HMS Icarus (D03)

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HMS Icarus (D03) was an I-class destroyer laid down by John Brown and Company, Limited, at Clydebank in Scotland on 9 March 1936, launched on 26 November 1936 and commissioned on 1 May 1937. She served with the Royal Navy in World War II.

On on 29 November 1939, Icarus attacked and sank the U-35 while in company with the destroyers HMS Kingston and HMS Kashmir off the Shetland Islands.

She participated in the Second Battle of Narvik in April 1940.

In early May 1941, the British Admiralty was on the alert that the German battleship Bismarck may attempt to break out into the North Atlantic; so Icarus was ordered to Scapa Flow for possible deployment against the Germans. On 22 May, just after midnight, Icarus sailed along with the destroyers Achates, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, and Electra, escorting the Hood and Prince Of Wales to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord, Iceland, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait. On the evening of 23 May, weather started getting bad. At 2055 hrs., Admiral Lancelot Holland aboard the Hood signalled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 0215 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mile intervals to search to the north. At about 0535, the German forces were sighted by the Hood, and shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commencted at 0552. At 0601, Hood took a 38 cm (15 inch) shell from Bismarck in the after magazine, which caused a massive explosion, sinking the ship within 2 minutes. Electra and other destroyers were about 60 miles away at the time. Upon hearing that the Hood had sunk, Electra raced to the area, arriving about 2 hours after the Hood went down. They were expecting to find many survivors, and rigged scrambling nets and heaving lines, and placed life belts on the deck where they could be quickly thrown in. From the 94 officers and 1321 enlisted men who were aboard the Hood, only 3 survivors were found. Electra rescued these 3 survivors, and continued searching. Shortly thereafeter, Icarus and Anthony joined in the search, and the 3 ships searched the area for more survivors. No more survivors were found, only driftwood, debris, and a desk drawer filled with documents. After several hours searching, they left the area.

She participated and in Operation Pedestal, the escorting of a convoy to Malta in August 1942.

Icarus sank four German U-boats:

• On 5 March 1944 she sank U-774 while in company with HMCS Gatineau 450 miles (720 km) west of Valanta.
• On 6 March 1944 she sank U-744 while in company with the corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle, the Canadian frigate HMCS St. Catharines, corvettes HMCS Fennel and HMCS Chilliwack and destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and HMCS Gatineau in the North Atlantic
• On 21 January 1945 she sank U-1199 while in company with the corvette HMS Mignonette in the English Channel near the Isles of Scilly
• On 22 January 1945 she sank U-1199 off Falmouth.

A long time captain of Icarus, Colin Maud, was the Juno beach master at the D-day landings, in the movie 'The Longest Day' he was played by Kenneth More complete with bulldog.

Lieutenant-Commander John Simon Kerans famous for his part in sailing HMS Amethyst down the Yangtze, a feat made famous in the movie 'The Yangtze Incident', also served on Icarus as number one.

Icarus was involved in many important events of WW2, Dunkirk, Spitzbergen, and numerous Atlantic and Russian convoys.

Icarus paid off on 29 August 1946, was handed over to the British Iron and Steel Corporation on 29 October 1946 and broken up at Troon in Scotland.

See HMS Icarus for other ships of this name.