HMS Jupiter (F85)
Encyclopedia

HMS Jupiter (F85) was a J-class destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 laid down by Yarrow & Company  at Scotstoun
Scotstoun
Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...

 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 on 28 September 1937, launched on 27 October 1938 and commissioned on 25 June 1939.

Operations

On 29 November 1941, the Jupiter and HMS Encounter
HMS Encounter (H10)
HMS Encounter was an E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy before and during World War II, serving in home waters and in the Norwegian Campaign, before joining the Mediterranean Fleet and serving on the Malta Convoys, and then in the Eastern Fleet until sunk by Japanese warships in the Second Battle...

, detached from the Mediterranean Fleet, joined up with Force G at Colombo, and the five ships sailed later that day. They rendezvoused with HMS Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...

 at sea, and set course for Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, where they arrived on 2 December. They spent a few days there with shore leave and refit, while waiting for orders. On 1 December, it was announced that Sir Tom Phillips had been promoted to full Admiral, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet. A few days later, Repulse started on a trip to Australia with the Vampire and Tenedos, but the force was recalled. It wasn't unti nine days later that Tenedos and Repulse would join Phillips' Force Z in attacking the Japanese invasion force, and he himself would perish when both Repulse and the Prince of Wales were bombed and sunk by Japanese land base bombers
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement that took place north of Singapore, off the east coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, Pahang where the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and...

.

She sank a Japanese I-60 submarine on 17 January 1942. HMS Jupiter, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Norman V. J. T. Thew, RN, struck a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 as she steamed with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...

 (ABDA) cruiser force during the Battle of the Java Sea
Battle of the Java Sea
The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....

. She was sunk off the north Java coast in the Java Sea
Java Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...

 on 27 February 1942, at 2116 hours, by a mine laid earlier in the day by the Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. Initially, the explosion was thought to be caused by a Japanese torpedo.

The wreck has been plotted, and is described by the Admiralty as "very broken up, partly salvaged, and very close to the Java coast".

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