HMS Aurora was an Arethusa-classlight cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, with the keel being laid down on 27 July 1935. She was launched on 20 August 1936, and commissioned 12 November 1937.
In 1948 it was gifted to the Nationalist government in China and served as the flagship of the Republic of China Navy, being renamed Chongqing. In February 1949 its crew mutinied and defected to the Communists.
History
Aurora served with the Home Fleet from completion as Rear Admiral (D). In September 1939 she was with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, escorting convoys to Scandinavia and engaged in the hunt for the German battleshipsScharnhorst and Gneisenau. From October 1940 she was commanded by Captain William Gladstone Agnew. After the Norwegian Campaign she participated in the operations hunting the German battleship Bismarck and, with the cruiser Kenya, intercepted one of the German supply ships, Belchen, on 3 June 1941.
Aurora in the North Atlantic, 1940
Between July and August 1941, as part of Force K with the Home Fleet, she was involved in operations to Spitzbergen and Bear Island (Operation Gauntlet). After one of these sorties, in company with the cruiser Nigeria, she intercepted a German troop convoy off Northern Norway, and the German Bremse was sunk. In the autumn she was transferred to the Mediterranean and arrived in Malta on 21 October 1941 to join a new Force K.[3]
On 9 November 1941 leading Force K, consisting of HMSPenelope, HMSLance and HMSLively, she was involved in the destruction of the Beta Convoy. In the resulting battle the Italian destroyerFulmine was sunk, as well as the German transports Duisburg and San Marco, the Italian transports Maria, Sagitta and Rina Corrado, and the Italian Conte di Misurata and Minatitlan. The Italian destroyers Grecale and Euro were damaged.[4]
On 24 November Force K, made up of the British light cruisers Aurora and Penelope and the destroyers Lance and Lively, intercepted an Axis convoy about 100 nautical miles west of Crete. The Axis convoy was bound from the Aegean to Benghazi. The two German transports in the convoy, Maritza and Procida were both sunk by HMS Penelope and HMS Lively despite the presence of the Italian torpedo boats Lupo and Cassiopea. On 1 December 1941 Force K with HMS Penelope and HMS Lively attacked the Mantovani Convoy. The Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosto and the sole cargo ship Mantovani were sunk.[5]
HMS Aurora also participated in the First Battle of Sirte on 17 December 1941. On 19 December while steaming off Tripoli she was heavily damaged in a mine field and was forced to retire to Malta.[6]
After her return to the Mediterranean she joined Force H, and in November was part of the Centre Task Force for the Landings in North Africa, Operation Torch. Off Oran, she engaged the Vichy French destroyers Tramontane and Tornade on 8 November 1942, sinking the latter and damaging the former so badly that she had to be beached. The following day she badly damaged the destroyerÉpervier and drove her ashore. By December she was operating as part of Force Q at Bône against the Axis evacuation and supply convoys between Trapani and Tunis.
Then, as a unit of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, she participated in the invasion of Sicily and the Salerno landings (Operation Avalanche) before moving into the Aegean in October 1943. While escorting British destroyers reinforcing troops on the island of Leros on 30 October, she was attacked by German Junkers Ju 87 and Ju 88 aircraft off Castellorizo, sustaining a 500kg bomb hit abaft the after funnel. The explosion and subsequent fire killed 47 crew. Aurora was forced to withdraw to Taranto for repairs which lasted until April 1944.[7] In August 1944 she was at the landings in the south of France, then returned to the Aegean, where she assisted in the liberation of Athens. One notable member of crew was the actor Kenneth More, who used his theatre skills in his role as 'action broadcaster' to describe to the crew below decks via the public address system what was happening when the ship was in action.[8]
Chinese service
After the war Aurora was sold on 19 May 1948 to the Chinese Navy as compensation for six Chinese custompatrol ships and one cargo ship that the British seized in Hong Kong and lost during the war. She was renamed Chung King, after the Chinese war time capital of Chung King (Chongqing), and became the flagship of the Republic of China Navy under the command of Captain Deng Zhaoxiang. Chiang Kai-shek spent time on the ship observing the worsening military situation at some points.
The crew was not content after not having been paid since December 1948, when the ship itself was assigned to guard $500,000 in silver dollars, and planned a mutiny for weeks. On 24 February 1949 the mutineers found out that their plan had been discovered, opened up the small arms locker, and took over the ship. They forced the captain to the bridge, and threatened to blow up the ship if he didn't get the ship underway. At 0300 on 25 February, Captain Deng relented, and set sail with darkened lights. After announcing to the full crew that they intended to defect to the Communists with the ship, an anti-revolution group formed and threatened to retake the ship. The ship arrived at Yantai and the silver was distributed amongst the crew, staving off the counter rebellion. Once in Yantai, however, local Communist authorities were needed to put down the counter rebellion.[9] The ship moved to Huludao Harbor after being spotted by Nationalist reconnaissance aircraft, and on 21 March 1949 she was sunk in Huludao harbour by Nationalist aircraft. She was later salvaged with Soviet assistance but then stripped bare as "repayment". The original engines were sent to the Shanghai Department of Electricity, and were replaced with engines from the scuttled coastal defence ship Hai Yung.[10] The PLAN considered refitting the ship along the lines of the Anshan-class destroyers they had received, with an armament of 4 B-2LM turrets and 8 twin 57mm, but these plans were still too expensive, so the empty hulk spent the rest of her life as an accommodation and warehouse ship, being subsequently renamed Huang He (Yellow River) in 1959, when it was transferred to Shanghai on 27 October of that year to be converted to a salvage ship at a planned budget of 3 million ¥. After spending 276,000 ¥, the conversion project was cancelled, and the ship was once again transferred, this time to Tianjin in June 1965, used as a barracks ship and renamed Pei Ching. She was scrapped at some point during the Cultural Revolution.[10] Her name tablet and ship's bell were preserved in the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution.[11]
↑ Swanson, Bruce (1982). Eighth Voyage of the Dragon: a History of China's Quest for Seapower. Annapolis, MD: Naval Inst. Press. pp.179–182. ISBN978-0-87021-177-5.
