The War Illustrated, Volume 10, No. 233, Page 74, May 24, 1946.

Motto: “Bravely in Action.”

This destroyer of 1,340 tons was launched on the Clyde in 1936. As a unit of the British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla commanded by Capt. B. A. W. Warburton-Lee, V.C., she took part in the first Battle of Narvik on April 10, 1940, when she was severely damaged. Again damaged when she rammed and sank an Italian submarine off Gibraltar in November 1940, the Hotspur later took part in escorting convoys to Malta, and was present at the Battle of Matapan (March 28, 1941( and at the bombardment of Tripoli (April 21, 1941). During the evacuation of Greece and the operations around Crete in April-May 1941 she was repeatedly in action against enemy aircraft.

In the two following months she was engaged with Vichy French destroyers off the Syrian coast, and took part in various supply runs to Tobruk during the latter half of 1941. When the battleship H.M.S. Barham was torpedoed on November 25 of that year, the Hotspur rescued some if the survivors. From February 1943 to March 1944 she was on Atlantic convoy duty, and three months later was one of a group of destroyers screening the Allied invasion forces in the Channel. In June, also, the Hotspur took part with H.M.S. Fame in the destruction of a U-boat. Seldom has such a notable record of service been equalled.

May1946

His Majesty's Ships - H.M.S. Exeter

Motto: “Ever Faithful.” Launched at Devonport in 1929, H.M.S. Exeter of 8,390 tons, mounted six 8-in. guns as her main armament, and was thus the most powerful of the three British cruisers under C

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Jun1946

His Majesty's Ships - H.M.S. Furious

Motto: “Fury Supplies Weapons.” Though she is now due for scrapping, the name of H.M.S. Furious, an aircraft carrier of 22,450 tons, will always be celebrated in the history of naval aviation, as i

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