The Fiji-class cruisers were a class of eleven light cruisers of the Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout the Second World War. Each ship of the class was named after a Crown colony or other constituent territory of the British Commonwealth and Empire. The class was also known as the Colony class, or Crown Colony class. Developed as more compact versions of the preceding Town-class cruisers, the last three were built to a slightly modified design and were sometimes also called the Ceylon class.
HMS Kenya was a Fiji-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. The ship was named after Kenya, a British possession at the time of the ship's construction.
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 Royal Air Force over the surface fleet, the hulls remained unfinished. 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 Tiger was a conventional cruiser of the British Royal Navy, one of a three-ship class known as the Tiger class. Ordered during World War II, she was completed after its end.
The Town class consisted of 10 light cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930. The ships were built in three distinct sub-classes, the Southampton, Gloucester and Edinburgh classes respectively, each sub-class adding on further weaponry.
The Battle class were a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN), named after naval or other battles fought by British or English forces. Built in three groups, the first group were ordered under the 1942 naval estimates. A modified second and third group, together with two ships of an extended design were planned for the 1943 and 1944 estimates. Most of these ships were cancelled when it became apparent that the war was being won and the ships would not be required, although two ships of the third group, ordered for the RAN, were not cancelled and were subsequently completed in Australia.
The County class was a class of heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the years between the First and Second World Wars. They were the first post-war cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy and were designed within the limits of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 tons, standard displacement and 8-inch calibre main guns may be referred to as "treaty cruisers".
The Dido class consisted of sixteen light cruisers built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The first group of three ships were commissioned in 1940; the second group and third group were commissioned between 1941 and 1942. A fourth group, also described as the Improved Dido, or the Bellona class, were commissioned between 1943 and 1944. Most members of the class were given names drawn from classical history and legend. The groups differed in armament and for the Bellonas, in function. The Dido class were designed as small trade protection cruisers with five turrets, each with twin 5.25" guns in high angle mountings, far more modern in design than previous light cruiser turrets, offering efficient loading up to 90 degrees elevation to give some dual-purpose capacity. While some damage was experienced initially in extreme North Atlantic conditions, modified handling avoided the problem. The fitting of the three turrets forward in A, B and C positions depended on some use of aluminium in the structure and the lack of aluminium after Dunkirk was one of the reasons for only four turrets being fitted to the first group of three, while the third group had four turrets with twin 4.5" guns. The Bellona's were designed from the start with four turrets with radar-aimed guns and greater light anti-aircraft armament.
The Atlanta-class cruisers were eight United States Navy light cruisers which were designed as fast scout cruisers or flotilla leaders but which proved to be effective anti-aircraft cruisers during World War II. They were also known as the Atlanta-Oakland class. The Atlanta class originally had 16 x 5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber guns in eight two-gun turrets, arranged with three superfiring turrets forward, three more superfiring aft and two waist mounts, one port and one starboard, giving the first four Atlanta-class cruisers the heaviest anti-aircraft armament of any cruiser of World War II. The last four ships of the class, starting with Oakland, had a slightly revised armament with a reduced main gun battery - the waist turrets being deleted - as they were further optimized for anti-aircraft fire in light of war experience.
The Brooklyn-class cruiser was a class of nine light cruisers built for the United States Navy between 1935 and 1938. Armed with five triple 6-inch (152 mm) gun turrets, they mounted more main battery guns than any other standard US cruiser. The Brooklyn-class ships were all commissioned between 1937 and 1939, in the time between the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War and before the invasion of Poland. They served extensively in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters during World War II.
The Arethusa class was a class of four light cruisers built for the Royal Navy between 1933 and 1937 and that served in World War II. It had been intended to construct six ships, but the last pair, Polyphemus and Minotaur, were ordered in 1934 as the 9,100-ton Town-class Southampton and Newcastle.
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 C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon-class destroyers after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.
HMS Gambia was a Fiji-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was in the service of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Gambia from 1943 to 1946. She was named after the then Crown colony of the Gambia, and has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
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.
The Danae or D class consisted of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy at the end of World War I which also saw service in World War II.
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 QF 6-inch Gun Mark N5 was a British naval gun, which was developed in the post-war period. It was the last large gun to be operational with the Royal Navy.
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, 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.
