World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 80. Chapters: HMS Devonshire, HMS Belfast, HMS Liverpool, HMS Ajax, HMS Jamaica, HMS Shropshire, HMS Enterprise, HMS Penelope, HMS Edinburgh, HMS Dragon, HMS Kent, HMS York, HMS Danae, HMS Glasgow, HMS Exeter, HMS Bellona, HMS Charybdis, HMS Birmingham, HMS Arethusa, HMS Aurora, HMS Black Prince, HMS Hawkins, HMS Manchester, SS Rajputana, HMS Dorsetshire, HMS Bermuda, HMNZS Achilles, HMS Norfolk, HMS Nigeria, HMS Ceres, HMS Uganda, HMS Newfoundland, HMS Curacoa, HMS Sheffield, HMS Gambia, HMS Effingham, HMS Royalist, HMS Sussex, HMS Carlisle, HMS Kenya, HMS Cleopatra, HMS Cumberland, HMS Neptune, HMS Fiji, HMS Suffolk, HMS Phoebe, HMS Galatea, HMS Spartan, HMS Orion, HMS Berwick, SS Ranchi, HMS Frobisher, HMS Trinidad, HMS Southampton, HMS Emerald, HMS Sirius, HMS Mauritius, HMS London, SS Antenor, HMS Newcastle, HMS Rawalpindi, HMS Ceylon, HMS Calypso, HMS Scylla, HMS Coventry, HMS Cornwall, HMS Jervis Bay, HMS Diadem, HMS Naiad, HMS Cardiff, HMS Dido, HMS Swiftsure, HMS Euryalus, HMS Cairo, HMS Caradoc, HMS Hermione, HMS Caledon, HMS Colombo, HMS Calcutta, HMS Argonaut, HMS Curlew, HMS Forfar, HMS Capetown, HMS Superb, HMS Bonaventure. Excerpt: HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum. Construction of Belfast, named after the capital city of Northern Ireland and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939 Belfast struck a German mine and spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Returning to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment and armour, Belfast was the largest and arguably most powerful cruiser in the Royal Navy at the time. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943, and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944 Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945 Belfast was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950-52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before Belfast entered reserve in 1963. In 1967, efforts were initiated to avert Belfast's expected scrapping and preserve her as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence was established, and reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. In 1971 the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her preservation. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Br