page_title: HMS Argonaut (61)
section_title: Mediterranean service
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Argonaut (61) / History / Mediterranean service
caption_attribution_description: English: The Royal Navy during the Second World War The damaged bows of HMS ARGONAUT as the ship lies docked. Despite heavy damage after she had been torpedoed in the Mediterranean the British cruiser lived on. She managed to get home where she was repaired before serving in the Far East.
context_page_description: HMS Argonaut was a Dido-class cruiser of the British Royal Navy which saw active service during the Second World War. Constructed at the Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, Argonaut was laid down in 1939, launched in September 1941, and formally commissioned into service on 8 August 1942.
  She saw service in the Mediterranean in 1942, and was badly damaged on 14 December. After being repaired she took part in Operation Overlord, the Normandy Landings, and Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, before serving as an escort carrier group flagship.
  After the war she was laid up and scrapped in 1955.
context_section_description: During October and November 1942, Argonaut served as part of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. The cruiser formed part of Force H, based in Gibraltar and commanded by Vice Admiral Sir E.N. Syfret. It was charged with guarding the landings against possible attack from Italian or Vichy French naval forces. HMS Argonaut, in particular, was dispatched on a diversionary mission into the Mediterranean.
  In December 1942 Argonaut joined the newly formed Force Q, commanded by Rear Admiral Cecil Harcourt, with the mission of disrupting German–Italian convoys on the Tunisian coast. In addition to Argonaut, Force Q included the cruisers Aurora and Sirius, and the destroyers Quentin and HMAS Quiberon.
  On 1 December, Argonaut and the other ships in Force Q took part in the Battle of Skerki Bank – attacking and largely destroying an Italian convoy. While the Axis forces lost four troop ships and one destroyer (the  Folgore) the Allies emerged from the engagement intact. On the following day, the German Air Force sank HMS Quentin westward of Cap Serrat.
caption: Argonaut's hull, after suffering heavy torpedo damage.
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