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Smoke, shellfire, and a fatal ram made HMS Glowworm’s fight with Admiral Hipper one of the most extraordinary destroyer battles of World War II. Separated from her force while searching for a sailor lost overboard, the British destroyer suddenly found herself alone against a far superior German heavy cruiser during the opening of the invasion of Norway.
Led by Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, Glowworm kept reporting enemy movements, fought through heavy seas and smoke, launched torpedoes, and finally drove straight into the cruiser in a desperate act of defiance. The battle ended with the destroyer lost, but not forgotten, and Captain Hellmuth Heye’s later report of Roope’s bravery helped shape the posthumous Victoria Cross.
This historical war documentary explores naval combat, Royal Navy destroyer action, the Battle of Norway, and one of the most respected acts of leadership at sea. It is ideal for viewers searching for World War II history, military history documentaries, naval warfare stories, HMS Glowworm, Admiral Hipper, and courageous true accounts from the Second World War.
Led by Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, Glowworm kept reporting enemy movements, fought through heavy seas and smoke, launched torpedoes, and finally drove straight into the cruiser in a desperate act of defiance. The battle ended with the destroyer lost, but not forgotten, and Captain Hellmuth Heye’s later report of Roope’s bravery helped shape the posthumous Victoria Cross.
This historical war documentary explores naval combat, Royal Navy destroyer action, the Battle of Norway, and one of the most respected acts of leadership at sea. It is ideal for viewers searching for World War II history, military history documentaries, naval warfare stories, HMS Glowworm, Admiral Hipper, and courageous true accounts from the Second World War.
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LearningTranscript
00:00Smoke drifted across the Norwegian Sea, mixing with rain, steam, and the black clouds
00:05pouring from a ship that had already taken far more punishment than it was ever designed to endure.
00:11Flames climbed from her shattered decks as steel twisted under the force of shell after shell.
00:18Every few seconds another explosion sent fragments into the freezing air,
00:22while towering columns of water erupted around her from near-misses
00:26that seemed only a matter of time from becoming direct hits.
00:30Ahead lay an opponent of an entirely different class.
00:34The German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper displaced several times the weight of the small British destroyer struggling to survive before
00:41her.
00:42Her larger guns could strike harder, farther, and with devastating effect.
00:47Every advantage belonged to the cruiser. Firepower, protection, endurance.
00:52On paper, the battle had already been decided before the first shot had been fired.
00:57Yet, the destroyer did something no one expected.
01:01Instead of turning away to preserve what little chance remained, she increased speed.
01:06Her bow cut through smoke and heavy seas, aiming directly toward the much larger warship.
01:12Sailors aboard Admiral Hipper watched in disbelief as the burning British ship continued to close the distance.
01:18The cruiser kept firing, but the destroyer never altered course.
01:23Moments later, steel crashed into steel.
01:26The impact tore into the German cruiser with tremendous force.
01:30Plates buckled.
01:31Equipment was smashed.
01:33Men were thrown from their feet as the much smaller vessel carved into her opponent,
01:37before sliding away, mortally wounded herself.
01:41It was a desperate act.
01:43It did not change the outcome of the battle.
01:45The destroyer would sink.
01:47Many of her crew would never return home.
01:50Yet what happened after the fighting stopped would make this encounter one of the most remarkable naval actions of the
01:56Second World War.
01:57An enemy commander, deeply impressed by the courage he had witnessed,
02:02would later help ensure that the captain of the ship he had just defeated received Britain's highest award for bravery.
02:08How did a lone destroyer, hopelessly outmatched from the moment she entered the fight,
02:15earn the respect of the very enemy that destroyed her?
02:18The answer begins several hours earlier, long before shells crossed the Norwegian Sea.
02:25In early April 1940, Northern Europe stood on the edge of a campaign that neither side fully understood.
02:32Behind diplomatic statements and uncertain intelligence reports,
02:36Germany was preparing Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway and Denmark.
02:42Securing Norway meant protecting the vital flow of Swedish iron ore,
02:46gaining bases that extended German naval and air power into the North Atlantic,
02:50and denying Britain an opportunity to establish its own foothold along the Norwegian coast.
02:56British leaders suspected that German naval activity was increasing,
03:00but the full scale of what was about to unfold remained unclear.
