View source for HMS Jervis

{{short description|J-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Jervis_NH.JPG
| Ship caption = ''Jervis'' in 1945
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
| Ship name = ''Jervis''
| Ship namesake = [[John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent|Admiral John Jervis]]
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship awarded = 
| Ship builder = [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 
| Ship way number = 
| Ship laid down = 26 August 1937
| Ship launched = 9 September 1938
| Ship completed = 
| Ship commissioned = 8 May 1939
| Ship recommissioned = 
| Ship decommissioned = May 1946
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship reclassified = 
| Ship refit = 
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship homeport = 
| Ship identification = *[[Pennant number]]: F00 (1937–1940)
*G00 (1940–1946)
| Ship motto = 
| Ship nickname = 
| Ship honours = 13 battle honours ([[#Battle honours|see below]])
| Ship captured = 
| Ship fate = Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], 1954
| Ship notes = 
| Ship badge = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = (as built)
| Ship class = [[J, K and N-class destroyer|J-class]] [[Flotilla leader]]
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|1690|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|2330|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
| Ship length = {{convert|356|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
| Ship beam = {{convert|35|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = {{convert|12|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (deep)
| Ship power =*2 × [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
*{{cvt|44000|shp|kW|lk=on}}
| Ship propulsion = 2 × shafts; 2 × geared [[steam turbine]]s
| Ship speed = {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = {{convert|5500|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
| Ship complement = 183 (218 for [[flotilla leader]]s)
| Ship sensors = [[ASDIC]]
| Ship armament = *3 × twin [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) guns]]
*1 × quadruple [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|2 pdr ({{cvt|40|mm}})]] [[AA gun]]s
*2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|0.5 in (12.7&nbsp;mm)]] [[machinegun]]s
*2 × quintuple [[British 21-inch torpedo|21 in (533&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
*1 × [[depth charge]] rack, 2 × throwers, 20 × depth charges
}}
{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label=
|partof=*[[7th Destroyer Flotilla]] (1939–1940)
*[[14th Destroyer Flotilla]] (1940–1945)
|codes=
|commanders=*Captain [[Philip Mack]] (1939–1942)
*Captain [[Albert Lawrence Poland|A.L Poland]] (1942)
*[[Anthony Follett Pugsley|Captain A.F Pugsley]] (January 1943– 22 June 1943)
*Captain J.S Crawford (22 June 1943– November 1943)
*Lt. Commander [[Roger P. Hill (Royal Navy officer)|Roger P. Hill]] (1944)
|operations=*[[Battle of Cape Matapan]] (March 1941)
*[[Battle of the Tarigo Convoy]] (April 1941)
*[[Battle of Crete]] (May 1941)
*[[Second Battle of Sirte]] (March 1942)
*[[Operation Vigorous]] (June 1942)
*[[Operation Husky]] (July 1943)
*[[Operation Avalanche]] (September 1943)
*[[Dodecanese Campaign]] (September–November 1943)
*[[Operation Shingle]] (January 1944)
*[[Operation Neptune]] (June 1944)
|victories=
|awards=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Jervis''''', was a [[J-, K- and N-class destroyer|J-class]] [[destroyer]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the late 1930s. She was named after Admiral [[John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent|John Jervis]] (1735–1823). She was laid down by [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company|R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited]], at [[Hebburn|Hebburn-on-Tyne]] on 26 August 1937. The ship was launched on 9 September 1938 and commissioned on 8 May 1939, four months before the start of the [[World War II|Second World War]].

Designed as a [[flotilla leader]] to the J-class destroyers, who were intended to make up the [[7th Destroyer Flotilla]], ''Jervis'' was the sister ship of, and identical to, {{HMS|Kelly|F01|2}}, leader to the K class (forming the [[8th Destroyer Flotilla|8th Flotilla]])  and similar to {{HMAS|Napier|G97|2}} of the N class. However, despite an impressive war record (she earned 13 battle honours) she remains virtually unknown compared to her sister, ''Kelly''.

==Service history==

===1939 (Home Waters)===
When war broke out in September 1939, ''Jervis'' was under the command of Captain [[Philip Mack]], and was leader of the [[7th Destroyer Flotilla]] (DF) based in the [[Humber]]. The first six months of hostilities was taken up with sweeps across the North Sea, in "appalling weather conditions" which saw the Flotilla suffer a succession of storm and collision damage. During this time ''Jervis'' captured three blockade runners, one on the second day of the war, and helped search for the merchant ship {{SS|City of Flint|1919|6}}. In March 1940 ''Jervis'' was involved in a collision with the Swedish [[Cargo ship|freighter]] SS ''Tor'', that put her in dock for the next three months for repairs.

