Tiger was in service by 1960 and served in the Far East and then with the Home Fleet before going into reserve at the end of 1966.
From 1968 Tiger was converted to a "helicopter and command cruiser" and equipped with guided missile anti-aircraft defence before returning to service in the early 1970s. She remained in service until 1978 when she was put into reserve and marked for disposal. There were moves to return her to service during the Falklands War for her flight deck capacity but it did not proceed. Tiger was finally sold for scrap in 1986.
Construction
Tiger started out as Bellerophon laid down in 1941 at the John Brown Shipyard as part of the Minotaur class of light cruisers. These vessels had a low construction priority due to more pressing requirements for other ship types during World War II, particularly anti-submarine vessels. Bellerophon was renamed Tiger in 1945, and was launched, partially constructed, on 25 October 1945. She was christened by Lady Stansgate, the wife of William Benn, Viscount Stansgate, the Secretary of State for Air.[lower-alpha 1] Work on Tiger was suspended in 1946, and she was laid up at Dalmuir.
The Tigers were redesigned in 1948,[4] mainly for anti-aircraft defence of convoys and aircraft carrier task forces. Cruisers were seen as playing a secondary and complementary role to light fleet aircraft carriers in the defence of trade and attack on enemy shipping.[5][6] For AA defence of fleet carrier task forces the cruisers replaced the AA batteries of Second World War-era battleships and carriers.[lower-alpha 2]
In 1951 the Government decided to complete the ship and two others to an altered design with all-new armament as opposed to building new cruisers. With the revised design, HMS Tiger became the lead ship of the class. Due to the priority of the Royal Air Force (in providing defence against nuclear attack by Soviet bombers), the Cold War, and the conflict between the prime minister and Admiralty Naval Staff over shipbuilding issues, the warships that were approved in 1951-1953 were anti-submarine frigates, destroyers, and minehunters but no cruisers.[7][pageneeded] The restart of work on the Tiger class and reconstruction of other cruisers was delayed until 1955.
The ship had automatic 6-inch (152mm) guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun designed to fire 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of automatic 3-inch (76mm) weapons firing at 90-120 rpm. Each 6inch and 3inch mounting had its own Medium Range System (MRS) 3 radar director. Viscount Hall[lower-alpha 3] stated in the House of Lords in 1959 that her "automatically controlled" guns were "capable of firing at more than twice the speed of manned armament" and the "improvement in guns was ten times better than if the ship had been with the original gun armament".[8] However, Tiger's 6-inch guns usually jammed after 30 seconds firing,[9] and couldn't deliver sustained bombardment in support of troops ashore. RN argued that the first 30 seconds of engaging jet aircraft and warships was the critical determinant and that aircraft would be shot down with short bursts of fire and as such limited magazine capacity and gun reliability were less important than instantaneous response. The decision to complete the ships was based on the availability of hulls and expectation that the cruisers could be completed sooner (three years against 5 years) and cheaper (60% of the cost) than building new [8,000 ton] cruisers at a time when the existing cruiser fleet was ageing and its weapons and fire control were useless against modern aircraft. The RN had 21 cruisers in 1957, nine in operation and by 1961 the cruiser fleet had reduced to nine of which five were in service.[10]
HMS Tiger's revised weapon fit was for immediate post-war requirements and the continued reconstruction of the class confirmed the 1957 Defence White Paper as interim anti-aircraft ships pending the introduction of guided weapons into the Royal Navy; four County-class destroyers with the Seaslug missiles had been ordered by February 1957. In practice, only Tiger would be ready in time and perform sufficiently well to serve any length of time as a gun cruiser.[lower-alpha 4] By the time Tiger's legend was accepted by the Board of the Admiralty in July 1954 and the Cabinet in November 1954, the cruiser design, hull and machinery were really too old. Her two 6-inch turrets were insufficient to guarantee surface fire and were less effective in the anti-aircraft warfare role due to improvements in missiles and aircraft;[11] also, the basic fit of three twin 3 inch turrets were poor for effective, reliable coverage of the fire arcs.