HMS Sheffield 1936-1967

[Batstiger]

Somebody out there may be interested in this:

On ebay there is a photograph up for auction of the crew of HMS Sheffield taken 11-30 am April 1947 in Trinidad.
I have captured this cropped detail as a sample for anyone who may be interested. ( I would have been only just over 10 when it was taken) See next post

[Batstiger]

The old grey matter at fault again ! here are the pictures.

[Patwalker37srpen]

Dear Batstiger,
Brought back memories there then. When I was under training in the Marines in 1962 we used to spend 2 weeks on board Sheffield for seamanship training. She was semi mothballed in Portsmouth at the end of a pontoon and we had to sleep in hammocks etc in an old messdeck. There was limited power on board for the neccessaries and we were shown various parts of ship for interest. Armoured hatches over the engine rooms which could only be raised by block and tackle. If you knew where to look you could still see shrapnel and splinter damage on her superstructure painted over.
She was a cold empty hulk and awaiting the scrap man.
Many years later when I worked as a civil engineer with Sir Alfred McAlpine I was working on the new Stafford Crown Court Complex and got talking one day with one of the Clerk of works who was in charge of the Mechanical and Electrical side of things. He was wearing a tie which I asked about and it turned out he had been on the Sheffield during the war as a H/O rating and he never failed to say how happy the ship had been and what an efficient ship she was. She had the nick name `The Shiney Sheff` Seeing your picture lets us know what she was really all about when in business.!

[Batstiger]

Nice story Pat, it's nice to have the memories come flooding back.

Bob.

[historydavid]

But I'll bet the crew were not very happy the day that aircraft from the Ark Royal attacked them, having mistaken the SHEFFIELD for the BISMARK. Probably very busy in the laundry following that.

[tim lewin]

having been a part of the Bismarck pursuit Sheffield was also there for the Battle of North Cape in the pursuit of Bismarck's sister ship Scharnhorst where she was damaged by splinters from 11" shells. A busy ship!
tim

[alanbenn]

Being a Barnsley lad originally I always had an Interest in the ships affiliated with the towns and city's around Yorkshire.

The 'shiney Sheff' being one of them.

Ark Royal was affiliated with Leeds, and I was fortunate enough to be part of the ships company that was awarded the freedom of the city in the presence of the Queen Mother in 1973.

Here's a photo of the Sheffield.

Alan

[John Brown]

having been a part of the Bismarck pursuit Sheffield was also there for the Battle of North Cape in the pursuit of Bismarck's sister ship Scharnhorst where she was damaged by splinters from 11" shells. A busy ship!
tim

Tim!!!

Go wash your mouth out with soap:eek:


Regards...John:)

[tim lewin]

just checking youre paying attention; so Bismarck was the sister ship to Tirpitz and Scharnhorst to Gneisenau....its all relative, in a manner of speaking! but the point being that Sheffield was there for both major battles, and a lot more in between. How may other cruisers were in so many actions and survived the war?

[nicholas]

Being a Barnsley lad originally I always had an Interest in the ships affiliated with the towns and city's around Yorkshire.

The 'shiney Sheff' being one of them.

Ark Royal was affiliated with Leeds, and I was fortunate enough to be part of the ships company that was awarded the freedom of the city in the presence of the Queen Mother in 1973.

Here's a photo of the Sheffield.

Alan

hello there...
i have been looking for info on hms sheffield for a while now and dont seem to be gettin anywere. my grandad was on it wen they sunk the bismark!. is there a certain website or something i could possibly look at?? do they have a crew list for that time aswell??
no worries if u dont know! thought id ask. ta

[Chris Howat]

Heres a colour picture of the shiny Sheff in Malta in 1958

[hartman045]

I run a local church graveyard website. There are 82 CWGC memorials in it. I have added each memorial to my site with photographs and what details I can find about each of the 'fallen' servicemen. There are a few Royal Navy, One is after WW2. He was a cook on the 'Sheffield' Here is the entry:-

Kane. C/MX110041 Leading Cook Hugh Kane (23) Royal Navy. H.M.S. Sheffield. dod: 23/7/1947.

I would be grateful if anyone can tell me if the ship was in some 'action' on this date and where etc.

As a matter of interest here are the others. Any information you can help me with would be gratefully received.

HMS Comorin (1947)
H.M.S. Imperieuse. (1947)
HMS Vernon (1918)
HMS Lookout (Post war 1945)
HMS Gallant (1945)

[John Brown]

Hartman

Welcome to the forum

This passage from the naval-history.net site indicates that it is unlikely 'Sheffield' was involved in an action at the time of Mr Kane's death. He more probably died through illness or an accident.

