The WW2 Battleship That Struck a Target From an Impossible Distance

Outnumbered and outgunned during the fierce naval skirmish off Calabria, HMS Warspite’s crew targeted the Italian flagship Giulio Cesare from a distance of over 15 miles, leaving a gaping wound in the enemy vessel and instilling terror in her crew.

Warspite, despite its flaws, became an emblem of hope and resilience. From the Battle of Jutland in World War 1 to the pursuit of German destroyers in Narvik and the amphibious landings at Normandy in World War 2, this iconic battleship made decisive interventions and reshaped the dynamics of naval warfare.

German sailors of the Third Reich came to dread Warspite’s silhouette, echoing the same fear their fathers felt during World War 1. But it was the ship’s crews, throughout her service, that raised her to mythic stature, giving her the reputation as one of the most precise and devastating battleships in the Royal Navy. Those she fiercely defended lovingly dubbed her the “Grand Old Lady.”

To her foes, she was an ever-looming terror.

Admiral Cunningham, Warspite’s commander during her encounter with the flagship Giulio Cesare, later remarked: (QUOTE) “Never again would the Italian Navy willingly confront the fire of British battleships.”

Outnumbered and outgunned during the fierce naval skirmish off Calabria, HMS Warspite’s crew targeted the Italian flagship Giulio Cesare from a distance of over 15 miles, leaving a gaping wound in the enemy vessel and instilling terror in her crew. Warspite, despite its flaws, became an emblem of hope and resilience. From the

Battle of Jutland in World War 1 to the pursuit of German destroyers in Narvik and the amphibious landings at Normandy in World War 2, this iconic battleship made decisive interventions and reshaped the dynamics of naval warfare. German sailors of the Third Reich came to dread Warspite’s silhouette, echoing the same fear their

Fathers felt during World War 1. But it was the ship’s crews, throughout her service, that raised her to mythic stature, giving her the reputation as one of the most precise and devastating battleships in the Royal Navy. Those she fiercely defended lovingly dubbed her the “Grand Old Lady.” To her foes, she was

An ever-looming terror. Admiral Cunningham, Warspite’s commander during her encounter with the flagship Giulio Cesare, later remarked: (QUOTE) “Never again would the Italian Navy willingly confront the fire of British battleships.” For centuries, Britain’s Navy reigned supreme, unparalleled as the world’s premier maritime force. But as the 20th century dawned, the burgeoning German Empire,

Eager for supremacy, rapidly expanded its High Seas Fleet. Britain had recently launched four revolutionary Orion Class battleships under the 1909-10 naval program. These behemoths, boasting 13.5-inch guns, set out to dominate the waves. Yet, for every British stride, the Germans matched pace. By 1911, they had commenced work on the formidable König Class battleships,

Equipped with ten 12-inch main guns, fourteen 5.9-inch secondary weapons, and a staggering fourteen-inch belt armor. The Germans didn’t stop there. 1912 saw the introduction of the mighty Derfflinger Class battlecruisers. These warships were fitted with eight 12-inch and twelve 5.9-inch guns, protected by belt armor as thick as twelve inches. Most British battlecruisers,

In comparison, only had a maximum of nine. To retain their maritime edge, Britain needed to do more than just match the German advances—they needed to eclipse them. Then came Winston Churchill. At 38, the First Lord of the Admiralty made a daring proposition. In May 1912, he approached the House

Of Commons with a plan to craft a new breed of superdreadnought unlike anything the world had witnessed. These ships were to sport untested 15-inch guns, possess unparalleled armor, and in a dramatic departure from tradition, they would abandon coal boilers, a domestic resource, in favor of oil boilers sourced from the distant Middle East.

Churchill, ever the masterful orator, made his case with passion and precision. He painted a vivid picture for the MPs: (QUOTE) “Imagine a battle between two eggshells striking each other with hammers. The value of striking first, hitting hardest, and sustaining the attack…requires no clearer demonstration.” The MPs were convinced. The super

Dreadnoughts got the green light. On November 26, 1913, Churchill’s vision took form. At Devonport Dockyard, HMS Warspite touched water for the first time. For months, Warspite, alongside her sister ships Queen Elizabeth and HMS Barham, reigned as the pinnacle of naval engineering. But their era at the top was fleeting. By 1916, Germany’s Bayern-class

Battleships, armed with 15-inch guns and capable of 24 knots, took to the seas. Yet, Churchill’s foresight had been astute. His relentless push for the Queen Elizabeth Battleships would prove not merely beneficial but essential in the looming storm that Britain was soon to face. 1915 marked Warspite’s maiden voyage, but the sea’s embrace