03:05Reports arrived from different directions.
03:08Patrols searched wide stretches of cold ocean.
03:11Warships sailed under orders that could change with little warning
03:14as commanders tried to determine where the next move would come.
03:18Among those ships was HMS Glowworm.
03:22Commissioned only a few years earlier,
03:24she belonged to the Royal Navy's G-class destroyers,
03:27vessels designed for speed, escort duties, fleet screening, and torpedo attacks
03:33rather than prolonged engagements against heavily armed cruisers.
03:37Like other destroyers of her generation,
03:40Glowworm relied on agility instead of armor.
03:43Her strength lay in rapid movement, quick reactions,
03:46and the ability to protect larger ships from submarines or enemy destroyers.
03:51Against opponents of similar size, she was a dangerous fighting ship.
03:55Against a heavy cruiser, the balance changed completely.
03:59Her captain, Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roop,
04:03was an experienced Royal Navy officer respected for his professionalism and calm leadership.
04:08Neither he nor his crew expected that the coming hours would place them
04:12in one of the war's most unequal naval battles.
04:15At this stage, their mission appeared routine.
04:19Glowworm was operating with units of the Home Fleet
04:21in the waters north of Britain,
04:24where patrols, escort work, and reconnaissance
04:26blended into long days of harsh weather and constant readiness.
04:31Every lookout scanned the horizon.
04:34Every wireless operator waited for reports that might reveal German movements.
04:38Every sailor understood that war at sea
04:40often involved far more waiting than fighting.
04:43Nature, however, often proved as dangerous as the enemy.
04:47The Norwegian Sea in early spring could be unforgiving.
04:51Powerful winds drove heavy swells across the open water.
04:55Visibility shifted without warning as rain squalls and low clouds swept over the fleet.
05:01Even experienced crews found ordinary tasks more difficult
05:04as decks pitched beneath their feet and freezing spray-coated exposed surfaces.
05:10Then, an accident changed everything.
05:13One member of Glowworm's crew was swept overboard.
05:17In any navy, abandoning a sailor to the sea without attempting a rescue was almost unthinkable.
05:24Orders were given to search immediately.
05:26Glowworm broke away from her formation and began looking for the missing man,
05:30hoping that speed and determination might succeed where the unforgiving sea so often claimed lives.
05:37It was an entirely human decision,
05:40one made out of duty to a single sailor.
05:43No one aboard could have imagined that this search,
05:46carried out far from any thought of enemy contact,
05:49would place the destroyer on a course toward one of Germany's most powerful warships.
05:54Had that sailor never gone overboard,
05:57Glowworm would almost certainly have remained with the rest of her force.
06:01Instead, she was now alone.
06:03Separated by weather, distance, and circumstance,
06:06the destroyer continued searching through rough seas,
06:09unaware that beyond the mist and low clouds,
06:12German naval forces were already moving toward Norway.
06:16Within a matter of hours, isolation would become the most dangerous position
06:20any British destroyer could occupy.
06:23For a time, nothing disturbed the endless rhythm of the sea.
06:28Glowworm continued searching through rough weather.
06:30Her crew still focused on the missing sailor,
06:33whose chances of survival grew smaller with every passing minute.
06:37The wind remained bitterly cold,
06:39visibility changed constantly,
06:41and towering waves hid as much as they revealed.
06:44Somewhere beyond the gray horizon,
06:46entire naval formations were moving toward their own objectives,
06:50but aboard the British destroyer,
06:52there was no indication that history was only a few miles away.
06:56Then, the lookouts spotted ships.
06:59At first, they appeared exactly as one might expect
07:03in those crowded northern waters,
07:05dark silhouettes emerging briefly between curtains of mist
07:08before disappearing again behind heavy seas.
07:11They were not the large warships
07:13that every British captain feared encountering alone.
07:16Instead, they were destroyers,
07:19vessels much closer to Glowworm's own size.
07:22For a brief moment, the situation seemed manageable.
07:26Destroyers were dangerous opponents,
07:28but they were opponents Glowworm had been built to fight.
07:31A skilled captain could rely on speed, maneuverability,
07:35accurate gunfire, and torpedoes to level the odds.
