Arctic convoys After working up, the
Saumarez was allocated to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla,
Home Fleet, and shortly after to the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla, working with the
Arctic convoys. She was one of the escorts which sailed from
Seyðisfjörður,
Iceland on 23 October, taking with them five Russian
minesweepers and six Russian motor launches, to bring back from the
Kola Inlet thirteen ships which had been there since the Spring. The convoy (RA 54A) sailed from
Arkhangelsk on 1 November and arrived in United Kingdom ports on 13 and 14 November without loss, although it had been delayed by thick fog.
Saumarez escorted an outgoing Arctic convoy shortly afterwards, which also arrived without loss or damage.
Battle of North Cape On 22 December
Convoy RA 55A sailed from Kola, escorted by eight destroyers, including
Saumarez, two Canadian destroyers, three corvettes and a minesweeper. The outgoing convoy,
JW 55B, had left
Loch Ewe on 20 December and was expected to reach
Bear Island on Christmas Day about the same time as RA 55A.
Cruiser cover was provided east of Bear Island by , and , and heavy cover by the
battleship and the cruiser . Enigma intelligence alerted the Admiralty to the fact that Scharnhorst was being deployed, and early on 25 December allied ships were so informed. She was detected by the cruisers and after some hours trying to evade them and strike at the convoy, headed for home. The German vessel was intercepted and hit by
Duke of York and a long chase followed. In the
ensuing action,
Saumarezs guns fired continuously for eleven minutes, followed by torpedo attacks. A shell from
Scharnhorst, which did not explode, passed through the Director Control Tower, killing eleven men and putting the tower out of action. A near miss also damaged the forced lubrication system.
Duke of York and the cruisers sank
Scharnhorst, three hours after the first sighting. The four destroyers,
Saumarez, , and the Norwegian had scored at least three hits.
Saumarez steamed to
Murmansk on one engine and after temporary repairs by the Soviets left for the UK. Following a refit, completed in March 1944, she was again part of the escort of a pair of Arctic convoys,
JW 58 and
RA 58, both of which reached their destinations unscathed. The successful
Fleet Air Arm attack on the , which took place on 3 April, was synchronised with the passage of JW 58.
Normandy In
Operation Neptune, the landings in Normandy in June 1944,
Saumarez was Senior Officer's ship of the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla, which gave naval gun fire support as part of Force S in the assault on
Ouistreham.
Saumarez and the destroyer engaged a convoy of three or four minesweepers and one merchant vessel off
St Peter Port,
Guernsey on 14 August. The convoy was frequently hit and both destroyers sustained slight damage and casualties. In September
Saumarez was part of the escort of another Arctic convoy. She was refitted at
Newcastle from November to January 1945, prior to joining the 26th Destroyer Flotilla,
British East Indies Fleet.
Far East Early in January 1945,
Saumarez left from the
Clyde to rendezvous with the
aircraft carrier and escort her from
Alexandria to
Colombo. She arrived at Colombo on 8 February and
Trincomalee on 10 March. On 11 March
Saumarez took part in a sweep in the
Andaman Sea, with the destroyers and . They found and destroyed a
junk in Stewart Sound, but
Rapid and
Volage sustained damage and casualties from hits from a coastal gun reported to be 6 inch or larger. On 25 March, a further sweep was made. A Japanese convoy was sighted the next day and engaged. Although the destroyers attacked with gunfire and torpedoes they made few hits and, being low on ammunition, called on two
Liberator bombers to sink the enemy. One of these sank one of the Japanese auxiliary,
Risui with bombs.
Volage sank the other auxiliary,
Teshio Maru, with gunfire. Both escorts were also sunk.
Saumarez was in Force 63 in April, when she bombarded
Oleelhoe,
Sumatra. She was part of the escorting destroyers of the
21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron that took part in
Operation Dracula from April to May 1945. She was part of the Carrier Force in
Operation Bishop, formed to protect the convoys in the seaborne assault on
Rangoon, and then took part in
Operation Dukedom, which was mounted to attack a Japanese naval force reported sailing from
Singapore on 10 May 1945. On this occasion, she was part of the newly constituted Force 61. The and destroyer had left the
Malacca Strait on 14 May and early next day a
Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber operating from the
escort aircraft carrier HMS Emperor sighted them.
Saumarez, and in one division and and in a second, were diverted to intercept. The destroyers attacked both ships early on 16 May.
Haguro, overwhelmed by their torpedoes, went to the bottom at 0209 in a position some forty-five miles southwest of Penang, although she had straddled
Saumarez twice prior.
Kamikaze was damaged but managed to escape. ==Post-war==