HMS Jackal was a J-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Completed in 1939, Jackal served in the Norwegian campaign and the Dunkirk evacuation before being deployed to the Mediterranean in 1941. Jackal took part in the Battle of Crete, and was scuttled after being heavily damaged by German bombers on 12 May 1942.

Construction and design

HMS Jackal was ordered, along with the rest of the J class, on 25 May 1937, and was laid down by John Brown and Company, Limited, at Clydebank in Scotland on 24 September 1937, launched on 25 October 1938 and commissioned on 13 April 1939, the first of the J class to be completed.

In an attempt to strengthen its anti-aircraft armament, one of Jackals banks of torpedo tubes was removed in favour of a single 4 inch Mk V anti-aircraft gun, while four Oerlikon 20 mm cannon replaced the .50 in machine guns. Duties included carrying out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort missions in the North Sea, English Channel and the Western Approaches. Following Dunkirk, Jackal returned to the routine of convoy escort and patrols. On 11 October Jackal, together with the battleship and the destroyers , , , , and , shelled Cherbourg harbour. On 29 November 1940, Jackal, Javelin, Jupiter, and Kashmir were deployed to try to intercept a sortie by the German destroyers Karl Galster, Hans Lody and Richard Beitzen that resulted in Jackals sister ship Javelin, commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten, being torpedoed and badly damaged.

Mediterranean Fleet

In April 1941, Jackal was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet. In May 1941 Jackal formed part of the escort for Operation Tiger, a convoy carrying tanks from Gibraltar to Alexandria, before being detached to shell Benghazi together with , Kelvin, Kashmir and Kipling on the night of 10/11 May, with Jackal being near missed (at a distance of ) by a bomb that failed to explode on 11 May.

Jackal was next deployed in support of Operation Exporter, the Allied invasion of Vichy French controlled Syria and Lebanon. On 9 June, Jackal and Janus engaged the Vichy French destroyers and when the French ships attacked Australian ground forces. Both Jackal and Janus were hit by shells from the French ships, with Janus sustaining serious damage although Jackal sustained no casualties, before the French ships retired to port. On 4 July Jackal took part in bombardment operations off the coast of Syria.

In August 1941, the Royal Navy was tasked with the replacement of Australian and Indian troops in besieged Tobruk with fresh troops, with the operation being carried out on moonless nights by destroyers and fast minelayers. On the evening of 21 August, Jackal, and were carrying out a run when their fighter cover of Curtiss Tomahawks of No. 2 Squadron SAAF and Hawker Hurricanes of No. 1 Squadron SAAF were attacked by German Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, with one of each side's aircraft being shot down and the pilot of the shot down Tomahawk being picked up by one of the destroyers. Jackal formed part of the escort of the battleship when the torpedoed and sank Barham on 25 November 1941, with Jackal helping to rescue survivors and unsuccessfully attempting to attack U-331. On 1 December 1941, Jackal, , Jaguar and Kipling were ordered to intercept three Italian destroyers that were reported to be off Derna, Libya. The British destroyers failed to locate the Italian ships, and were attacked by three Italian SM.79 torpedo bombers. Jackal was hit on the stern by a torpedo, and was badly damaged, with her steering gear wrecked and her judder jammed. Two of the torpedo bombers were damaged by defensive fire from the destroyers, with one having to force land. and was under repair at Alexandria until April 1942. The flotilla was sighted by German reconnaissance aircraft on the afternoon of 11 May, and in accordance with orders, as surprise had been lost, the destroyer flotilla abandoned the attack and reversed course. A first wave of German bombers, eight Junkers Ju 88s of I/Lehrgeschwader 1 (I/LG 1) based at Heraklion on Crete, arrived at about 16:31 hrs, sinking HMS Lively with 3 direct hits. A second wave of nine Ju 88s and four Heinkel He 111s of II/LG 1 from Eleusis, Greece, attacked between 18:09 and 18:33, but caused no damage. A third wave, consisting of ten Ju 88s from I/LG 1, attacked at about 20:00 hrs. Kipling was quickly sunk by the attacks, while Jackal was severely damaged by the bomber flown by Gerhard Brenner, with one direct hit and three near misses. Jackal was taken under tow by Jervis, but was suffering from an extensive fire and progressive flooding, and the ship was abandoned on the morning of 12 May and scuttled by Jervis by torpedoing. Nine officers and men from Jackal were killed, while total losses from the three destroyers were 77 killed.

Notes

References

  • HMS Jackal F22:The Wreck
  • HMS Jackal