1 9 4 4
May Contractors
trials
June
22nd Build completion
and commenced Acceptance Trials.
Commissioned for service.
On
completion of trials and storing took passage to Scapa Flow to work-up with ships of
Home Fleet.
July Worked
up with Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
August Deployed
with Home Fleet
to Nominated for duty with Eastern Fleet
with 4th Cruiser Squadron.
September
October Passage to Plymouth.
16th Under refit for foreign
service at Devonport.
November Passage to Mediterranean.
Deployed in Eastern Mediterranean.
23rd Transferred to
British Pacific Fleet on formation.
December Passage
from Suez to Ceylon
8th Arrived at Trincomalee..
10th Passage to
Fremantle with HM Escort Carriers FENCER and STRIKER screened by three destroyers.
. Joined
by HM Escort Carriers ATHELING, BATTLER and HM Cruiser ACHILLES and
two
destroyers.
16th Detached with HMS
ACHILLES for independent passage.
24th Arrived at Hobart
Passage to Sydney to join British Pacific Fleet
1 9 4 5
January Deployed
at Sydney and took part in Fleet exercises to prepare for
service with US Navy ships.
(Note:
These included use of US Navy signalling procedures..
BPF
ships were identified as Task Group 113.
February Sydney deployment
in continuation.
(Note:
US approval for deployment of
RN ships with US 5th Fleet was delayed. )
See
OPERATION PACIFIC by E Gray, THE FORGOTTEN FLEET by J Winton,
WAR
WITH JAPAN (HMSO) )
and Task Force 57 by P
Smith.
28th Took passage with ships of Task Group
113 to British Forward Base at Manus, Admiralty Islands.
(Note: Part of
Unit 5 with HM Cruisers GAMBIA, BLACK PRINCE and ARGONAUT.)
March HM Battleship HOWE joined TG
113 during passage.
7th Arrived at Manus to await approval for
operational service with US Navy
15th Approval for joint service with US 5th
Fleet received.
18th Sailed with TF113.5 to Ulithi
20th Carried out
further exercises on passage.
23rd Allocated to 5th
Fleet and designated Task Force 57.
Sailed
to support joint RN/USN carrier air operations against airfields and shore
targets in
Sakishima-Gunto Islands (
Operation ICEBERG I)
US task Force 58 were also
deployed in this Operation.)
25th Replenished in Area ANT from British
Fleet Train (TF113)
26th Deployed in support of carrier air
operations
(Note:
This began a pattern of a period providing defence with TF57 followed by
withdrawal
for replenishment and two or three days continuous attacks
by British aircraft.
Replenishment
were made in designated areas. See WAR WITH JAPAN.
See
above references for details.)
April
1st Under KAMIKAZE attacks.
8th After replenishment in Area COOTIE
carried took passage to provide cover during air operations
against airfields in Formosa by RN carriers (Operation
ICEBERG OOLONG.)
21st Took passage to Leyte after final air operations in ICEBERG I.
23rd Arrived at Leyte for R&R..
May
1st Sailed from Leyte with TF57 to resume air operations in Sakashima-Gunto in conjunction with
TF58 aircraft
carriers (Operation ICEBERG II)
3rd After replenishment in Area COOTIE nominated with
HM
Cruisers BLACK PRINCE and EURYALUS to bombard targets at Mitako Shina, Formosa
4th Returned from bombardment after ships
in Sakishima Gunto had been
under sustained
KAMIKAZE
and conventional air attacks.
See
above references for details of damage to RN carriers.
Resumed
pattern of air strike operations and replenishment ,
9th Under further air
attacks with damage to US and RN carriers.
10th Deployed with HM Destroyer KEMPENFELT as
Air Picker away from carriers to give early
warning of enemy air attacks.
25th Took passage to Manus with ships of TF57
on completion of final air operations and replenishment
(Note:
HM Battleship KING GEORGE V which had only recently joined BPF detached and
took
passage to Guam.)
June Deployed at Manus for
maintenance.
Nominated for special operation to carry out air strikes and
bombardments on Truk.
12th Sailed from Manus with HMS IMPLACABLE,
HM Escort Carrier RULER, HM Cruisers
UGANDA
(RCN) NEWFOUNDLAND and ACHILLES (RNZN) as TF
111.2 with Fleet destroyer
screen to carry out air strikes and bombard enemy positions
on Truk (Operation INMATE).
14th Provided air
defence during strikes by aircraft from HMS IMPLACABLE.
15th Bombarded Moen
with HM Destroyer TEAZER.
On
completion took passage.
17th Rejoined BPF
at Manus.
Passage from Manus to Sydney.
July Deployed
at Sydney for R&R and to prepare for service with 3rd
US Fleet as part of Task Force 37
Nominated for refit before rejoining BPF in operations against
targets on Japanese mainland.
15th Under refit in Sydney.
August Completed
refit and carried out post refit trials.
15th During
passage to rejoin TF37 at Manus returned to RN
control and redeployed for
support of re-occupation of Hong Kong.
17th Took passage to Subic Bay, Philippines.
25th Joined British TG111 on formation at Subic Bay.
27th Sailed with HMS INDOMITABLE, HM Light
Fleet Aircraft Carrier VENERABLE, HM
Cruisers
EURYALUS and BLACK PRINCE, HM LCI(L) PRINCE ROBERT (RCN), screened by
six destroyers and supported by minesweepers and submarines
as TG111.2.
29th Joined by HM Battleship ANSON and HM
Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier VENGEANCE
off Hong Kong prior to mine clearance operations.
30th Entered Hong Kong with TG111.2 after
threat of attacks by Japanese explosive
boats had been
eliminated by aircraft from HMS VENGEANCE.