During the 2nd WW the ship was adopted by Beckenham, Kent. As the sister of Lt Cmdr P Vian (Later Admiral) – Marian Vian had a school in Beckenham named after her. Reg Morrison passed the 11 plus whilst attending in 1942. A plaque marking the adoption was put up in the town hall. This building was demolished in 1991 to make way for a supermarket. The area is now under the London Borough of Bromley.

HMS Cossack F03

Year by Year

Discover the history of the HMS Cossack from 1938 to 1941.

You can search the ‘year’ and ‘month’ to find a specific date and also ‘click’ on the date itself to reveal any images and moments from that date.

05 November 1940

Arrived at Scapa Flow at 1400

06 November 1940

Departed Scapa Flow at 0700 in the company of BRILLIANT, DOUGLAS, KEPPEL MAORI, SOUTHAMPTON and VIMY to cover the Iceland-Faroes Channel.

08 November 1940

Stationed between Iceland and the Faroes.

10 November 1940

Petty Officer  was lost overboard. Able Seaman S. Remnant was also washed overboard but was washed back aboard again

12 November 1940

Maltese Steward Joseph Aquilina (Steward to Captain Vian) was lost overboard. This is the CWG date. Source is the Ratings Death Book held in the Admiralty. It is believed the home port account of this event placed the date as 13 November. Arrived at Scapa Flow

13 November 1940

Departed Scapa Flow and returned the same day

19 November 1940

Departed Scapa Flow at 0715 on Operation DL- a sweep off the Norwegian coast commencing at 2135 at position 63N and passing Budgrunden Bank and Langgrunds Bank until 0200 on 20 November when the course was altered to the West.  Ships in company – ESKIMO and MAORI.

21 November 1940

Arrived at Scapa Flow at 0900

23 November 1940

Departed Scapa Flow at 1730 in company of HOOD, AURORA, ECAPADE, ESKIMO and SIKH to cover minelaying by the 1st Minelaying Squadron. Minefield SN11 was laid off the southern tip of Iceland in the Denmark Strait.

29 November 1940

Arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0830 for A/S dome replacement.

08 December 1940

Departed Scapa Flow at 0900 in company with SIKH

11 December 1940

Rendezvoused at 1000 at 55°N. 22°W with CALIFORNIA, FRANCONIA, FURIOUS and RAMILLIES.

14 December 1940

Arrived in the Clyde at 1410 and departed with SIKH from Greenock later the same day.

15 December 1940

Arrived Scapa Flow at 2300

18 December 1940

Departed Scapa Flow in company of BEAGLE, BRILLIANT, BULLDOG, DOUGLAS, ECLIPSE, ESCAPADE, ELECTRA, NELSON, REPULSE, SIKH and TARTAR to carry out tactical exercises west of the Orkneys.

20 December 1940

Arrived at Scapa Flow at 0930

24 December 1940

Departed Scapa Flow at 1730 in company of ECHO, ELECTRA, ESCAPADE, EDINBURGH and HOOD to patrol east of the Iceland Faroes Passage to intercept inbound or outbound raiders.

25 December 1940

Escorting HOOD and EDINBURGH in thick fog north of the Shetlands and east of the Faroes.

29 December 1940

Arrived back at Scapa Flow. Outer bottom under feed reserve tank leaking badly. New false bottom required.

At sea 188 days (2542 hours) using 8460 tons of fuel and covering 35,801 miles.

02 January 1941

Returned to Scapa Flow

Hidden Gems

The HMS Cossack 1938-1941 was accepted on 10 June 1938 and dented, whilst coming alongside the jetty in Portsmouth on 12 June 1938.

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1806-1816

This is the account of the first vessel named HMS Cossack, a title that would be passed on to five later ships and commemorated by the Royal Navy in the Cossack Building at HMS Raleigh.

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1854-1875

The second Cossack was originally ordered by Russia for the Black Sea Fleet in December 1852 at a cost of 290,000 silver roubles. However, when relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated, Russia sold the vessels to the Hamburg trading firm Henry Mersk & Co.

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1886-1905

This account covers the third vessel named HMS Cossack. Launched on 3 June 1886 and in service until 1905, she spent the majority of her career in the Far East, calling at India, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and other ports.

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1907-1919

The fourth HMS Cossack received the first Battle Honour for participating in operations along the Belgian coast from 17 October to 8 November 1914. This section contains copies of the original construction contract and detailed plans showing her launch, deck arrangements, and machinery.

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1938-1941

Credited with battle honours including Baltic 1855, Witu 1890, Dover Patrol 1914–1919, Narvik 1940, Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940–1941, the Bismarck Action 1941, and the Malta Convoys 1941, the HMS Cossack in service from 1938 to 1941 was a formidable presence.

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1944-1960

During Warship Week in February 1942, the town of Esher raised £1,192,211, contributing to the construction of the warship HMS Cossack. The funds were collected by the public depositing money into a rubber-type float in a pool. Remarkably, the surplus was enough to fund a submarine as well. The story continues.

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