HMS RODNEY
HMS Rodney
Much has been written about the two battleships of the Nelson class – the 'ugly ducklings' being the product of the limitations set by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 for two British capital ships not exceeding 35,000 tons. Laid down at the end of that year at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead and launched on 17 December 1925, H.M.S Rodney was completed in August 1927 at a total cost of £7,617,799.
With her nine 40,6 cm (16-inch) guns in three triple turrets designated A, B and X, capable of hurling a 929 kg (2,048 lb) high explosive shell up to 38,120 m (41,690 yds), the Rodney was indeed a formidable warship and one to be feared by those troops manning any ground target.
About the historical context of the ship (successes)
Target Alderney! 12 August 1944
The 12th of August 1944 was a significant date in Alderney’s history, when the British battleship HMS Rodney bombarded the German Battery Blücher, which posed a serious threat to Allied shipping. It was also a unique event in British naval history for it was the only occasion when the Royal Navy was ordered to fire on British territory.
HMS Rodney opened fire on Battery Blücher at 1411 hours at extreme range, lying close to Cherbourg, operating the practice established at the D-Day landings in Normandy, using Spitfire aircraft from No.26 Squadron R.A.F. to carry out the vital role of reporting the fall of shot.
Firing mostly single rounds, the battleship poured 75 high-explosive shells onto the target over a period of two and half hours. Three of the four German guns were put out of action; two German soldiers were killed before taking cover in their concrete shelters. All of the Spitfires returned safely to their base, as did HMS Rodney.
Although this action took place several months before the final Allied victory in Europe in May 1945, it left the German occupiers of the Channel Islands in no doubt that resistance to such overwhelming force would be pointless.
"The Atlantic Wall” had been breached.
Target Alderney! 12 August 1944
One of the many German bunkers constructed on Alderney during the Second World War as part of the Atlantic Wall, is the newly opened Hospital Bunker on Longis Road which lies close to the battery targeted by HMS Rodney.
The location of this R. 118b bunker - the only one of its type in the Channel Islands - has been chosen for the Trust’s new exhibition dedicated to this historic event. One of the ward rooms within the bunker presents our permanent Target Alderney! exhibition.
One of the features is a striking 1:200 scale model of the battleship HMS Rodney, together with an audio-visual presentation showing the original 1944 Pathé Gazette newsreel of the bombardment and the reminiscences of an officer on board the warship on the day. A number of information boards cover the historical background and outcome of the action.
You can read the main boards below:
