HMS Bonaventure (1939)

After entry into operation until June 19, 1940 was tested.

On July 5, the cruiser embarked on his first trip, together with the battleship Revenge, escorting to Halifax (Canada) Sobieski , Monarch of Bermuda and Batory liners carrying gold on board. July 18, the cruiser sailed from Halifax, with a call to Bermuda , in Scapa Flow on the Orkney Islands . Already on July 25, he began serving with the 15th squadron of Home Fleet ’s cruisers.

August 21, along with the cruiser Coventry, the cruiser went out to escort the Atlantic convoy. After that, in September he joined the fleet to the north-west approaches and served in intercepting raiders and providing merchant shipping.

On October 16, the Bonaventure, together with the cruiser Naiad of the same type and the destroyers Brilliant , Electra , Maori and Sikh , escorted the newly-launched battleship King George V , making the transition from Mystery to Rosythe .

In November, the cruiser was designated for service in the Mediterranean fleet together with the 15th cruiser squadron. Nevertheless, on November 6, the cruiser continued to serve in the northern patrols, having suffered damage to the deck due to weather conditions. On December 4, the cruiser began repairs in Rosayte, after which he was assigned to the escort of the WS5A military convoy, which was traveling from the UK to the Middle East. The convoy included four vessels destined for Malta and Piraeus, which were supposed to be carried to the ports of destination as part of Operation Excess . On December 18, the convoy left the port. Along with him were the corvettes Clematis , Cyclamen , Geranium and Jonquil , who were supposed to accompany him to Freetown . On December 25, the Bonaventure, together with the heavy cruiser Berwick , the light cruiser Dunedin and the aircraft carrier Furious, took part in the battle at Cape Finistre with the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper , repelling the latter’s attack on the convoy. During December 26th, the cruiser collected convoy vessels scattered during the attack. On December 28, the Bonaventure intercepted the German cargo and passenger ship Baden (8204 gt ) approximately 325 nautical miles northeast of Ponta Delgada , Azores , at A German ship followed from Tenerife to France. Bad weather prevented the capture of the vessel and the Bonaventure sunk it with torpedoes. On the same day, the cruiser left the convoy and, together with the four merchant ships mentioned earlier, headed for the Mediterranean Sea.

On January 6, 1941, the Bonvencher, together with the destroyers Hasty , Hero , Hereward, and Jaguar, became part of Compound F , which was intended to cover ships in the Skerki Strait. On January 7th, Compound H joined the convoy, forming an additional escort ( Operation Excess ). On January 9, ships were subjected to aerial attacks by Italian bombers, three of which were shot down. After that, on the morning of January 10, the Bonaventure, together with the destroyer Hereward, took part in the battle with two Italian destroyers, one of which, Circe , was damaged, and the second, Vega , was sunk. The cruiser received minor surface damage and 2 crew members were killed. After the battle, the Bonaventure was accompanied by the Gallant destroyer, which was marching in tow of the Mohawk destroyer. January 11, the cruiser came to Malta and joined the 15th squadron of cruisers of the Mediterranean fleet. On January 14, together with the cruisers Perth and Orion and the destroyer Jaguar, he sailed to Alexandria.

In February, the cruiser was relocated to the bay of the Court , in Crete , together with the ships of his squadron.

On February 24, the Bonaventure, together with the cruiser Gloucester , destroyers Hereward and Decoy, accompanied the armed landing ship Rosaura , used for the transfer of troops. The ships participated in Operation Abstention - the landing of commando units on the island of Kastelorizo in the Aegean Sea . The operation has been canceled.

On February 27, the Bonaventure, with the cruiser Perth and the destroyers Hasty and Jaguar , escorted Rosaura again during a second attempt to land on Kastelorizo. On February 28, the cruiser patrolled north of Kastelorizo ​​during the landing, which ended in disaster.

On March 1, the Bonaventure was transferred to the 3rd cruiser squadron.

On March 6, the Bonaventure, together with the cruisers Gloucester and York, conducted the AG-1 convoy in Piraeus . On March 9, the ship returned to Alexandria.

On March 21, from the Bay of the Court, the cruiser joined the escort of the Maltese convoy MW-6. On the same day, at 12:25 ^[2] in the area of ​​the island of Gavdos, the cruiser attacked 2 Ju.88 from the composition of 4. / LG1 . The cruiser not only successfully evaded the dropped bombs, but also shot down one of the attacking aircraft, Lieutenant Friedrich-Wilhelm zur Nieden (Friedrich-Wilhelm zur Nieden). March 23, already in Malta, the cruiser received fragmentation damage during air attacks on British ships at the Grand Harbor raid. The cruiser embarked on a short-term repair in Malta, after which he returned to Alexandria as a squadron to escort convoys to Greece ( Operation Luster ).

As early as March 30, the Bonaventure, together with the destroyers Hereward , Griffin, and the Australian Stuart , were guarding the GA-8 military convoy, which was heading from Greece to Alexandria. At the crossing, the cruiser was unsuccessfully attacked by the Italian submarine Dagabur ^[3] . However, on the night of March 30–31, south of Crete, near Sollum, the Bonaventure was attacked by another Italian submarine Ambra , which fired two torpedoes from the surface of the cruiser. The Bonaventure received a torpedo in the middle part of the ship from the starboard side, after which either the second torpedo hit the cruiser or the boilers exploded. He sank at for only 6 minutes. Together with the ship 137 people were killed, including 17 officers. 310 people were rescued by destroyers Hereward and Stuart .

• Nenakhov Yu. Yu. Encyclopedia of the Cruisers 1910-2005. - Minsk, Harvest, 2007.
• Patyanin S.V. Dashyan A.V. et al . Cruisers of the Second World War. Hunters and Defenders - M .: Collection, Yauza, EKSMO, 2007.

• Gordon Smith. Naval-History.net - HMS BONAVENTURE (i) (eng.) . Date of treatment August 7, 2012. Archived October 1, 2012.
• Gudmundur Helgason. uboat.net - The U-boat War 1939-1945 HMS Bonaventure (31 ) . Date of treatment August 7, 2012. Archived October 1, 2012.
• Mike. World War 2 Cruisers. HMS Bonaventure (31) Date of treatment August 7, 2012. Archived October 1, 2012.