Loss of HMS Glorious - 112 Royal Marines Lost

On the 8th June 1940, whilst on passage from Norway the British aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and her two destroyer escorts, HMS Ardent and Acasta were sunk by the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

1,519 British and Maltese sailors, marines and airmen died it would be the Royal Navy’s worst loss of WWII.

HMS Glorious at Anchor during WW1 IWM Q 18130

HMS Glorious was the second of the three Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Glorious was paid off after the war, but was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier during the late 1920s. She could carry 30 per cent more aircraft than her half-sisterFurious which had a similar tonnage. After re-commissioning in 1930, she spent most of her career operating in the Mediterranean Sea.

HMS Glorious at anchor in Plymouth Sound 1935 - IWM FL 22991

After the start of the Second World War in 1939, Glorious spent the rest of the year hunting for the commerce-raiding German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean.

She was recalled home in April 1940 to support operations and to provide air cover for British forces landing in Norway.

HMS Glorious photographed 7th June 1940, the day before she was sunk from the deck of HMS Ark Royal; the destroyer with her is HMS Diana

In early June, it was decided to evacuate all Allied forces from Norway. With the Dunkirk debacle unfolding at the same time, some 18,000 British servicemen, along with all their equipment, needed to be brought back to Britain for home defence.

The evacuation, codenamed Operation Alphabet, began on 4th June. Together with Ark Royal, Glorious took up station off Narvik on 2nd June, carrying a reduced number of her own aircraft to allow for the embarkation of the RAF Gladiators and Hurricanes. Indeed, ten Gladiators of No. 263 Squadron were flown aboard from their base at Bardufoss on 7th June.

The Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron, flown in just days earlier, were still stranded ashore since there was no time to load them aboard with cranes, nor could the aircraft carriers risk docking. Since the Hurricanes did not have the range to reach Scotland, it seemed that the best course of action was to burn them to deny them to the Germans. Instead, it was decided to attempt, for the first time ever, to land high-performance aircraft on a carrier without the aid of arrester gear.

HMS Glorious probably Hurricanes of 46 Squadron on the flight deck [https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=343]

By placing sandbags in the tails of the Hurricanes and slightly deflating their tyres, it was hoped that they would be slowed down enough to stop them from overshooting the flight deck.

Glorious was chosen for the task due to her wider lifts, which would allow the fixed-winged Hurricanes to be stowed in the hangars. Early on 8th June, all the Hurricanes were successfully landed - a remarkable feat considering the circumstances.

Shortly after the last Hurricane had landed, Glorious was granted permission to sail for Scapa Flow with just two escorting destroyers - HMS Ardent, commanded by Lieutenant Commander John F. Barker DSC, and HMS Acasta, under the command of Commander Charles E. Glasfurd. Taking the decision to sail independently of the main convoy.

HMS Acasta

Unknown to the British, the German Navy had launched Operation Juno: the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four destroyers were ordered to attack the British base at Harstad and support the German advance towards Narvik. Whilst preparing to attack on 7 June, the German commander realized the British were evacuating Norway and instead of attacking Harstad, he choose to intercept the evacuation convoys on 8 June.

The German battleships Scharnhorst (left) and Gneisenau (right), photographed in 1939 - U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command (NH 97537)

During the morning of 8 June some ships were intercepted but no convoy was found. The German force then split up. Admiral Hipper and the four destroyers were sent to Trondheim to refuel and then provide artillery support for the German force (Gruppe Feuerstein) advancing to Narvik.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continued to search for convoys in the Norwegian Sea. At 15:45 a lookout at the highest platform on Scharnhorst sighted a dust cloud, and then the mast of Glorious at a distance of 46 km (29 mi). The German battleships gave chase immediately and at 16:10 the two escorting destroyers, Acasta and Ardent were detected as well.

HMS Ardent

The British spotted the German ships shortly after 16:00 and Ardent was dispatched to investigate. Glorious did not alter course or increase speed. Five Swordfish were ordered to the flight deck and Action Stations were ordered 16:20. No combat air patrol was being flown, no aircraft were ready on the deck for quick take-off and there was no lookout in Glorious's crow's nest.

Photo from a crew member of Scharnhorst [https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=343]

Scharnhorst opened fire on Ardent at 16:27 at a range of 16,000 yards (15 km), causing the destroyer to withdraw, firing torpedoes and making a smoke screen. Ardent scored one hit with her 4.7-inch guns on Scharnhorst but was hit several times by the German ships' secondary armament and sank at 17:25.

Scharnhorst firing on Glorious, 8 June 1940

Scharnhorst switched her fire to Glorious at 16:32 and scored her first hit six minutes later on her third salvo, at a range of 26,000 yards (24,000 m), (or 15 miles), when one 28.3-centimetre (11.1 in) hit the forward flight deck and burst in the upper hangar, starting a large fire.

This hit destroyed two Swordfish being prepared for flight and the hole in the flight deck prevented any other aircraft from taking off.

Splinters penetrated a boiler casing and caused a temporary drop in steam pressure. At 16:58 a second shell hit the homing beacon above the bridge and killed or wounded the captain and most of the personnel stationed there. Ardent's smokescreen became effective enough to impair the visibility of the Germans from about 16:58 to 17:20 so they ceased fire on Glorious.

HMS Glorious listing to Stbd. and beginning to sink

Glorious was hit again in the centre engine room at 17:20 and this caused her to lose speed and commence a slow circle to port. She also developed a list to starboard. The German ships closed to within 16,000 yards and continued to fire at her until 17:40. Glorious sank at 18:10, approximately at 68°38′N 03°50′E, with 43 survivors.

As the German ships approached Glorious, Acasta, which had been trying to maintain the smokescreen, broke through her own smoke and fired two volleys of torpedoes at Scharnhorst. One of these hit the battleship at 17:34 abreast her rear turret and badly damaged her.

Acasta also managed one hit from her 4.7-inch guns on Scharnhorst, but was riddled by German gunfire and sank at around 18:20.

Survivors estimated that about 900 men abandoned Glorious.

HMS Glorious 8th June 1940

With Scharnhorst damaged by the torpedo hit and unaware that Allied ships were not in contact with Glorious the German force withdrew and did not try to pick up survivors. The Royal Navy meanwhile, knew nothing of the sinking until it was announced on German radio.

The Norwegian ship Borgund, on passage to the Faroe Islands, arrived late on 10 June and picked up survivors, eventually delivering 37 alive to Tórshavn of whom two later died. Another Norwegian ship, Svalbard II, also making for the Faeroes, picked up five survivors but was sighted by a German aircraft and forced to return to Norway, where the four still alive became prisoners of war for the next five years. Another survivor from Glorious was rescued by a German seaplane.

Therefore, the total of survivors was 40, including one each from Acasta and Ardent.

The total killed or missing was 1,207 from Glorious, 160 from Acasta and 152 from Ardent, a total of 1,519.

112 Royal Marines including bandsmen and pilots are listed as missing presumed drowned

Research the names here: Royal Marines Roll of Honour Database

Related Royal Marines 'Dits'

1. Landings at Namsos - Royal Marines first ashore in Norway 

2. RM Fortress Unit - Norway 1940 

3. "Blondie" Hasler - Rearguard at Narvik

4. Bombing of HMS Gloucester

5. Fight for survival - The Stuka bombing of HMS Illustrious

6. Sinking of HMS Hood - Loss of 164 Royal Marines

References/ Further Reading

• HMS Glorious - Wikipedia

• HMS Glorious – The cover up of Churchill’s Operation Paul