Boadicea at anchor sometime during World War II
History
United Kingdom
Name	Boadicea
Namesake	Boadicea
Ordered	4 March 1929
Builder	Hawthorn Leslie
Laid down	11 July 1929
Launched	23 September 1930
Completed	7 April 1931
Identification	Pennant number: H65[1]
Fate	Sunk 13 June 1944,Lyme Bay
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	B-classdestroyer
Displacement	1,360long tons (1,380 t) (standard)
Length	323 ft (98.5 m) (o/a)
Beam	32 ft 3 in (9.8 m)
Draught	12 ft 3 in (3.7 m)
Installed power	3 ×Admiralty 3-drum boilers 34,000 shp (25,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × gearedsteam turbines
Speed	35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	142 (wartime)
Sensors & processing systems	Type 119ASDIC
Armament	4 × single4.7 in (120 mm) guns 2 × single2 pdr (40 mm (1.6 in))AA guns 2 × quadruple21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes 1 ×depth charge rail and 2 throwers; 20 × depth charges

HMSBoadicea was aB-classdestroyer built for theRoyal Navy (RN) around 1930. Initially assigned to theMediterranean Fleet, she was transferred to theHome Fleet in 1936. Before her departure, the ship evacuated civilians from Spain during the beginning of theSpanish Civil War of 1936–1939.Boadicea later spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. DuringWorld War II, the ship spent the bulk of the war on convoy escort duty in British waters and participated in theBattle of the Atlantic,Operation Torch, theRussian Convoys, and in theNormandy landings. Badly damaged by Germandive bombers in 1940, she was sunk almost exactly four years later by German aircraft.

Boadicea displaced 1,360 long tons (1,380 t) atstandard load and 1,790 long tons (1,820 t) atdeep load. The ship had anoverall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), abeam of 32 feet 3 inches (9.8 m) and adraught of 12 feet 3 inches (3.7 m).^[1] She was powered byParsons gearedsteam turbines,^[2] driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34,000shaft horsepower (25,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by threeAdmiralty 3-drum boilers.Boadicea carried a maximum of 390 long tons (400 t) offuel oil that gave her a range of 4,800nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[1] The ship's complement was 134 officers and ratings, although it increased to 142 during wartime.^[3]

The ship mounted four 45-calibrequick-firing (QF)4.7-inch Mk IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. Foranti-aircraft (AA) defence,Boadicea had two 40-millimetre (1.6 in)QF 2-pounder Mk II AA guns mounted on a platform between herfunnels. She was fitted with two above-water quadrupletorpedo tube mounts for21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.^[3] Onedepth charge rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.^[4] The ship was fitted with a Type 119ASDIC set to detectsubmarines by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water.^[5]

By October 1940, the ship's anti-aircraft armament was increased when the rear set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a3-inch (76.2 mm) (12-pounder) AA gun.^[6] The 'Y' gun was later removed to compensate for the additional depth charges added.^[7] WhenBoadicea was converted into an escort destroyer at the end of 1943, her 'A' gun was replaced by aHedgehog anti-submarinespigot mortar and additional depth charge stowage replaced the 12-pounder high-angle gun.^[4] In addition, twoQF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns were added to deal with surfaced submarines at close range^[8] and the 2-pounder guns were replaced by20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikonautocannon and four additional Oerlikon guns were also added.^[4]

The ship was ordered on 4 March 1929 fromHawthorn Leslie, under the 1928 Naval Programme. She was laid down atHebburn-on-Tyne on 11 July 1929, and launched on 23 September 1930,^[9] as the fifth RN ship to carry this name.^[10]Boadicea was completed on 9 April 1931^[11] at a cost of £225,325, excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as guns, ammunition and communications equipment.^[2] After her commissioning, she was assigned to the4th Destroyer Flotilla with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1936. She was damaged whilst refuelling at sea with the battleshipRevenge on 15 March 1935; her repairs lasted until 18 April. Later that year she was deployed toFamagusta,Cyprus, andHaifa, Palestine to assist British forces in putting down riots from December 1935 – January 1936.Boadicea had to return to Haifa in June to help put down the beginnings of theArab Revolt. Afterwards the ship was deployed toCartagena andValencia to evacuate civilians at the start of the Spanish Civil War before beginning a refit atPortsmouth that lasted until 26 September. She remained with the 4th Flotilla until January 1939 and made multiple deployments off the coast of Spain enforcing the embargo until April 1938 when she was again refitted. After leaving the 4th Flotilla,Boadicea served as theplane guard for theaircraft carriers of the Mediterranean Fleet for a few months until she became the emergency destroyer at theNore. She was attached to the Reserve Fleet atPortland for theFleet Review in August 1939.^[12]

