Reports of the Loss
Doncaster Gazette, 25 March 1943.
DONCASTER'S OWN' WARSHIP HAS GONE DOWN
HMS Lightning whose loss was announced on Monday was adopted as a result
of the combined warship week efforts of Doncaster and the urban districts
of Adwick, Bentley and Tickhill ... Commander Walters and many of the crew
are reported to be safe.
Doncaster Chronicle, 25 March 1943.
Doncaster's HMS Lightning Lost.
Doncaster district felt a particular sense of loss when the Admiralty announced
on Monday that HMS Lightning, destroyer, had been lost. Lightning was adopted
by Doncaster County Borough and the urban districts of Adwick, Bentley and
Tickhill when £800,000 was raised in National Savings in Warship Week
last year.
It is stated that her captain Commander H G Walters is a survivor. Lightning
carried a commemorative plaque from the district presented to her captain
when he came to Doncaster last October and handed over plaques to the local
authorities who united in the Warship Week efforts.
News of the World (April 1943)
CONVOY FORCED BACK
A Tunisian Front Line Port, Saturday. - Behind the Admiralty announcement
that the destroyer HMS Lightning has been sunk in the Mediterranean lies
the story of one of the most vicious battles of the war in this theatre
between British warships and German E-boats.
Three weeks ago while I was with our naval forces operating against Axis
shipping on the short cut between Tunis and Sicily, we were patrolling within
enemy waters off the coast of Tunisia.
Suddenly gunfire opened up from the ships ahead. Streams of blood red tracer
slashed the night bouncing off the wave tops like fiery serpents. A few
seconds later there was a dull heavy explosion. The destroyer Lightning
had been torpedoed.
Nazi E-boats by the greatest fluke imaginable had found us. They were merely
carrying out a duty patrol, and the hundred to one chance of their crossing
our course had come off for them.
The Lightning was hit by a close range torpedo. The explosion blew her bow
in and stopped her, and while she wallowed helplessly another torpedo tore
into her.
All this time our warships' guns were blasting vengeance at the scurrying,
dodging enemy craft, which were dimly seen against the dark seas.
There was a terrific gush of flame as one of our shells ripped home on an
E-boat's waterline.
Others were racing in, unleashing torpedoes in every direction at the bold
targets presented by the looming shapes of our ships. Yet by a miracle,
and marvellous seamanship, the rest of our force avoided all the desperate
attempts by the Nazis to repeat the tragedy of the Lightning.
More than that we took a heavy toll of them. A terrific curtain of gunfire
surrounded the squadron, and the sea boiled under the unceasing explosions
of shells of every size and kind.
FORCED BACK BY GUNFIRE
Several of the E-boats, raked with deadly fire by our gun crews, enraged
by the fate of the Lightning broke off the action and ran for home shells
smashing all round the damaged craft.
The undamaged boats, meantime had realised the nights party was not going
their way they anticipated. They too withdrew to a great distance and flung
their torpedoes towards us with more hope than aim behind them.
All the evil "tin fish" missed the ships which were still firing
with amazing accuracy.
A dull glow developed on the horizon as another E-boat flared up and within
a few minutes all the attackers had run away to the safety of their home
harbours.
By now the Lightning had disappeared for the second torpedo had done its
work only too well and she sank inside ten minutes of being hit.
A companion destroyer picked up all the officers and crew who had survived
the explosions, but with sorrow I have to record that more than 30 men lost
their lives.
A D Divine - War Correspondent "The Press and Journal"
Behind the loss of the destroyer Lightning, recently announced, is a magnificent
story of courage and blind faith in the resource of a sister ship.
Lightning was part of a Naval force which has been hammering Axis communications
in the narrow waterway of the Sicilian Channel.
Recently I made two sweeps in her - one up to the coast of Sicily and the
other in the neighbourhood of Galita Island. A week after I had left her
she was hit by two torpedoes and went down within six minutes.
An E-boat closed in and asked the men in the water if they wanted to be
picked up. From the water a burly stoker replied with the traditional naval
phrase of scornful rejection. The E-boat disappeared and the men were left
in the water.
Cmdr. Walters kept his party in a small area. He told me afterwards that
he was absolutely confident throughout that they would be picked up by their
sister ship.
His confidence, however, must have been shaken when two other ships of the
force passed close by without stopping. The captain of one later told me
it was one of the bitterest moments of his life when he had to ignore the
appeals for help, but in the action which was proceeding he had no option.
