HMS Saumarez was an S class

S and T class destroyer

The S and T class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were built as two flotillas, known as the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla respectively and they served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II.-Design features:The S class, introduced the CP ...

 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...

, completed on 1 July 1943. As a flotilla leader, her standard displacement was 20 tons heavier than other ships of her class. She continued the tradition of flotilla leaders being named after prominent British seamen, in her case Vice-Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez

James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez

Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez , GCB was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.-Early life:...

 of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Arctic convoys

After working up, the Saumarez was allocated to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet, and shortly after to the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla, working with the Arctic convoys

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...

. She was one of the escorts which sailed from Seyðisfjörður

Seyðisfjörður

Seyðisfjörður is a town and municipality in the Eastfjords of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name.As of January 2011, the town has 668 inhabitants....

, Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 on 23 October, taking with them five Russian minesweepers and six Russian motor launches, to bring back from the Kola Inlet thirteen ships which had been there since the Spring. The convoy (RA 54A) sailed from Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk

Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...

 on 1 November and arrived in United Kingdom ports on 13 and 14 November without loss, although it had been delayed by thick fog. The Saumarez escorted an outgoing Arctic convoy shortly afterwards, which also arrived without loss or damage.

Battle of North Cape

On 22 December convoy RA 55A sailed from Kola, escorted by eight destroyers, including Saumarez, two Canadian destroyers, three corvettes and a minesweeper. The outgoing convoy, JW 55B, had left Loch Ewe

Loch Ewe

Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...

 on 20 December and was expected to reach Bear Island on Christmas Day about the same time as RA 55A. Cruiser cover was provided east of Bear Island by HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast (C35)

HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....

, HMS Sheffield

HMS Sheffield (C24)

HMS Sheffield was one of the Southampton sub class of the Town-class cruisers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She took part in actions against several major German warships. Unlike most Royal Navy ships of her time, her fittings were constructed from stainless steel instead of the...

 and HMS Norfolk

HMS Norfolk (78)

HMS Norfolk was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy; along with her sister ship , she was part of a planned four-ship subclass.She served throughout the Second World War....

, and heavy cover by the battleship 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 the cruiser HMS Jamaica

HMS Jamaica (C44)

HMS Jamaica, a Crown Colony-class cruiser of the Royal Navy, was named after the island of Jamaica, which was a British possession when she was built in the late 1930s. The light cruiser spent almost her entire wartime career on Arctic convoy duties, except for a deployment south for the landings...

.

Early on 26 December the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 signalled that the Scharnhorst

German battleship Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...

 was at sea. She was detected by the cruisers and after some hours trying to evade them and strike at the convoy, headed for home. She was intercepted and hit by the Duke of York and a long chase followed. In the ensuing action

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...

, the Saumarezs guns fired continuously for eleven minutes, followed by torpedo attacks. A shell from the Scharnhorst, which did not explode, passed through the Director Control Tower, killing three men and putting the tower out of action. A near miss also damaged the forced lubrication system. The Duke of York and the cruisers sank the Scharnhorst, three hours after the first sighting. The four destroyers, Saumarez, HMS Savage, HMS Scorpion and HNoMS Stord

HNoMS Stord

HNoMS Stord was an S-class destroyer that served with the Royal Norwegian Navy during and after World War II. She was laid down as HMS Success, but transferred to the Norwegians before completion. She was renamed HNoMS Stord when commissioned into the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy on 26 August 1943...

 had scored at least three hits.

Saumarez steamed to Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

 on one engine and after temporary repairs by the Russians left for the UK. Following a refit, completed in March 1944, she was again part of the escort of a pair of Arctic convoys, JW 58 and RA 58, both of which reached their destinations unscathed. The successful Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

 attack on the German battleship Tirpitz

German battleship Tirpitz

Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...

, which took place on 3 April, was synchronised with the passage of JW 58.

Normandy

In Operation Neptune

Operation Neptune

The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...

, the landings in Normandy in June 1944, HMS Saumarez was Senior Officer's ship of the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla, which gave gun support to Force S in the assault on Ouistreham

Ouistreham

Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department' in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry-harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la...

. The Saumarez and the destroyer HMS Onslaught engaged a convoy of three or four minesweepers and one merchant vessel off St Peter Port

St Peter Port

Saint Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2001 was 16,488. In Guernésiais and in French, historically the official language of Guernsey, the name of the town and its surrounding parish is St Pierre Port. The "port" distinguishes this parish from...

, Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

 on 14 August. The convoy was frequently hit but both destroyers sustained slight damage and casualties.

In September the Saumarez was part of the escort of another Arctic convoy. She was refitted at Newcastle from November to January 1945, prior to joining the 26th Destroyer Flotilla, British East Indies Fleet

British Eastern Fleet

The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...

.

Far East

Early in January 1945, the Saumarez left from the Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 to rendezvous with the carrier HMS Formidable

HMS Formidable (R67)

HMS Formidable was an Illustrious class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy during World War II. She was constructed by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and launched on 17 August 1939...

 and escort her from Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 to Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

. She arrived at Colombo on 8 February and Trincomalee

Trincomalee

Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...

 on 10 March. On 11 March Saumarez took part in a sweep in the Andaman Sea

Andaman Sea

The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....

