My great uncle George Seager served on the Argonaut in the second world war. He was badly burnt when the ship was attacked but he never spoke more than that. It was so interesting to read about the ship on your site. I was shocked when I saw the photos of the damage. It just shows what a dedicated generation they were to give so much for the defence of freedom. That is a debt to all who serve that can never be repaid. Thank you for the helpful information on this site.

Dear Sir, I am seeking information on my grandfather P.O P/J112919 Cecil William Attrill, he was serving on board HMS Argonaut in the 1940′s, he died in 1944, and is buried in Pompey. I am a naval illustrator working in Stoke Gallery, in Gosport, and would greatly appreciate any data, that you may have. I greatly appreciate the time that you have given to this matter, Kindest Regards, Andy Wing.

The Cruiser HMS Argonaut on leaving Spitzbergen in 1942 continued East to Murmansk in Russia to deliver essential spare parts to for the Allied bombers that had been flown there by British and Australian pilots to be used by the Russians. I thought some of you might like to know a little bit more about the city…

Murmansk was the last city founded in the Russian Empire. In 1915, World War I needs led to the construction of the railroad from Petrozavodsk to an ice-free location on the Murman Coast in the Russian Arctic, to which Russia’s allies shipped military supplies.The terminus became known as the Murman station, and soon boasted a port, a naval base, and an adjacent settlement with a population which quickly grew in size and soon surpassed the nearby towns of Alexandrovsk and Kola.

On June 29 [O.S. July 12], 1916, Russian Transport Minister Alexander Trepov petitioned to grant urban status to the railway settlement.On July 6 [O.S. July 19], 1916, the petition was approved, and the town was named Romanov-on-Murman(Рома́нов-на-Му́рмане, Romanov-na-Murmane), after the royal Russian dynasty of Romanovs. On September 21 [O.S. October 4], 1916, the official ceremony was performed, and the date is now considered the official date of the city’s foundation. After the February Revolution of 1917, on April 3 [O.S. April 16], 1917, the town was given its present name.

From 1918 to 1920, during the Russian Civil War, the town was occupied by the Western powers, who had been allied in World War I, and by the White Army forces.

On February 13, 1926, local self-government was for the first time organized in Murmansk during a plenary session of the Murmansk City Soviet, which elected a Presidium. Prior to this, the city was governed by the authorities ofAlexandrovsky Uyezd and later of Murmansk Governorate.On August 1, 1927, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) issued two Resolutions: “On the Establishment of Leningrad Oblast” and “On the Borders and Composition of the Okrugs of Leningrad Oblast”, which transformed Murmansk Governorate into Murmansk Okrug within Leningrad Oblast and made Murmansk the administrative center of Murmansk Okrug.

In 1934, the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee developed a redistricting proposal, which included a plan to enlarge the city by merging the surrounding territories in the north, south, and west into Murmansk. While this plan was not confirmed by the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee, in 1935–1937 several rural localities of Kolsky and Polyarny Districts were merged into Murmansk anyway.

Per the Presidium of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee resolution of February 26, 1935, the administrative center of Polyarny District was moved from Polyarnoye to Sayda-Guba. However, the provisions of the were not fully implemented, and due to military construction in Polyarnoye, the administrative center was instead moved to Murmansk in the beginning of 1935.In addition to being the administrative center of Murmansk Okrug, Murmansk also continued to serve as the administrative center of Polyarny District until September 11, 1938. On February 10, 1938, when the VTsIK adopted a Resolution changing the administrative-territorial structure of Murmansk Okrug, the city of Murmansk became a separate administrative division of the okrug equal in status to that of the districts. This status was retained when Murmansk Okrug was transformed into Murmansk Oblast on May 28, 1938.

During World War II, Murmansk was a link with the Western world for Russia, with large quantities of goods important to the respective military efforts traded with the Allies: primarily manufactured goods and raw materials into the Soviet Union. The supplies were brought to the city in the Arctic convoys.

German forces in Finnish territory launched an offensive against the city in 1941 as part of Operation Silver Fox, and Murmansk suffered extensive destruction, the magnitude of which was rivaled only by the destruction of Leningrad and Stalingrad. However, fierce Soviet resistance and harsh geography prevented the Germans from capturing the city and cutting off the vital Karelian railway line and the ice-free harbor. For the rest of the war, it served as transit point for weapons and other supplies entering the Soviet Union from other Allied nations. This unyielding resistance was commemorated at the 40th anniversary of the victory over the Germans in the formal designation of Murmansk as a Hero City on May 6, 1985.During the Cold War Murmansk was a center of Soviet submarine and icebreaker activity and, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the nearby city and naval base of Severomorsk remains the headquarters of the RussianNorthern Fleet.

