Chris Olivant

On 6 April 1940, HMS Glowworm turned away from a Royal Navy force in a North Sea gale. A sailor had been swept overboard. Lieutenant Commander Gerard Roope took his destroyer back to search for him. The man was never found. Two mornings later, Glowworm was still alone off Norway when two German destroyers appeared through the bad weather. They traded fire, then the German ships broke away to the north. Roope understood the trap: they were leading him towards something much larger. He followed. If Glowworm could identify and report the force moving against Norway, the warning could matter more than her escape. The 18,500-ton heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper came into view. She carried eight 8-inch guns. The 1,345-ton Glowworm had four 4.7-inch guns. Roope sent an enemy report which reached HMS Renown. The sea was too rough for his smaller ship to shadow the Germans, so he chose to attack. Glowworm fired five torpedoes. All missed. She laid smoke while preparing a second attack, but Hipper followed her into it. The cruiser emerged at close range and hammered the destroyer. Glowworm’s bridge, engine room, captain’s cabin and forward gun were wrecked. Her remaining five torpedoes also missed. With speed falling and three guns still firing, Roope ordered the helm over. Glowworm struck the cruiser. The impact tore away her own bow and ripped roughly 130 feet of armour from Hipper’s side. As the destroyer scraped clear, her crew opened fire again at just 400 yards. Then she began to roll. Roope gave the order to abandon ship. At least 109 men went down with her. Hipper stopped for about an hour and pulled roughly 40 from the sea, although several later died. Roope reached a rope hanging from the German cruiser, but he no longer had the strength to hold it. He fell back into the freezing water and disappeared. Britain did not receive the full account until 1945. Hipper’s captain, Hellmuth Heye, praised Roope’s conduct and helped recommend him for the Victoria Cross. The award was gazetted that July. The photograph that survives was taken through Hipper’s rangefinder: the German sight that had tracked Glowworm also recorded her men clinging to the upturned hull.