07:38Even if outnumbered,
07:40there was still room for aggressive action
07:42or a fighting withdrawal.
07:44But something about the German ships seemed unusual.
07:47Rather than closing immediately for a decisive engagement,
07:50they maneuvered carefully,
07:52avoiding the kind of battle that destroyer commanders
07:54normally sought when they believed they held an advantage.
07:57They exchanged fire where necessary,
08:00yet their movements suggested another priority.
08:03They were trying to keep Glowworm occupied.
08:06That decision made perfect sense from the German perspective.
08:10These destroyers were not simply conducting an independent patrol.
08:14They formed part of the naval forces carrying troops toward Norway
08:17as Operation Weserrubung moved into its opening stages.
08:21Their true mission was not to hunt isolated British warships.
08:25It was to protect a far larger operation
08:28whose success depended on maintaining surprise for as long as possible.
08:32Every unnecessary battle increased the risk.
08:36Every radio transmission threatened to expose the movement of German forces.
08:40Every delay could affect the carefully timed invasion
08:43that was already underway.
08:46Lieutenant Commander Gerard Rupp quickly recognized
08:49that he was not looking at an isolated enemy patrol.
08:53These destroyers were somewhere they had every reason not to be.
08:57If German warships were operating this far into the Norwegian Sea
09:01and organized groups,
09:02something much larger was unfolding beyond the horizon.
09:06Exactly what that was remained unclear,
09:09but Rupp understood that discovering the enemy
09:11was only half his responsibility.
09:13The other half was making sure someone else learned about it.
09:17Almost immediately,
09:19Glowworm's wireless operators began transmitting contact reports.
09:23Short, urgent messages traveled through the atmosphere
09:25toward the home fleet,
09:27identifying enemy destroyers
09:29and reporting their approximate position.
09:32In an age before satellites,
09:34airborne surveillance,
09:35or real-time battlefield networks,
09:37these brief radio signals carried enormous value.
09:41A single destroyer might not defeat an enemy force,
09:45but she could reveal its presence.
09:47Those reports may have provided some of Britain's earliest direct indications
09:51that major German naval units were already at sea
09:55as the invasion of Norway began to unfold.
09:57The information was incomplete.
10:00It had to be.
10:02Rupp could only report what he could actually see,
10:04and visibility remained poor.
10:07Smoke, rain squalls,
10:09and constant maneuvering made accurate identification difficult.
10:12Every minute brought new uncertainty
10:14as ships appeared and disappeared
10:16against the gray backdrop of sea and sky.
10:20The German destroyers understood exactly what Glowworm was attempting.
10:24Every moment they delayed her
10:25increased the chances that additional German ships could arrive
10:28before the British destroyer escaped or completed her reports.
10:33Gunfire forced Glowworm to maneuver repeatedly,
10:36while changing courses complicated both observation and communication.
10:40The wireless transmissions continued whenever possible.
10:44But the battle for information had already begun.
10:47Then, the sea itself seemed to reveal a new threat.
10:52Beyond drifting smoke and low cloud,
10:55another silhouette slowly emerged.
10:57At first it looked almost like a trick of the weather.
11:00The outline was broader, longer, taller.
11:03Its shape remained indistinct,
11:05growing clearer only as the distance closed.
11:07Where the destroyers appeared lean and fast,
11:10this vessel possessed the unmistakable presence
11:13of something built to dominate open water.
11:16More gun turrets became visible.
11:18A higher superstructure followed.
11:21Then came the realization
11:22that every experienced Royal Navy officer
11:25hoped never to experience while commanding a destroyer alone.
11:29This was no destroyer.
11:32It was Admiral Hipper.
11:33The difference between the two ships cannot be understood
11:37simply by comparing measurements on paper.
11:40Glowworm relied on speed
11:42because she had almost no armor capable of resisting heavy shells.
11:46Her guns were effective against ships of similar size,
11:49but could do little against thick cruiser protection
11:52except under favorable circumstances.
11:54Her torpedoes remained dangerous,
11:57yet using them required closing the distance
11:59against an opponent whose heavier weapons
12:01could reach much farther.
12:04Admiral Hipper enjoyed none of those limitations.
12:07She carried larger guns
12:08that could strike with crushing force
12:10long before Glowworm could answer effectively.
