Throughout the Second World War, many officers and ratings with connections to Northern Ireland served at sea as well as at shore bases with the Royal Navy.
Royal Navy
The Fleet Air Arm is the Royal Navy's aviation branch. During the Second World War, they operated from bases and aircraft carriers such as H.M.S. Formidable.
H.M. Motor Minesweeper 117 was commissioned by the Royal Navy on 7th April 1942. On 1st September 1944, it struck a mine off the coast of Civitavecchia, Italy.
H.M. Submarine Narwhal left Northumberland, England in July 1940 to take part in mine-laying activities off the coast of Norway before the Luftwaffe attacked.
H.M. Submarine P48 went down on Christmas Day, 25th December 1942 having been depth charged by an Italian corvette escorting a convoy bound for Tunisia.
On 21st June 1940, H.M.S. Cape Howe, sailing as Prunella, came under attack 100 miles off the Isles of Scilly, causing the death of a Co. Armagh footballer.
Royal Navy minelayer H.M.S. Abdiel sank on 10th September 1943 in Taranto Harbour, Italy while carrying a large number of troops during Operation Slapstick.
H.M.S. Afridi was a Royal Navy Tribal-class destroyer during the Second World War. It came under heavy Luftwaffe attack on 3rd May 1940 in a Norwegian port.
On 1st May 1942, H.M.S. Amazon came under attack from the air and also from German Destroyers. Irvine Reilly of Annalong, Co. Down was among the casualties.
Between 1941 and 1945, H.M.S. Attack was a Royal Naval Coastal Forces shore establishment base at Portland, Dorset, England during the Second World War.
Launched on St. Patrick's Day 1938, H.M.S. Belfast was constructed at the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. The cruiser served throughout the Second World War.
H.M.S. Dorsetshire sank on 5th April 1942 after an attack from Japanese reconnaissance aircraft dropping 250-550lb bombs about 200 miles southwest of Ceylon.
Royal navy
H.M.S. Illustrious was an aircraft carrier built before the start of the Second World War. It served in the Mediterranean, notably in the Battle of Taranto.
On 19th December 1941, H.M.S. Neptune struck Italian-laid mines while leading Force K in a bid to intercept German and Italian convoys en route to Libya.
H.M.S. Offa was an O-Class Destroyer that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War from 1941. After a long career the vessel was scrapped in 1959.
H.M.S. President III was a Royal Navy shore establishment during the Second World War. From 28th August 1939, it operated in Bristol training D.E.M.S. gunners.
Tribal-class Destroyer H.M.S. Punjabi sank on 1st May 1942 having steered into the path of the Royal Navy battleship King George V in fog and poor visibility.
On 23rd November 1939, H.M.S. Rawalpindi came under attack from the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. The Scottish-built vessel sank southeast of Iceland.
H.M.S. Renown served in the Mediterranean, and supported British forces during the Norwegian campaign, engaging German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst.
H.M.S. Royal Oak sank on 14th October 1939 having come under attack from torpedoes fired from U-47 in an audacious attack in the "safe haven" of Scapa Flow.
On 8th November 1942, H.M.S. Walney crashed through the harbour boom at Oran, Algeria as part of Operation Torch. The vessel exploded after coming under fire.
H.M.S. Zulu was a Royal Navy Tribal-class destroyer built by Alexander Stephen and Sons in Glasgow, Scotland. It saw action during the Second World War.
Royal naval Patrol Service
H.M.T. Bervie Braes was a British-built trawler that served in the Royal Naval Patrol Service branch of the Royal Navy during the years of the Second World War.
Throughout the Second World War, many with connections to Northern Ireland served in the Royal Marines, the Royal Navy's elite force of amphibious troops.
Sub-Lieutenant James Patrick Salmon of Derry~Londonderry died on 4th October 1945 as a result of a traffic collision in Singapore. He served in the Royal Navy.
