HMS Belfast: Last surviving WWII Royal Navy cruiser. November 1939: Magnetic mine broke her back. Admiralty considered scrapping. 3-year rebuild created most comprehensively radar-equipped cruiser in fleet. December 26, 1943: Belfast's radar found battlecruiser in total Arctic darkness, helped sink it. D-Day: 33 days Normandy bombardment. Korean War: 8,000+ rounds. Only 2 combat deaths entire career. Nearly scrapped 1971, saved by campaign. Now museum ship Thames.
CONSTRUCTION:
???? Builder: Harland and Wolff Belfast (Job Number 1000)
???? Launched: March 17, 1938 (Saint Patrick's Day)
???? Commissioned: August 5, 1939
???? Cost: £2,141,514
???? Class: Town-class, Edinburgh sub-class
SPECIFICATIONS:
???? Displacement: 10,420 tons (11,550 after rebuild)
???? Length: 614 feet
???? Speed: 32.5 knots (dropped ~2 knots after rebuild)
???? Range: 8,664 nautical miles at 13 knots
???? Power: 82,500 SHP, 4 Parsons turbines
ARMAMENT:
???? Main: 12× 6-inch Mark 23 guns (4 triple turrets)
???? Rate: 6-8 rounds/minute per gun
???? Shell: 112 pounds
???? Range: 25,480 yards (14.5 nautical miles)
???? Broadside: 1,344 pounds, sustained 8,000 lbs/minute
???? Secondary: 6× twin 4-inch AA (after rebuild)
???? Close-in: 18× 20mm Oerlikon (after rebuild)
ARMOR:
???? Belt: 4.5 inches waterline
???? Deck: 3 inches magazines, 2 inches machinery
THE MINE (November 21, 1939):
10:58 AM, Firth of Forth. Magnetic mine detonated beneath hull.
???? Explosive: 1,276 pounds (double torpedo warhead)
???? Damage: Broke keel (hogged 3 inches), turbines torn free, half frames deformed, engine room destroyed, boiler room destroyed
???? Casualties: 1 killed (Henry Stanton), 46 injured
???? Saved by: All-welded construction (riveted would have sunk)
???? Initial verdict: Scrap her
THE REBUILD (1940-1942, 28 months Devonport):
Structural:
✅ External bulge added (beam 63'4" to 69')
✅ Armor extended/thickened
✅ Displacement increased to 11,550 tons
✅ Speed dropped ~2 knots (price gladly paid)
RADAR SUITE (Most comprehensive Royal Navy):
✅ Type 273: Surface search
✅ Type 281: Air warning
✅ Type 284: Main armament fire control
✅ Type 283: Barrage fire control (4 sets)
✅ Type 285: Secondary gun control (3 sets)
✅ Type 282: Pom-pom control (2 sets)
✅ IFF equipment
Recommissioned November 3, 1942, Captain Frederick Parham
Result: "1938 hull carrying 1942 technology - every system current generation. No other cruiser in Royal Navy could say same."
BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE (December 26, 1943):
Convoy JW 55B (19 cargo to Murmansk)
Bletchley Park read Enigma: Enemy capital ship coming
Force One: Belfast (flagship Rear Admiral Burnett), Norfolk, Sheffield
Force Two: Duke of York (Admiral Fraser), Jamaica, 4 destroyers
16:48: Belfast fired star shells again
16:50: Duke of York opened fire
19:45: Enemy sank, 36 of 1,968 survived
Belfast's radar contact in total darkness = invisible thread upon which entire battle hung
D-DAY (June 6, 1944):
Bombardment Force E flagship
Churchill wanted to watch from Belfast's bridge (King George VI stopped him)
05:27: Fired full broadside to port
Target: Battery La Marefontaine (1.5 miles inland Ver-sur-Mer, 4× 100mm guns)
Cut battery telephone line, played no role in beach defense
33 days off Normandy
Fired so many shells gun barrels wore out, concussion cracked toilets
Operation Charnwood July 8: Bombarded Caen
Withdrew July 10 (fighting beyond range)
Last time fired guns in anger WWII
KOREAN WAR (1950-1952):
2 deployments, 404 days at sea
82,500 miles steamed
8,000+ rounds fired (barrel replacement required)
Bombarded Inchon, Wonsan, Hungnam
July 29, 1952: Hit by 75mm shell Wolsa-ri island, 1 killed (Lau So), 4 wounded
ONLY 2 COMBAT DEATHS ENTIRE CAREER:
1. Henry Stanton (1939 mine)
2. Lau So (1952 shell)
For warship that saw 3 wars, fired tens of thousands shells: Remarkable
PRESERVATION:
Paid off reserve December 1963
Harbor accommodation May 1966
Sentenced to scrap May 4, 1971 (£350,000 value)
Campaign 1967: Imperial War Museum
HMS Belfast Trust February 1971: Rear Admiral Morgan-Giles (Belfast's last captain, MP), Gordon Bagier MP (served North Cape/Normandy)
October 1971: Towed Thames, moored above Tower Bridge
Opened October 21, 1971 (Trafalgar Day)
SIGNIFICANCE:
Only surviving WWII Royal Navy cruiser/battleship/capital ship
Last surviving Battle of North Cape vessel
Last surviving D-Day bombardment ship
Only surviving British Korean War ship
Forward turrets trained 12 miles inland
Admiralty wanted to scrap 1939. Ministry of Defence wanted to scrap 1971. She survived both.
Ship that refused to die: Radar contacts in Arctic darkness, star shells Norwegian Sea, broadsides Normandy, 8,000 rounds Korea.
British naval excellence: Taking broken ship, rebuilding better than designed, proving under fire.
#HMSBelfast #LastBigGun #BattleOfNorthCape #NeverScrap #Type273Radar #DDay #Normandy #KoreanWar #MuseumShip #Thames #TowerBridge #RoyalNavy #WWII #LightCruiser #RadarWarfare #StarShells #ArcticDarkness #12SixInchGuns #Harland Wolff #TownClass
CONSTRUCTION:
???? Builder: Harland and Wolff Belfast (Job Number 1000)
???? Launched: March 17, 1938 (Saint Patrick's Day)
???? Commissioned: August 5, 1939
???? Cost: £2,141,514
???? Class: Town-class, Edinburgh sub-class
SPECIFICATIONS:
???? Displacement: 10,420 tons (11,550 after rebuild)
???? Length: 614 feet
???? Speed: 32.5 knots (dropped ~2 knots after rebuild)
???? Range: 8,664 nautical miles at 13 knots
???? Power: 82,500 SHP, 4 Parsons turbines
ARMAMENT:
???? Main: 12× 6-inch Mark 23 guns (4 triple turrets)
???? Rate: 6-8 rounds/minute per gun
???? Shell: 112 pounds
???? Range: 25,480 yards (14.5 nautical miles)
???? Broadside: 1,344 pounds, sustained 8,000 lbs/minute
???? Secondary: 6× twin 4-inch AA (after rebuild)
???? Close-in: 18× 20mm Oerlikon (after rebuild)
ARMOR:
???? Belt: 4.5 inches waterline
???? Deck: 3 inches magazines, 2 inches machinery
THE MINE (November 21, 1939):
10:58 AM, Firth of Forth. Magnetic mine detonated beneath hull.