12:13Her armor allowed her to absorb punishment
12:15that would cripple a destroyer.
12:17She possessed the endurance
12:18to remain in battle far longer
12:20than her smaller opponent,
12:21while her size provided a stable platform
12:24for sustained, accurate fire
12:27even in difficult seas.
12:29Everything now favored the German cruiser.
12:31Rupp faced choices
12:33that all carried terrible consequences.
12:35He could attempt to escape,
12:37but turning away exposed his ship
12:39while offering little guarantee
12:41that a faster, more powerful opponent
12:43would simply let him disappear.
12:45He could continue transmitting reports,
12:48preserving intelligence
12:49that might prove valuable to the home fleet,
12:51but every second spent doing so
12:53kept Glowworm within range of overwhelming force.
12:57He could use smoke to conceal his movements,
12:59hoping weather and confusion
13:01would create an opening,
13:02or he could attack.
13:04An attack offered the only realistic chance
13:06of disrupting the enemy, however briefly.
13:09It also brought the greatest danger.
13:11Every course he considered
13:13bought time for someone else.
13:14Every decision brought Glowworm
13:16closer to destruction.
13:18There would be no perfect solution,
13:20only the least impossible one.
13:23As the range continued to close,
13:25Admiral Hipper no longer needed to guess
13:27the British captain's intentions.
13:28The cruiser had identified her target.
13:31Moments later,
13:32the first heavy gun spoke.
13:34The battle had begun.
13:35The first salvo confirmed
13:37everything Rupp had feared.
13:38Great columns of water erupted around Glowworm
13:41as Admiral Hipper's heavy guns
13:43found their range.
13:44Even when the shells missed,
13:46their sheer weight hurled walls of seawater
13:48across the destroyer's decks,
13:50drenching gun crews
13:51and reducing visibility still further.
13:54Every correction brought the next salvo
13:56closer.
13:57Against weapons of this size,
13:59a destroyer could not simply
14:01absorb punishment and continue fighting.
14:03Survival depended on movement.
14:05Glowworm immediately became
14:07a difficult target.
14:08Her helm shifted constantly
14:10as she zigzagged through the heavy seas,
14:13changing course before the German gunners
14:15could settle into a comfortable firing rhythm.
14:18Each turn sacrificed speed
14:20for unpredictability,
14:21forcing Admiral Hipper
14:23to continually recalculate
14:24the destroyer's position
14:25while the sea itself
14:27threw both ships from side to side.
14:29At the same time,
14:31Glowworm answered with her own guns.
14:33Their shells lacked the weight
14:34needed to seriously threaten
14:35the cruiser's armored vitals,
14:37but that did not make them meaningless.
14:39Every round forced German crews
14:41to remain alert.
14:43Observation positions
14:44had to stay undercover.
14:45Damage, even if limited,
14:47could interfere with rangefinders,
14:49exposed equipment,
14:49or personnel on deck.
14:52Roop understood that a destroyer
14:53did not need to overpower
14:54a heavy cruiser
14:55to complicate its battle.
14:57Smoke soon became
14:58one of his most valuable weapons.
15:00Thick gray clouds
15:01spread across the sea,
15:03concealing Glowworm's exact position
15:05and forcing Admiral Hipper
15:07to fire through
15:07an increasingly uncertain picture.
15:10For brief moments,
15:11the destroyer disappeared completely
15:13before emerging from another section
15:15of the smoke
15:15at an unexpected angle.
15:17The concealment was never perfect.
15:19Especially with changing winds
15:21carrying parts of the screen away,
15:23but every second of uncertainty
15:25increased Glowworm's chances
15:26of surviving another salvo.
15:28The battle became one of constant decisions
15:31rather than brute force.
15:33Whenever the smoke offered protection,
15:35Roop used it to maneuver.
15:37Whenever visibility improved,
15:39Admiral Hipper answered
15:40with another storm of heavy shells.
15:42Whenever the destroyer
15:43appeared to gain space,
15:45the cruiser steadily reduced
15:46the advantage with superior speed
15:48and overwhelming firepower.
15:50There was no single decisive exchange.
15:53Instead,
15:54the pressure built relentlessly.
15:56Near misses became
15:57increasingly dangerous.
