The Royal Navy battleship HMS Howe (32) at Auckland, New Zealand. The flagship of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, Commander in Chief British Pacific Fleet, visited Auckland 2-10 February 1945.

 

Howe

Country	United Kingdom
Ship Class	King George V (1939)-class Battleship
Hull Number	32
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Laid Down	1 Jun 1937
Launched	9 Apr 1940
Commissioned	29 Aug 1942
Displacement	39,780 tons standard; 44,510 tons full
Length	745 feet
Beam	103 feet
Draft	30 feet
Machinery	8 Admiralty 3-drum small-tube boilers, 4 sets Parsons geared turbines
Bunkerage	4,300 tons fuel oil, 200 tons diesel oil, 300 tons reserve feed water, 400 tons fresh water
Power Output	110,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	28 knots
Range	15,600nm at 10 knots, 2,600nm at 27 knots
Crew	1,521
Armament	1x2x356mm BL 14in Mk VII guns, 2x4x356mm BL 14in Mk VII guns, 8x2x133mm QF 5.25in Mk I guns, 48x40mm QF 2pdr Mk VIII guns, 18x20mm Oerlikon cannon
Armor	370mm main belt, 140mm lower belt, 127-152mm deck, 324mm main turrets, 324mm barbettes, 254-305mm bulkheads, 76-102mm conning tower
Aircraft	4 Walrus seaplanes
Catapult	1

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseHMS Howe was the fifth and final King George V-class battleships, completed in 1942 after some delay due to war time source reallocations. Althought she was a treaty battleship, meaning that her primary weapons were limited to 14-inch guns only, she carried an array of anti-aircraft weapons as well as radar sensors to counter the surging threat of aircraft to warships. She was commissioned into service in Aug 1942 and was immediately assigned to the Home Fleet. Her first assignments saw her providing long range escort to Allied convoys sailing to and from northern Russia. In 1943, she was transferred to Gibraltar, from which location she would set sail for Sicily, Italy to provide cover for the Allied invasion, shelling Trapani and Favignana on 11 and 12 Jul. In Sep, she provided cover for the Allied invasion of Salerno, Italy and escorted surrendered Italian battleships Vittorio Veneto and Italia to Alexandria, Egypt. Returning to Britain in Oct 1943, she would undergoing an overhaul at Devonoprt, Plymouth, England, United Kingdom between Dec 1943 and May 1944, during which she would receive updated anti-aircraft weaponry, new radar sets, and air conditioning equipment, the latter in preparation of her departure for the Pacific War. She arrived at Trincomalee, Ceylon in Aug 1944, joining the Eastern Fleet. She provided cover for carrier operations against Japanese targets in Sumatra, Indonesia before being sent to Auckland, New Zealand for a morale-building operation. In Feb 1945, she departed from Sydney, Australia, along with sister ship King George V and other warships, in escort of four British carriers. She provided naval gunfire support for the invasion of Okinawa, Japan in Apr 1945; during that campaign, she was credited with shooting down one Japanese special attack aircraft. She returned to Sydney in Jun 1945, then move on to Durban, South Africa for a refit, where she would received the news of the end of the Pacific War. She was relocated back to Portsmouth in Britain in Jan 1946, where she would serve as the flagship of the Training Squadron for the following four years. She was decommissioned in 1950 and was placed in reserve in the following year. She was ordered to be scrapped in 1957, which began in the following year and would be completed in 1961.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jun 2013

Battleship Howe (32) Interactive Map

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Leaflet | Map tiles by Stamen Design, CC BY 3.0 — Map data © OpenStreetMap

Howe Operational Timeline

28 Apr 1937	The British Royal Navy issued the order for the future battleship HMS Howe.
1 Jun 1937	The keel of HMS Howe was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, Scotland, United Kingdom.
9 Apr 1940	HMS Howe was launched at Govan, Scotland, United Kingdom.
31 Mar 1941	HMS Howe was completed.
29 Aug 1942	HMS Howe was commissioned into service.
30 Aug 1942	HMS Howe was assigned to the British Navy Home Fleet.
11 Jul 1943	HMS Howe bombarded Trapani and Favignana, Sicily, Italy.
12 Jul 1943	HMS Howe bombarded Trapani and Favignana, Sicily, Italy.
14 Sep 1943	HMS Howe escorted Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto and Italia to Alexandria, Egypt.
8 Aug 1944	HMS Howe arrived at Trincomalee, Ceylon.
8 Sep 1944	HMS Cumberland exercised with HM Battleship Howe, HMS London and HMS Gambia.
14 Sep 1944	HMS Cumberland provided cover with HMS Howe and Eastern Fleet cruisers during air operations by HM Aircraft Carriers Victorious and Indomitable carriers on Sigli, Northern Sumatra (Operation Light).
27 May 1958	HMS Howe was towed to Inverkeithing, Scotland, United Kingdom to be broken up by the firm T. W. Ward and Company.

Photographs

See all 17 photographs of Battleship Howe (32)