HMS Effingham
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | HMS Effingham | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | heavy cruiser | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | War action | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | United Kingdom | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Royal Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War II, Norwegian Campaign | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | Vestfjorden | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Norway | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 16 km from land |
| Position | 67.2783, 14.0583 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
HMS Effingham was one of five Hawkins-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was not finished during the war and construction proceeded very slowly after the end of the war in 1918. Completed in 1925, the ship was assigned to the East Indies Station, sometimes serving as a flagship. She returned home in 1932 and was assigned to the Reserve Fleet as its flagship for the next four years. Effingham was rearmed and modernized in 1937–1938 and then resumed her previous role.
When the Second World War began in September 1939, Effingham was assigned to the Northern Patrol, but severe engine problems caused her to spend most of the next six months under repair. In between dockyard visits, the ship ferried a load of gold bullion to Canada and was briefly assigned to the North America and West Indies Station. After a lengthy refit at the beginning of 1940, Effingham supported Allied troops during the Norwegian Campaign, mostly bombarding German positions and providing naval gunfire support to troops ashore. While ferrying troops and supplies to Bodø on 18 May, the ship struck a shoal due to a navigational error and sank in shallow water.
Location
- Recorded position: 67.2783, 14.0583 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Vestfjorden
- Nearest coast: Norway
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article HMS Effingham (revision 1375016246), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
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All 599 wrecks of the World War II →
Browse more: Europe wrecks · wrecks off Norway · Vestfjorden