Date of Arrival

Place

Date of Departure

Orders, Remarks etc

12.12.42

Humber

6.2.43

Repairs

7.2.43

Scapa

15/2 From C in C Home Fleet.: SHARPSHOOTER to remain in Iceland until end March. To count as time in N. Russia

Intend postponing sailing of SHARPSHOOTER until weather improves.

19.2.43

Loch Ewe

?

24.2.43

Iceland

3.3.43

Western Local escort for Convoy JW53.

Early in March SHARPSHOOTER and Hazard searched for survivors of the ss Meriwether Lewis who had been torpedoed south‑west of Iceland on 2 March. On the 4th SHARPSHOOTER made three attacks on a U-boat in 63.2ON, 25.05W, losing contact at 2200. (Ruegg) CLICK HERE for Report

6.3.43

Iceland

22.4.43

23/4 From search. Quantity of small wreckage sighted. No survivors

25.4.43

Scapa

25.4.43

27.4.43

Clyde

20.5.43

After maintenance she sailed on 30 May 1943 escorting KMS15 (74 ships) which was one of the preliminary convoys for the planned amphibious landing on Sicily (Operation 'Husky'). Detaching three ships at Gibraltar, this convoy entered the Mediterranean with Convoy UGS8A (58 ships). The combined convoy of 129 ships was the largest of the war up to that time, covering 68 square miles of sea, and screened by 19 escorts.(Ruegg)
 

30.5.43

Gibraltar

1.6.43

9.6.43

Malta?

?

 

SHARPSHOOTER, Hazard and Hebe took part in the build up to, and the execution of, Operation 'Husky' (the invasion of Sicily).  The slow assault convoy (KMS 18) after passing through position 35º00' N, 14º16'E was joined by the fleet minesweepers Hazard, SHARPSHOOTER, Hebe and Speedy. Paravanes were to be streamed before reaching the 200 fathom line.

9th July D -1   The weather deteriorated during the afternoon and considerable swell created difficult conditions for the LCT convoy, M/S and other small craft in company. As the speed of the assault convoy had been reduced, sweeping from the 100 fathom line was dispensed with in order to arrive at the release position in time. The town of Pachino was observed to be on fire. The minesweepers cleared the way for the landing craft to go ashore on the beaches at ‘Bark West’ in the Eastern (British) sector to the west of Pt de Formiche, the southernmost tip of Sicily. 

In the landings on Sicily 115,000 British and Empire troops and more than 66,000 Americans were landed on the island, starting on 10 July 1943. The minesweepers were engaged in a variety of escort and despatch duties. Seven days after the assault, Hebe, Hazard and SHARPSHOOTER were ordered to Malta where they arrived on the 18th. 

Source: Source: Battle Summary No. 35 The Invasion of Sicily & Ruegg

17.7.43

Tripoli

?

20.7.43

Malta

20.7.43

20.7.43

Augusto (Sicily)

22.7.43

?

Malta

7.9.43

?

Malta

9.9.43

?

Taranto

8.10.43

?

Taranto

19.10.43

20.10.43

Bari

24.10.43

 Our troops were well up into Italy by now. So we had to go across to Bari up into the Adriatic. We had to make a channel wide and safe for our ships coming up with stores etc. We swept from Brindisi up to Manfredonia and back and came into the harbour at Bari. We were ready next morning to go out but we were well overdue for a boiler clean and the Sharpshooter and the Hebe our sister ships went out in our place. But [on 22nd November] the Hebe blew up on the way into harbour, it was she who had taken our place. So you see I was on a lucky ship and when we had finished the boiler clean we went out with the Sharpshooter and started sweeping from Bari and Brindisi and right up to Manfredonia and back to Bari.

Extract from Diary of John Scragg, HMS Hazard

?

Bari

27.10.43

29.10.43

Malta

1.11.43

3.11.43

Bari

?

Brindisi

7.11.43

7.11.43

Bari

Hebe and Sharpshooter were carrying out a routine magnetic sweep at the entrance to Bari. We had just completed a run and were turning around together - we would turn off the sweeps as we did this. As we completed the turn we turned the power back on to our magnetic sweep. A mine detonated immediately and poor old Hebe was caught up in the explosion.

John Budd, Stoker HMS Sharpshooter

22.11.43

Mention in Despatches: Acting Leading Seaman Todds formed part of a lifesaving party sent away in HMS SHARPSHOOTER's whaler to rescue survivors from HMS Hebe. He saw the Commanding Officer of HMS Hebe unconscious in the water, dived overboard and supported Lt Galvin RN until picked up by a hospital launch 10 minutes later, thereby saving the Commanding Officer's life.

Source: ADM 1/29816

Raid on Bari - extract from Diary of John Scragg, HMS Hazard

The harbour was on fire from one end to the other, ships burning and sinking. We couldn't find the dockyard gates for smoke and I was calling out for the Hazard when I heard a faint voice calling ‘Is that you John’. It was the second in command, Commander Crawford. He said I would have to find a plank of wood to get back on the ship as the gangway had blown away with the explosion. I went straight down below to get changed but brought my working clothes into the passageway. And while I was putting my overalls on there was another explosion. Another ammunition ship had blown up. It lifted me up against the wall about five feet and it blinded me for quite a while. The captain sent for me to slip the cables, after I had marked them by a float, and get out of the harbour a fast as we could. The HMS Sharpshooter had lost her mast. A big steel plate had chopped it off coming down through the air. [Note, John Budd, who was serving on Sharpshooter at the time, has no recollection of the mast being destroyed]

[See also historynet.com for a detailed account of this significant raid. One of the 17 ships sunk contained 100 tons of mustard gas and 1,000 sailors and over 1,000 civilians were killed. Many at first appeared unhurt but were killed by the gas.]
 

5.12.43

Bari

23.12.43

23.12.43

Taranto

23.12.43