HMS Boadicea was a built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 that saw service during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 until sunk on 13 June 1944 while supporting the invasion of Normandy.

Construction

Authorised in the 1928 ship building programme Boadicea was laid down at the Hawthorn Leslie & Company Limited  yard at Hebburn-on-Tyne

Hebburn

Hebburn is a small town situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in North East England, sandwiched between the towns of Jarrow and Bill Quay...

 on 11 July 1929, was launched on 23 September 1930, and completed on 7 April 1931.

Service history

Boadicea was commissioned at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 on the 2 June 1931 and joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. Her pre-war service was in the Mediterranean between 1931 and 1936. Following a refit at Portsmouth in 1936 she rejoined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla until the 'B' Class destroyers were replaced with the Tribal Class

Tribal class destroyer (1936)

The Tribal class, or Afridi class, were a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy that saw service in World War II...

.

At the outbreak of the Second World War Boadicea was attached to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla based at Dover during which time her role was the escort of troopships. Her earliest major engagement of the war was in support of the evacuation of the 51st Highland Division from Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 in June 1940. During this action she was extensively damaged and needed to return to Portsmouth for repair. During 1942 and 1943 she served on convoys to Russia and in support of Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

; the invasion of North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

.

Boadicea acted as escort for the following Arctic convoys: PQ-15,QP-12, JW-51-A, JW-53, JW-57, JW-58, RA-53, RA-57, RA-58 and RA-59.

Boadicea was sunk on 13 June 1944 while escorting a convoy of merchant ships in convoy EBC-8 from Milford Haven

Milford Haven

Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...

 in support of the Normandy invasion. She was possibly struck by an Hs 293

Henschel Hs 293

The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German anti-ship guided missile: a radio-controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It was designed by Herbert A. Wagner.- History :...

 air-to-surface missile launched by a German Do 217

Dornier Do 217

The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...

; only 12 of her crew survived. However, official British reports attribute the sinking to a torpedo launched by a Ju 88

Junkers Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

 aircraft which disguised itself in a formation of RAF Beaufighters

Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...

.

Her wreck lies 16 miles (25.7 km) south west of the Isle of Portland

Isle of Portland

The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...

 at 50°28′12"N 02°29′30"W in 53 metres (173.9 ft) of water. The bows of the ship are blown off forward of the engine rooms. The stern section is upright and reasonably intact. The wrecksite is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are...

.

External links

• www.naval-history.net : HMS Boadicea