HMS Savage (G20)

HMS Savage (G20) was an S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Commissioned in 1943, she served with distinction in the Arctic convoys and later in the Pacific War. The ship was notable for her powerful armament and her role in the Battle of the North Cape.

Construction and Commissioning

HMS Savage was ordered as part of the 1941 War Emergency Programme and constructed by the specialist yard John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston, Hampshire. Her design was a modified version of the earlier S-class, featuring a unique main armament configuration to test a new gun mounting. She was laid down on 7 December 1941, launched on 24 September 1942, and commissioned into the Home Fleet on 8 June 1943 under the command of Commander M. D. C. Meyrick.

Service History

Upon commissioning, Savage was assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, based at Scapa Flow. Her initial duties involved fleet screening and patrols in the North Sea and the treacherous waters of the Arctic Ocean. In late 1943, she was detailed for escort duty with the vital Arctic convoys, protecting merchant ships carrying supplies to the Soviet Union from attacks by the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe. This service included escorting convoys such as Convoy JW 54B and Convoy RA 55A.

Operational History

Savage's most significant action came during the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943. As part of the destroyer screen for the battleship HMS Duke of York, she engaged the German battleship Scharnhorst. Savage, along with HMS Saumarez, HMS Scorpion, and HMS Stord, launched a daring torpedo attack that crippled the German warship, leading to its subsequent sinking by gunfire from HMS Duke of York and other units of the Royal Navy. Following this victory, Savage continued Arctic convoy duties until mid-1944. After a refit, she was transferred to the British Pacific Fleet in 1945, where she served in the final stages of the Pacific War, including operations off Okinawa and the Japanese archipelago.

Decommissioning and Fate

With the end of the Second World War, Savage returned to the United Kingdom and was placed in reserve. She was briefly reactivated for service in the Mediterranean Fleet during the late 1940s. After being used as an accommodation and training ship at the HMS Excellent gunnery school, she was listed for disposal in 1960. HMS Savage was sold to BISCO for breaking and arrived at the breaker's yard of Thos. W. Ward in Inverkeithing, Scotland, on 11 April 1962, where she was subsequently scrapped.

Category:S-class destroyers (1942)