15:59Massive shell splashes
16:00battered the destroyer's hull
16:02with enough force
16:03to shake men from their footing.
16:04Splinters from exploding rounds
16:06tore across exposed positions.
16:08Equipment suffered damage
16:10even when direct hits
16:11failed to land.
16:12Every explosion reduced
16:14the margin for survival.
16:15Then, the opportunities
16:18began to disappear.
16:19Destroyers had been designed
16:20around one weapon
16:21capable of threatening ships
16:23far larger than themselves.
16:25The torpedo.
16:27Unlike naval guns,
16:28a torpedo ignored armor
16:30by attacking beneath
16:31or alongside
16:31a ship's protective belt.
16:33One successful hit
16:34could cripple
16:35or even sink a vessel
16:36that vastly outclassed
16:38its attacker.
16:39For destroyer captains,
16:41torpedoes were
16:42the great equalizer.
16:43They offered a chance,
16:44sometimes the only chance,
16:46to reverse impossible odds.
16:48But there was a price.
16:50Launching effectively
16:51required closing the distance.
16:53That meant steering
16:54toward the very enemy
16:55whose heavier guns
16:56could inflict
16:57catastrophic damage
16:58long before the destroyer
17:00entered an ideal
17:01firing position.
17:02Roop chose to take that risk.
17:05Using smoke
17:06and sharp alterations,
17:07of course,
17:08Glowworm fought her way
17:09closer to Admiral Hipper.
17:11Every minute the destroyer
17:12remained afloat
17:13increased the possibility
17:14that a torpedo attack
17:16might succeed.
17:17The British crew
17:18knew exactly
17:19what they were attempting.
17:20Their best opportunity
17:21lay not in exchanging gunfire,
17:23but in reaching a range
17:24where their most dangerous weapon
17:26could finally be brought into play.
17:29The torpedoes were launched.
17:31Accounts differ
17:32on the precise sequence
17:33of every individual shot
17:35during the engagement,
17:36but the outcome is clear.
17:38Admiral Hipper
17:39avoided destruction.
17:40Whether through timely maneuvering,
17:43the difficult sea conditions,
17:44or the inevitable uncertainty
17:46of combat
17:47fought in smoke
17:48and poor visibility,
17:49the British attack
17:50failed to achieve
17:51the decisive hit
17:52Roop needed.
17:53The opportunity was gone.
17:55Now the destroyer
17:56had expended
17:57her greatest offensive weapon.
17:59Admiral Hipper
17:59remained fully capable
18:01of continuing the battle.
18:02The German cruiser
18:03answered with renewed determination.
18:06Heavy shells
18:07struck Glowworm
18:08with increasing accuracy.
18:09Direct hits
18:11smashed sections
18:11of the destroyer's upper works.
18:13Steel plating
18:14buckled inward.
18:15Splinter damage
18:16spread across exposed positions.
18:18Fires broke out
18:19in multiple areas
18:20as smoke poured skyward,
18:22mixing with steam
18:23escaping from damaged machinery.
18:25The bridge itself
18:26suffered heavily.
18:28Maintaining control
18:29became progressively
18:30more difficult
18:30as communications
18:31were interrupted
18:32and equipment failed.
18:34Orders that had once
18:35traveled instantly
18:36now depended
18:37increasingly on runners
18:38and shouted commands
18:39carried across a ship
18:41under constant
18:41bombardment.
18:43Gun positions
18:44gradually fell silent.
18:46Some weapons
18:47had been destroyed.
18:48Others could no longer
18:49be operated effectively
18:50amid the mounting damage.
18:52Casualties continued
18:53to rise.
18:54Men who had spent
18:55years training together
18:57disappeared within seconds
18:58beneath explosions
18:59that offered little warning
19:01and no opportunity
19:02for heroics.
19:03Others continued fighting
19:04despite wounds,
19:06knowing there were
19:06too few hands left
19:07to replace them.
19:08The destroyer
19:10that had begun
19:10the engagement
19:11maneuvering aggressively
19:12now struggled
19:13simply to remain operational.
19:15Smoke covered
19:16nearly every section
19:17of the ship.
19:19Visibility aboard
19:20Glowworm became
19:20almost as poor
19:21as it was
19:22for the enemy
19:22trying to hit her.
