HMS Queen Elizabeth Repairs During World War II

By Thomas Grubbs
HRNM Volunteer

For many years now, Great Britain has been one of the United States’ closest allies. This special relationship dates to the dark days of the Second World War. The history of the Lend Lease Act requires no repetition here nor does the general history of the Second World War. However, large scale material aid to the United Kingdom included more than just providing armaments and raw materials: it also took the form of maintenance services.

HMS Queen Elizabeth during the Second World War (Imperial War Museum)

On the morning of December 19, 1941, a massive explosion ripped through the keel of the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, moored in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. The limpet mine responsible, planted by Antonio Marceglia and Spartaco Schergat of the Regia Marina (Italian Navy) riding on a human torpedo or maiale, would inflict severe damage on the capital ship, rendering it crippled. Additional maiale launched at the same time sank the battleship Valiant, destroyer Jervis, and the tanker Sagona. This attack, eliminating the only operational capital ships in the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet, would drastically change the balance of power in the region for nearly a year.

Maiale human torpedo of the type used to attack HMS Queen Elizabeth (Wikimedia Commons)

Temporary repairs in Alexandria’s floating drydock took six months, restoring this valuable and desperately needed capital ship to seaworthiness. But battle worthiness would require the attentions of a fully equipped naval dockyard. Unfortunately, no such yard was immediately available: England’s yards were clogged with battle-damaged escorts from the Battle of the Atlantic, while new construction of desperately needed cruisers and destroyers took up any additional capability. Simply put, there was no room to repair this battleship. Fortunately, a powerful new ally had joined the struggle on England’s side: the United States.

HMS Queen Elizabeth repair trails – Norfolk Navy Yard, June 1943 (Image from Historic Norfolk Naval Shipyard Archives, NNSY Historian Marcus Robbins)

The Queen Elizabeth’s epic voyage, taking from June to September 1942, crossed the Indian and Pacific Oceans, passed through the Panama and Suez Canals and ended in Norfolk Navy Yard, now Norfolk Naval Shipyard, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Even though the massive dockyards bulged with new construction, including nine Essex-class aircraft carriers, the Norfolk Navy Yard possessed sufficient industrial might to repair and modernize Queen Elizabeth over the course of the next ten months, completing the task in June 1943. The powerful warship, equipped with the latest in radar and AA protection in addition to its powerful 15-inch guns, would join the British Far Eastern Fleet for the rest of World War Two, protecting Royal Navy aircraft carriers raiding occupied Japanese territory in Indochina and what is now Indonesia before being decommissioned in 1946 and scrapped two years later.

HMS Queen Elizabeth damage, shown in Dry Dock #3 at Norfolk Navy Yard, September 1942 (Image from Historic Norfolk Naval Shipyard Archives, NNSY Historian Marcus Robbins)

The United States became known as the Arsenal of Democracy during the greatest conflict the world has ever seen. What is not as well-known is the support and repair services offered to its allies during the war. A friend helps you move, a good friend brings beer and pizza to the move, and a great friend moves your battleship for you.

Before Electric Light: Ships’ Lanterns in the HRNM Collection, Part 1

By William Clarkson
HRNM Educator

Front view of Masthead or ‘Steaming’ Lantern now in HRNM’s collection (William Clarkson)

Lanterns have been in use on ships for thousands of years, both for providing vision, and preventing collisions at sea. Today, electric lights fill this roll, and are employed in standard practice with strict protocols. Before the transition to electricity, lanterns came in many sizes shapes and styles, and used many fuel sources, including whale oil and later, kerosene. In an oil-burning lantern, a wick is partially suspended into the fuel tank, and the exposed portion of the wick is lit. The flame causes the oil to be carried up through the saturated wick, keeping it burning without destroying the wick’s material. The masthead, or ‘steaming’ lantern, pictured above and below, is part of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum's collection and is a fine example of this fuel-based lighting.

Rear view of lantern. Notice the access door at lower right, allowing for adjustment of the flame and brightness.
(William Clarkson)

Produced in 1914/15 by the Telford Grier and Mackay Company in Glasgow, Scotland, this lantern is hand made with copper, brass, and a glass lens. It measures 12 inches in diameter and 22 inches tall, weighing approximately 35 pounds. The exhaust cylinder atop the lantern is stamped “1914,” while the sliding back plate is stamped “1915,” along with the serial number C1154. Metal rings are attached to the side of the lantern to secure it to the foremast during ship operations. It is important to note that a lantern like this one is not used to provide visibility for Sailors on the ship; rather, it is meant to help other vessels identify the ship’s presence and heading in low visibility conditions. A masthead lantern could be placed anywhere along the fore and aft centerline of larger vessels, provided it shows unbroken light and is visible in an arc from right ahead, as well as at an angle from either side of the ship.

Diagram of Queen Elizabeth-class ships, showing the position of a masthead lantern at the foremast and orientation of visibility off the port and starboard from ahead (Wikipedia)

Packing note from 1945, showing provenance for this lantern as being from the HMS Queen Elizabeth (William Clarkson)

Accompanying this lantern is a packing note dated December 18th, 1945, identifying it as a ‘steaming’ lantern from His Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth, a ‘Fast Battleship’ in the Royal Navy. It certifies that the lantern was transferred in one case (with measurements), from an officer of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington DC, where it likely ended up after removal from HMS Queen Elizabeth, during the ship’s repair and upgrade at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard between 1942-1943.

HMS Queen Elizabeth as seen June 1943 after repair and overhaul at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Completed in 1915, HMS Queen Elizabeth saw action in the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War, providing shore bombardment during an attempt to force the straits. From there it joined the Grand Fleet in the Atlantic, but was absent from the battle of Jutland while undergoing minor repairs. HMS Queen Elizabeth served as the Atlantic Fleet’s flagship until 1924. After a refit, HMS Queen Elizabeth joined the Mediterranean fleet in 1941, where it was mined by Italian forces in December, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. From here Queen Elizabeth was transported to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, for a year and a half of repairs. During this time, the ship was upgraded to electric lighting systems, and the lantern now in HRNM’s collection was removed. After returning to service in the Pacific until the end of World War Two, HMS Queen Elizabeth was sold for scrap in 1948.

While HMS Queen Elizabeth was not part of the United States Navy, the lantern now in HRNM’s collection gives us a glimpse at what contemporary U.S. vessels might have used. It also provides us with the opportunity to admire a bit of skilled handcraft in an age of automated production. Lastly, it allows us to connect with navies and Sailors around the globe, whose experiences at sea are often universal.

HMS Queen Elizabeth at Craney Island

This is a picture of the British battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth at the Craney Island fuel depot, 1943.  The picture had been taken shortly after Norfolk Naval Shipyard completed a major repair project on the vessel.  The depot (located about half way down the Elizabeth River) had five piers to refuel warships, including one specifically for aircraft carriers and battleships. 

Italian naval commandos severly damaged the 33,000-ton warship on December 18, 1941.  The commandos mined Queen Elizabeth and the battleship HMS Warspite during a daring raid on the two ships' Alexandria, Egypt anchorage.   The Royal Navy conducted some temporary repairs on Queen Elizabeth, but only enough to allow the battleship to make it across the Atlantic Ocean to Hampton Roads.  The battleship was one of many Royal Navy ships Norfolk Naval Shipyard repaired during World War II.