HMS Exeter

[FEPOW Family] [Research] [Serving Country] [Royal Navy] [HMS Exeter]

Royal Navy

hms-exeter

HMS Exeter

Ronnie Taylor and Tom Jowett

Keeping their Candle Burning

The building of HMS Exeter was started on the 1st August 1928 at the Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. She was launched on 18th July 1929 and completed on 27th July 1931.

HMS Exeter

Exeter had a pair of catapults (although only one aircraft could be carried at a time) angled out from amidships, with the associated crane stepped to starboard.

In 1932, Exeter had side plating added amidships to the upper deck to enclose her open main deck as far as the after funnel

In 1935 the single 2-pounder guns were replaced by Vickers machine guns.

As war threatened HMS Exeter’s modifications saw the replacement of the single 4 inch (102 mm) guns with modern twin Mark XVI guns, a single 20mm Oerlikon gun was added to both 'B' and 'X' roof turrets. Radar Type 286 air warning was added requiring the pole masts to be replaced by tripods, this primitive metric set had separate Tx and Rx aerials , one at each masthead. Radar Type 284 was fitted to the director control tower atop the bridge to provide ranging information and spot fall of shot.

In 1939, HMS Exeter formed part of the South American Division and together with HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles engaged theGerman pocket battle ship ‘Admiral Graf Spee’ at the Battle of the River Plate on 13th December 1939. This action resulted in the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee several days later. Exeter suffered 61 crew members killed with a further 23 injured.

Exeter made for Port Stanley in the Falklands for emergency repairs which were completed January 1940, she then returned to Devonport for full repairs over fourteen months between February 1940 and March 1941. That she survived such damage from direct hits with large calibre shells is a testament to her design and construction, as well as the damage control efforts of her crew.

Japan entered the war on the 8th December 1941. Exeter was then part of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Naval Command, formed in January 1942, which was intended to defend the Dutch East Indies from Japanese invasion. This led to the HMS Exeter being attacked and sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea. The survivors were picked up the Japanese and became prisoners of war.

Battle of the River Plate