ONCE the Royal Navy was referred to as the "Silent Service". It is true, and understandable, that many war catastrophies were kept secret to boost weakening morale.

But there was no excuse for the lack of information given to the British public about the outstanding success north of the Arctic Circle by ships of the Royal Navy. For many months convoys in the North Atlantic were being attacked and sunk by a superior force of German warships.

Hiding in the little known port of Narvik in the Norwegian Fjords, a full flotilla of heavily-armed destroyers were proving difficult to locate.

They were eventually found and engaged by a much smaller force of the Royal Navy which suffered heavy casualties and had to retire.

Destroying the German force became a top priority and Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid a special visit to the fleet anchorage at Rosythe. Boarding the 30,000- ton battleship Warspite, he left behind him sealed sailing orders that the fleet put to sea.

Sixty-five years ago the Warspite and a flotilla of the latest Tribal Class destroyers entered the dangerous uncharted waters of Vestfiord.

It was April 13, 1940, and the decks were covered with a thick sheet of ice and proceeding at our maximum speed of just over 20 knots we engaged in the Second Battle of Narvik.

One after one the enemy ships fell victim to the 15-inch shells and the destroyers' torpedoes. In less than three hours Warspite broke off the engagement, leaving eight German warships smouldering, sinking wrecks in the confines of the fjord.

These 1,500-tonne destroyers would no longer destroy British convoys.

After various actions around Norwegian waters, HMS Warspite returned to the Mediterranean fleet as its flagship and to further glory.

Bernard Hallas,

Publicity Officer,

York Royal Navy Association,

(Ex-HMS Warspite),

Hawthorne Avenue,

Haxby,

York.

Updated: 09:32 Thursday, April 07, 2005