The Sinking of HMS Eagle

August 11 1942 amid the vast expanse of the Mediterranean Sea a formidable Force sails under the flag of the royal Navy HMS Eagle a proud symbol of Britain's Naval prowess stands ready to play its part in the Raging conflict of World War II but what fate awaits this Mighty vessel join us today as we dive deep into the Waters of History unraveling the story the mystery and the legacy of the sinking of HMS eagle in 1911 Chile's Navy commissioned a 28 thousand long ton super Dreadnought Battleship with an option for another each would have 10 14-inch and 16 6-inch guns named almerante Latorre and almerante Cochrane respectively almerante La Torres construction began in December 1911 while almerante Cochrane started at Armstrong yards in Newcastle upon Tyne on the 20th of February 1913. World War One halted their build Britain acquired the nearly finished almerante Latorre which was commissioned in 1915 as HMS Canada the almarante Cochrane nearing completion except for its side armor remained stagnant during the war until Britain decided to finish her as an aircraft carrier the HMS Eagle bought from Chile on the 28th of February 1918. it was the Royal Navy's 14th vessel named eagle as World War II began Eagle had just undergone a refit in Singapore setting sales shortly after she scoured for German Merchant vessels with the cruiser Birmingham and Destroyer daring on the 10th of September Eagle reached Colombo salon and until the 5th of October she and the cruiser Liverpool scouted the Indian Ocean for German vessels later alongside Cruisers Cornwall and dorsetshire Eagle hunted the pocket Battleship Admiral Graff speed by mid-December she was maintained in Durban South Africa in 1940 Eagle patrolled the Indian Ocean and escorted Australian troops to Suez a bomb mishap near the nicobar islands on the 14th of March killed 14 and damaged the ship especially affecting its bomb magazines repairs took place in Singapore from the 15th of March to the 9th of May before she headed to the Mediterranean in June she acquired three Gloucester sea Gladiators stored at tequila on the 5th of July 813 squadron from Shore bases targeted tobrook Harbor with the RAF sinking two ships and damaging others during the Battle of Calabria on the 9th of July 813 Squadron tracked the Italian Fleet and 8-2-4 Squadron targeted Italian cruisers on the 10th of July Eagles aircraft attacked Augusta Harbor sinking a destroyer under intense aerial bombardment on the 13th of July Eagles see Gladiator Pilots downed three Italian bombers on the 20th of July six aircraft from 824 Squadron launching from City barani took down two destroyers in a freighter covering a grease-bound convoy later Eagles sea Gladiators downed a bomber attacking the fleet on the 29th of July on the 22nd of August three swordfish from the 824 Squadron launching from City barani sank the Italian submarine arid in the depot ship Monte Gargano in the Gulf of Bamba these ships harbored eight frogmen and four men Torpedoes aimed at British vessels in Alexandria in September carrier illustrious joined eagle and on the 9th of September they targeted Italian air bases on roads Eagles 12 swordfish delayed in their launch struck Maritza Airfield following illustrious's prior assault on the neighboring colado Air Base Four of eagles aircraft were down by Italian Fiat cr-31 2 and cr-42 Falco Fighters but they managed to destroy two sm-79s and damage four others this marked the ship's most substantial loss in a single wartime mission on the 12th of October as Eagles shielded a malta-bound convoy sm-79s from Sicily inflicted near-miss damages on her the damage to her aviation fuel system wasn't immediately detected leading her to cover another Convoy that month while on route back to Alexandria her aircraft targeted maltazana seaplane base on roads on the 27th of October four of her swordfish had previously been dispatched to fuka Landing ground for a nocturnal assault on tobrook Harbor they confused defenses using 250-pound bombs enabling 12 other swordfish to lay mines on the 28th of October eagle and the Mediterranean Fleet patrolled near Greece's western coast aiming to confront the Italian Navy during their Greek Invasion however no confrontation occurred upon inspection on the 5th of November Eagles fuel system was found leaking and needed mending five of her aircraft were dispatched to illustrious for the 11th of November Toronto assault with one of eagles planes getting shot down throughout November she escorted convoys to Greece and Malta six of her aircraft bombed Tripoli Harbor on the night of the 24th and the 25th of November by December stationed primarily in Alexandria her aircraft notably aided Ground Forces especially by guiding the bombardments by battleships warspite and Barham on bardia come the 2nd of January 1941. in mid-January while escorting a convoy to Greece inclement weather thwarted plans to Target Italian bases following illustrious's damage by German bombers on the 11th of January eagle restructured her aircraft composition to incorporate more Fighters by mid-February her contingent comprised nine fairy fullmars five sea Gladiators and six swordfish carrier formidables the 9th of March arrival to supplant illustrious led to the cancellation of orders sending Eagle to the South Atlantic remaining in Alexandria until the 9th of April both her swordfish squadrons shifted to Port Sudan on the 25th of March successfully targeting Italian vessels in Misawa Italian East Africa rejoining Eagle on the 13th of April post her Suez Canal Journey they sailed to Mombasa by the 26th of April ordered to see on the 29th of April an unsuccessful Raider