The battleship HMS Howe, 35,000 tons, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co and commissioned in 1942. This was the largest warship ever built by Fairfield. Her main armament consisted of ten 14-inch guns in two quadruple turrets and one twin turret. As the ship was laid down before the outbreak of the Second World War, the size was the maximum tonnage allowed by international agreement at the time.
The Howe sailed with Arctic convoys until May 1943. In July, she transferred to the Mediterranean for the invasion of Sicily, and she returned home after the surrender of Italy in September. A refit in Devonport in December 1943 prepared her for service in the Pacific, which began in Ceylon, August 1944, where she became flagship of the British Pacific Fleet. She saw action during the Okinawa campaign, bombarding Japanese islands and providing anti-aircraft fire for the fleet. In one incident, a Kamikaze airplane bounced off the deck and into the sea.
After the war Howe was used as a training ship, before being scrapped at Inverkeithing in 1958.
Reference: Mitchell Library, G 623.809 FAI
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
battleships, British Pacific Fleet, Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co, guns, HMS Howe, kamikaze, Royal Navy, Second World War, shipbuilders, warships
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