HMS Isis (D87)

Casualty List

Navy: Royal Navy
Type: Destroyer
Class:
Pennant: D 87 
Built by: Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. (Scotland) 
Ordered: 14 Nov, 1935 
Laid down: 6 Feb, 1936 
Launched: 12 Nov, 1936 
Commissioned: 2 Jun, 1937 
Complement: 145
Lost: 20 Jul, 1944 (Lt. Cdr. H. D. Durell, RN.) was mined and sunk by German mine or possibly 'Neger' human torpedo.off Normandy, France

There is a memorial in Portsmouth Cathedral listing all 155 officers and men lost when the ship was sunk.  

 
History: HMS Isis was being repaired / refitted at Singapore when the war in the Far East broke out. She was damaged in the Mediterranean (off Syria) in June 1941. Just before the fall of Singapore,was towed to Java and thence to Colombo and finally Bombay for repair.

9 Nov, 1939
The German merchant Leander (989 BRT) is captured off Cape Finisterre, north-west Spain by the British destroyer HMS Isis.

6 Feb, 1941
British raid on Genua.

Force H (Vice Admiral Somerville) left Gibraltar on 6 February 1941. The battle-cruiser HMS Renown, battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, light cruiser HMS Sheffield and the destroyers HMS Fearless, HMS Foxhound, HMS Foresight, HMS Fury, HMS Encounter and HMS Jersey left Gibraltar to the west with convoy HG-53. This was done to fool German and Italian observers in Spain. In the meantime 4 destroyers HMS Duncan, HMS Isis, HMS Firedrake and HMS Jupiter left Gibraltar and steamed to the east to conduct a anti-submarine sweep. During the night Force H reversed course and passed Gibraltar on a westerly course back into the Mediterranean. There they were joined by the 4 destroyers that conducted the anti-submarine sweep.

On 8 February the Italian fleet left port and steamed south after they received reports of British carrier aircraft south of the Balearen. The Italians thought that there was another convoy to Malta.

Early in the morning of 9 February Renown, Malaya and Sheffield bombarded the Italian city of Genua. In the harbour 4 ships were sunk and 18 were damaged. Also the city itself was damaged.

The Italian fleet turned around and tried to intercept the British ships but due to the bad weather this failed.

In the meantime Ark Royal's aircraft raided Livorno and mined the harbour of La Spezia.

Force H safely returned to Gibraltar on 11 February.

19 Feb, 1943
The German submarine U-562 was sunk in the Mediterranean north-east of Bengazi, in position 32.57N, 20.54E, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Isis, the British escort destroyer HMS Hursley and a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn 38/S).

Return to List