1 2 Chinese Naval History Research Association, ed. (2013). "Chongqing's Uprising". Modern Ships (11b): 62.
HMS Kingston was a K-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s.
HMS Jervis, was a J-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. She was named after Admiral John Jervis (1735–1823). She was laid down by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, at Hebburn-on-Tyne on 26 August 1937. The ship was launched on 9 September 1938 and commissioned on 8 May 1939, four months before the start of the Second World War.
HMS Neptune was a Leander-class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. Neptune was the fourth ship of its class and was the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name.
HMS Euryalus was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 21 October 1937, launched on 6 June 1939, and commissioned 30 June 1941. Euryalus was the last cruiser built at the dockyard.
HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., with the keel being laid down on 2 June 1933. She was launched on 9 August 1934, and commissioned 14 August 1935.
HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff ; her keel was laid down on 30 May 1934. She was launched on 15 October 1935, and commissioned 13 November 1936. She was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-410 near Naples with great loss of life on 18 February 1944. On wartime service with Force K, she was holed so many times by bomb fragments that she acquired the nickname "HMS Pepperpot".
HMS Argonaut was a Dido-class cruiser of the British Royal Navy which saw active service during the Second World War. Constructed at the Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, Argonaut was laid down in 1939, launched in September 1941, and formally commissioned into service on 8August 1942.
HMS Sirius was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, with the keel being laid down on 6 April 1938. She was launched on 18 September 1940, and commissioned 6 May 1942.
The Battle of the Duisburg Convoy was fought on the night of 8/9 November 1941 between an Italian convoy, its escorts and four British ships. The convoy was named BETA by the Italian naval authorities and carried supplies for the Italian Army civilian colonists and the Afrika Korps in Italian Libya.
Vasilissa Olga was the second and last destroyer of her class built for the Royal Hellenic Navy in Great Britain before the Second World War. She participated in the Greco-Italian War in 1940–1941, escorting convoys and unsuccessfully attacking Italian shipping in the Adriatic Sea. After the German invasion of Greece in April 1941, the ship escorted convoys between Egypt and Greece until she evacuated part of the government to Crete later that month and then to Egypt in May. After the Greek surrender on 1 June, Vasilissa Olga served with British forces for the rest of her career.
HMS Carlisle was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the English city of Carlisle. She was the name ship of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers. Carlisle was credited with shooting down eleven Axis aircraft during the Second World War and was the top scoring anti-aircraft ship in the Royal Navy.
HMS Nigeria was a Fiji-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served during that conflict. She was named after the British colony of Nigeria.
HMS Eclipse was an E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Atlantic, Arctic, and Mediterranean theatres during World War II, until sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on 24 October 1943.
HMS Defender was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis, before returning to her assigned station where she remained until mid-1939. Defender was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before World War II began in September 1939. She briefly was assigned to West Africa for convoy escort duties in 1940 before returning to the Mediterranean. The ship took part in the Battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan over the next year without damage. Defender assisted in the evacuations from Greece and Crete in April–May 1941, before she began running supply missions to Tobruk, Libya in June. The ship was badly damaged by a German bomber on one of those missions and had to be scuttled by her consort on 11 July 1941.
HMS Lance was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She entered service during World War II, and had a short but eventful career, serving in Home waters and the Mediterranean Sea. She was damaged in two consecutive air attacks at Malta in 1942. She was towed back to Britain, declared a constructive total loss and was scrapped. She had been adopted by the civil community of Bexley and Welling, Kent in November 1941.
HMS Dainty was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis, before returning to her assigned station where she remained until mid-1939. Dainty was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before World War II began in September 1939. She briefly was assigned to West Africa for convoy escort duties in 1940 before returning to the Mediterranean. The ship participated in the Battle of Calabria in July 1940 and was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties until she was sunk by German bombers off Tobruk on 24 February 1941.
HMS Kimberley was a K-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served in the Second World War and survived it, being one of only two of the K-class to do so. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Kimberley, after the town of Kimberley, Northern Cape, site of the Siege of Kimberley in the Second Boer War. She was adopted by the civil community of Eastwood, Kimberley and Selston, Nottinghamshire in 1942 after a successful Warship Week campaign for National Savings.
HMS Lively was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War, and was sunk in the Mediterranean in an air attack on 11 May 1942.
HMS Lightning was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 22 April 1940 and sunk on 12 March 1943 by German Motor Torpedo Boat S-55.
The second HMS Wivern, was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II.
References
Caruana, Joseph (2006). "The Demise of Force "K"". Warship International. XLIII (1): 99–111. ISSN0043-0374.
Chinese Naval History Research Association, ed. (2013). "Chongqing's Uprising". Modern Ships (11b): 62.
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-922-7.
Swanson, Bruce (1982). Eighth Voyage of the Dragon: a History of China's Quest for Seapower. Annapolis, MD: Naval Inst. Press. pp. 179–182. ISBN978-0-87021-177-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United Kingdom
Republic of China 
People's Republic of China
