Jervis Bay, HMS

A Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser, a converted Aberdeen and Commonwealth liner of 14,164 gross tons armed with seven obsolete 6-inch guns. On 5 November 1940, as sole escort of the 37-ship Halifax convoy HX 84, she engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer and its 11-inch guns to let the merchantmen scatter. Jervis Bay was overwhelmed and sank with heavy loss after a 24-minute fight; her captain, Edward Fegen, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Her sacrifice limited the convoy’s losses to five ships out of 37.