[12] The planned 40mm Bofors guns approved in 1954/57 as essential for close-in defence were omitted to give the crew space and comfort.[13]Air conditioning was fitted throughout the ship, and a 200-line automatic telephone exchange was installed. Her first captain was reported in the House of Lords to have said "that H.M.S. Tiger had been designed to cope with nuclear attacks, in that she can steam for up to a fortnight through radioactive fallout with remotely controlled boiler and engine and armament operating with re-circulating purified air below decks, and could operate as a fighting unit even if a nuclear bomb were dropped near by."[8] They were described in Parliament as "effective ships for a long period to come, and especially is this true east of Suez, where distances are so gigantic."[14]
As completed, Tiger carried:
a Type 992Q surface search radar at the top of the foremast,[15] with a range of 30 nautical miles (56km),[2]
a Type 960 air warning radar at the top of the mainmast,[15] with a range of 170 nautical miles (310km),[2]
a Type 277Q height-finding radar halfway up the mainmast,[15] with a range of 120 nautical miles (220km),[2]
five MRS 3 fire control directors (one for each turret), each fitted with a Type 903 gunnery radar.[15]
The Tiger's complement was officially stated as 698 (53 officers and 645 ratings) in peacetime, and 900 in wartime.[17]
The Navy Estimates for 1959-60 gave her initial costs as £12,820,000,[1] whereas Jane's Fighting Ships gave her initial cost as £13,113,000.[3][17]
Tiger was accepted by the Navy in March 1959,[1] and commissioned on 18 March 1959.[2][lower-alpha 5]
Early career
HMS Tiger April 1965. The Type 960 radar's dipole array at the top of her mainmast was replaced with the Type 965M radar single "bedstead" aerial during her 1968-72 refit.
The early part of Tiger's first commission was spent, under Captain R. E. Washbourn, on trials of her new armament. After workup, now under Captain R. Hutchins, Tiger went on a round of autumn flag-showing visits to Gdynia, Stockholm, Kiel and Antwerp. At the end of 1959 she deployed to the Mediterranean for a year as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. By late 1960, there were still problems with her armament and it was planned to resolve these at her first refit at the end of 1960.[18] During a visit by the Lord Carrington (the First Lord of the Admiralty), his Naval Secretary Rear-Admiral Frank Twiss "made the unpardonable error of shooting down a very expensive target aircraft, to the cheers of the ship's company but to a stinging rebuke from their Lordships of the Admiralty."[20] The ship took part in operations in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation in the early 1960s. The Navy in the early 1960s suffered manpower shortages, which resulted in a "shortfall in technical personnel" in the Tiger,[21] as a consequence some "items of its equipment could not be operated",[22] and "some of its equipment was not operational".[22] In September 1963, the Glasgow Herald said that the "Tiger already has a much-reduced crew and is virtually a floating office."[22] During the 1964 general election campaign, the leader of the opposition, Harold Wilson, criticised the government for this during a speech at Plymouth.[23][failed verification]
Rear-Admiral Michael Pollock flew his flag in her as Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Home Fleet, from 1965 – 1966. On 10 August 1966 one of the guns accidentally fired a practice shell into Devonport Dockyard during material tests of the equipment. "One member of the ship's company was slightly grazed, but there were no other casualties."[24] In October 1966, the ship was visiting Cardiff at the time of the Aberfan disaster. The crew assisted with the rescue and recovery operation.[25]
From 2 to 4 December 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers Harold Wilson (UK) and Ian Smith of Rhodesia.[26][27] The latter had unilaterally declared independence from Britain due to Britain's insistence on the removal of white minority rule before independence. Twenty officers (including all twelve midshipmen) were put ashore at Gibraltar before the talks to "make room for the three delegations of the Prime Minister, the Governor of Rhodesia and Mr. Smith."[23] When the Rhodesian delegation arrived, the Tiger was a few miles off shore, and the delegation was ferried out in a small craft. The Tiger then moved out to sea, but moved close to harbour when the Rhodesian delegation disembarked.[27] On Wilson's orders, the British and Rhodesian delegations were "separated in all activities outside the conference room".[26]
