HMS Opportune (G80) was an O-class

O and P class destroyer

The O and P class was a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 of 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...

. She was ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company

John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...

, Woolston on 3 September 1939 for the 1st Emergency Flotilla. She was commissioned on 14 August 1942. She was the second Royal Navy ship borne Opportune.

She served throughout the Second World War

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...

, mainly as an escort ship for convoys, and remained with the Royal Navy until the mid 1950s.

Convoy Duty 1942

Enemy action affected Opportune before she was even completed, as German bombing in 1940 severely damaged the shipyard and enemy action delayed the delivery of components. It was for these reasons that her completion was delayed until 1942.

When she was eventually launched, she was with the 17th Destroyer Flotilla with the Home Fleet. During trials, she assisted in escorting convoy PW-202 to Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

.

Her fist real duty was escorting the Arctic convoy

Arctic convoys of World War II

The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...

 PQ-18 to the Russian

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 port at Murmansk

Murmansk Oblast

Murmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the northwestern part of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Murmansk.-Geography:...

. On 20 September, she was required to assist HMS Somali

HMS Somali (F33)

HMS Somali was a Tribal-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II.-History:She was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear....

 which had been torpedoed by the German U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 U-703. Although the stricken ship was already being assisted by HMS Ashanti

HMS Ashanti (F51)

HMS Ashanti was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Following the style of her sister ships she was named for an ethnic group, in this case the Ashanti people of the Gold Coast in West Africa. She served in the Second World War and was broken up in 1949...

, and although destroyers HMS Eskimo

HMS Eskimo (F75)

HMS Eskimo was a Tribal-class destroyer, laid down by the High Walker Yard of Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 5 August 1936...

, HMS Intrepid

HMS Intrepid (D10)

HMS Intrepid was an I-class destroyer that served with Royal Navy during World War II.In World War II, Intrepid attacked and sank the German submarine U-45 south-west of Ireland on 14 October 1939 in company with the destroyers and...

 and the naval trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

 HMS Lord Middleton were also on hand to assist the ship, the gales and rough seas proved too much for her and she sank on 24 September. Opportune helped carry some of Somalis survivors to Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

.

Operation Torch

In October 1942, she escorted Fleet Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham

Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....

 on board HM Cruiser Scylla

HMS Scylla (98)

HMS Scylla was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , with the keel being laid down on 19 April 1939...

 to Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 in preparation for 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...

. In preparation for the landings, she carried out three days of anti-submarine

Anti-submarine weapon

An anti-submarine weapon is any one of a range of devices that are intended to act against a submarine, and its crew, to destroy the vessel or to destroy or reduce its capability as a weapon of war...

 patrols in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. On the day of the invasion itself, she was deployed as the escort for part of Force H

Force H

Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....

 and supported their rôle in the operation.

After ten days, she returned to Home Waters, escorting HMS Duke of York

HMS Duke of York (17)

HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing service during the Second World War.In...

 and HMS Victorious

HMS Victorious (R38)

HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...

 to Scapa Flow. En route, Fairey Swordfish

Fairey Swordfish

The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...

 and Albacore

Fairey Albacore

The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as delivering...

 aircraft from the carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 Victorious attacked the U-boat U-517. It was damaged and forced to surface, upon which its crew were taken prisoner by HMS Opportune. The U-boat later sank, while 52 survivors of the 53-strong crew were taken to Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 for transport to a prisoner-of-war camp

Prisoner-of-war camp

A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...

.

Convoy Duty 1943

She resumed her Arctic convoy escort rôle after arriving at Scapa Flow and continued in this capacity from December 1942 through to March 1943. During this period, she escorted convoy JW-53 through extremely tough weather and earned salvage money when she rescued the stricken merchantman

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 John H. B. Latrobe from a German minefield

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

.

In March, she was assigned to the 5th Support Group for Atlantic convoy defence. Just over a month after being reassigned, on 25 April, she helped sink the U-boat U-203

German submarine U-203

German submarine U-203 was a German Type VIIC submarine U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. Built as werk 632 of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG in Kiel, U-203 served in eleven patrols with the first flotilla and is credited with sinking 21 ships for 94,270...

 with HMS Pathfinder

HMS Pathfinder (G10)

HMS Pathfinder was a P class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War, being damaged while serving in the Far East, and was scrapped after the end of the war....

 and aircraft from HMS Biter

HMS Biter (D97)

HMS Biter was a Royal Navy escort carrier during the Second World War. She was laid down as a merchant ship at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company yard at Chester, Pennsylvania. Launched on 28 December 1939, she was converted to an escort carrier and commissioned in the Royal Navy on 6 May...

