The Fighting Life and Loss of HMS Havock from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean 1939-42. It was headline news on 8 April 1942: ‘One of the Navy’s most famous destroyers, a ship which survived bombs, torpedoes and full scale battles, has been wrecked’. That destroyer was HMS Havock, described in another newspaper as ‘Britain’s No 2 Destroyer of this war – second only in fame and glory to the Cossack.’

Destroyer at War tells the story of the battles and operations of a famous ship, and its sad destruction, through newspaper reports, official documents, and the words of the men who sailed and fought in HMS Havock as she earned an astonishing eleven battle honours in her brief but glorious career.