'HMS SHEFFIELD completed her UK refit work in July 1946 and worked-up in the Mediterranean. Until 1954 most of her service was as Flagship on the America and West Indies Station with periods in Home waters including attendance at the Coronation Review. During General Service commissions between 1954 and 1958 the ship was deployed in Home waters and in the Mediterranean. Reduced to Reserve at Portsmouth in 1959 she became Flagship of the Reserve Fleet at Portsmouth in place of HMS VANGUARD. Placed on the Disposal List in 1964 she was towed to Rosyth to be de-equipped in 1967 and on completion taken in tow to Faslane on 18th September that year for demolition by Shipbreaking Industries. The second ship to carry this name was a Type 42 Destroyer which was sunk in air attacks during the operations against Argentina in April 1982'.



Hope this helps and good luck with your research.


Regards....John

[hartman045]

Many thanks John,
I did suspect that, because of the date (and some of the others) that the ship/s may not have been engaged in any battle/conflict. I know I will have to consult the local archives and newspapers eventually but at the moment I am committed to researching other areas of local history.
You may check out the CWGC memorials here:
http://stmaryschurchheworth.com/
My thanks again

[alanbenn]

Hartman, welcome to the forum, I have just looked at your wonderful website...the church is one I pass several times a week when at work and I was unaware of the military graves there..

If I can help in anyway with photo's of ships or ships badges for any of the Royal navy personnel on the site please send me a 'Private message'

Regards
Alan

Ambulance crew...Gateshead station

[jbryce1437]

Hartman, you must have put a lot of time and effort into the site. Just spent quite a while browsing around it. I pass the church regularly and was unaware of its history. Thanks again.

Jim

[hartman045]

Thank you both for your comments. I appreciate them.

[ken platt]

Born in Sheffield, served on Shiney Sheff 1952-55, America/West Indies,marched thro town fixed bayonets for Coronation, based in Bermuda and witnessed first Sub underwater Atlantic crossing, HM/S Andrew, celebrated in fleet canteen, and finally releived by HMS Superb, Ken Platt, ex boy bugler.

[oldsalt]

The shiney Sheff was known as that because the ships door & hatch clips were made of stainless steel donated by the city of Sheffield. The Sheffield's ships bell is in Sheffield Cathedral.

[peteber1058]

Here's a couple of photos I found going through Dad's papers Winter & Summer Cruises, all right for some and I know Dad enjoyed them. Hope it brings back some good memories for you Shiny Sheff people.

Peter

[astraltrader]

Peter - I dont know if you are interested but we have a superb thread already in existence about World cruises with the Royal Navy which was started by one of our senior members Cylla and features an excellent collection of postcards/cards similar to the ones you have shown of Sheffield, kindly posted by another of the forums stalwarts SRG1970.

It is well worth a look. The appropriate link is shown below.


http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2455&highlight=TOUR

[peteber1058]

Peter - I dont know if you are interested but we have a superb thread already in existence about World cruises with the Royal Navy which was started by one of our senior members Cylla and features an excellent collection of postcards/cards similar to the ones you have shown of Sheffield, kindly posted by another of the forums stalwarts SRG1970.

It is well worth a look. The appropriate link is shown below.


http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2455&highlight=TOUR
Thank you for drawing my attention to the link. There are so many threads that I suppose I'm liable to miss something already in being.
Regards
Peter

[tim lewin]

here is a well known picture, even more so now, taken aboard Sheffield on the Kola Run, the wave is almost bridge-height (approx 60 feet), and its real! try that in an armed trawler of 400 tonnes.

The other two are Sheffield's Walrus.

tim

[SCRG1970]

Undated photo of Sheffield showing why she deserved her nickname of the "Shiny Sheff".

Regards

Gerry

[GilligansIsland]

thanks for the topic, my father was on board HMS Sheffield during WW2 as an Artificer, he enjoyed serving on that ship

James

[VirtualF]

I was reading "To Sail No More" and one of the captions stated that when HMS Sheffield was finally listed for scrapping she was destored and all useful equipement was removed.

Nothing unusual there,but then it stated that her 6 inch guns were removed as well.
Now this was 1967 apart from HMS Belfast and ? HMS Gambia all her sisters and close sisters had gone by now so what would the RN want with 9 x 6 inch gun barrels? The only thing I can think of is that there were several ex RN cruisers in foriegn service who may have needed spares!

Matt

[Dave Hutson]

Hi Matt,

Tiger, Blake and Lion carried 6" throughout their lives - maybe that's the reason they were retained.

No doubt our members of the Gunnery world can elaborate.

