• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Article topics / Publications / Naval Historical Review / The Luftwaffe Anti-Shipping Missile Threat During WW II

The Luftwaffe Anti-Shipping Missile Threat During WW II

Bogart, Charles H. · Sep 13, 1980 · Print This Page

Author
Bogart, Charles H.
Subjects
Naval Aviation, WWII operations
Tags
HMS Warspite, HMS Uganda, USS Philadelphia, Roma
RAN Ships
None noted.
Publication
September 1980 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

Before neutral waters were reached though, Rockwood lost power and Petard had to tow her to Losta in the Gulf of Doris. Temporarily repaired at Losta, Rockwood was later towed back to Alexandria by HMS Blencathra. At Alexandria Rockwood was judged to be a constructive loss and she was not made operational. In 1946 she was sold for scrap.

Determined to keep up the pressure on the Germans the cruiser Phoebe with destroyers Echo, Dulverton and Belvoir were ordered on 13 November to sweep the seas around Leros and sink any German vessels discovered. As the ships entered the Aegean north of Rhodes they were sighted by a patrolling German aircraft. At 0310 the next morning 5 miles east of Cos Island it was joined by a number of JU 88 and DO 217 Es which commenced an attack. The Dulverton was hit in the opening moments of battle by an HS293 on the port side abreast of the bridge. The explosion blew off the ship’s bow section forward of the bridge. Dulverton then burst into flames from the bridge to the stern. With no hope of saving her as she was sinking by the head Dulverton was abandoned, once the air attack was over her consorts rescued 109 of her crew and hastened her sinking with a torpedo.

The next encounter with the HS293 was the following night when the destroyers Penn, Aldenham and Blencathra conducted a bombardment of German positions on the eastern half of the Alinda-Gurna peninsula on Leros. The resulting bombardment brought the Luftwaffe winging to the scene and an all out air attack was made on the destroyers. This night Lady Luck smiled on the British warships. The only damage was caused by an HS293 making a near miss on Aldenham but it resulted in no personnel injury or serious material damage.

The Royal Navy’s last encounter with the HS293 in the Aegean was on the night of 16- 17 November 1943 when MTB boats were sent to patrol around Leros to rescue escaping British troops and attack any German craft trying to reinforce the victorious German troops. As the MTBs patrolled they were attacked by I KG 40 but due to their fast speed they were able to out manoeuvre the HS293s and suffered no damage.

The next use of the HS293 was in the Bay of Biscay in December 1943. The British Admiralty had become aware that the Germans were preparing for the entry of a number of blockade-runners into French ports from over seas. To counter this, naval patrols were set up by the Royal Navy across the blockade runners’ intended tracks. Among the ships assigned to this duty were the cruisers Glasgow and Enterprise.

The German Navy had not been idle during this period and had marshalled a force of ten destroyers, comprising the 8th Destroyer Flotilla and 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, to escort the blockade-runners to port. This force on the morning of 28 December 1943 was surprised at sea by Glasgow and Enterprise, which had been conned to the German ships by Allied aircraft. Though possessing superior numbers and speed, heavy seas prevented the lighter German ships from deploying in an optimum attacking formation. Standing outside of the effective range of the German naval guns Glasgow and Enterprise sank the destroyer Z 27 and torpedo boats T 25 and T 26. As the remaining German ships fled for the French coast the Luftwaffe in response to the Navy’s cries for help arrived at the scene of battle with both conventional bombs and HS293s.

The Admiralty however was not caught asleep and realizing that the attack on the German Naval ships would result in a counter attack by the Luftwaffe had requested air cover for the two cruisers as they withdrew from the French coast. The result was that the RAF fighters and the Luftwaffe bombers arrived on the scene at the same time. Due to the fact that the RAF fighters forced the HS293 carrying DO 217s to take avoiding action during their attack runs none of the missiles hit near the two cruisers. So effective were the RAF fighters in breaking up this attack and in downing the missile-carrying DO 217s that anti-shipping missile attacks in the Atlantic ceased until the invasion of Normandy.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9

Naval Historical Review, Naval Aviation, WWII operations HMS Warspite, HMS Uganda, USS Philadelphia, Roma

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • The Fall of Singapore
  • HMAS Armidale
  • Napoleon, the Royal Navy and Me
  • The Case of the Unknown Sailor
  • Night of the midget subs — Sydney under attack

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025