Thursday, February 17, 2005

HMS Argonaut

HMS Argonaut Association - Home

The other day I was reading in a book on World War II, and came across a short mention of a British ship, the HMS Argonaut, that had both ends blown off but that still managed to get across the German-infested Atlantic for repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. A bit of research showed me that the account I'd read was likely cobbled together from several different episodes, and therefore wasn't accurate. But the basic fact remained - this ship lost both ends, but was successfully delivered to a repair yard and put back into service. Amazing.

I would love to hear from anyone who has information on the journey to Philadelphia, or about what the reaction was when the Navy Yard workers saw her coming in, or were working on her.

And, please, be sure and write the HMS Argonaut Association with your stories. Their website seems to be fairly new, and they are asking for first-hand accounts from people with ties to any of the four ships that have had that name.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was around 8-9 years old when the HMS Argonaut came into Philly. My Dad befriended some of the Royal Marines on the boat and had them out to the house. They became good friends.

Kathryn Judson said...

Dear Anonymous, I'm glad to hear from you. I had a bit of correspondence with a couple of Argonaut vets after I wrote this post, and they seemed very nice people. I'm in awe of the guys who got her into Philly, and of the folks who put her back together.

tony said...

my grandfather was on this ship signed up at 17. Joined up after these repairs he sadly died 11 years ago. He told me many storis one stands out about when they landed at one of the sites of the atomic bomb attacks in japan a few months after they happened.Just thought i would share this with you. tony

Kathryn Judson said...

Dear Tony, Thanks for writing.