Dave H

[VirtualF]

Hi Dave,

I thought about HMS Tiger and her sisters but Im pretty sure that they had a completely different type of barrel (water-cooled?) and different ammunition.


Matt

[patroclus]

........ The only thing I can think of is that there were several ex RN cruisers in foriegn service who may have needed spares!

Matt

This seems to be a reasonable assumption.
NEWFOUNDLAND and CEYLON were sold to Peru and were still afloat until the end of the 70s. NIGERIA served in the Indian Navy until the 80s and the ACHILLES (same gun, different mounting) until the late 70s.

.

[jbryce1437]

For resale abroad is a good assumption. I believe the boilers were removed from Leviathan for the same reason.
The query set me thinking as to what happened to the mountain of spare gear that was kept at Royal Naval Spare Parts Distribution Centre at Eaglescliffe, Co Durham, when that was shut down?
I suppose with such a small fleet now, they just order spares form Argos or Screwfix, for next day delivery :D

[stanley]

Being a Barnsley lad originally I always had an Interest in the ships affiliated with the towns and city's around Yorkshire.

The 'shiney Sheff' being one of them.

Ark Royal was affiliated with Leeds, and I was fortunate enough to be part of the ships company that was awarded the freedom of the city in the presence of the Queen Mother in 1973.

Here's a photo of the Sheffield.

Alan

hi Alan, just seen the photo of sheffield with badge, unfortunately it is the badge for the later sheffield, i was onboard 1950/52, very new o/d, STAN

[alanbenn]

Stan, if you drop by the ships badges thread and look back through the posts you'll also find the cruiser version of the badge.

If you can't find one send me a private message with your email address and I'll send a copy of it to you.

Regards
Alan

[stanley]

Stan, if you drop by the ships badges thread and look back through the posts you'll also find the cruiser version of the badge.

If you can't find one send me a private message with your email address and I'll send a copy of it to you.

Regards
Alan

Thanks Alan just what I needed Stan

[stanley]

Born in Sheffield, served on Shiney Sheff 1952-55, America/West Indies,marched thro town fixed bayonets for Coronation, based in Bermuda and witnessed first Sub underwater Atlantic crossing, HM/S Andrew, celebrated in fleet canteen, and finally releived by HMS Superb, Ken Platt, ex boy bugler.

Hi Ken,just seen your time on the Shiny Sheff, I was on JAN 51/ AUG 53, I was an o/sea, f/cstle mess,unsure if we met, unfortunately time has not been to kind to the old man. I am sure we will find some things of interest, I too was in the guard. hope to hear from you STAN

[JackW1208]

I only saw the Sheffield once, that was at Rosyth in early 1967 whilst she was de-equipping, and she looked in a sorry state. The ships name plate was clearly visible. I assumed at the time she was being broken up, but a bit of delving on a history site, said she was towed to Faslane for breaking up.

Jack.

[alanandbren]

Hi Ken,just seen your time on the Shiny Sheff, I was on JAN 51/ AUG 53, I was an o/sea, f/cstle mess,unsure if we met, unfortunately time has not been to kind to the old man. I am sure we will find some things of interest, I too was in the guard. hope to hear from you STAN

Stan,
There is a very good book published called Stoker Greenwoods Navy, which
tells the story of Sheffields commission 51/52 west Indies. A cracking read.
+ good photos.

[Derek Dicker]

I remember the Sheff, being moored off Ganges in 1957, the one and only time I have been on anything larger than a destroyer. Photo taken by Mr Fisk of our class during the visit, unfortunately I do not have the photo, donated to the Ganges Museum many moons ago.


Derek (Bunts)

[alanandbren]

Derek, dont remember the sheff of Ganges in 57, I remember when we went down to Chatham on the MFV that was at Ganges and went onboard the Suberb.

[stanley]

Stan,
There is a very good book published called Stoker Greenwoods Navy, which
tells the story of Sheffields commission 51/52 west Indies. A cracking read.
+ good photos.

Hi Alan, thanks for the book reference, have scanned the net lots of them out there, are they all the same or is there one you could recommend? Many thanks STAN

[alanandbren]

Hi Stan,
been on google and they all look the same as the copy I've got.Sydney Greenwood is the author, good luck with your Quest.
Alan

[stanley]

Hi Stan,
been on google and they all look the same as the copy I've got.Sydney Greenwood is the author, good luck with your Quest.
Alan

Thanks Alan, will make my choice, STAN

[Scurs]

alanandbren..........will concur..........I was at GANGES in 1957, certainly don't recall SHEFFIELD but SUPERB definately visited, our class went onboard her.

[Derek Dicker]

Hi Allan/Scurs, sorry got to agree, Twas Surperb not Sheffield. Must be age.

