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HMS ''Calypso'' (D61) was a C class cruiser of the ''Caledon'' sub-class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940 by the Italian submarine ''Alpino Attilio Bagnolini'' . HMS ''Calypso'' was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company. Her keel was laid down in February 1916 and she was completed in June 1917. ''Calypso'' was involved in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight on 17 November 1917, when she and her sister ship were part of the force that intercepted German minesweepers near the German coast. During the battle, ''Calypso''s bridge was struck by a shell which killed all personnel on the bridge including the captain, and causing the accidental firing of a ready torpedo.〔''Grand Fleet Gunnery and Torpedo Orders'', 530/1/5/1918, p. 36.〕〔Newbolt, Henry (1931). History of the Great War: Naval Operations Vol. V , pp. 176〕 ''Calypso'' went to the rescue of the Greek royal family in 1922 after King Constantine of Greece abdicated and a military dictatorship seized power. The King's brother, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark was banished for life by a revolutionary court and was forced to flee with his family (which included his 18-month-old son Philippos who would later become Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh).〔''The Times'' (London), Monday 4 December 1922, p.12〕 The British Government had received news of the situation, and dispatched ''Calypso'' to evacuate the family. They boarded with minimal possessions. Philippos was carried onboard in a cot made from an orange box. The family were taken to Brindisi where they were put on a train to Paris. On 2 November 1924, the destroyer was steaming in the Grand Harbour upon returning to Valleta, Malta, from a cruise in the Western Mediterranean Sea when she accidentally rammed and sank a motorboat from ''Calypso''. All four people aboard the motorboat were saved by a boat from the destroyer .〔(holywellhousepublishing.co.uk A HARD FOUGHT SHIP: The story of HMS Venomous: What's New )〕〔(''A Hard Fought Ship, The Story of HMS'' Venomous'': The Grand Harbour, Valletta, 2 November 1924 )〕 During the early part of the Second World War, ''Calypso'' served with the 7th Cruiser Squadron on Northern Patrol duty as a blockade ship in the North Sea between Scotland and Iceland. On 24 September 1939, ''Calypso'' intercepted the German merchant ship ''Minden'' south of Iceland. The crew of ''Minden'' scuttled their ship before she could be captured. On 22 November, ''Calypso'' captured the German merchant ship ''Konsul Hendrik Fisser'' off Iceland. Following the sinking of the on 23 November, ''Calypso'' was involved in the search for the German warships and . In early 1940, ''Calypso'' was sent to Alexandria in the eastern Mediterranean. ''Calypso'' was the first Royal Naval (and British) vessel to be sunk by the ''Regia Marina'' in the Second World War. Two days after Italy declared war on Great Britain, ''Calypso'' was on an anti-shipping patrol against Italian ships travelling to Libya when she was struck by one torpedo from an Italian submarine about south of Cape Lithion in Crete in the Eastern Meditarranean. The sinking occurred at 00:59 on 12 June 1940. The submarine was the R.Smg. ''Alpino Attilio Bagnolini'' captained by C.C. Franco Tosoni Pittoni. One officer and 38 ratings from ''Calypso'' perished in the sinking.〔Playfair, Vol. I, pages 109-110.〕 The majority of her survivors were picked up by the destroyer and taken to Alexandria. ==Notes== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Calypso (D61)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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