Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:18:47-1:22:08

Why HMS Glorious was caught without warning

The loss of HMS Glorious is traced to leaving the main force and failing to maintain the combat air patrol that should have detected Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

Fleet CarriersNaval AviationNaval LeadershipRoyal Navy
Watch at this timeFull video guide
Question

How exactly was HMS Glorious lost, and what decisions allowed it to happen?

Short answer

Glorious left the main force and was caught after her captain failed to maintain the standard air patrol that could have warned of the German battlecruisers.

Notes

The carrier's return from Norway with only two destroyers was a calculated risk, taken so that she could be resupplied and refitted. That risk depended on maintaining the routine Swordfish reconnaissance patrol prescribed by established practice. Without it, Glorious lost the warning needed either to avoid Scharnhorst and Gneisenau or to launch a strike before they closed. The episode does not prove general Royal Navy ignorance of aviation. Responsibility rests with the captain's failure to follow the procedure that made the independent passage defensible.