19:24Under such circumstances,
19:26most commanders
19:27would naturally
19:27begin considering escape
19:29if any route remained
19:30or surrender
19:31if none existed.
19:33Roop faced
19:34neither luxury.
19:35Escape was becoming
19:36impossible.
19:37Surrender at sea
19:39against a warship
19:40still actively engaging
19:41was not a realistic option
19:43in the middle
19:43of a fast-moving
19:44surface battle.
19:46The conventional choices
19:47had almost disappeared.
19:49One possibility remained,
19:51not because it promised victory,
19:53because it might still deny
19:54the enemy complete control
19:56of the engagement.
19:57As the range closed
19:59once more,
20:00Glowworm's damaged steering
20:01and the relative positions
20:02of the two ships
20:03created a fleeting opportunity.
20:05Whether born partly
20:07from circumstance,
20:08deliberate judgment,
20:09or both,
20:10Roop committed his ship
20:11toward the cruiser.
20:13The destroyer's bow
20:14drove directly
20:15into Admiral Hipper.
20:16The collision came
20:17with enormous force.
20:19Steel folded against steel
20:20as Glowworm struck
20:22the cruiser's side,
20:23tearing through
20:24external plating
20:24and damaging fittings
20:25along the impact area
20:27before scraping past
20:28her larger opponent.
20:29The destroyer's own bow
20:31suffered catastrophic damage,
20:34but Admiral Hipper
20:35did not emerge untouched.
20:36The collision damaged
20:38the cruiser's hull
20:38and equipment,
20:39forcing repairs
20:40before she could
20:41continue later operations.
20:43For a brief instant,
20:44disbelief replaced gunfire.
20:47German sailors
20:47had expected torpedoes.
20:49They had expected
20:50desperate maneuvering.
20:51They had not expected
20:52a destroyer,
20:53already burning
20:54and heavily damaged
20:55to use itself
20:56as the final weapon.
20:57The shock passed quickly.
21:00The battle, however,
21:01was not yet over.
21:03Glowworm was mortally wounded
21:04and the sea was already
21:06preparing to claim her.
21:07The collision had bought
21:08only a little more time.
21:10Glowworm was no longer
21:11capable of fighting
21:12her way clear.
21:13The destroyer's bow
21:14had been crushed
21:15by the impact
21:16with Admiral Hipper,
21:17while the punishment
21:18she had already absorbed
21:19from heavy shellfire
21:20left almost every part
21:22of the ship
21:22scarred by explosions,
21:24splinter damage,
21:25and fire.
21:27Smoke drifted
21:28across her decks
21:28as seawater poured
21:29through damaged sections
21:31of the hull.
21:32Around her,
21:33the Norwegian sea
21:34remained as cold
21:35and unforgiving
21:36as it had been
21:36throughout the morning,
21:38showing no concern
21:39for which flag
21:39a sailor served.
21:41Admiral Hipper
21:42resumed firing.
21:43There was little drama
21:44left in the exchange.
21:46The battle had already
21:47been decided.
21:48The German cruiser
21:49no longer faced
21:50an opponent capable
21:51of mounting
21:51another serious attack.
21:53Instead,
21:54the remaining shells
21:55ensured that the damaged
21:56destroyer could not
21:57recover or escape.
21:59For the crew of Glowworm,
22:01attention shifted
22:02from defeating the enemy
22:03to saving as many lives
22:05as possible.
22:05The order to abandon ship
22:07was given.
22:08In the middle of combat,
22:10leaving a warship
22:11is one of the hardest
22:11commands any sailor
22:13can receive.
22:14For many,
22:15the vessel beneath their feet
22:16had become more than
22:17steel and machinery.
22:19It was home,
22:20protection,
22:21and identity.
22:22Yet every passing second
22:24aboard the crippled destroyer
22:25increased the chance
22:26of being trapped
22:27as she finally slipped
22:28beneath the surface.
22:30Men climbed over
22:31damaged rails,
22:32lowered themselves
22:33where they could,
22:34or simply jumped
22:35into the freezing sea below.
22:37The shock
22:38was immediate.
22:39The waters off Norway
22:40in early April
22:41were only a few degrees
22:42above freezing.