. On 12 May, she once again attacked a U-boat, this time U-456 which was never seen again and is presumed to have been sunk. She continued in the Atlantic convoy defence duties as well as fleet duties in the Northwest Approaches for some months. On 14 September, this included escorting the Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 for the Québec Conference

Quebec Conference, 1943

The First Quebec Conference was a highly secret military conference held during World War II between the British, Canadian and United States governments. The conference was held in Quebec City, August 17, 1943 – August 24, 1943. It took place at the Citadelle and at the Château Frontenac. The...

 of 1943.

In October 1943, Opportune was part of Operation Leader, escorting several Royal Navy ships and USS Ranger

USS Ranger (CV-4)

USS Ranger was the first ship of the United States Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. Ranger was a relatively small ship, closer in size and displacement to the first U.S. carrier——than later ships. An island superstructure was not included in the original...

 in attacks on German positions in Bodø

Bodø

is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

Sinking the Scharnhorst

"Gentlemen, I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded to-day"

Admiral Fraser Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Austin Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape GCB, KBE was a senior British admiral during World War II.-Early naval career:Fraser joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet on 15 January 1904... , after his victory in the Battle of North Cape Battle of North Cape The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battlecruiser , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by superior... .

In December, she was once again escorting convoys to the Soviet Union through the long Arctic nights. When, on 25 December, the German battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 Scharnhorst was reported to be hunting convoy JW-55B

Operation Ostfront

Operation Ostfront was the sortie into the Arctic Ocean by the German warship Scharnhorst during World War II. This operation culminated in the sinking of Scharnhorst.-Background:...

, Opportune was deployed to join the battle. She was present at the Battle of North Cape

Battle of North Cape

The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battlecruiser , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by superior...

, when Scharnhorst came under repeated fire from numerous Royal Navy warships. The German ship proved a tough opponent, and although she was out-numbered, out-gunned and blinded by a direct hit to her radar, she managed to elude her pursuers for many hours. Most of the British capital ship

Capital ship

The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...

s had fired all of their torpedoes so the destroyers HMS Opportune, Musketeer

HMS Musketeer (G86)

HMS Musketeer was a M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II.-External links:...

, Virago

HMS Virago (R75)

HMS Virago was an V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F76....

 and Matchless

HMS Matchless (G52)

HMS Matchless was a M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II.-External links:...

 closed in and fired a total of nineteen torpedoes at Scharnhorst, scoring six hits. The ship finally keeled over and sank. The relentlessness of Scharnhorsts fight was noted and respected by the victorious British commanding officers.

Normandy Landings

In the new year, she was once again in Arctic convoy escort duty until March, when she was deployed in counter E-boat operations in preparation for the Normandy Landings, which would take place a few months later. She still escorted Arctic convoys, but she was being prepared for the invasion. And in April, when she was recalled for a boiler clean and minor re-fit, she was permanently assigned to Task Force 27 in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

.

During a disastrous full scale rehearsal

Exercise Tiger

Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, were the code names for a full-scale rehearsal in 1944 for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. During the exercise, an Allied convoy was attacked, resulting in the deaths of 946 American servicemen....

 of the Utah Beach landing

Utah Beach

Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...

 on 28 April, Opportune engaged German E-boats which had sighted and engaged eight American landing craft on their way to the Slapton Sands

Slapton, Devon

Slapton is a village in Devon, England. It is located near the A379 road between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth, and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . In 2001 the population of the civil parish of Slapton was 473...

. The E-boats escaped after deploying a smokescreen, but over 638 US servicemen were killed in their attack. Many casualties were US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 personnel who were not properly trained and had difficulties with the life-jackets

Personal flotation device

A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...

 and other equipment, and drowned whilst awaiting rescue. The disaster nearly caused the D-day itself to be cancelled, as it was thought some ten soldiers with full knowledge of the operation could have been captured by the Germans, it was only the subsequent discovery of their bodies which saved the operation.

The actual landings on 5 June were much less eventful. Opportune patrolled in the eastern stretches of the English Channel, guarding against a German naval attack. She didn't encounter a single hostile boat, although she did engage E-boats in July and August, while supporting operations in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Convoy Duty 1944 & 45

After the successful invasion of Normandy, Opportune was once again deployed to convoy defence in the Arctic and minelaying rôles. She was occasionally deployed with Force 3 in operations off Norway. These duties continued into 1945 and through to the end of the war.

Post-war career

HMS Opportune remained in service after VJ Day

Victory over Japan Day

Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...

 and deployed at Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

 for submarine training and Local Flotilla duties until 1950. She then refitted and joined the Nore Local Flotilla. The ship was placed in Reserve at Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

 in November 1952. Transferred to Portsmouth in July 1953 she went on the Disposal List the next year. After sale to BISCO

British Steel

British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...

 in November 1955 she arrived in tow at 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...

on 25 November to be broken-up by TW Ward.

External links

• HMS Opportune, destroyer
• uboat.net