In 1974, a massive 35.5-meter-tall statue Alyosha, depicting a Russian World War II soldier, was installed on a 7-meter (23 ft) high foundation. In 1984, the Hotel Arctic, the tallest building above the Arctic Circle, opened.

To commemorate the 85th anniversary of the city’s foundation, the snow-white church of the Savior-on-the-Waters was modeled after the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal and built on the shore for the sailors of Murmansk

Many thanks to Angela Montague who has copied some of her fathers memories of his time on the Argonaut.

Hopefully more will follow.

Written  by  (Reg) Aubrey Reginald Withers

It was just one week after Argonauts escape from Algiers our battered ship was at sea again heading for Gibraltar, a forecast of calm seas had prompted the decision with two aft screws and a rudder missing also a flat bulkhead bow . No one was practically cheerful, with the continued threat from U boats struggling at 5 knots with two clapped out destroyers as escort our prospects were not good. The ship shuddered with each wave. Germany had claimed that the Argonaut had been sunk. This we heard on the radio, perhaps the U boats were convinced to, for after virtually constant A/s Gib was reached in safety after five days at sea

In no time at all 75% of the crew were paid of and returned home,  time then for the 25% (about 150) to start working to deammuniting ship and stores before handing over to the dockyard. When completed we all started to enjoy the pleasures of a good nights sleep, 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep is all we experienced during the last few months It was to be the start of a temporary enjoying of life while we could.  Gibraltar was a haven even in war, even the bobby gave the impression we were not far from home.

Football on the rock was great and saw some fantastic matches were played creating one big atmosphere that helped to forget the horrors of war.Professional footballers  produced some magic against various sevices. The Black Watch were fantastic producing the best results against the pro’s . My friend Bill and I soon paled up with some army chaps who spent most of their time at Misery Peak at the top of the rock as look outs. It was a good time out for us both when we were invited to their position  aloft most Sundays. Several cans of beer and cheese rolls made the assent worthwhile.

When the Argonaut was polished and fighting fit once our lot would be back to normal it was an encouraging thought- if only we realised what was in store we took it for granted.

4th September 1942. Flew from Sumburgh (Shetland) to Vaanga (Murmansk). Of the 32 aircraft that flew out from Sumburgh only 22 reached Russia. 10 aircraft were lost en route as a result of enemy action or accident. Many more lost on the ground in Russia by bombing. The object of the exercise was to attack enemy shipping. We made a mass formation sweep of the Barants Sea at just a few hundred feet over seven hours duration. No ships, enemy or otherwise were sighted. The German Pocket battleship “Tirpitz” was said to be sheltering in a northern Norwegian Fjord but it did not show itself during our two month stay in Russia. Our own Hampden was destroyed by enemy bombing only a few weeks after arrival. Bombing raids on the aircraft were quite frequent. We were based within the Artic Circle and I (my father) recalls a lot of cold clear weather. Because of prevailing winds, flying back to UK was out of the question and such as our Hampdens survived the enemy bombing were handed over to the Rusisans. I should add that the Hampdens had been adapted for torpoedo carrying. We finally left Russia on an evening at the end of October 1942. Snow was falling as we were ferried out to the cruiser HMS Argonaut, a newly commissioned ship. We were escorted by 2 destroyers as far as Iceland and then completed our journey to UK unescorted. We took turns on watch whilst on the Argonaut – a very cold job! The sea journey was uneventful and apart from the occasional German aircraft shadowing us we saw no enemy action. The mission from a military view point was insignificant and achieved little, but for me and my colleagues it was a memorable experience.

Peter Dixon (RAF) – Posted 11/11/03

During one spell in the Pacific our ship, the light cruiser ‘Argonaut’ was at the rear of the Fleet which include two Aircraft Carriers. A Japanese ‘suicide bomber’ had crashed onto one of the carriers and, from our place on the afterdeck, I and two shipmates could see the tiny figures of crew members on the carrier scurrying about dealing with the fire. Suddenly one of my comrades shouted; “Look! There!” and pointed to the sky behind our ship. We saw three Japanese planes heading towards land and each one was jettisoning bombs into the sea. One shipmate said; “They’re not Kamikazes.” and the other replied; “No, and they’re not bleedin’ daft either!”

Jim Anrison – Posted 01/02/04

Dear Sirs

My name is Jonathan J.Strong of Berwyn Pennsylvania and i’m writing to you about the Dido-class light anti-aircraft cruiser of WW-2.I’m writing a science-fiction novel called Time-Warp.I’m using a WW-2 convoy to Malta that vanished.I’ve been using fictional ones but i need a in depth know how on how they operated.

