HMS Hyperion ( H97 ) HMS " Hyperion " ( H97 ) was an H - class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the mid - 1930s . During the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939 the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet . During the first few months of World War II , " Hyperion " searched for German commerce raiders in the Atlantic Ocean and blockaded German merchant ships in neutral harbours until she returned to the British Isles in early 1940 . The ship participated in the Norwegian Campaign before she was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet shortly afterwards . " Hyperion " participated in the Battle of Calabria and the Battle of Cape Spada in July 1940 while escorting the larger ships of the fleet . The ship covered several convoys to Malta before she struck a mine and had to be sunk in December 1940 . Description . " Hyperion " 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 . " Hyperion " 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 , but this increased to 146 in wartime . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Hyperion " had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0 . 5 inch Vickers Mk 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 . The ship ' s anti - aircraft armament was increased when the rear set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a 12 - pounder 12 cwt AA gun , although when exactly the modification was made is not known . Career . Ordered on 13 December 1934 , " Hyperion " was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend - on - Tyne , England , on 27 March 1935 . She was launched on 8 April 1936 and completed on 3 December 1936 . Excluding government - furnished equipment like the armament , the ship cost £251 , 466 . She was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning . " Hyperion " patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the policies of the Non - Intervention Committee . The ship received an overhaul at Malta between 30 September and 30 October 1937 and resumed patrolling Spanish waters for the rest of the war . " Hyperion " was sent to Portsmouth for another refit in August 1939 that lasted from 16 to 27 August . When World War II began on 3 September , the ship was en route to Freetown , Sierra Leone to search for German commerce raiders . " Hyperion " was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station in late October where he blockaded various German merchant ships in American and Mexican harbours . She intercepted the German ocean liner off Cape Hatteras on 19 December , but " Columbus " scuttled herself before she could be captured . " Hyperion " was transferred to the British Isles in mid - January 1940 and began a refit at Portsmouth that lasted from 25 January to 6 March . The ship rejoined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow . On 5 April " Hyperion " escorted the battlecruiser as she covered the minelayer s preparing to implement Operation Wilfred , an operation to lay mines in the Vestfjord to prevent the transport of Swedish iron ore from Narvik to Germany . The ship and her sister pretended to lay a minefield off Bud , Norway on 8 April and reported its location to the Norwegians . " Hyperion " escorted the aircraft carriers and from 21 April as their aircraft attacked German targets in Norway . She remained with " Ark Royal " when " Glorious " returned to Scapa Flow to refuel on 27 April . In early May the ship escorted the light cruiser on an unsuccessful sweep of the North Sea looking for German ships . " Hyperion " evacuated British personnel from the Hook of Holland from 8 to 12 May and was then ordered to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet at Malta on 16 May . On 9 July she participated in the Battle of Calabria as an escort for the heavy ships of Force C and unsuccessfully engaged Italian destroyers and suffered no damage . During the Battle of Cape Spada on 19 July , the ship escorted Australian light cruiser and rescued some of the 525 survivors from the together with the other escorting destroyers . Together with her sister and two other destroyers , she bombarded Italian positions around Sidi Barrani on 25 September . " Hyperion " escorted the carrier during the Battle of Taranto on the night of 11 / 12 November . With " Hereward " , she sank the Italian submarine " Naiade " on 14 December 1940 near Bardia . " Hyperion " struck a mine on 22 December 1940 off Pantelleria as she escorted the battleship on passage from Alexandria to Gibraltar while covering a convoy to Malta . The destroyer attempted to tow " Hyperion " , but the tow cable broke twice and was ordered to sink her after " Ilex " took off the crew . Only two members of the crew were not rescued and were presumed killed in the explosion .