus sank four German U-boats:
- On 5 March 1944 she sank U-774 while in company with HMCS Gatineau 450 miles (720 km) west of Valanta.
- On 6 March 1944 she sank U-744 while in company with the corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle, the Canadian frigate HMCS St. Catharines, corvettes HMCS Fennel and HMCS Chilliwack and destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and HMCS Gatineau in the North Atlantic
- On 21 January 1945 she sank U-1199 while in company with the corvette HMS Mignonette in the English Channel near the Isles of Scilly
- On 22 January 1945 she sank U-1199 off Falmouth.
A long time captain of Icarus, Colin Maud, was the Juno beach master at the D-day landings, in the movie 'The Longest Day' he was played by Kenneth More, complete with bulldog.
Lieutenant-Commander John Simon Kerans, famous for his part in sailing HMS Amethyst, down the Yangtze River, a feat made famous in the movie 'The Yangtze Incident', also served on Icarus as "number one".
Icarus was involved in many important events of World War 2, Dunkirk, Spitzbergen, and numerous Atlantic and Russian convoys.
Icarus was paid off on 29 August 1946, handed over to the British Iron and Steel Corporation on 29 October 1946 and broken up at Troon in Scotland.
See HMS Icarus for other ships of this name.
