HMS Hardy ( 1936 ) HMS " Hardy " was the flotilla leader for the H - class destroyer s , built for the Royal Navy in the mid - 1930s . During the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters , enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict . " Hardy " was transferred to Freetown , Sierra Leone , in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K . After returning to the United Kingdom in early 1940 , the ship became flagship of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla assigned to the Home Fleet . During the Norwegian campaign of 1940 , " Hardy " participated in the First Battle of Narvik where she sank one German destroyer . As the British ships were withdrawing , they were discovered by two other German destroyers that so badly damaged " Hardy " that she had to be run aground to stop her from sinking . The ship was lifted by a rising tide and eventually capsized . Description . " Hardy " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving two shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " Hardy " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 175 officers and men . The ship mounted five 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch ( 120 mm ) Mark IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Hardy " had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0 . 5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes . One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted ; 20 depth charges were originally carried , but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began . Service . " Hardy " was laid down by Cammell Laird and Company at Birkenhead on 30 May 1935 , launched on 7 April 1936 and commissioned on 11 December 1936 . Excluding government - furnished equipment like the armament , the ship cost £278 , 482 . The ship was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning . " Hardy " patrolled Spanish waters from 1937 through 1939 during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the policies of the Non - Intervention Committee . After the destroyer struck a mine off Almeria on 13 May 1937 , " Hardy " stood by in case " Hunter " needed further assistance . " Hardy " was berthed in Palma , Majorca on 23 May 1937 when that port was bombed by the Spanish Republican Air Force , but was not damaged . After the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 , she began a refit in Devonport Dockyard between 2 June and 29 July . The ship was in Malta when World War II began in September . In October " Hardy " was transferred to Freetown , Sierra Leone , to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K . The ship and her half - sisters , , , and , rendezvoused with the battlecruiser , the aircraft carrier , and the light cruiser on 17 December . They refuelled in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , before proceeding to the estuary of the River Plate in case the damaged German pocket battleship attempted to escape from Montevideo , Uruguay , where she had taken refuge after losing the Battle of the River Plate . She was given a brief overhaul at Devonport between 25 January and 12 February 1940 and was transferred to Greenock , Scotland for convoy escort duties after it was completed . The ship rejoined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet in Scapa Flow on 9 March and became its flagship . On 6 April " Hardy " and the rest of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla escorted the four destroyer minelayer s of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla as they sailed to implement Operation Wilfred , an operation to lay mines in the Vestfjord to prevent the shipment of Swedish iron ore from Narvik to Germany . The mines were laid on the early morning of 8 April , before the Germans began their invasion , and the destroyers joined the battlecruiser and her escorts . The Admiralty ordered Captain Warburton - Lee to attack German shipping in Narvik , Norway on 9 April . The following morning " Hardy " led four of her half - sisters down Ofotfjord in a surprise dawn attack on Narvik harbour during a blinding snowstorm . A torpedo from " Hardy " blew off the stern of the German flagship , , and killed the German flotilla commander , Commodore Friedrich Bonte . " Heidkamp " sank the next day . Another hit a merchant ship in the stern . A second salvo of four torpedoes was fired at two other German destroyers , but missed and badly damaged the ore docks . After regrouping , Captain Warburton - Lee led another attack on the harbour later that morning , but inflicted little additional damage due to poor visibility . As the British destroyers completed their second attack , they were engaged by three more German destroyers . The British destroyers attempted to withdraw to the west , but were pursued by the German ships . Two additional German destroyers crossed the T of the British ships and quickly knocked out " Hardy " s forward guns . More hits to the ship ' s bridge and superstructure set her on fire , mortally wounded Captain Warburton - Lee and killed or wounded all of the other officers on the bridge except Paymaster Lieutenant G . H . Stanning , the Captain ' s Secretary . Although badly wounded himself he took command and ordered her run aground at Vidrek after several more hits disabled her boilers . The First Lieutenant , who had not been present on the bridge , assumed command and ordered the ship abandoned . Some of the crew delayed doing so until the last torpedo was fruitlessly fired at a German ship and No . 4 gun fired until it was out of ammunition . Captain Warburton - Lee was brought ashore but died after an hour from his head wounds . 139 other men managed to get ashore , although 26 were seriously wounded . Captain Warburton - Lee was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . " Hardy " was lifted off the beach at high tide and drifted to the head of Skjomen fjord where she capsized in shallow waters . The wreck was still visible as late as 1963 .