===1940 (Mediterranean)===
During this time Mack, as [[Captain (D)]] led the Flotilla from {{HMS|Janus|F53|2}}, and in May 1940 sailed with her for the [[Mediterranean]] to take command of the [[14th Destroyer Flotilla]]. ''Jervis''' pennant number changed to G00 around this time<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-36J-JervisJERVIS%201a.htm HMS ''Jervis'' at naval-history.net]</ref> In July, after working-up trials, she joined him in [[Malta]], where he resumed command. For the next two years ''Jervis'' saw action in a constant round of operations; sweeps along the coast, bombarding shore targets for the Army, protecting convoys to Malta, and screening major fleet movements.

===1941===
In 1941 ''Jervis'' was involved in a number of fleet actions. In March she was at [[Battle of Cape Matapan]]. In the course of the battle she was involved in the destruction of the Italian cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Zara||2}} which had been crippled by heavy guns in attempting to recover the {{ship|Italian cruiser|Pola||6}}, which had been stricken by an aerial torpedo. Then ''Jervis'' came alongside ''Pola'' and boarded her, taking off the wounded before, with the destroyer {{HMS|Nubian|F36|2}}, torpedoing and sinking ''Pola''. In April she led the force that annihilated an Axis convoy at the [[action off Sfax]]. In May she was in the [[Battle of Crete]], where many [[Royal Navy]] ships were lost, including her sister ship ''Kelly''. During the summer ''Jervis'' ran supplies to the beleaguered port of [[Tobruk]] and in December led the destroyers at the [[First Battle of Sirte]]. On returning to [[Alexandria]], she was damaged in an Italian [[human torpedo]] [[Raid on Alexandria (1941)|attack]] which left her in dock for six weeks. The same attack badly damaged the battleships {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}} and {{HMS|Valiant|1914|2}}.  Her Chaplain, George Sherlock, was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|DSC]] for "outstanding zeal, patience, and cheerfulness and for setting an example of wholehearted devotion to duty."<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35399/supplement/32/data.pdf ''London Gazette'', 1 January 1942]</ref>

===1942===
Released at the end of January, she resumed operations. In April she joined the Malta Strike Force, although without Mack who left ''Jervis'' in March due to ill-health and was replaced as captain of ''Jervis'', and Captain (D), by [[Albert Lawrence Poland|A.L Poland]]. He would command her, and lead the [[14th Destroyer Flotilla]], for the next year. In March 1942, under Poland's leadership, she again led the destroyers at the [[Second Battle of Sirte]].

===1943===
On the night of 1/2 June, an Italian convoy of two supply ships escorted by a destroyer and a torpedo boat, was intercepted in the [[Battle of the Messina Convoy]] by ''Jervis'' (commanded by Captain [[Anthony Follett Pugsley|A.F Pugsley]]) and the Greek destroyer ''[[Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga (D15)|Vasilissa Olga]]''.  A [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] bomber dropped flares and after a short battle lasting half an hour, the two Allied destroyers sank the {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Castore||6}}.<ref>Kasperski, Tadeusz (in Polish). ''Jak Vasilefs Georgios stał się Hermesem''. „Morze” Nr 2/2018, ISSN 2543-5469, p. 76</ref>

''Jervis'' also saw action during the landings in [[Sicily]], [[Calabria]], [[Salerno]], and [[Battle of Anzio|Anzio]], as well as operations in the [[Adriatic]]. She supported both the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] and [[Yugoslav partisans]]. In the autumn of 1943, ''Jervis'' was in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] supporting the ill-fated operation against the [[Dodecanese]] Islands. On 16/17 October with {{HMS|Penn|G77|6}}, sank the [[submarine chaser]] {{ship|German submarine chaser |UJ-2109||2}} at [[Kalymnos]].<ref>''UJ-2109'' was the [[Hunt-class minesweeper (1916)|Hunt-class minesweeper]] ''Widnes'', which was sunk in 1941 at [[Suda Bay]], and subsequently salvaged by the Axis for service as a [[submarine chaser]]. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20141006174453/http://www.warshipsww2.eu/lode.php?language=E&period=&idtrida=1228 UJ-2109]}} at warshipsww2.eu; Archived from {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20141006174453/http://www.warshipsww2.eu/lode.php?language=E&period=&idtrida=1228 the original]}} on 6 October 2014; retrieved 29 June 2014.</ref>

===1944 (Home Waters)===
On 23 January 1944 ''Jervis'' had her bows blown off while in company with ''Janus'', the other destroyer being sunk by a German Fritz X guided bomb.  There were no casualties and the damaged destroyer made it to Naples under her own power where, on 28 January her commanding officer, Captain Henderson, took over command of the flotilla leader ''Grenville'' while the latter's captain, Lieutenant Commander [[Roger P. Hill (Royal Navy officer)|Roger Hill]] became CO of the damaged ''Jervis''.
The damaged destroyer subsequently steamed to Gibraltar where a new bow was put on the vessel.  Then returning to Britain, no longer a Flotilla leader, ''Jervis'' saw action at the [[Normandy landings]] in the closing stages of the war. She was decommissioned in September 1944, paying off at Chatham prior to a further, major re-fit.