Was anything but gentle. From the onset, this warship seemed cursed by a spell of bad luck. During her initial trial runs, Warspite faltered. Her engines, instead of roaring with might, choked and stuttered. Repeated breakdowns plagued the crew, presenting them with a litany of mechanical challenges they had never anticipated. Yet, the streak of

Misfortune didn’t end there. Later, in 1915, Warspite faced a calamity not from enemy fire but from an unexpected source: her own escort. Misguided by her accompanying destroyers, she was directed through a narrow channel meant for much smaller vessels. Warspite found herself grounded, crippled, with her hull significantly damaged. Rescuing her required

A herculean effort. Once refloated, she limped to port, awaiting two painstaking months of repairs. Upon recovery, she took her place with the Grand Fleet, now part of the newly formed 5th Battle Squadron designated for the Queen Elizabeth-class ships. But it seemed fate wasn’t done testing Warspite. In December, another blow came.

During a routine exercise, she collided with her sister ship, Barham. The impact inflicted substantial damage to Warspite’s bow. Wounded yet undeterred, she made her way to Scapa Flow and Devonport for more repairs. She would finally rejoin the fleet on Christmas Eve 1915. Still, her initial chapter in World War 1 was

Defined not by combat glory but by a series of unfortunate rendezvous with the drydock. In 1916, following the unsettling German assault on Lowestoft, HMS Warspite was summoned to the theater of war. Eager to shake off their past setbacks, her crew looked ahead, hoping for a chance to prove their worth. That opportunity presented

Itself at the Battle of Jutland, the single most significant naval confrontation of World War 1. Under the seasoned leadership of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, the British Grand Fleet squared off against Admiral Reinhard Scheer’s formidable German High Seas Fleet off the coast of the Jutland Peninsula. This titanic struggle brought together an

Impressive 250 ships and around 100,000 men, locked in a dance of artillery and strategy. As the battle raged, Warspite charged forth, a beacon of British naval prowess. However, her streak of bad luck hadn’t entirely run its course. A troublesome mechanical glitch caused her to move in tight circles, rendering her an easy target

Amidst the rain of enemy fire. Despite this situation, Warspite’s indefatigable crew fought back. They delivered heavy blows with each salvo, marking their presence on the enemy with unerring precision. Emerging from the commotion, Warspite bore the marks of battle, but she had undeniably proven her mettle. The Battle of Jutland ended with both sides

Staking a claim to victory. Yet, there was no mistaking Warspite’s valor and resilience. Post-battle, Warspite was due for repairs and soon found her place back in the 5th Battle Squadron. But her saga of misadventures persisted. An unfortunate collision with HMS Valiant after a nocturnal exercise mandated another round of repairs

At Rosyth. It seemed the ship was a magnet for challenges, often side-lined and under the wrench. By June 1917, Warspite brushed against another ship, this time a destroyer. Thankfully, the damages were minimal. 1918 saw her back amidst the action, hot in pursuit of the German High Seas Fleet near the chilly waters of

Norway. But as if on cue, a fire erupted in her boiler room, leading to another prolonged repair period. She returned just in time to escort the German fleet to Scapa Flow as the war curtains came down. In the aftermath of World War 1’s brutal chaos, HMS Warspite emerged, not just as a survivor

But as a veteran with battle scars to show for it. As the dust of war settled, it became glaringly apparent: Warspite, even with her battle-hardened reputation, was at risk of becoming a shadow in the face of rapidly advancing naval technology. The 1930s were not merely a time of change but

A rebirth for Warspite. Between 1934 and 1937, the very bones of this storied vessel were reshaped at Portsmouth. She wasn’t destined to fade into history as a relic of a bygone era. Instead, the Admiralty envisioned her renewed to dominate the seas again. Her heart – the propulsion system – underwent radical surgery. Out

Went the old, and in came six state-of-the-art boiler rooms, phasing out the dated 24 Yarrow boilers. The introduction of Geared Parsons turbines didn’t just amplify her power but granted her a newfound efficiency, sipping rather than guzzling fuel. This change profoundly affected her stance; the weight saved was channeled to bolster her armor

And sharpen her claws. Warspite’s weaponry was no longer what it used to be. Gone were the days of her torpedo tubes. Her 6-inch guns evolved. In their place, she was armored with next-gen anti-aircraft defenses: menacing 4-inch high-angle guns, two octuple two-pounder pom-poms, and an array of .50 caliber machine guns. Her 15-inch

Turrets were supercharged for longer reaches, and a futuristic fire control system stood ready, making her a behemoth in naval offensive warfare. But perhaps the most awe-inspiring transformation was her superstructure. A colossal armored citadel stood tall, safeguarding the bridge and setting the stage for flagship command. Her deck, now home to two cranes

And an aircraft hangar, screamed versatility, readying Warspite for an array of military feats. HMS Warspite stood ready and modernized to tackle a new era of naval warfare. As World War 2 took the world by storm, Warspite took the role of protecting crucial naval convoys from and towards Britain. Fresh from