On 29 August,Boadicea was assigned to the19th Destroyer Flotilla based atDover where she escorted the troopships of the British Expeditionary Force through October. The ship was then transferred to the22nd Destroyer Flotilla atHarwich for two months before rejoining the 19th Flotilla where she escorted convoys through theEnglish Channel. On 4 March 1940, she towed theoil tankerCharles F. Meyer toSouthampton Water after that ship struck amine.Boadicea began a refit atChatham Dockyard on 2 May and was not operational until she sailed forLe Havre, France on 9 June to assist in the evacuation of British troops before advancing German troops.^[12] The next afternoon, she was severely damaged byJunkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers that knocked out her engines and boilers. After all depth charges and torpedoes were jettisoned to reduce her topweight and temporary repairs made to the holes in her hull,Boadicea was towed by the destroyerAmbuscade and thetugboatKrooman to Dover.^[13]

Repairs at Portsmouth lasted until 14 February 1941 and included the installation of aType 286 short-range surface searchradar. Upon completions, the ship was assigned to Home Fleet and participated in the search for the German battleshipsScharnhorst andGneisenau which had broken out into the North Atlantic. In March,Boadicea was transferred to the4th Escort Group atGreenock for convoy escort duties and remained with them until February 1942 when the group was disbanded. She was then assigned to theWestern Approaches Command until July. The ship was detached to escortConvoys PQ 15 andConvoy QP 12 to and fromMurmansk in April–May.Boadicea was refitted between August and October, after which she escorted a convoy toGibraltar as part of the preparations for Operation Torch, the invasion ofFrench North Africa. She escorted British ships to Oran during the invasion and was struck by a shell from a FrenchL'Adroit-class destroyer on 8 November that did little damage.^[14] Three days later, the ship was escorting the emptyocean linerRMS Viceroy of India when the latter ship was torpedoed. The destroyer attempted to take thetroopship under tow, but was unable to save the ship.Boadicea rescued 449 passengers and crew and delivered them to Gibraltar.^[15] Upon her return home, the ship was assigned to the20th Escort Group where she escortedConvoys JW 51A,JW 53 andRA 53 to and from Russia. She was badly damaged by sea ice during the latter convoy in March and required repairs that lasted until May.^[14]

Upon their completion,Boadicea was transferred toFreetown,Sierra Leone where she served as a local escort.^[16] On 19 July, she rescued 220 survivors from the torpedoed ocean linerMV Incomati.^[17] The ship returned to the Home Fleet in September and briefly assigned to the8th Escort Group before she started her conversion into an escort destroyer in November. This included the addition ofType 271 target indication radar and the replacement of the Type 286 radar by aType 290. After this was completed in January 1944,Boadicea rejoined the 8th Escort Group and escortedConvoys JW 57,RA 58 andRA 59 to Russia from February through April. In preparation forOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, she was transferred to Portsmouth where she escorted convoys arriving in England as well as the convoys across the Channel.Boadicea was sunk on 13 June offPortland Bill by German aircraft while escorting a convoy of merchant ships to France. Sources differ as to the weapons used and the aircraft that carried them; some sayFritz X missiles fired byDornier Do 217s belonging toKG 100^[18][19] or torpedoes dropped byJunkers Ju 88s. The weapons caused amagazine explosion andBoadicea sank quickly, with only 12 of her crew of 182 surviving.^[20]

The ship is included on theChatham Naval Memorial; her wreck is 16 miles (26 km) southwest of theIsle of Portland at50°25′41″N02°45′57″W / 50.42806°N 2.76583°W /50.42806; -2.76583 in 53 metres (174 ft) of water.^[21] Her bow is blown off forward of the engine rooms and her stern section is upright and reasonably intact. The wreck site is designated as aprotected place under theProtection of Military Remains Act 1986.^[22]

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.OCLC 67375475.
• de Zeng, H. L; Stankey, D. G; Creek, E. J. (2008).Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933–1945; A Reference Source, Volume 2. Ian Allan Publishing.ISBN 978-1-903223-87-1
• English, John (1993).Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2009).British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
• Goss, Chris (2007).Sea Eagles Volume Two: Luftwaffe Anti-Shipping Units 1942–45. Burgess Hill: Classic Publications.ISBN 978-1-9032-2356-7
• Kemp, Paul (1999).The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing.ISBN 0-7509-1567-6.
• Lenton, H.T. (1998).British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• March, Edgar J. (1966).British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service.OCLC 164893555.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M.J. (1988).Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
• Winser, John de D (1999).B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend, Kent, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-91-6.

• www.naval-history.net : HMSBoadicea

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