World War II Database

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.

Battleship Howe (32) Interactive Map

Photographs

Howe Operational Timeline

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