HMS Havock (H43)

HMS "Havock" (H43) was an H-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy laid down by William Denny, Brothers and Company, Limited, of Dumbarton in Scotland on 15 May 1935, launched on 7 July 1936 and commissioned on 18 January 1937.

Shortly after her commission, the destroyer was deployed to the Mediterranean, where she took part of the non-intervention naval patrol. On the night of 31 August 1937, between the Gulf of Valencia and the Baleares, she was attacked with torpedoes by an unidentified submarine. The destroyer launched depth charges on the contact area, but the breakdown of the asdic caused the loss of tracking of the offender. After World War II it was learned that the submarine was the Italian ""Iride"", which sustained some damage. She allegedly lost two men during the incident. [Count Ciano diaries and Valerio Borghese, then commander of the "Iride".]

"Havock" participated in the First Battle of Narvik in April 1940, the Battle of Cape Spada in July 1940, the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and the evacuation of Greece in April 1941. In March 1942, she was heavily damaged during the Second Battle of Sirte, by the Italian Battleship "Littorio" and forced to make for Malta, with the loss of eight men of her complement. "Havock" ran aground off Kelibia in the Strait of Sicily while on passage from Malta to Gibraltar on 6 April 1942 and was wrecked. She was later torpedoed by the Italian submarine "Aradam".

Notes

See HMS "Havock" for other ships of this name.