===1945 and post-war===
Re-commissioned in May 1945, ''Jervis'' saw further service in the Mediterranean, policing the aftermath of World War II. She paid off into [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|the reserve]] at [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham]] in May 1946, and was then laid-up in the [[Gare Loch|Gareloch]] where she was used for training of local [[Sea Cadets (United Kingdom)|Sea Cadets]]. Placed on the Disposal List in October 1947, she was one of a number of ships used for explosives trials in [[Loch Striven]] during 1948.

==Fate==
''Jervis'' was handed over to the [[British Iron and Steel Corporation]] for demolition in January 1949 and allocated to Arnott Young, arriving at [[Troon]], on the [[Firth of Clyde]] for breaking up in September.

=="Lucky Jervis"==
''Jervis'' had a reputation as a lucky ship (in contrast to her sister, ''Kelly'', who seemed to have more than her share of bad luck). Despite a long and active career, in 5½ years of war and 13 major actions, not one of her crew was lost to enemy action, possibly a unique record. An example of her luck might be seen in her action at Anzio in January 1944. Supporting the landing with gunfire, ''Jervis'' and her sister ship, ''[[HMS Janus (F53)|Janus]]'', were attacked by enemy aircraft using [[Henschel Hs 293]] glider bombs. Both were hit; ''Janus''’ forward magazine exploded, sinking her with the loss of nearly 160 of her crew; ''Jervis''’ bow was blown off, but the destroyer was able to steam at about eight knots back to safety in Naples. Astonishingly, not one of her crew was harmed in this incident, and she was able to rescue over 80 of ''Janus''’ crew.

==Battle honours==
''Jervis'' was awarded 13 [[battle honour]]s for her service during the Second World War.<ref name="Warlow">{{cite book |last=Warlow |title=Battle Honours of the Royal Navy |page= 129}}</ref><ref>[http://www.britainsnavy.co.uk/Ships/HMS%20Jervis/HMS%20Jervis%20Battle%20Honours.htm HMS ''Jervis''; Battle Honours] at britainsnavy.co.uk; retrieved 8 July 2020</ref>
* [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean]] 1940–44
* [[North African campaign|Libya]] 1940–42
* [[Malta convoys]] 1941–42
* [[Battle of Cape Matapan|Matapan]] 1941
* [[Action off Sfax|Sfax]] 1941
* [[Battle of Crete|Crete]] 1941
* [[Second Battle of Sirte|Sirte]] 1942
* [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Sicily]] 1943
* [[Operation Avalanche|Salerno]] 1943
* [[Dodecanese campaign|Aegean]] 1943
* [[Adriatic campaign of World War II|Adriatic]] 1944
* [[Battle of Anzio|Anzio]] 1944
* [[Normandy landings|Normandy]] 1944

Only {{HMS|Orion|85|2}} and {{HMS|Nubian|F36|2}}, who served in the Mediterranean with ''Jervis'' matched this record; it was exceeded by {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}}, the Mediterranean Fleet flagship, which saw service in both World Wars.

==See also==
* [[Raid on Alexandria (1941)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
*G.G.Connell, ''Mediterranean Maelstrom: HMS Jervis and the 14th Flotilla'' (1987) {{ISBN|0-7183-0643-0}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Gravesend, UK|year=2001|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2006 |isbn=1-86176-137-6|authorlink=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book |last=Hill |first=Roger |title=Destroyer Captain |year=1979 |publisher=Granada Publishing |location=London |isbn=0-583-12875-0 }}
* {{cite book|last=Langtree|first=Charles|title=The Kelly's: British J, K, and N Class Destroyers of World War II |year=2002|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-422-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998 |isbn=1-55750-048-7 |author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |OCLC=164893555}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|authorlink=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|first=Ben|last=Warlow|title=Battle Honours of the Royal Navy|year=2004|publisher=Maritime Books|location=Liskeard, UK|isbn=1-904459-05-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland|authorlink=Michael J. Whitley}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Jervis (ship, 1938)}}
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-36J-JervisJERVIS%201a.htm HMS ''Jervis'' on naval-history.net]
* [http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4448.html HMS ''Jervis'' at uboat.net]
* [http://www.britainsnavy.co.uk/Ships/HMS%20Jervis/HMS%20Jervis%20(1939)%20DD%201.htm HMS ''Jervis'' at britainsnavy.co.uk]

{{J, K and N class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jervis (F00)}}
[[Category:J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Tyne]]
[[Category:1938 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]