HMS Jervis Bay (F40)

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HMS Jervis Bay (F40)

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Career

Ordered:

Laid down:

Launched:

Vickers Ltd, Barrow in Furness, 1922 (as SS Jervis Bay)

Commissioned:

October 1940

Fate:

Sunk 5 November, 1940 in mid-Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....

Struck:

General characteristics

Displacement:

14,164 gross tons

Length:

549 ft

Beam:

68 ft

Draught:

33 ft

Propulsion:

Speed:

15 knots (28 km/h)

Range:

Complement:

254

Armament:

7 x 6 in Mk.

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Encyclopedia

Career

Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:	Vickers Ltd, Barrow in Furness, 1922 (as SS Jervis Bay)
Commissioned:	October 1940
Fate:	Sunk 5 November, 1940 in mid-Atlantic Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
Struck:
General characteristics
Displacement:	14,164 gross tons
Length:	549 ft
Beam:	68 ft
Draught:	33 ft
Propulsion:
Speed:	15 knots (28 km/h)
Range:
Complement:	254
Armament:	7 x 6 in Mk. VII (152 mm) guns 2 x 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns

HMS Jervis Bay was a British liner later converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser
Armed merchantmen

An Armed Merchantman has come to mean a merchant vessel equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, Maritime Piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade....
, pennant
Pennant

Pennant may refer to:* Pennon , a narrow, tapering flag commonly flown by ships at sea:** Pennant , the traditional sign of a warship, flown from its masthead while the ship is in commission...
F40. She was launched in 1922 and sunk on 5 November 1940 by the German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.

The ship was originally the Aberdeen & Commonwealth Line steamer Jervis Bay named after the Australian bay
Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay is a large bay between the state of New South Wales and the Jervis Bay Territory. HMAS Creswell is located in between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch, Jervis Bay Territory in the Jervis Bay Territory....
(the line named all of its ships after bay
Bay

A bay is an area of water bordered by land on three sides. Bays generally have calm waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some ocean surface wave and often reducing winds....
s). She had been taken over by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
in August 1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War and hastily armed with a few World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
vintage 6-inch guns. She was initially assigned to the South Atlantic station before becoming a convoy
Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas....
escort in May 1940.

She was the sole escort for 37 merchant ships in Convoy HX-84
Convoy HX-84

HX-84 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX convoys series during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It consisted of 38 merchant ships which sailed eastbound from Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada for Liverpool, England, on 28 October 1940 and was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay ...
from Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax

The City of Halifax was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and county seat of Halifax County, Nova Scotia, and was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996....
to Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, when the convoy encountered the Admiral Scheer. The Captain of Jervis Bay, Edward Fegen
Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen

Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen Victoria Cross Sea Gallantry Medal was an Ireland VC recipient , by birth an England recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations forces....
, ordered the convoy to scatter and closed with the German warship. The 11-inch guns of the German ship easily outranged Jervis Bay and she was sunk with the loss of 190 crew. However, while Admiral Scheer went on to sink five merchant ships out of the convoy, Jervis Bay's sacrifice bought enough time for the convoy to scatter, and the remaining ships escaped. Sixty-five survivors from Jervis Bay (Captain Fegen not amongst them) were picked up by the neutral Swedish
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
ship Stureholm.

Captain Fegen was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth of Nations countries, and previous British Empire territories....
as a result of this action. The citation for the Victoria Cross reads "Valour in challenging hopeless odds and giving his life to save the many ships it was his duty to protect."

There is a monument to Jervis Bay at Albouy's Point, in Hamilton
Hamilton, Bermuda

Hamilton is the Capital of Bermuda. It is located on the north side of Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda, and is Bermuda's main port. Although there is a parish of the Hamilton Parish, Bermuda, the city of Hamilton is in the parish of Pembroke Parish, Bermuda....
, Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
. Bermuda was a formation point for trans-Atlantic convoys in both World Wars. There is a monument to Captain Fegen and the crew of Jervis Bay at Ross Memorial Park in Saint John, New Brunswick
New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only Constitution of Canada bilingual province in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton....
, Canada. This is the port where she was refitted for war service in the summer of 1940. In 2006 the town of Wick
Wick, Highland

Wick is an estuary town and a former burgh in the north of the Highland Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the Counties of Scotland of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town....
erected a plaque to the Caithness members who died in the sinking of the ship. The ship was crewed extensively from Caithness, and Wick in particular.

There was also a monument, which meant perhaps more to the merchant mariners whom Captain Fegen protected, in London. The main room of the Merchant Navy Hotel (closed, 2002) was known as the “Jervis Bay Room”, and included a display detailing the action. It was the custom for everyone entering the room to salute the display.

The ship is also featured as a model in Scarborough's "Naval Warfare" holiday show which takes place in the summer at Peasholm Park, in the show the ship fights off an enemy battle ship and submarine.

See also

List of shipwrecks in 1940
List of shipwrecks in 1940

The list of shipwrecks in 1940 includes all ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1940.Most of the ships listed here were lost in connection with World War II....

External links

- site with pictures

Sources

Ralph Segman and Gerald Duskin, If the Gods are Good: The Epic Sacrifice of HMS Jervis Bay (Naval Institute Press, 2004)