Conversion and later career
Tiger was placed in reserve on 18 December 1966, before undergoing conversion to a "helicopter and command cruiser" from 1968–72 in HMNB Devonport. This reconstruction included removing the after 6inch mount and 3inch mounts, installing two Seacat missile GWS 22 mounts,[2] and building a flight deck and hangar to operate four Westland Wessex (later Westland Sea King HAS 2) helicopters. Tiger was given much taller funnels with squared off caps, which was such an improvement that the Blake was given similar funnels in 1977.[2]
Once converted, Tiger carried:
a Type 992Q surface search radar at the top of the foremast,[19] with a range of 30 nautical miles (56km),[2]
a Type 965M air warning radar with an AKE-1 single bedstead aerial at the top of the mainmast,[2][19] this had a narrower beam than the Type 960, which was needed for air direction and was now the Royal Navy standard.[28]
a Type 278 height-finding radar halfway up the mainmast,[2] which was similar to the Type 277Q, but easier to maintain,[28][lower-alpha 6]
four MRS 3 fire control directors (one for each turret and Seacat mounting, each fitted with a Type 903 gunnery radar.[3][19]
When plans were announced to Parliament in March 1964, it was said that the Navy did "not expect this conversion work to be difficult or particularly expensive".[22] The reconstruction of Blake and Tiger was examined in the third report of the Public Accounts Committee for 1972. Michael Barnes said in parliament that the refits "show too lax an attitude towards the way in which the taxpayers' money is being spent".[33] "The refits were planned to take 18 months and to cost £5 million each... The Tiger refit took over five years and cost over £13 million."[33][lower-alpha 7] Rear-Admiral Morgan-Giles, MP for Winchester, while advocating for the carrier HMS Eagle to be brought back into commission described Blake and Tiger as "among the worst abortions which have ever been thrust on the Royal Navy."[34]
The ship's helicopter squadron increased the ship's peacetime complement to 885 (85 officers and 800 ratings),[3] which put a strain on accommodation for the crew.[19]
During reconstruction and in the following years, material cannibalised from Lion was used to patch both Tiger and Blake. Tiger reportedly had so much material from Lion that her crew nicknamed her "HMS Liger".[citation needed]
She was recommissioned on 6 May 1972. Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain. When the economic difficulties of the late seventies came around, this led to a defence manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages;[2] although Tiger remained in service long enough to take part in the 1977 Silver JubileeFleet Review in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II.[35]
Decommissioning and disposal
The de-activated HMS Tiger at PortsmouthNavy Days in 1980, showing the Type 965M radar with single bedstead AKE-1 aerial on her mainmast, the large flight deck and the hangar added in 1968–72.
In 1978 Tiger was placed in reserve, and decommissioned on 4 May 1979.[36] She was put on the disposal list in 1979. Both Tiger and her sister-ship Blake were listed as part of the Standby Squadron, and moored inactive at HMNB Chatham.
When the Falklands War broke out in early April 1982, both ships were rapidly surveyed and it was determined both were in very good material shape, and both were immediately drydocked (Tiger in Portsmouth and Blake at Chatham) and recommissioning work was begun.
Whilst there was speculation that their 6-inch guns would be useful for shore bombardment, the real reason for their potential deployment was the size of their flight decks (at the time the third largest in the Royal Navy after the aircraft carriersHermes and Invincible), and the potential to use them as mobile forward operating and refuelling bases for Task Force Harriers. (Blake had already operated RAF Harriers briefly for proving trials in 1971, and Harriers had refuelled on Tiger). Their benefit would be more as platforms to extend the range and endurance of the Harriers and as a refuelling stop on the way back to the carriers, rather than as somewhere to operate offensive missions from, or as somewhere to place a pair of Sea Harriers as an extended-range Combat Air Patrol ahead of the two carriers (and reducing their own exposure to air strikes), but the need to take off vertically rather than the use of a ski-jump severely reduced the Harriers' endurance and weapons carrying capability, and in late May 1982 after the loss of the destroyerSheffield and the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano the refits were stopped.
