HMS Glowworm ( H92 ) HMS " Glowworm " ( H92 ) was a G - class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid - 1930s . During the Spanish Civil War the ship spent part of 1936 and 1937 in Spanish waters , enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict . " Glowworm " was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet shortly after the beginning of World War II to the British Isles , to escort shipping in local waters . In March 1940 , she was transferred to the Home Fleet , just in time to participate in the opening stages of the Norwegian Campaign . On 8 April 1940 " Glowworm " encountered German destroyers transporting troops to invade Norway in Operation Weserübung . The destroyers attempted to disengage while calling for help from the heavy cruiser . " Glowworm " was heavily damaged by " Admiral Hipper " , but still attempted to torpedo the German ship . The two ships collided , which broke the bow off " Glowworm " , and she sank shortly afterwards . Description . " Glowworm " 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 . " Glowworm " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch ( 120 mm ) Mark IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft defence " Glowworm " had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0 . 5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun . She was the test ship for the new quintuple 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 . Operational history . Early career . " Glowworm " was ordered from the yards of John I . Thornycroft and Company , at Woolston , Hampshire on 5 March 1934 under the 1933 Construction Programme . She was laid down on 15 August 1934 and launched on 22 July 1935 . She was completed on 22 January 1936 at a total cost of £248 , 785 , excluding government - furnished equipment like the armament . Upon commissioning she was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet . " Glowworm " patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the edicts of the Non - Intervention Committee until she had a refit at Portsmouth between 27 May and 8 June 1937 . The ship returned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean after her brief refit . " Glowworm " returned to Portsmouth for a longer overhaul between 7 June and 25 July 1938 and escorted the ocean liner SS " Strathnaver " between Malta and Alexandria during the Munich Crisis in September 1938 . She then escorted the light cruiser on her voyage to Aden later that month . During night exercises on 16 May 1939 , " Glowworm " collided with her sister , , and was forced to put into Alexandria for temporary repairs . She received permanent repairs in Malta between 23 May and 24 June . " Glowworm " was in Alexandria when World War II began in September 1939 . In October the flotilla was transferred to the Western Approaches Command and " Glowworm " sailed for the UK on 19 October with her sisters , , and . They arrived at Plymouth on 22 October and were deployed in the South Western Approaches . " Glowworm " carried out convoy escort duties and anti - submarine patrols until 12 November when she was transferred to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla , based at Harwich , for North Sea patrol and escort duties . On 22 February 1940 she was hit by the Swedish ship " Rex " in fog whilst at anchor off Outer Dowsing . " Glowworm " suffered significant structural damage and was under repair at a commercial dockyard in Hull until late March . On completion of the repairs , she was transferred back to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet , rejoining the flotilla at its base at Scapa Flow on 20 March . On 5 April " Glowworm " was part of the escort of the battlecruiser , along with her sisters " Greyhound " , , and . The ships covered the minelaying operation in Norwegian waters , Operation Wilfred . On 7 April , " Glowworm " was detached from the task force to search for a man lost overboard . Final battle . On the morning of 8 April 1940 " Glowworm " was on her way to rejoin " Renown " when she encountered the German destroyers and in the heavy fog before 8 : 00 a . m . The destroyers were part of a German naval detachment , led by the heavy cruiser , on its way to land troops at Trondheim as part of the German invasion of Norway ( " Operation Weserübung " ) . " Glowworm " opened fire and the German destroyers attempted to disengage , signalling for help . The request was soon answered by " Admiral Hipper " which spotted " Glowworm " at 09 : 50 . " Hipper " initially had difficulty in distinguishing " Glowworm " from " von Arnim " , but opened fire eight minutes later at a range of with her main guns . " Glowworm " was hit by " Hipper " s fourth salvo and she started making smoke . She turned into her own smoke in an attempt to break visual contact with " Hipper " , but the cruiser ' s radar - directed guns were not affected by the smoke . When the destroyer emerged from her smoke the range was now short enough that the cruiser ' s could fire . " Glowworm " s radio room , bridge , and forward 4 . 7 - inch gun were all destroyed , and she received additional hits in the engine room , the captain ' s day cabin , and finally the mast . As this crashed down , it caused a short circuit of the wiring , causing the ship ' s siren to start a banshee wail . At 10 : 10 Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope , fired five torpedoes from one mounting at a range of , but all missed because Captain Hellmuth Heye had kept " Hipper " s bow pointed at " Glowworm " throughout the battle to minimize his risk from torpedoes . The destroyer fell back through her smoke screen to buy time to get her second torpedo mount working , but Heye followed " Glowworm " through the smoke to finish her off before she could fire the rest of her torpedoes . The two ships were very close when " Hipper " emerged from the smoke and Heye ordered a hard turn to starboard to reduce the range and possibly ram the destroyer . " Hipper " was slow to answer her helm and " Glowworm " struck the cruiser just abaft the anchor . The collision broke off " Glowworm " s bow and the rest of the ship scraped along " Hipper " s side , gouging open several holes in her hull and destroying her forward starboard torpedo mounting . One German sailor was knocked overboard by the collision . " Hipper " took on some of water before the leaks could be isolated , but was not seriously damaged . " Glowworm " was on fire when she drifted clear and her boilers exploded at 10 : 24 , taking 109 of her crew with her . " Admiral Hipper " hove to in order to rescue her man overboard and " Glowworm " s survivors . The German sailor was not found , but 40 British sailors were recovered , although at least six later died of their wounds . Lieutenant Ramsay , the senior surviving officer , told his rescuers that neither the helm nor the emergency rudder were manned when the ships collided so the destroyer ' s turn towards " Hipper " was probably accidental . German accounts only mention four torpedoes fired by " Glowworm " , but British accounts say all eight were fired . This was confirmed by photographic evidence taken after the collision showing all of her torpedo tubes empty . " Glowworm " s commanding officer , Lieutenant Commander Roope , who drowned when he could no longer hang on to a rope whilst being pulled up the side of the cruiser , was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross , thus becoming the first VC recipient of the Second World War . The award was justified , in part , by the recommendation of Captain Heye , who wrote to the British authorities via the Red Cross , giving a statement of the valiant courage Lt Cdr Roope had shown when engaging a much superior ship in close battle . Lieutenant Ramsay was also awarded the DSO . Both awards were made after the end of the war .