HMS Cossack

E9496

HMS Cossack was a British Royal Navy destroyer best known for its daring 1940 boarding of the German tanker Altmark in Norwegian waters to free hundreds of Allied prisoners.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Royal Navy destroyer
Tribal-class destroyer
armament 1 × quadruple 2‑pdr "pom‑pom" AA mount
4 × twin 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns
depth charges
torpedo tubes
beam 36 ft 6 in (approx. 11.1 m)
builder Vickers-Armstrongs
builtAt Newcastle upon Tyne
casualties significant loss of life in 1941 sinking
class Tribal-class destroyer (1936 design)
commandingOfficer Captain Philip Vian
completed 1938
conflict Second World War
country United Kingdom
date Altmark incident 16 February 1940
torpedo damage 23 October 1941
displacement approx. 1,891 tons standard
engagement Mediterranean convoy operations
Norwegian Campaign 1940
convoy escort duties in North Atlantic
operations off Norway and in Arctic waters
enteredService 1938
event Boarding of German tanker Altmark in Jøssingfjord
fate torpedoed by German submarine U-563
followedBy later wartime destroyer classes of Royal Navy
launched 1937
length 377 ft (approx. 115 m)
location Altmark incident Norwegian territorial waters
sinking off Gibraltar
torpedoing west of Gibraltar
maximumSpeed about 36 knots
namedAfter Cossacks
notableFor Altmark incident
notableQuote "The Navy’s here" shouted by boarding party during Altmark incident
operator Royal Navy
pennantNumber F03
precededBy interwar Royal Navy destroyer classes
propulsion 2 shafts
steam turbines
result Rescue of around 299 Allied prisoners from Altmark
sank 27 October 1941
serviceEntry pre‑war Royal Navy rearmament period
squadron 4th Destroyer Flotilla
theatre Battle of the Atlantic
Mediterranean Sea operations
Norwegian Campaign


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