There were also doubts about the two ships' self-defence capabilities, (the 6-inch and 3-inch armament had never been reliable) and this coupled with the large complement (and potential loss of life if one of the cruisers was to be lost), caused much anxiety in the Admiralty. That, along with where to find 1,800 capable and qualified crew in a hurry at a time when the Royal Navy was already down-sizing, sealed the two ships' fate. The UK simply could not afford its own Belgrano disaster, either materially or politically.
Although Chile showed a faint interest in acquiring Tiger and sister-ship Blake, this did not get past the discussion stage and Tiger lingered on, moored in Portsmouth harbour. Tiger existed in a slowly deteriorating condition until mid-1986, and following competitive tendering she was sold for scrap to Desguaces Varela of Spain.[37] She was towed to Spain and scrapping started in October 1986.
Notes
↑ Labour MP, and later government minister, Tony Benn was their son.
↑ only the new Eagle and Ark Royal carriers were expected to have their own AA defences[citation needed]
↑ Sources differ: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995[29] and Friedman [30] state that the Tiger had a Type 278 after conversion while Marriott[31] and Janes[32] state that the Tiger had a Type 277Q after conversion.
↑ Jane's Fighting Ships gives the cost of conversion as £13,250,000.[3] By comparison in the mid-1960s construction of a new Leander-class frigate cost about £5 million, which had risen to about £6+1⁄2 million by 1972 when the Tiger's refit was complete.[citation needed]
Citations
1 2 3 Navy Estimates, 1959-60, pages 230-1, "List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31st March 1959"
The Type 42 or Sheffield class, was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy. A further two ships of this class were built for and served with the Argentine Navy.
The Type 22 frigate also known as the Broadsword class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches.
The County class was a class of British guided missile destroyers, the first such warships built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Seaslug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war environment.
HMS Eagle was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, in service 1951–1972. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in the 21st century, she and her sister Ark Royal were the two largest Royal Navy aircraft carriers ever built.
The Type 21 frigate, or Amazon-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.
HMS Hampshire was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down, in March 1959 a couple of weeks behind the class leader Devonshire, she was classified as a guided missile destroyer, as the Sea Lords regarded the concept of the cruiser and big gun ship as discredited by the perceived failure of the Tiger class and the obsolescence of the heavy gun. The description of guided missile destroyer seemed more likely to win approval from the Treasury and Government for an adequate number of warships the size of small cruisers, which could play many traditional cruiser flagship and command functions, but had no armour around its gun and missile magazine.
The Tiger class were a class of three British warships of the 20th century and the last all-gun cruisers of the Royal Navy. Construction of three Minotaur-class cruisers began during World War II but, due to post-war austerity, the Korean War and focus on the Royal Air Force over the surface fleet, the hulls remained unfinished. Against a background of changing priorities and financial constraints, approval to complete them to a modified design was given in November 1954 and the three ships – Tiger, Lion and Blake – entered service from March 1959.
HMS Blake was a light cruiser of the Tiger class of the British Royal Navy, the last (traditional) Royal Navy gun-armed cruiser of the 20th century. She was named after Robert Blake, a 17th-century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy".
The Leander-class, or Type 12I (Improved) frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973. It had an unusually high public profile, due to the popular BBC television drama series Warship. The Leander silhouette became synonymous with the Royal Navy through the 1960s until the 1980s.
The Type 82 or Bristol-class destroyer was a 1960s guided missile destroyer design intended to replace County-class destroyers in the Royal Navy. Originally eight warships were planned to provide area air-defence for the four planned CVA-01 aircraft carriers. They would also have been able to operate independently as modern cruisers "East of Suez".
