Gerard Roope and HMS Glowworm against Admiral Hipper

Commander Gerard Roope first engaged German destroyers carrying troops and supplies during the Norwegian campaign on 8 April 1940. When Admiral Hipper arrived, Glowworm used smoke and fired five torpedoes at about 800 metres, but radar-assisted gunfire struck the radio room, bridge, forward guns, and engine room. Roope then ordered a hard turn and rammed the cruiser, tearing open her side before Glowworm's boilers exploded and the destroyer sank. Admiral Hipper took on roughly 500 tons of water, though the damage did not endanger her survival. Hipper's captain, Hellmuth Heye, rescued survivors and later helped secure Roope's posthumous Victoria Cross by reporting his courage through the Red Cross.