When 1 Tiny British Destroyer Met Germany's Mightiest Cruiser — She Rammed It Anyway

A single British destroyer, outnumbered and outgunned, found herself alone in the Norwegian Sea on the morning of April 8, 1940, facing one of the most powerful warships in the German fleet. This is the true story of HMS Glowworm and Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, the Royal Navy officer who fired ten torpedoes at the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, then rammed her with his dying ship rather than surrender. What followed was one of the most remarkable acts of gallantry in British naval history, an action so extraordinary that the German commander who fought him wrote to the British Admiralty recommending Roope receive the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military honor. Delayed for five years while survivors remained in German captivity, Roope's Victoria Cross stands as the earliest VC-earning action of the Second World War. This video tells the full story, from the iron ore routes that made Norway a strategic battleground, to the chaotic opening of Operation Weserübung, the desperate battle in heavy seas, the ramming that tore a forty meter gash in Hipper's armored hull, and the long bureaucratic silence that nearly buried one of the Royal Navy's finest hours. If you believe forgotten heroes deserve to be remembered, share this video and leave a comment below.