The Questions

1 How did they control the 5.25″ and the 4.5″ aboard the Scylla’s&Dido’s?

2 What did the boiler and engineering-spaces looked like and what did each piece of equipment operated and maintaining them.

3 What did the Argonaut’s compass-platform looked like?

4 What did the Argonaut’s DCT looked like in the interior and how many men would operated inside of it?Also how did the the Type-284 FCR operates?What did each piece of equipment operates and works?

5 What did the Argonaut’s Transmitting-Station looked like?Also what kind of fire-control-system did the two other Dido-class the Scylla and Charybdis have aboard?

6 What kind of air-search and surface-search radars did the Dido-class have during August 1942?How did they operate?

7 What kind of Asdic did the Dido-class have during 1942?Also what kind of fighter-direction equipment would the Dido-class have during WW-2?

8 Were the Dido-class cruisers ever used as Rear-Admiral[Destroyers]flagship?

9 What did the 5.25″ gun-turrets looked like inside of them and what loading procedures were needed to load them?And how many 5.25″shells would a Dido-class cruiser have aboard at any one time.Or how many 4.5″shells would the Scylla or Charybdis would carry aboard during a mission?Also what was the loading-procedures for the 4.5″s?

10 How much 2pdr and 20mm ammunition would a Dido-class cruiser would carry on a mission?How many men would operate a multiple pom-pom or Oerlikons?

11 How many Royal-Marines would be aboard a Dido-class cruiser and did they man X&Y-turrets?And how many Royal-Marines aboard the Scylla or the Charybdis would man the 4.5″ gun-turrets?

12 How many mess-decks for the various deck and department sailors did the Dido-class have?

13 Did the Argonaut have pom-pom director fire-controls?If so how did they operated?Also how did the anti-aircraft tower looked like and how did it work?

14 What kind of W/T and R/T recievers and transmitters did the Dido-class cruiser have?

15 What kind of W/T wavelengths did they have to communicate with the Admiralty?

The story about my science-fiction novel is in August 1942 during Operation-Pedestal.In the story the convoy of which i’ll call it Convoy-Progress.I’m using fictional Dido-class cruisers like H.M.S.Themis or for the RAN i’m using two Scylla sub-variant CLAA’s H.M.A.S.Fremantle and H.M.A.S.Brisbane.How did they vanished?Incredibly there was fog but not just not any old fog which was impossible in the summertime in the Med!But something extra was place in the makeup of the fog.Somekind of temporal-energy intermixed with the fog increasing the size and how far it reached right into the sands of North-Africa.At the same time a Iceland/North-Russia convoy called PQ-22-A&B had vanished as well.And units of the Italo/German Afrika-Korps and the 8th Army had vanished and the Wehrmacht’s Armee-Gruppe E and the Red-Ukraine Front and all the supporting-units there to.So what do you think? If you can’t reach me by e-mail my regular mailing address is:237 Leopard Road Berwyn Pennsylvania 19312 My phone-number is:[610]296-6893[After 3:00 EST]I remain Your most Obedient-Servant Jonathan J.Strong Esq

My Father, Charles Johnson was the Chief Petty Officer(Engine Room) on the Argonaut in world war 2, and he hardly ever talked about the action the ship was involved in and it kept me wondering.

I finally found out when I accessed the web site of the battle honours and action the ship was invoved in, giving me a deeper insight to just what my father and the ships crew had to put up with.

Sadly my father has now passed away but he still had a photo framed and hung on the wall of HMS Argonaut.

P.D. Johnson

Email 2

Please find attached a photo of my father Charles Johnson,(in the forefront) who was the Chief Petty Officer for the engine room aboard HMS Argonaut during WW11.The chap behind him is a scot named Monroe(I think) Sadly my father has passed away. He never talked much about what he did, but after reading on the net some of the action Argonaut saw, little pieces of the jigsaw dropped into place of some of the things he said when I pressed him for information.

Hope someone reconises them.

Peter. D. Johnson.

My Grandfather Percy Hancock served on Argonaut 26/02/44 until 09/12/45 mentioned twice in dispatches. First time i have tried to find out anything about his time on her having been mainly involved with his service on Ark Royal and Hood. Argonaut only came to light when I checked his servie record I believe she was involved in the D-Day landings but other than that not sure. He was a CPO Tel any info at all would be great re stories or fellow crew mates still alive. Percy crossed the Bar in 1988.