hunt in the Indian Ocean ensued on the 1st of May instructions directed her to Durbin to meet Battleship Nelson and continue to Gibraltar however upon reaching Freetown on the 25th of May while Nelson progressed to Gibraltar Eagle's mission pivoted to hunt German Supply ships in the South Atlantic at this juncture Captain arm Bridge was succeeded by egh rushbrook in late May Eagle initiated Patrols in the South Atlantic often partnering with either dorsetshire or the cruiser Dunedin on the 6th of June the carrier swordfish aircraft located and subsequently bombed the Blockade Runner Elba sinking it the tanker lothringen was intercepted and taken on the 15th of June by Dunedin following bombardment and strafing by multiple swordfish Eagle's operations continued smoothly barring a hanger Blaze on the 20th of September which claimed the life of an aircraft mechanic the fire suppressant spray damaged all but four of Eagle's swordfish though the ship remained intact by October 1941 instructions directed Eagle back to the UK for overhaul at Gladstone dock Liverpool she reached greenock's outskirts on the 26th of October docking in Liverpool by the 1st of November the carrier's 50 caliber quad machine guns were swapped for 12 hand-operated automatic 20 millimeter erlicon anti-aircraft guns distributed equally in sponsens on either side of the flight deck protective barriers known as zaribus were added around the 4-inch AAA guns to safeguard their Crews from shrapnel the hacks was repositioned to the control Top's Forefront and equipped with a type 285 Gunnery radar while a type 290 air surveillance radar was also integrated the carrier's oil storage was trimmed to 3040 tons to accommodate an additional 3 600 gallons this adjustment curtailed her operational range to 2780 nautical miles maintaining a velocity of 17.5 knots post-refit by the 9th of January 1942 Eagle underwent a five-week preparatory phase on the 16th of February she accompanied Convoy ws-16 towards Gibraltar arriving after a week rejoining the ship were 813 and 824 squadrons with their swordfish they were bolstered by 4C hurricane 1B fighters from 804 squadrons Detachment and 813 squadron's fight-or-flight given their non-folding Wings these aircraft remain deck bound Eagle docked in Gibraltar on the 23rd of February subsequently being designated to force H upon reaching Gibraltar 824 Squadron moved to RAF North Front while Eagle took in 15 supermarine Spitfire Fighters brought over by the carrier Argus these planes partially assembled at the dock were finished aboard Eagle due to their size they were kept on the flight deck hindering Eagles operations until they were dispatched however on the 27th of February 1942 a mission to Ferry the Spitfires to Malta was abandoned due to faulty fuel tanks on the Spitfires these issues were resolved by the 7th of March and the 15 Spitfires were successfully dispatched to Malta afterward Eagle underwent engine repairs till the 13th of March in subsequent trips she delivered nine Spitfires on the 21st of March and seven more on the 29th of March upon her return steering gear issues mandated repairs till April's end during operation Bowery on 7-8 May Eagle met the American carrier USS Wasp which was transporting 47 Spitfires Eagle having emptied her deck housed 17 Spitfires together they successfully dispatched 60 Spitfires to Malta on the 17th of May another operation saw the swordfish see hurricanes and 17 Spitfires along with six fairy albacore bombers readied for Malta while the fighters left without issues all albacore's return due to engine troubles afterward the Convoy faced an unsuccessful assault by six sm-79 bombers HMS charybdis's radar-guided defenses played a crucial role in thwarting the Italian aircraft Eagle retaining only four sea hurricanes made space for 31 Spitfires for operation Style on the 3rd of June by the 9th of June during operation Salient another 32 Spitfires were dispatched later that month during operations Harpoon and vigorous Eagles aircrafts anticipated and countered heavy aerial attacks achieving several shootdowns the Convoy returned to Gibraltar on the 17th of June aircraft deliveries resumed on the 14th of July and by the 20th of July 29 more Spitfires and four swordfish were loaded albeit after dodging an attack by the Italian submarine dandelo joining operation pedestal with carriers Victorious and indomitable Eagle housed 16 sea hurricanes from 801 and 813 squadrons and four Reserve planes however on 11 August early afternoon Eagles suffered four torpedo hits from German submarine u-7-3 led by Helmut Rosenbaum rapidly sinking 70 nautical miles south of Cape Salinas the attack claimed 131 Lives four Airborne sea hurricanes from 801 Squadron landed on different carriers while the rest sunk with eagle the Destroyers lefore look out and the tug jaunty salvaged 67 officers and 862 crew members today Eagles remains rest in the Mediterranean 70 nautical miles south of Cape Salinas Majorca [Music] thanks for watching Remember to like And subscribe see you soon foreign

Channel: Hidden History

Views: 6,681

Keywords: hidden history, The Sinking of HMS Eagle, hms eagle, hms eagle sinking, malta convoy, operation pedestal, ww2, warships, dark seas, mark felton, world war 2, navy, royal navy, royal navy ww2, aircraft carrier, warships ww2, history, u-73, u-boat, uboats, submarine, kriegsmarine, battle of the atlantic, malta ww2, malta convoys, saving malta, spitfires, swordfish ww2, fairey swordfish, british aircraft carriers, aircraft carriers ww2, uboat footage, malta documentary

Id: HtJaI2TicwI

Length: 12min 15sec (735 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 15 2023