Escorting a convoy home, she was navigating back to the Mediterranean when Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. In an audacious move, a fleet of five British destroyers, under Bernard Warburton-Lee, pierced the perimeter of the strategic port of Narvik, mere hours post the German invasion. They sunk two German juggernauts and several cargo

Ships but at great cost to their own force. Though partly destroyed, they unveiled the vulnerabilities of German forces in Narvik. Warspite and her group of destroyers were summoned to deliver the coup de grâce. On the chilling morning of April 13, 1940, the British armada poised itself for battle with HMS

Warspite at its helm under Captain V.A.C. Crutchley. With her fearsome firepower and impenetrable armor, the Grand Old Lady would lead the attack. While Warspite’s cannons roared, raining fire on coastal barricades and anchored vessels, her Fairey Swordfish reconnaissance aircraft hunted in the skies. The small aircraft zeroed in on U-64, marking the

First U-boat sunk by aircraft in World War 2. Guided by Warspite’s unyielding gaze, the British destroyers avenged their comrades, eliminating eight German destroyers in a fierce game of can and mouse around the fjords neighboring Narvik. From the ten that had originally invaded Norwegian waters, none were left. The Royal Navy raised

Its flag in triumph; the Kriegsmarine mourned the destruction of half its destroyer fleet. Warspite remained in Norwegian waters, taking part in a wide array of shore bombardments until she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow prior to being redeployed to the Mediterranean on April 28. She arrived in Alexandria just days before

Italy’s entry into the conflict. It didn’t take long for her to go back into the fray. In a daring move on July 7, Admiral Cunningham, sensing an opportunity, took his fleet straight to the heart of enemy waters, hoping to ensnare the Regia Marina in a fierce battle near the Italian coastline.

As the two imposing navies clashed near Punta Stilo, the Battle of Calabria began. Outgunned and under intense pressure, the Allies found themselves on the back foot against the Italian fleet’s superior firepower. However, undeterred, Cunningham, with Warspite leading the charge, pressed on against the overwhelming odds. As the sea battle raged, Warspite achieved

An almost mythical feat: a gunnery hit on the Giulio Cesare from an astonishing 15 miles away, one of the longest recorded in naval history. The devastating blow tore a massive hole in the Italian battleship, sparking fires and chaos that crippled its speed. The Italians, despite having a numerical advantage, felt overwhelmed by the

Performance of Warspite; with their morale shattered, they executed a hasty retreat, using smoke screens to mask their escape. A relentless aerial onslaught from over 125 Italian aircraft tried in vain to break the British lines, but Warspite and her allies held firm. The battle-hardened Warspite triumphantly made her way back to

Alexandria on July 13. After his bold show of power, as Cunningham himself put it (QUOTE): “Never again would the Italian Navy willingly confront the fire of British battleships.” In the years that followed, Warspite became a dreadful threat that loomed over Italian and German plans in the Mediterranean, repeatedly thwarting Regia Marina’s

Attempts at maritime dominance. March 1941 saw the Italian fleet audaciously setting their sights on vital Allied convoys maneuvering between Egypt and Greece. Cunningly armed with British intelligence, Admiral Cunningham plotted a devastating counter. Even when dwarfed by the imposing silhouette of the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto, a newer and faster Battleship, Cunningham’s determination prevailed.

He unleashed an overpowering air strike, forcing the Italians into a demoralized retreat once again. In the relentless hours that ensued, the skies echoed with bombardments that scarred Vittorio Veneto and cruiser Pola. British forces, with unwavering precision, obliterated two Italian cruisers and two destroyers. Warspite spearheaded the British onslaught during the Battle of

Cape Matapan. This confrontation severely weakened the Regia Marina, reinforcing the Royal Navy’s unyielding grip on the Mediterranean. Warspite was tested further during the Battle of Crete. Battleship vs. battleship confrontations were becoming rarer, and Warspite was positioned as an anti-aircraft vessel in support of landing operations. She endured the fury of German

Bombers, but eventually, her defenses were overwhelmed, and she was hit by a German bomb that tore through her decks. In need of substantial repairs, she was urgently sent all the way to Bremerton, USA. Here, she underwent profound repair cycles, ensuring she remained a force to be reckoned with. Once rejuvenated,

She reinforced the Eastern Fleet, becoming a critical asset for Allied operations in the Indian Ocean. By 1943, Warspite was back, stamping her authority in the Mediterranean. She bolstered the Allied invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy. However, even after Italy’s formal surrender, German defiance surged, and on September 14, Warspite was again found