He managed however to signal a searching destroyer who found the party,
and despite the proximity of E-boats succeeded in picking up every man still
in the water.
The loss of a most efficient ship and part of her company is grievous, but
it is small when considered in the light of the damage caused to the enemy
over the long months the force has been operating in the area of the vital
Sicilian Channel.
Their work has had considerable influence on the state of German supply
and the number of men it is possible to maintain in Tunisia, and very directly
therefore on the recent success of the land battle.
Official Reports of the Sinking
From: Rear Admiral Commanding 12 Cruiser Squadron
To: Commander in Chief Mediterranean
On 12/13 March 1943 Force Q comprising cruisers Aurora, Sirius and destroyers
Lightning and Loyal were proceeding on a sweep east, leaving the Bone swept
channel at 1805, speed 28 knots. The cruisers were 5 cables apart in line
astern with Lightning 3000 yards to port and Loyal 3000 yards to stbd.
Between 1850/12 and 2015/12 various encounters with enemy aircraft took
place and torpedoes were fired. No damage was sustained. Lightning may have
shot down one aircraft. A Hurricane aircraft attacked the bombers with no
success.
At 2206/12, a "headache" party reported E-boats in the vicinity,
and almost immediately afterwards Aurora detected E-boats fine on the port
bow. Fire was opened and the force turned 90 degrees to stbd. Shortly afterwards
Lightning was struck by a torpedo.
At 2212/12, easterly course was resumed, shortly after this a signal was
received from Lightning saying that she had been hit. Loyal was told to
close her. Lightning's position when hit was 37 degrees 53 minutes N, 09
degrees 50 minutes E. The cruisers then turned back. Loyal reported that
she had detected a convoy in the vicinity, bound for Messina. Again E-boats
were encountered and engaged by Aurora. They withdrew, making smoke.
At 2300/12, E-boats were engaged and driven off. Loyal opened fire . There
were heavy rain squalls. R/T contact was lost with Loyal and it was presumed
that she had been hit. Aurora closed to where Lightning had been. Rafts
were seen and men were heard shouting in the water. As still under way at
25 knots Aurora flashed lights to the men to signal that they had been spotted.
Contact with Loyal was regained. Loyal could not find the survivors, and
Aurora illuminated the area with star shell. Loyal was ordered to pick up
survivors.
At 0035/13, without destroyer protection the cruisers returned to Bone,
rejoined by Loyal at 0500/13.
From: Commander H G Walters
To: Admiral Commanding 12 Cruiser Squadron
After passing Galita Island at about 2245/12 a German conversation was heard
on the R/T. Tracer fire was seen from a cruiser. Then an E-boat was sighted
at Red 20. The ships speed was 28 knots. Course was altered towards the
E-boat. We were about to open fire when the first torpedo hit fwd. Engines
were stopped. The First Lieutenant immediately ordered the life rafts to
be lowered and the boats prepared for lowering. Hands were piped to standby
the boats and floats. The engineering officer went fwd to examine the damage.
Five to ten minutes later a second torpedo hit amidships, by the fore end
of the engine room. Everyone then took to the water and the ship broke in
two with the bow and stern pointing upwards.
Six Carley rafts were used, there being no time to lower the boats. There
were 35 men on my life raft. The E-boat was seen in the vicinity. She may
have picked up one or two survivors. She waited for half an hour or more.
About 170 men were recovered by HMS Loyal at about 0145/13.
I would consider the following events prevented a larger loss of life:
There was no magazine explosion.
The sea was calm, although a heavy swell continuously threw us off the raft.
There was no fuel oil in the water.
Mentioned in Dispatches
Following the loss of HMS Lightning, these men were mentioned in dispatches
on the recommendation of commander Walters.
Temp. Surg. Lt. RNVR Trevor M C Roberts: he spent much of his time in the
water swimming from raft to raft helping the injured. Once rescued, instead
of turning in, he continued to help our men aboard Loyal.
Richard H Charles AB: Captain B Turret. After the first torpedo struck the
ship, he tried to get his turret into action in order to attack the enemy.
In the water he helped the men.
Edward Kirby Stoker PO: He immediately set about damage control fwd, and
was a great help to the men in the water.
These were published in the London Gazette on July 6, 1943
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