Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SUNK...ON A SECRET TRIP
New theory over HMS Glorious tragedy
THE loss of more than 1,500 men in Britain’s worst naval disaster of World War Two was caused by an ambitious secret mission, new research claims.
Until now it was always believed the sinking of the country’s fastest aircraft carrier HMS Glorious by German battleships was caused by its commander racing back unnecessarily following the evacuation of British forces from Norway.
But research by the grandson of the man in charge of HMS Ardent, one of two destroyer escorts also sunk, suggests the disaster resulted from orders by Winston Churchill.
Only 41 seamen survived when the three vessels went down on June 8, 1940, while 1,519 perished.
The three Royal Navy ships set off to evacuate British forces from Norway, rescuing two squadrons of RAF fighter planes. Instead of waiting to travel back home with a later convoy, the ships set sail independently, with light protection, across the Norwegian sea.
They were intercepted and sunk by German battlecruisers. Public outrage forced the Government to publish an account of what happened after the war. It said the aircraft carrier was short of fuel and a decision was made to speed home ahead of the convoy.
But in 1980 the official Navy historian blamed
Captain Guy D’oylyhughes, commander of the Glorious, claiming he decided to rush home to refer a senior aviator to a court martial over a feud.
However Ben Barker, whose grandad Lieutenant-commander
JF “Ben” Barker commanded the Ardent and died in the battle, has uncovered evidence linking HMS Glorious to Churchill’s “Operation Paul” – a secret plan to attack neutral Sweden and stop exports of iron ore to Germany. He found that a month before the sinking, D’oylyhughes had lunch with an operational commander of the Navy in London, and the pair met Churchill at the Admiralty.
In early June, Churchill ordered the operation to begin. Mr Barker said: “In covering their tracks, the Admiralty painted a picture of incompetence but to my delight I discovered the opposite was true. The reality is a story of great courage and bravery that deserves its place among the Navy’s greatest feats.”
Official Admiralty findings were sealed until 2041 – making it the only aircraft carrier loss subjected to a 100-year period of secrecy.