By skilled German pilots. A guided bomb unleashed destruction on her. One direct hit and a near miss that shook her entire core threatened to sink the mighty battleship. The most direct blow created a 20-foot breach in her hull, claiming 23 lives. Utterly crippled, she had to be taken back to Malta in a

Special operation, flanked protectively by cruiser Delhi and four vigilant destroyers. US Navy tugs grappled with the challenge of towing her, particularly when tow lines gave way in the turbulent Straits of Messina. By September 19, battered but unbroken, she reached Malta. After emergency mends, she transitioned to Gibraltar in November, and by March 1944,

She made her way back to Rosyth for thorough repairs. In the bustling docks of Rosyth, the repair works on Warspite swiftly transformed her once more, but it was not an update but a desperate attempt to keep her seaworthy. Her formidable 6-inch guns were removed, their mounts plated over, making them a distant memory.

The wound from the German missile was patched up with a durable concrete caisson, leaving behind an unmissable battle scar. One boiler room and the X turret bore such severe damage that they were deemed beyond repair for the time being. Emerging from Greenock on June 2, 1944, the once-majestic Warspite had seen compromises

To her structural integrity and firepower. But only days later, she joined Bombardment Force D to support what was to become the most monumental amphibious invasion ever witnessed. With the dawn of June 6, 1944, Warspite’s guns were the first to thunder, illuminating the horizon. Her initial target was the German battery at Villerville,

Shielding the valiant British 3rd Division at Sword Beach. This relentless assault lasted for days. She dispatched over 300 shells, carving through the skies of Normandy. Though she now bore scars and was past her prime years, Warspite’s presence was pivotal for the Allies, providing support during the Normandy beach landings.

After a swift round trip to Portsmouth on June 7 for resupply, the venerable battleship rejoined the fray, supporting the Americans at Utah Beach and standing watch over Gold Beach. However, Warspite’s war wasn’t over. On June 12, she returned to Portsmouth for supplies, but her guns were spent. She was instructed to

Sail to Rosyth via the perilous Straits of Dover, a passage no British Battleship had braved since the war’s onset. Her crew navigated the immense vessel expertly, eluding German coastal defenses with advanced radar jamming. But the wartime sea was treacherous, and despite their efforts, the crew was unable to avoid a

Lurking mine. It struck Warspite 28 miles from Harwich, obliterating her propellers. Repair efforts were fervent and exhaustive. Emerging with new guns, she could only muster a maximum speed of 15 knots, propelled by three shafts. Warspite’s structural integrity was compromised. By the end of August, Warspite was back in action off Ushant,

Demolishing coastal defenses at Le Conquet and Pointe Saint-Mathieu during the intense Battle for Brest. Along with the Erebus, she laid waste to Le Havre, facilitating its eventual capture. And when the winds of fall 1944 began their descent, she collaborated with Erebus and Roberts, leveling the German defenses on Walcheren Island.

Then, as abruptly as her journey had begun, Warspite was ordered to return to Deal; without ceremonies, she was docked, her guns silent, having bellowed their last battle cry. Warspite had surpassed every challenge, fulfilling the hopes of a young Winston Churchill who had risked his career for her construction. Thirty years later,

Warspite played a vital role in aiding the now Prime Minister on the path to victory. Yet, the legendary status Warspite achieved, playing an unmatched role in two World Wars, wasn’t enough to protect her from demolition. In 1945, she was decommissioned, and her future became a hot topic. Many hoped she would be preserved

As a museum ship to honor her remarkable service. Yet, post-war Britain’s economic situation and the substantial costs of maintaining such a massive vessel prevented this dream from becoming a reality. Charlie Pearson, a former crew member, expressed his frustration: (QUOTE) “Had she been an American ship I have no doubt they would have preserved

Her as a museum and made a movie about her, the whole works. But not the British. Everybody loves our naval history except us.” In 1947, fate took a dramatic turn. En route to be dismantled, Warspite broke free from her tugs during a tempest, running aground near St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall.

It seemed she was rebelling against her impending doom. Trapped in shallow waters during the storm, her skeletal crew of seven faced grave peril. Multiple efforts to refloat the legendary ship proved unsuccessful. A British newspaper captured the moment: (QUOTE): “Her oldest loves, the wind and the sea, have helped the Old Lady

Of the Fleet to cheat the executioner. She is ashore, apparently for good…” By 1950, new initiatives to save Warspite attracted large audiences and press coverage. In an attempt to revive her, air was pumped back into her tanks. Yet, even with 24 compressors, the water was too shallow to permit refloating.

It took a groundbreaking compressor and two jet engines from an experimental aircraft to shift the Grand Old Lady just 130 feet toward the coast. Finally, in 1955, she was scrapped on the spot, having resisted till her last breath. Many of Warspite’s gallant crew members continued to pay their respects at her

Final resting place until their own last moments.