22:43Heavy clothing
22:44became a burden
22:45almost instantly.
22:46Oil spread across
22:47the surface
22:48from ruptured tanks,
22:49mixing with floating debris.
22:51Shattered timber
22:52and pieces of twisted metal
22:53carried away
22:54from the sinking destroyer.
22:56Large waves
22:57separated survivors
22:58from one another
22:59as quickly
22:59as they entered the water,
23:00making even simple
23:01communication difficult.
23:03Some reached
23:04Carly floats
23:05or fragments of wreckage.
23:07Others
23:08found nothing at all.
23:10Every minute in the water
23:11reduced the chances
23:12of survival.
23:13Then,
23:14almost as quietly
23:15as she had entered
23:16the battle,
23:17HMS,
23:18Glowworm,
23:19disappeared beneath the sea.
23:21The destroyer
23:22that had left Britain
23:23only days before
23:24was gone.
23:25Along with her
23:26went many members
23:27of her crew.
23:28Some had been killed
23:29during the engagement itself.
23:31Others were pulled
23:32beneath the surface
23:32as the ship sank.
23:34Still more succumbed
23:35to the freezing conditions
23:36before help could reach them.
23:38Among those
23:39who never returned
23:40was Lieutenant Commander
23:41Jared Broadmead Roop.
23:43Exactly how he died
23:44is not known.
23:46Like countless
23:47naval actions
23:48fought far from witnesses,
23:49the sea kept
23:50many of its final moments
23:51to itself.
23:53Surviving accounts
23:54agree that Roop
23:55was seen after the collision
23:56and during the evacuation,
23:58but he did not survive
23:59the sinking.
24:00Whether overcome
24:01by injuries,
24:03exhaustion,
24:03or the freezing water
24:05can no longer
24:06be established
24:06with certainty.
24:08For the survivors
24:09still struggling
24:10in the sea,
24:11the battle
24:11had changed completely.
24:13Their greatest hope
24:14now rested with the crew
24:16of the very ship
24:17they had spent
24:17the last hour
24:18trying to sink.
24:19Captain Helmuth High
24:21faced a difficult decision.
24:23Admiral Hipper
24:23was operating
24:24in hostile waters
24:25during the opening phase
24:27of Germany's invasion
24:28of Norway.
24:29British submarines
24:30were known
24:30to patrol northern waters.
24:32Aircraft could appear
24:33with little warning
24:34if the weather cleared.
24:35Every minute spent
24:37stopped or moving slowly
24:38increased the cruiser's
24:39own vulnerability
24:40and risked delaying
24:41the wider operation.
24:42The safest military decision
24:45would have been
24:45to leave immediately.
24:47Instead,
24:48High ordered
24:49rescue operations.
24:50German sailors
24:51threw lines
24:52into the water,
24:53lowered boats
24:54where conditions allowed,
24:55and hauled
24:56exhausted British survivors
24:57aboard the cruiser.
24:59Men who only
25:00moments earlier
25:01had been enemies
25:01firing at one another
25:02now worked together
25:04simply to keep
25:04freezing sailors alive.
25:06Not everyone
25:07could be saved.
25:08The sea claimed
25:09too many
25:10before rescue
25:11became possible.
25:12Yet dozens
25:13of Glowworm's crew
25:14survived
25:14because Admiral Hipper's
25:16captain accepted
25:17the risks involved
25:18in stopping
25:18to recover them.
25:19The battle had ended.
25:21Professional duty
25:22had taken on
25:23a different meaning.
25:24For the rescued sailors,
25:25captivity now
25:26replaced combat.
25:28The war would continue,
25:29but for them
25:30the fighting
25:30aboard Glowworm
25:31was over.
25:32The story,
25:33however,
25:33was not.
25:35As news
25:36of the Norwegian
25:37campaign spread,
25:38Britain knew
25:39that Glowworm
25:39had been lost,
25:40but very little
25:41was known
25:42about the circumstances
25:43surrounding her final action.
25:45The destroyer
25:46had disappeared
25:47with most of the men
25:48who could describe
25:48what had happened,
25:49while the confusion
25:50of the opening days
25:51of the campaign
25:52left many reports
25:53incomplete.
