Superb Royal Navy HMS Howe Salvaged Bronze Ships Bell & Hanger c.1942-58
HMS Howe (32), was the last of the five King George V-class battleships of the RN, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Glasgow, commissioned in 1942.
Like her sister-ship HMS Anson, Howe spent most of her career in the Arctic providing cover for Russian convoys, which included in December 1942, Howe and her sister ship King George V providing cover for convoys RA 51, which safely arrived in Loch Ewe on 9 January 1943 and RA53 in March 1943.
Later that year, Howe was transferred to Gibraltar with KGV, to take part in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, the pair also offered cover during Operation Avalanche, the Allied landings at Salerno. Also, in the same month of September 43, Howe and KGV escorted the surrendered Italian battleships Vittorio Veneto and Italia to Alexandria.
After a refit in early 1944, which increased her anti-aircraft armament, upgraded her radar’s and improvements to the crew quarters for operations in tropical climates, including air-conditioning, she was deployed in eastern waters to replace the loss of HMS Prince of Wales.
She was put into action quickly, providing cover for carrier based air operations against targets in Sumatra, and along with KGV, she formed Task Force 113 for Operation Iceberg, offshore support for the US landings at Okinawa, which got under way on 1 April 1945.
The force was subjected to sporadic Japanese kamikaze attacks, but the two ships emerged unscathed from these actions. (Howe's anti-aircraft batteries also succeeded in shooting down an attacking kamikaze plane)
After the war in 1951, Howe was placed in reserve and on the 27th May 1958, Howe was towed to Inverkeithing to be broken up by Thos W Ward, who used various salvaged materials to create wartime souvenirs, much like this superb bronze bell.
This 7”H solid bronze bell, with a 7” flare is made from material the mighty battleship and is in fine fettle. It comes with the original hanger & clapper which is fitted with a vintage Bellrope and is embossed to the front with “METAL TAKEN FROM HMS HOWE, DISMANTLED INVERKEITHING 1960”.
Fabulous piece of naval history, in the palm of your hand! Ding dong….
£595
Local delivery, U.K & international shipping available with collections welcome too