???? Explosive: 1,276 pounds (double torpedo warhead)
???? Damage: Broke keel (hogged 3 inches), turbines torn free, half frames deformed, engine room destroyed, boiler room destroyed
???? Casualties: 1 killed (Henry Stanton), 46 injured
???? Saved by: All-welded construction (riveted would have sunk)
???? Initial verdict: Scrap her
THE REBUILD (1940-1942, 28 months Devonport):
Structural:
✅ External bulge added (beam 63'4" to 69')
✅ Armor extended/thickened
✅ Displacement increased to 11,550 tons
✅ Speed dropped ~2 knots (price gladly paid)
RADAR SUITE (Most comprehensive Royal Navy):
✅ Type 273: Surface search
✅ Type 281: Air warning
✅ Type 284: Main armament fire control
✅ Type 283: Barrage fire control (4 sets)
✅ Type 285: Secondary gun control (3 sets)
✅ Type 282: Pom-pom control (2 sets)
✅ IFF equipment
Recommissioned November 3, 1942, Captain Frederick Parham
Result: "1938 hull carrying 1942 technology - every system current generation. No other cruiser in Royal Navy could say same."
BATTLE OF NORTH CAPE (December 26, 1943):
Convoy JW 55B (19 cargo to Murmansk)
Bletchley Park read Enigma: Enemy capital ship coming
Force One: Belfast (flagship Rear Admiral Burnett), Norfolk, Sheffield
Force Two: Duke of York (Admiral Fraser), Jamaica, 4 destroyers
16:48: Belfast fired star shells again
16:50: Duke of York opened fire
19:45: Enemy sank, 36 of 1,968 survived
Belfast's radar contact in total darkness = invisible thread upon which entire battle hung
D-DAY (June 6, 1944):
Bombardment Force E flagship
Churchill wanted to watch from Belfast's bridge (King George VI stopped him)
05:27: Fired full broadside to port
Target: Battery La Marefontaine (1.5 miles inland Ver-sur-Mer, 4× 100mm guns)
Cut battery telephone line, played no role in beach defense
33 days off Normandy
Fired so many shells gun barrels wore out, concussion cracked toilets
Operation Charnwood July 8: Bombarded Caen
Withdrew July 10 (fighting beyond range)
Last time fired guns in anger WWII
KOREAN WAR (1950-1952):
2 deployments, 404 days at sea
82,500 miles steamed
8,000+ rounds fired (barrel replacement required)
Bombarded Inchon, Wonsan, Hungnam
July 29, 1952: Hit by 75mm shell Wolsa-ri island, 1 killed (Lau So), 4 wounded
ONLY 2 COMBAT DEATHS ENTIRE CAREER:
1. Henry Stanton (1939 mine)
2. Lau So (1952 shell)
For warship that saw 3 wars, fired tens of thousands shells: Remarkable
PRESERVATION:
Paid off reserve December 1963
Harbor accommodation May 1966
Sentenced to scrap May 4, 1971 (£350,000 value)
Campaign 1967: Imperial War Museum
HMS Belfast Trust February 1971: Rear Admiral Morgan-Giles (Belfast's last captain, MP), Gordon Bagier MP (served North Cape/Normandy)
October 1971: Towed Thames, moored above Tower Bridge
Opened October 21, 1971 (Trafalgar Day)
SIGNIFICANCE:
Only surviving WWII Royal Navy cruiser/battleship/capital ship
Last surviving Battle of North Cape vessel
Last surviving D-Day bombardment ship
Only surviving British Korean War ship
Forward turrets trained 12 miles inland
Admiralty wanted to scrap 1939. Ministry of Defence wanted to scrap 1971. She survived both.
Ship that refused to die: Radar contacts in Arctic darkness, star shells Norwegian Sea, broadsides Normandy, 8,000 rounds Korea.
British naval excellence: Taking broken ship, rebuilding better than designed, proving under fire.
#HMSBelfast #LastBigGun #BattleOfNorthCape #NeverScrap #Type273Radar #DDay #Normandy #KoreanWar #MuseumShip #Thames #TowerBridge #RoyalNavy #WWII #LightCruiser #RadarWarfare #StarShells #ArcticDarkness #12SixInchGuns #Harland Wolff #TownClass
- Tags
- HMS Belfast, light cruiser, Royal Navy
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