HMS Glowworm's heroic struggle against German superiority
Officially, Colonel Eriksen’s order to open fire on the unidentified fleet at Oscarsborg Fortress on the morning of April the 9th is considered the moment when Norway joined World War II. But did you know that the first skirmish with the German occupation fleet took place the day before? And that just outside Kya.
The destroyer HMS Glowworm
HMS Glowworm was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. The ship had a standard weight of 1,350 tons and 1,883 tons fully loaded. During the Spanish Civil War, Glowworm patrolled Spanish waters in 1936 and 1937 to enforce an arms blockade by Britain and France. After the start of World War II, Glowworm was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to the British Isles to escort ships. In March 1940, she joined the Home Fleet, and on April the 5th, Glowworm was assigned to escort the battle-cruiser Renown on her mission to mine the Norwegian coast.
Man overboard
On April the 6th 1940, Glowworm and her sister ships Greyhound, Hero and Hyperion were in the stormy Norwegian Sea to assist with mine laying. But on two consecutive days, April the 6th and 7th, Glowworm was unlucky and lost a man overboard. While Glowworm was searching for these two unfortunate sailors, she lost contact with the other ships in the flotilla and thus sailed alone in the waters off Trøndelag.
Glowworm opened fire
On the morning of April the 8th, Glowworm was approximately 70 nautical miles west of Frøya and at around 8 o’clock the ship encountered two German destroyers, Bernd von Arnim and Hans Lüdemann, led by the battle-cruiser Admiral Hipper, on their way to capture Trondheim as part of the German attack on Norway.
Glowworm opened fire on the two German fighters, which signaled for help and Admiral Hipper responded to the call. Dense fog and high seas made it difficult for Admiral Hipper to distinguish Glowworm from their own fighter Bernd von Arnim, but at 09:58 they opened fire. Glowworm was hit and put out a smoke screen to prevent Admiral Hipper from making direct contact with them. Admiral Hipper was carrying several representatives from the German propaganda machine, who documented the battle between the ships with a number of photographs.
"Stand by to ram!"
The battle in the Norwegian Sea this day was very uneven and Glowworm had no chance against an opponent almost 10 times her size. Soon the British destroyer was shot to pieces, but instead of raising the white flag and surrendering, 35-year-old Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, Glowworm’s commanding officer, ordered full speed ahead. He ordered all hands on deck and shouted “Stand by to ram!”. He aimed to collide with Admiral Hipper to cause as much damage as possible, and Glowworm also managed to hit Admiral Hipper in the bow on the starboard side. Glowworm then began to sink while the crew of the Admiral Hipper stopped fighting and turned to rescuing survivors.
A wet grave
Lieutenant-Commander Roope had himself been injured during the battle, but still helped many of his crew to board the Admiral Hipper. His strength, however, was not enough to climb aboard himself, and at 10.24 am Glowworm took Roope and 108 of her brave men to a wet grave in the western ocean. Lieutenant Commander Roope was later awarded Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, post mortem as the first during World War II.
A memorial for HMS Glowworm
2025 marks the 85th anniversary of these dramatic events. As the fishing village of Kya is the county’s westernmost point, the Royal Navy has been contacted with a view to creating a memorial to HMS Glowworm here. The aim is to erect a monument and a commemorative plaque facing the open sea for these unsung heroes who fell fighting for Norway’s freedom. The hope is that both businesses and non-profit organizations will eventually join in and that a memorial to Glowworm can be put in place here, at the edge of the sea, as soon as possible.
Ramming a German Battleship: HMS Glowworm's Insane Final Stand
See the story told on Youtube. Kya.no does not take responsibility for the accuracy of all the details in this video, but the main features are correct.