14 April 1940

0315 Ship refloated on rising tide COSSACK proceeded to WARSPITE to offload casualties then with FORESTER / KIMBERLEY escorting preceded stern first to Skelfjorden. (Entrance to Skjelfjord) According to Kenneth Rail (Boy Seaman) those killed were transferred to WARSPITE for burial at sea.

HMS Cossack arrives at 1645 with escort HMS Forester.  68° 00’N 13° 15’ E. Cossack transferred her ammunition to HMS Zulu and her torpedoes to HMS Bedouin.

First Allied troops – British 24th Brigade under Brig. Fraser landat Harstad in Norway to assist Norwegian 6th division under Maj Gen Fleischer

16 April 1940.             Skjelfjord. (Cripple Creek) Under temporary repair with the help of local Norwegian engineers. Ammunition transferred to ZULU and torpedoes to BEDOUIN.

COSSACK held a thank you tea party for the local children and gave the locals Corned beef and biscuits

Before COSSACK, HOTSPUR and PUNJABI sailed the Captain of ESKIMO obtained from them 6 shackles of different sized cable and one anchor and ordered BRIGAND to lay it out with the ends buoyed in a corner of the fjord.  This was used during bad weather or when there was no ship to secure to. A stockless anchor with a length of cable has been found in Skjelfjord during Spring 2014. Divers are hoping to recover and clean it so its source can be identified.

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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.

Anchor crest

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