Thread by @acatfromgreece

Few actions of the Second World War combine selfless heroism and wrenching tragedy so poignantly as the loss of HMS Glorious, HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent on 8 June 1940.

The disastrous Norway campaign was over.

Vulnerable British convoys, escorted by those few ships the navy could spare, carried the evacuated troops homewards.

The prospect of losing any of the troopships was horrifying.

Hitler was poised to invade Britain, and every man on board them was vital to the final battle for national survival which was expected to begin at any moment.

Also making her way back to defend her homeland was HMS Glorious, one of the Royal Navy's very few aircraft carriers. She was escorted by the destroyers HMS Ardent and HMS Acasta.

Aboard Glorious were the precious remnants of the RAF fighter squadrons (No.46 flying Hurricanes and No.263 flying Gladiators) which had fought with tremendous gallantry against appalling odds above Norway.

Instructed to abandon their aircraft during the evacuation, the young pilots, knowing that every fighter would be vital to defend their country, pleaded for the chance to save the planes by flying them onto Glorious.

None of the pilots had any training in carrier landing, a difficult and dangerous operation even for experienced flyers. They were undaunted.

Astonishingly, they were also successful. All of them managed to make safe landings on Glorious. Proud and relieved, they settled down in her wardroom for the trip home.

In a better world that would have been the end of this story. Unfortunately, it was not.

On the afternoon of 8 June 1940 Glorious and her escorts were found by a German battlegroup containing the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

Unable to launch aircraft to defend herself because her deck was packed with the RAF planes, Glorious was a sitting duck.

With the unhesitating bravery typical of their class, the escorting destroyers tried to shield Glorious with smokescreens and attack the vastly superior German ships with torpedoes.

HMS Ardent made the first attempt and was blown out of the water.

By this time Glorious was sinking. At 5.40 p.m. she went to the bottom, taking with her almost all of her crew as well as the RAF pilots who had risked so much to get their aircraft home.

Aboard HMS Acasta, Commander G E Glasfurd had to make a decision. His fellow escort had been sunk. He could do nothing more for Glorious. He could have turned for home.

But he could not. He knew that behind him lay the troopships, and he must make a final effort to protect them.

Cdr Glasfurd's final message to his crew, all of whom must have known what was coming, remain unbearably moving despite their old fashioned phrasing

(They were recalled by the Acasta's sole survivor, Leading Seaman Carter).

'You may think that we are running away from the enemy. We are not. [Ardent] has sunk. Glorious is sinking. The least we can do is make a show. Good luck to you all.'

With that, Glasfurd steered Acasta back towards the enemy. She fired a spread of torpedoes, one of which inflicted serious damage on the Scharnhorst.

When the crew of Acasta saw the explosion, a cheer went up throughout the ship.

She was then overwhelmed. Shell after shell slammed into her, smashing her to pieces and mauling her crew.

The courage displayed in her final moments almost defies description. Her guns remained in action to the end; her torpedo crews kept firing until every one of them was dead

As he was leaving the ship, Leading Seaman Carter saw the surgeon, Lt H J Stammer RNVR, continuing to care for the wounded as she sank. It was his first trip to sea.

Carter saw Cdr Glasfurd on the bridge. He shouted to the captain to get into a raft. He wished them good luck, lit a cigarette and remained where he was.

Acasta's sacrifice was not in vain. Her hit on the Scharnhorst prevented the German battlegroup from hunting any further, saving the troopships and their priceless human cargo.