Qualla: HMS Effingham https://qualla.com/hms-effingham en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:35 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: HMS Effingham https://qualla.com/hms-effingham HMS Effingham: Introduction https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit Marshall Bishop H, War Office official photographer, Public domain. The ship was cursed from the start, or close enough. Laid down at Portsmouth in 1917 to hunt German commerce raiders, HMS Effingham was not completed until 1925, seven years after the war she was built for had ended. Her engines would torment every captain who commanded her. But Effingham's final misfortune was not mechanical. On the evening of May 17, 1940, carrying 1,020 British and French troops, ten Bren Carriers, and a French general to reinforce the defense of Bodø, she struck Faxsen Shoal in a narrow strait and sank in Norwegian waters. Every person aboard survived. The cruiser did not.

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Image: Marshall Bishop H, War Office official photographer | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full HMS Effingham: Built for One War, Delivered to Another https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. HMS Effingham was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser, one of five designed to chase down commerce raiders across open ocean. She measured 604 feet overall, displaced nearly 10,000 tons at standard load, and carried seven 7.5-inch guns. Named for Lord Howard of Effingham, who led the E...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-built-for-one-war-delivered-to-another.mp3 0:06 2 full HMS Effingham: The Engine Problem https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. Effingham returned home in 1933 and spent the next several years as flagship of the Reserve Fleet before undergoing a major rearmament in 1937-1938. Her seven 7.5-inch guns were replaced with nine 6-inch guns, her anti-aircraft suite was upgraded, and two boilers were removed to ...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-the-engine-problem.mp3 0:06 3 full HMS Effingham: Norway, May 1940 https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. Finally ready for action in April 1940, Effingham sailed to Scapa Flow and entered the Norwegian Campaign. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Cork, supreme commander of Allied forces in Norway, hoisted his flag aboard her on April 20. Over the following weeks, she bombarded German positio...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-norway-may-1940.mp3 0:06 4 full HMS Effingham: The Strait That Wasn't Wide Enough https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. On May 17, Effingham departed Harstad carrying over a thousand troops and supplies to reinforce Bodø. To avoid Luftwaffe attacks, the Admiralty chose a longer route around the outer islands rather than the direct passage through the Vestfjorden. As the squadron approached Bodø, C...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-the-strait-that-wasnt-wide-enough.mp3 0:06 5 full HMS Effingham: Everyone Out, Then Sink Her https://qualla.com/hms-effingham/ Photo credit U.S. Navy, Public domain. Captain Howson's priority was the 1,020 troops and his own crew. The destroyer Echo came alongside and took aboard all passengers and over 200 crew members, transferring them to Coventry. Boats from Matabele rescued additional men. By 22:10, every soul had been evacuated without ...

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Image: U.S. Navy | Public domain

]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/u/7/c/y/hms-effingham-wp/u7cy-hms-effingham-everyone-out-then-sink-her.mp3 0:06 6 full