Derek (Bunts)

[alanandbren]

Scurs and Derek, did you go down to Chatham on the MFV trip to visit Superb which I remember doing,and visiting the NAAFI in the evening under the watchfull eye of our instructor. I dont remember her visiting Ganges.

[Derek Dicker]

Hi Allan, didnt go to Chatham, Surberb was defo moored in the Orwell.Stour, 1957.



Derek (Bunts)

[alanandbren]

You could be right Derek,I can't remember her there.Our class went on the MFV trip to Chats and went aboard her in the dockyard,57 or 58 I'm not certain.

[limeybiker]

Shiny Sheff's Bell, and white ensign, taken, whilst on a visit to the UK. An oppo lives in Sheffield. Ex Met River Police.

[jbryce1437]

Visited HMS Sheffield to look at her Ring Main System when she was reserve fleet at Pompey, while on EM's course at Collingwood. I think we were bussed round to Whale Island. The attached photo is of that period. Some of the ships in the photo are Sheffield; Rame Head; Crossbow; Rapid; Volage; Cavendish; Chailey; Protector and Cassandra.

Jim

[astraltrader]

A really interesting shot Jim. VMT. :)

[limeybiker]

Visited HMS Sheffield to look at her Ring Main System when she was reserve fleet at Pompey, while on EM's course at Collingwood. I think we were bussed round to Whale Island. The attached photo is of that period. Some of the ships in the photo are Sheffield; Rame Head; Crossbow; Rapid; Volage; Cavendish; Chailey; Protector and Cassandra.

Jim

Super Pic Jim, reminds me of my time on the Belfast when she was Bellerophen in the same berth in 1967.
Looks like the Tiger in No.3 Basin.

[dr_herbie]

Been reading all your memories of HMS Sheffield. Have inherited a few bits of memorabilia from my uncle - Colin Herbert - who was a Stoker on Sheffield certainly in 1952, has I have his certificate of crossing the equator and postcard of USA tour. A book by Stoker Greenwood along with muddled memories of stories. Would love to hear of stories of that time and if anyone knew him.

[Hugh Williams]

Hi,

On the subject of good books, there is a great book on HMS Sheffield, by Ronald Basset. Full title is HMS Sheffield - The Life and Times of 'Old Shiny'. ISBN 0-85368-911-3. Arms and Armour Press.

The Ship is a particular favourite of mine, as is her class. The same can be said of another hard fought ship, HMS Kenya, from the Colony Class.

But...cruisers are a near obsession of mine......Whenever I was on a course in the City of London, I would take time out for a visit to HMS Belfast. The aural recreation of the Battle of the North Cape, which as we know the Sheffield took part, is extremely eerie, sends shivers up your spine.

Regards,

Hugh Williams.

[Shinysheff]

I have that book, a good read. The photos of old shiny with her turret roof ripped off by a large wave are impressive.

[Hugh Williams]

Hi,

Once again, I have downloaded photos of this ship. Thank you for the posting of same, I do appreciate these photos.

Regards,

Hugh Williams

[Roderick Besley]

My father Trafford Besley was a gunner on this ship during ww2 , i was just wondering if there are any survivors of that era who knew him.

[stanley]

Been reading all your memories of HMS Sheffield. Have inherited a few bits of memorabilia from my uncle - Colin Herbert - who was a Stoker on Sheffield certainly in 1952, has I have his certificate of crossing the equator and postcard of USA tour. A book by Stoker Greenwood along with muddled memories of stories. Would love to hear of stories of that time and if anyone knew him.

Hi, Herbie I was onship 1950/52, as a very new o/seamen, in f/cstle mess known as the jungle, I am sure that I didn't know your dad personnally but I do have some memorabillia not to much as time and drafts haven't been to kind. If you fancy writing that would be great, regards Stan

[oldsalt]

Sheffield's ships bell is in the Sheffield Cathedral.

[Urrell]

Hello
I am trawling the web trying to find some memories for my dad Frank Pratt who served on HMS Sheffield from 1941 I believe.

Dad is 87 years old and has only recently started talking about his experiences in the war. I have bought him "HMS Sheffield, the Shiny Sheff" and am sure he will enjoy reading that at Christmas (if not before;-)). He was invited and went to the commissioning of HMS Sheffield in 1975.

I do have several of his photos on board and ashore here and in Boston and will try to display one. I will put the rest somewhere here later, If anyone finds them interesting I can email a larger more detailed copy than displayed here.

[Dreadnought]

Hi Urrell, a very warm welcome to World Naval Ships Forums.

