Name HMS Acasta Laid down 13 August 1928 Class and type A-class destroyer Launched 8 August 1929 Draft 3.73 m | Yard number 525 Commissioned 11 February 1930 Construction started 13 August 1928 Length 98 m Builder John Brown & Company | |
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Fate Sunk by the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, 8 June 1940 | ||
HMS Acasta, the third ship to bear that name, launched in 1929, was an A-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. She served in the Second World War and was sunk on 8 June 1940 in action against the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, while escorting the aircraft carrier Glorious. Glorious and her other escort — Ardent — were also sunk.
Acasta proved to be a tough opponent for the larger German ships, laying smoke to hide Glorious and making repeated torpedo and gun attacks. She scored several gun hits and one torpedo hit on Scharnhorst, causing moderate damage to the much larger German vessel. Acasta was finally sunk after roughly two hours of fighting; the battle flag of the Gneisenau was lowered to half mast and her crew brought to attention to honour the brave fight of Acasta and her crew. The damage to the German vessels inflicted by Ardent and Acasta caused them to retire to Trondheim, allowing the safe passage of convoys carrying Allied troops from Norway.
Although many of her crew survived to abandon the ship, communication errors meant the British were initially unaware of the sinking. In the end, there was only a single survivor from Acasta; estimates place the number of sailors from Ardent, Acasta and Glorious lost to exposure (rather than direct enemy action) at up to 800. The single survivor from Acasta, Ldg. Seaman Cyril Carter, was rescued by the Norwegian steam merchant Borgund which also saved 38 men from one of Glorious' lifeboats. All 39 men saved by Borgund were set ashore at Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands on 14 June.
