HMS Icarus (D03)

HMS Icarus was an I-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy in World War II.

On 29 November 1939, Icarus sighted the German U-boat U-35 between the Shetland Islands and Bergen (Norway), but was unable to launch an effective attack because her ASDIC (sonar) was out of commission. Fellow destroyers HMS Kingston (F64) and HMS Kashmir (F12) were called to the scene, and Icarus departed. Kingston was able to launch a successful depth charge attack, forcing the U-boat to surface and scuttle itself.

Icarus participated in the Norwegian campaign in 1940, first capturing the 8,514 ton German supply ship SS Alster (1928) (brought to the UK and renamed Empire Endurance) on 11 April and then taking part in the Second Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

In early May 1941, the British Admiralty was on the alert that the Bismarck might 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 HMS Achates (H12), HMS Antelope (H36), HMS Anthony (H40), HMS Echo (H23), and HMS Electra (H27), escorting the battlecruiser HMS Hood (51) and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales (53) 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, the weather deteriorated. At 20:55 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 02:15 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mi intervals to search to the north. At about 05:35, the German forces were sighted by the Hood, and shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commenced at 05:52. At 06:01, Hood took a 38 cm shell from Bismarck in the after magazine, which caused a massive explosion, sinking the ship within 2 minutes. Electra and the other destroyers were about 60 mi 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 1,321 ratings aboard the Hood, just three survivors were found. Electra rescued them, and continued searching. Shortly thereafeter, Icarus and Anthony joined in the search, and the three ships searched the area for more survivors. No more 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, escorting a convoy to Malta in August 1942.

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

Icarus sank four German U-boats:
 * On 14 October 1939 she participated in sinking of U-45 in the Western Approaches with destroyers HMS Inglefield (D02), HMS Ivanhoe (D16) and HMS Intrepid (D10).
 * On 29 November 1939 U-35 was scuttled by its crew in the North Sea, after a depth charge attack from Icarus, HMS Kingston (F64) and HMS Kashmir (F12). All 43 hands on board survived.
 * On 6 March 1944 she sank U-744 while in company with the corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle (K42), the Canadian frigate St. Catharines, corvettes Fennel and Chilliwack and destroyers Chaudiere and Gatineau in the North Atlantic.
 * On 21 January 1945 she sank U-1199 while in company with the corvette HMS Mignonette (K38) in the English Channel near the Isles of Scilly.

A long-time captain of Icarus, Colin Maud, was the Juno beach master at the D-day landings; in the film '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 (U16), down the Yangtze River, a feat made famous in the film Yangtse Incident, also served in Icarus as "number one".

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