Thanks for sharing that photograph with us. I have changed it to a thunmbnail attachment, as this our preferred method of upl;oading attachments. The reasoning forbehind this, and instructions for doing so if you are experiencing dificulties, is ecplained in this guidance thread:

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7500

If you haven’t already done so, I strongly recommend you visit our “Welcome” thread (link below). Here, you will find help and guidance for using the Forum, and some further links to other guidance and tips that may be useful to you.

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Should you require any further assistance with any aspects of the Forum, please do not hesitate to contact myself or one of the other Forum Moderators.
[/COLOR]

[Urrell]

Pictures my father has from 1941 on, last ones are from when in Boston for refit

[Urrell]

More pictures

[Urrell]

Few more pictures

[astraltrader]

Some interesting photos Urrell - thanks for posting them!

[sierra hotel]

Undated photo of Sheffield showing why she deserved her nickname of the "Shiny Sheff".

Regards

Gerry

Delicious modeler shot. More ! More !

[Hugh Williams]

Delicious modeler shot. More ! More !

Concur!

Hugh Williams

[Hugh Williams]

Few more pictures
Nice one's indeed. Gracious thanks for your postings. Being a Town Class 'nut' there aren't enough WW2 photos around for me! The deck details are great. Nice photo of HMS Sheffield and minesweeper HMS Seagull lying in a Russian port, dates around 12/1941.

Regards,

Hugh Williams

[GaryH]

Thanks Urrell.

Great photos

[barracuda]

Super photos. Thank you for sharing them.

Peter

[Tommygunner1309]

Hello
I am trawling the web trying to find some memories for my dad Frank Pratt who served on HMS Sheffield from 1941 I believe.

Dad is 87 years old and has only recently started talking about his experiences in the war. I have bought him "HMS Sheffield, the Shiny Sheff" and am sure he will enjoy reading that at Christmas (if not before;-)). He was invited and went to the commissioning of the HMS Sheffield in 1975.

I do have several of his photos on board and ashore here and in Boston and will try to display one. I will put the rest somewhere here later, If anyone finds them interesting I can email a larger more detailed copy than displayed here.

Hello Shipmate
Do you know what branch your dad was in. My Instructor on TS Arethusa was a Mr Fuller, know as the 'Wiz' who was a bunting tosser on the Shiny Sheff during, I think, the Bismark episode, so would have been 1941.
Regards
Tom

[justsearchin]

I am searching for my Grandfather William Peter Mulholland, born 1909. He was a Merchant seaman before the war and then joined HMS Sheffield between 1939-45 I think. I believe he went to Boston USA late 1944. Sometimes referred to as Pete, he may have transferred to HMS Lothian at some stage. Can anyone help? How do I find a crew list of HMS Sheffield?

[ludsie]

Has anyone got any detailed shots of the enclosed bridgeworks on the Sheffield?

Does anyone know when it was installed?

[philip freeman]

Hello
I am trawling the web trying to find some memories for my dad Frank Pratt who served on HMS Sheffield from 1941 I believe.

Dad is 87 years old and has only recently started talking about his experiences in the war. I have bought him "HMS Sheffield, the Shiny Sheff" and am sure he will enjoy reading that at Christmas (if not before;-)). He was invited and went to the commissioning of HMS Sheffield in 1975.

I do have several of his photos on board and ashore here and in Boston and will try to display one. I will put the rest somewhere here later, If anyone finds them interesting I can email a larger more detailed copy than displayed here.

my father was on the sheffield from 1941 onward john ernest freeman from rothwell in northamptonshire sadly dad is no longer with us and hardly ever spoke of his exploits during the conflict and i am trying to find a few things about the time

[philip freeman]

hello my name is philip i am searching for any information concerning my late father john ernest freeman who served on hms sheffield during the second world war.i know he was on the malta convoys and the russian convoys and the sinking of the scharnhoust i remember as a boy he had lots of photos but when he passed away could not be found would just like to hear from anyone who knew dad or has any photos they would like to share with me thank you:)

[qprdave]

Hi Phillip. Welcome to the forum. I hope that you will get all of the information that you are searching for

Is some information to get the ball rolling.


HMS Sheffield

Class and type: Town-class light cruiser
Builder: Vickers Armstrong
Laid down: 31 January 1935
Launched: 23 July 1936
Commissioned: 25 August 1937
Identification: Pennant number: C24
Fate: Scrapped at Faslane, 1967

HMS Sheffield was one of the Southampton sub class of the Town-class cruisers of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She took part in actions against several major German warships. Unlike most Royal Navy ships of her time, her fittings were constructed from stainless steel instead of the more traditional brass. This was an attempt to reduce the amount of cleaning required on the part of the crew. Her nickname, the "Shiny Sheff", stemmed from this.