, with the destroyers HMS Volage

HMS Volage (R41)

HMS Volage was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, commissioned on 26 May 1944, that served in the Arctic and the Indian Oceans during World War II...

 and Rapid

HMS Rapid (H32)

HMS Rapid was an R-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was part of Force 68, serving in the Indian Ocean, and later the Pacific. In one operation she was damaged by fire from a shore battery, with 11 killed and 23 wounded. She was towed to Akyab for...

. They found and destroyed a junk in Stewart Sound, but Rapid and Volage sustained damage and casualties from hits from a coastal gun reported to be 6 inch or larger. On 25 March, a further sweep was made. A Japanese convoy was sighted the next day and engaged. Although the destroyers attacked with gunfire and torpedoes they made few hits and, being low on ammunition, called on two Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 bombers to sink the enemy. One of these sank one of the Japanese auxiliary, Risui with bombs. Volage sank the other auxiliary, Teshio Maru, with gunfire. Both escorts were also sunk. HMS Saumarez was in Force 63 in April, when she bombarded Oleelhoe, Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

.

She was part of the Carrier Force in Operation Bishop, formed to protect the convoys in the seaborne assault on Rangoon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

, and then took part in Operation Dukedom

Operation Dukedom

The Battle of the Malacca Strait, sometimes called the Sinking of the Haguro, and in Japanese sources as the Battle off Penang , was a naval battle that resulted from the British search and destroy operation in May 1945, called Operation Dukedom, that resulted in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser...

, which was mounted to attack a Japanese naval force reported sailing from Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 on 10 May 1945. On this occasion, she was part of the newly constituted Force 61. The Japanese cruiser Haguro

Japanese cruiser Haguro

|-External reference links: -External links:**...

 and destroyer Kamikaze

Japanese destroyer Kamikaze (1922)

was the lead ship of nine Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.-History:Construction of the...

 had left the Malacca Strait

Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca Sultanate that ruled over the archipelago between 1414 to 1511.-Extent:...

 on 14 May and early next day an Avenger

TBF Avenger

The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....

 operating from the escort aircraft carrier

Escort aircraft carrier

The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...

 HMS Emperor sighted them. The Saumarez, Verulam and Vigilant in one division and the Venus and Virago in a second, were diverted to intercept. The destroyers attacked both ships early on 16 May. Haguro, overwhelmed by their torpedoes, went to the bottom at 0209 in a position some forty-five miles southwest of Penang, although she had straddeled Saumarez twice prior. Kamikaze was damaged but managed to escape.

Post-war

HMS Saumarez was refitted at Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 from June to August. Although Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 had formally surrendered on 2 September, the occupation of Western Malaya (Operation Zipper

Operation Zipper

During the Second World War, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it was never fully executed. Some of the proposed landings on Penang went...

) was carried out almost as planned originally. HMS Saumarez was one of the fifteen destroyers screening the operation. The 26th Destroyer Flotilla left the East Indies Headquarters at Colombo on 17 November and arrived in the UK early in December. The Saumarez went to Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 for refit and preparation for service in the Mediterranean

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...

.

Early in March 1946 the Saumarez sailed for the Mediterranean, for service in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla. In June she intercepted a caïque

Caïque

A caïque , is the term for a traditional fishing boat usually found among the waters of the Ionian or Aegean Seas, and also a light skiff used on the Bosporus. It is traditionally a small wooden trading vessel, brightly painted and rigged for sail...

 carrying 382 illegal immigrants bound for Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 and towed the caique to Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

. A boarding party from the Saumarez also arrested SS Hochelaga off Haifa on 31 July, carrying 500 immigrants.
On 26 September she sailed on a Mediterranean cruise with twenty-four other ships. Orders were given for a part of the 1st Cruiser Squadron to pass from South to North of the Corfu

Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

 Strait. On 22 October the Saumarez, preceded by the cruisers HMS Mauritius

HMS Mauritius (C80)

HMS Maurituis, pennant C80, was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was named after Mauritius, which was a British possession when she was built...

 and Leander

HMNZS Leander

HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of a class of eight ships, the Leander class light cruiser and was initially named HMS Leander.- History :...

 followed by the Volage, proceeded through the swept Medri channel. The Saumarez struck a mine

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...

 at 14:53, which caused severe damage and casualties; the efficient damage control

Damage control

Damage control is a term used in the Merchant Marine, maritime industry and navies for the emergency control of situations that may hazard the sinking of a ship...

 parties led by the ship's second-in-command, Teddy Gueritz

Teddy Gueritz

Rear Admiral Edward Findlay "Teddy" Gueritz CB OBE DSC & Bar was a long-serving Royal Navy officer.From D-Day, 6 June 1944, he served as beachmaster on Sword Beach, organising the flow of men and materiel into the beachhead, including 30,000 troops on the first day...

 helped to minimise the casualty numbers. Volage closed her to take her in tow and after some difficulty, managed to pass the tow and began to tow the Saumarez stern first. Despite the fact his jaw had been broken by the explosion, Saumarezs signal officer, John Edmondson

John Edmondson, 2nd Baron Sandford

Commander John Cyril Edmondson, 2nd Baron Sandford, DSC was a decorated Royal Navy officer, Church of England clergyman, conservationist and Conservative politician...

 assisted in securing the tow. At 16:06 however, a mine exploded near the Volage, wrecking the ship forward. She was able to re-connect the tow to the Saumarez, and the two destroyers, both stern-first, reached the Corfu Roads at 03:10 on 23 October. The Saumarez was moved to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, where she remained until September 1950, when she was towed back to the UK and broken up at Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

.