25:55One of the most
25:56important accounts
25:57came from
25:57an unexpected source.
25:59Captain Helmuth High
26:01never forgot
26:02the determination
26:02shown by Roop
26:03and his crew.
26:04Through the
26:05International Committee
26:06of the Red Cross,
26:07information about
26:08the battle
26:09eventually reached
26:10British authorities.
26:11High's account
26:12described the
26:12remarkable courage
26:13displayed by
26:14the British captain,
26:15particularly the
26:16decision to continue
26:17fighting against
26:18overwhelming odds
26:19before finally
26:20ramming the cruiser.
26:21His testimony
26:23did not stand alone.
26:24Information from
26:25surviving British
26:26prisoners and other
26:27available reports
26:28also helped
26:29reconstruct the
26:30engagement.
26:31Together,
26:32they painted a picture
26:33of a destroyer
26:34whose captain
26:35had continued
26:36carrying out
26:36his duty
26:37long after
26:38the battle
26:38had become
26:39hopeless.
26:40Those accounts
26:41ultimately contributed
26:42to Gerard Broadmead
26:43Roop receiving
26:44the Victoria Cross
26:45posthumously.
26:47It was an
26:48extraordinary award
26:49for an extraordinary
26:50action,
26:51not because the
26:52Victoria Cross
26:53itself was unusual
26:54in recognizing
26:55bravery,
26:56but because one
26:57of the strongest
26:58confirmations
26:58supporting that
26:59bravery came from
27:01the commander
27:01of the enemy
27:02warship that
27:03had defeated him.
27:04History contains
27:06many examples
27:07of fierce enemies
27:08respecting one
27:08another after
27:09battle.
27:10Few are documented
27:11as clearly as
27:12this one.
27:13Measured against
27:14the enormous scale
27:15of the Second
27:16World War,
27:17the engagement
27:17between HMS
27:19Glowworm and
27:20Admiral Hipper
27:20changed remarkably
27:22little.
27:23Operation
27:24Weserubung
27:25continued.
27:26German forces
27:26landed in Norway.
27:28The broader
27:28naval campaign
27:29unfolded much as
27:30it otherwise
27:31would have.
27:31No strategic map
27:33was redrawn
27:33because of this
27:34single encounter.
27:35Yet history
27:36is not remembered
27:37only through
27:38victories that
27:38alter the course
27:39of wars.
27:40Sometimes it
27:41remembers moments
27:42that reveal the
27:43character of the
27:44people caught
27:44within them.
27:46Glowworm never
27:46stood a realistic
27:47chance of defeating
27:48Admiral Hipper
27:49in a conventional
27:50gun battle.
27:51Roop understood
27:52that.
27:53His officers
27:55understood it.
27:55His crew
27:56almost certainly
27:57understood it as
27:58well.
27:58Even so,
28:00they continued
28:00reporting enemy
28:01movements,
28:02continued maneuvering
28:03under fire,
28:04continued attempting
28:05torpedo attacks,
28:06and finally,
28:07committed to one
28:08last desperate
28:09action when every
28:11conventional option
28:12had almost
28:12disappeared.
28:13The German crew
28:15demonstrated something
28:16equally important
28:17after the battle.
28:18Having defeated
28:19their opponent,
28:19they accepted
28:20additional danger
28:21to rescue as many
28:22survivors as
28:23circumstances allowed.
28:25Professional respect
28:26overcame the
28:27temptation to see
28:28only an enemy.
28:29Perhaps that is
28:30why the story has
28:31endured for so
28:32many decades.
28:33Not because a
28:34destroyer defeated
28:35a heavy cruiser.
28:36She did not.
28:38Not because the
28:39battle transformed
28:40the Norwegian
28:40campaign.
28:41It did not.
28:43It is remembered
28:44because, on a
28:45cold April morning
28:46in 1940, a small
28:48British destroyer
28:49charged directly
28:51toward an opponent
28:51she could never
28:52realistically
28:53overpower.
28:54At first glance,
28:56the decision seems
28:57impossible to explain.
28:59History remembers
29:00it differently.
29:01Sometimes courage
29:02is measured not
29:03by the chance
29:04of success,
29:05but by what men
29:06choose to do
29:07after success
29:08has slipped
29:08beyond their reach.
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