At the outbreak of war, Sheffield served with the 18th Cruiser Squadron, patrolling the Denmark Straits and then, in April 1940, she was engaged in the Norwegian Campaign. After a short spell carrying out anti-invasion duties in the English Channel, she joined Force H, based in Gibraltar. During that time, she operated in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic until the year's end.

In 1941, she participated in the shelling of Genoa (9 February), operations against Vichy convoys and supporting air reinforcements to Malta. In May, Sheffield took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, narrowly escaping a friendly fire torpedo attack by HMS Ark Royal's Fairey Swordfish; 11 TSRs dropped (despite having been warned Sheffield was in the vicinity), and only defective Duplex exploders and fine ship handling saved her from disaster (In the report of the attack, Admiral Sir John Tovey, commanding Home Fleet, was told only no hits were scored on Bismarck. The reaction of Sheffield's crew "has not made its way into the official records".) On 12 June, she located and sunk one of Bismarck's tankers, the Friedrich Breme. After the destruction of another German supply ship, the Kota Penang in early October (with HMS Kenya), Sheffield returned to Britain.

She was occupied on Arctic convoys until hitting a mine off Iceland on 3 March 1942 and was under repair until July. After more Arctic convoys, Sheffield joined the forces supporting the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) in November. In December, Sheffield and Jamaica formed "Force R", under the command of Rear-Admiral Robert L. Burnett (in Sheffield), which provided cover for convoy JW51B. The convoy was attacked by a strong German surface force, but, in the ensuing action (Battle of the Barents Sea), the Germans withdrew and Sheffield sank the German destroyer Friedrich Eckholdt, while damaging the cruiser Admiral Hipper at the same time, Eckholdt mistaking Sheffield for the Hipper. During this engagement, the destroyer HMS Achates (H12) and the minesweeper HMS Bramble were sunk by gunfire of the two German vessels.
Ice forming on a 20-inch signal projector on HMS Sheffield whilst escorting an Arctic convoy to Russia

In February 1943, Sheffield moved to operate in the Bay of Biscay and, in July and August, she supported the landings at Salerno (Operation Avalanche). Returning yet again to the Arctic, she took part in the sinking of the battleship Scharnhorst off the north coast of Norway, in late December.

In 1944, Sheffield was an escort for the Royal Navy carrier force that executed a series of air attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz, between April and August. These had limited success and responsibility was passed to the Royal Air Force.

A lengthy refit in Boston and in Britain kept Sheffield out of action until after the end of the war.

The refit was completed in May 1946 and Sheffield alternated between duties in the West Indies (where in 1954 she served as flagship of the 8th Cruiser Squadron) and in home waters and the Mediterranean. From June 1952 to May 1953, her commanding officer was Capt. John Inglis, who was to become director of Naval Intelligence in July 1954.

There were further refits in 1949/50 and 1954. In 1954 she played the part of HMS Ajax in the war film The Battle of the River Plate. She went into reserve in January 1959 and became flagship of the Home Fleet until September 1964, when she was placed on the disposal list.

Her equipment was removed at Rosyth in 1967 and was then broken up at Faslane in the same year. The stainless steel ship's bell, which was made by Hadfield's of Sheffield, was preserved and today hangs in Sheffield Cathedral along with her battle ensign.

Dave

[qprdave]

Two reports of HMS Sheffield

Laid down
Published in The Times on the 1st February 1935

Launching
Published in The Times on the 23rd July 1936

Afloat 2xpt)
Published in The Times on the 24th July 1936

[Admiral Tennent]

Somebody out there may be interested in this:

On ebay there is a photograph up for auction of the crew of HMS Sheffield taken 11-30 am April 1947 in Trinidad.
I have captured this cropped detail as a sample for anyone who may be interested. ( I would have been only just over 10 when it was taken) See next post

Just joined World Ships Forum,I have a photo of the crew of it was taken
10.April 1947 Crew Numbers 899 + one, still can not see which one is me.
The Sheffield did 3 Cruises in my time West Indies,South America to Falklands & Canada & USA

[D01Caprice]

But I'll bet the crew were not very happy the day that aircraft from the Ark Royal attacked them, having mistaken the SHEFFIELD for the BISMARK. Probably very busy in the laundry following that.

Doesn't say much for the eyesight of the fly boys does it? Did they ever think of counting the number of funnels? Or the guns per turret? Or the sheer size of the thing? I'll wager most of those about at the time could differentiate between a 'Town' class and a 'Colony' class cruiser so how could such a mistake be made? Would anybody here mistakenly think that the BELFAST could be the VANGUARD?

If perchance one of the Swordfish had torpedoed SHEFFIELD would anyone hazard a guess at any repercussions?