The Minotaur class, also known as the Swiftsure class after the lead ship was sold to Canada and renamed, were a group of light cruisers of the British Royal Navy built during the Second World War. They were designed as a modified version of the Fiji class incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941. However, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the building of this new class had a relatively low priority and only three of the planned twelve were completed by end of World War II. They played no significant part in the Second World War, though Swiftsure, as flagship of the British Pacific Cruiser Squadron, was selected by Admiral Cecil Harcourt to hoist his flag for the Japanese surrender at Hong Kong.
HMS Ceylon was a Fiji-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was of the Ceylon sub class, named after the island and British colony of Ceylon. The cruiser saw service in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres during the Second World War. In the postwar era, she participated in actions in Egypt and the Korean War. In 1960 she transferred to the navy of Peru and renamed Coronel Bolognesi. The cruiser was scrapped in 1985.
The Type 41 or Leopard class were a class of anti-aircraft defence frigates built for the Royal Navy and Indian Navy in the 1950s. The Type 41, together with the Type 61 variant introduced diesel propulsion into the Royal Navy, the perceived benefits being long range, low fuel use, reduced crew, and reduced complexity.
The Type 61 Salisbury class was a class of the Royal Navy aircraft direction (AD) frigate, built in the 1950s. The purpose of the aircraft direction ships was to provide radar picket duties at some distance from a carrier task force and offer interception guidance to aircraft operating in their area.
HMS Royalist was a Bellona-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) during the Second World War.
HMS Swiftsure was one of three Minotaur-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle upon Tyne on 22 September 1941, launched on 4 February 1943 by Lady Wake-Walker and commissioned on 22 June 1944. The first of a new Minotaur class, a development of the later Colony class with extra beam and a fifth twin 4 inch turret. Swiftsure was the last Royal Navy cruiser completed during World War II and was the first British cruiser designed around the concept of an operations room and modern radar, with sensor screens and communications positioned for efficient operation. During her service in the Pacific in 1945, she proved the most efficient anti-aircraft cruiser in the fleet and was the first Royal Navy cruiser with the Type 274 lock-and-follow radar targeting system for her main armament.
HMS Lowestoft was a Rothesay-class or Type 12M class anti-submarine frigate of the British Royal Navy. Lowestoft was reconstructed in the late 1960s to largely the same pattern as the third group of Leander-class frigates, with new radar and fire control and a hangar and pad for a Westland Wasp helicopter for longer range, anti-submarine, engagement. In the late 1970s it was converted as the prototype towed array frigate for the Royal Navy, but retained its full armament. Lowestoft was sunk as a target on 8 June 1986 by HMS Conqueror using a Tigerfish torpedo. She was the last Royal Naval target to be sunk still displaying her pennant number.
HMS Superb was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. The ship entered service in 1945 and had a brief, quiet career before being decommissioned in 1957 after her modernisation was cancelled. She was broken up in 1960.
The Neptune class was a proposed class of cruisers planned for the British Royal Navy in the latter years of the Second World War. They were large ships which were to be armed with twelve 6-inch (152 mm) dual-purpose guns and with a heavy secondary armament. Although five ships of the class were planned in 1944, they were cancelled following the end of the war and before construction could begin.
The Minotaur class, or Design Z, was a proposed class of light cruisers planned for the British Royal Navy shortly after the Second World War. Design Z had several proposed configurations with differing armament and propulsion arrangements. The designs were large ships that were planned to be armed with ten 6 in (152 mm) dual purpose guns and an extensive array of 3 in (76 mm) secondary guns. Six ships of the class were planned in 1947 but they were ultimately cancelled before construction could begin, owing to the post-war economic difficulties of the United Kingdom and shifting naval priorities.
References
Brown, David K.; Moore, George (2012) [2004]. Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design since 1945 (Reprinted.). Seaforth.
Friedman, Norman (23 August 2012). British Cruisers, Two World Wars and After (1ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1848320789.
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