[Polycell]

I was on Sheffield at the end of 64 when she along with Rame Head was Bellerophon reserve ships accomodation etc. She was tied up as one of the earlier piccies ion this topic show along side a pontoon of Whale island.
I joined in October/Noivember time 64 and got given the job as CPO's messmen on Sheffield. Brillant job. I remained there till April-ish 65. The ship was in a sad state.

[RNfanDan]

Doesn't say much for the eyesight of the fly boys does it? Did they ever think of counting the number of funnels? Or the guns per turret? Or the sheer size of the thing? I'll wager most of those about at the time could differentiate between a 'Town' class and a 'Colony' class cruiser so how could such a mistake be made? Would anybody here mistakenly think that the BELFAST could be the VANGUARD?

If perchance one of the Swordfish had torpedoed SHEFFIELD would anyone hazard a guess at any repercussions?

A rather shameful posting, in my opinion, but I will grudgingly answer...

Perhaps it is best left to the words of a very fine author, the late Sir Ludovic Kennedy from his excellent book Pursuit, a man who was actually involved in the Bismarck affair at the time (as an RN officer aboard HMS Tartar), to explain why the Swordfish pilots attacked Sheffield:

"When Stewart-Moore's striking force left Ark Royal at 2:50 p.m., they went up into the cloud, laid off a course to take them to the enemy. Several of the planes had recently been equipped with radar, and after some forty minutes' flying they picked up a ship right ahead. The pilots had not expected to contact Bismarck so soon, but as they had been told at their briefing there were no other ships near, they knew the contact must be the enemy. They dived down through the cloud, saw the outlines of a warship right ahead, went back into the cloud to get into positions for attack."

Sheffield's captain, fortunately, saw what was happening and understood that a mistake was being made. He ordered his crew not to open fire on the planes, then proceeded to very skillfully handle his ship so that not one torpedo hit was obtained. I doubt there was an officer in the whole Navy that would have done differently under the circumstances, everyone knew what was at stake, and the pilots' error was completely understandable.

They weren't flying modern, communications-laden aircraft, they were out there essentially alone with their open cockpits, freezing winds, in aircraft that were practically obsolete for the task at hand. They had been given a mission briefing, told what to expect, and sent out on their task like a dog told to "go fetch".

Further from Kennedy's book: "That they hadn't recognised Sheffield earlier is proof of the power of suggestion...expecting to see Bismarck, Bismarck was what they saw."

I hope that any "repercussions" mentioned, will more sternly fall upon the original poster's insensitive rant, than any which may have fallen on the heroic pilots of the Swordfish that day, when they mistakenly attacked Sheffield.

[D01Caprice]

A rather shameful posting, in my opinion, but I will grudgingly answer...

Perhaps it is best left to the words of a very fine author, the late Sir Ludovic Kennedy from his excellent book Pursuit, a man who was actually involved in the Bismarck affair at the time (as an RN officer aboard HMS Tartar), to explain why the Swordfish pilots attacked Sheffield:

"When Stewart-Moore's striking force left Ark Royal at 2:50 p.m., they went up into the cloud, laid off a course to take them to the enemy. Several of the planes had recently been equipped with radar, and after some forty minutes' flying they picked up a ship right ahead. The pilots had not expected to contact Bismarck so soon, but as they had been told at their briefing there were no other ships near, they knew the contact must be the enemy. They dived down through the cloud, saw the outlines of a warship right ahead, went back into the cloud to get into positions for attack."

Sheffield's captain, fortunately, saw what was happening and understood that a mistake was being made. He ordered his crew not to open fire on the planes, then proceeded to very skillfully handle his ship so that not one torpedo hit was obtained. I doubt there was an officer in the whole Navy that would have done differently under the circumstances, everyone knew what was at stake, and the pilots' error was completely understandable.

They weren't flying modern, communications-laden aircraft, they were out there essentially alone with their open cockpits, freezing winds, in aircraft that were practically obsolete for the task at hand. They had been given a mission briefing, told what to expect, and sent out on their task like a dog told to "go fetch".

Further from Kennedy's book: "That they hadn't recognised Sheffield earlier is proof of the power of suggestion...expecting to see Bismarck, Bismarck was what they saw."

I hope that any "repercussions" mentioned, will more sternly fall upon the original poster's insensitive rant, than any which may have fallen on the heroic pilots of the Swordfish that day, when they mistakenly attacked Sheffield.
Only the penultimate and ultimate sentences make any sense to me. Are you suggesting that they offloaded their torpedoes blind? Is it unreasonable to suppose that you have to see a target before launching an aerial torpedo at it? Wouldn't the pilot have to estimate the target speed and course before deciding what the aim off should be? As for knowing that what they saw MUST be the enemy proved to be wrong. They merely supposed that it was.

Kennedy's comments are superfluous. He was not there, arriving the following day when the battle proper between capital ships began and so was not a party to the action, nor had any insight into the thoughts, decisions and information passed, or not, by Staff Officers. Furthermore ASAIK he was never aircrew.

As officers and pilots in command of aircraft it is reasonable to assume that they had a reasonable degree of intelligence and a working knowledge of the configuration of warships, both friend and foe, and could be expected to have the ability to tell the difference between a German battleship and a RN cruiser. Are you suggesting that not one of the pilots had the nous to realise that the intelligence reports that they had been fed were not accurate? And had the balls to say so?

I do not cast aspersions on the courage, dedication to duty and fortitude of the pilots and readily and without reservation applaud them but I do question their abilities in the area of target recognition. I also question the performance of staff officers in that the information that SHEFFIELD was shadowing the quarry was not passed to the attacking force.

By asking were there any repercussions after the event does not suggest that any one person was to blame for a colossal foul up which might well have resulted in BISMARCK escaping, and that courts martial were considered. Surely Tovey held a post mortem on the event to identify the reasons for the abject failure and decisions made to obviate a recurrence. Wouldn't he want to know how and what mistake, for which as the S/O present he was accountable, had been made? Without question, at least to sentient people, there were lessons to be learned to further the attainment of excellence.

Rather than accusing me of ranting I suggest that it you that is throwing his toys out of his pram primarily because you did not understand and give due consideration to what I wrote.

I was in SUPERB when the shiny Sheff relieved us on the AWI Station off what was then British Guiana in October 1953, and I wished then that I was in her rather than the shambles that the cockroach ridden Super B was. My last 3 months in the Service were spent in SHEFFIELD as she lay at North Corner rotting away, providing accommodation for the Reserve Fleet personnel. On more than one occasion I wandered up to the bridge and sat in the Captain's chair and relived in my mind the actions that she had seen. It was so very sad to witness the sorry state that she and the ship's company were in bearing in mind the sterling service she had given.

[RNfanDan]

I'll address your points in order, then.

Did they ever think of counting the number of funnels? Or the guns per turret? Good questions. I am loathe to answer with more questions, but for the moment, I will:
a) Were the "flyboys" briefed on any of Bismarck's recognition features, especially the ship's funnel size, number, etc.?
b) Were the "flyboys" informed as to how many main turrets Bismarck featured, and/or their arrangement (4x2)?
c) Would the "flyboys" have overflown their target ship (or at least gotten close enough to do so, before starting their run-ins) to verify the number of barrels each turret featured? I somehow don't believe they would have been concentrating on such matters, especially in light of their apparent belief that it was Bismarck which they dipped below the clouds and sighted, before regaining approach altitude. Again, this hinges on the veracity of Kennedy's account.
d) Surprise must have been of primary importance in their mission, and it should be considered unthinkable that they would deliberately delay their attacks, in planes of barely 100 mph speed, to rehearse. Think, man.

Or the sheer size of the thing?
At the distances and in the sea/weather conditions around Bismarck at the time, would the pilots...err, "flyboys"... have been able to register the difference in size, with no other ships around to help judge the matter?

As officers and pilots in command of aircraft it is reasonable to assume that they had a reasonable degree of intelligence and a working knowledge of the configuration of warships, both friend and foe, and could be expected to have the ability to tell the difference between a German battleship and a RN cruiser. Are you suggesting that not one of the pilots had the nous to realise that the intelligence reports that they had been fed were not accurate?

* I am not suggesting any such thing. At least three (according to Kennedy's account) DID pull-up after beginning their approaches, but as to whether they realized they were fed inaccurate information, I can only assume they did---but even then, they shared the same expectations until something clicked, and they realized it was Sheffield they were attacking.

Perhaps someone with more information at immediate hand, could better address the issues you raise. However, your initial post seems quite clearly derisive of those air crews going into action under mistaken belief, as being of questionable competence. It is from the viewpoint of this "pram" which I responded, and I will further point out that friend and foe, particularly from the air, have been mis-identified as one another by crews flying belligerent aircraft, ever since planes first flew in war.

I have not the time nor the desire to research what you probably should research, for yourself---but I would be willing to go out on a limb here, and state that someone has better answers for you. I also believe much more information, from better sources than my singular Kennedy reference, are available.

Your flippant and disrespectful postulation of the Swordfish aircrews...err, "flyboys"...and especially their eyesight, remains assailable--in spite of your attempt to redress your comments.

I will not respond further, in this venue.

Good day.