H. M. S. B E R M U D A
"COLONY"
Class cruiser ordered on 4th September 1939 from John Brown of Clydebank and
laid down on 30th November
1939. The ship was launched on 11th September 1941 by Viscountess
Weir and was the eighth RN ship to carry this name, first introduced in 1795.
Build was completed on the 21st August 1942 and this ship had been adopted in
March 1942 by the civil community of West Bromwich, then in the county of
Staffordshire after a successful WARSHIP
WEEK National Savings campaign.
B a t t l e H o n o u r s
NORTH AFRICA 1942
- ARCTIC 1943
- ATLANTIC 1943
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On a Field , White, a demi-lion affronte
erased Red
holding in the dexter paw a trident also Red.
D e t a i
l s o f W a r
S e r v i c e
1 9 4 2
July
Contractors trials
August
5th Commissioned for service.
21st Build completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials.
28th On completion of trials and storing
took passage to Scapa Flow to work up with ships of
Home Fleet
September Carried out further trials and
calibrations at Scapa Flow.
October Nominated
for support of planned allied landings in North Africa (Operation TORCH)
26th On completion of work-up joined HM
Battleships DUKE OF YORK, NELSON and HM
Battlecruiser RENOWN,
HM Aircraft Carriers VICTORIOUS and FORMIDABLE
with
HM Cruiser ARGONAUT
screened by eleven Home Fleet destroyers for passage
to Gibraltar
to support of landings. For
details see ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by C.Barnett,
RELUCTANT ENEMIES by W Tute and Naval Staff
History).
November
3rd Arrived at
Gibraltar and joined Force H.
6th Sailed from Gibraltar
8th Provided Distant Cover for landings
and bombarded shore gun positions during assault.
Carried out patrolled in seaward approaches to prevent any interference
by Vichy French
or Italian warships.
Under torpedo and bomb
attacks by He111aircraft off Algiers with HM Cruiser SHEFFIELD.
(Note: One air craft was claimed
destroyed and one damaged during attacks by 34 aircraft.)
10th Escorted convoy of three troop ships to
Bougie with HMS SHEFFIELD.
On release from TORCH took return passage to Scapa Flow to resume Home
Fleet duties
14th Deployed as Flagship of Force Q to
carry out attacks on enemy supply shipping.
Released from Force H and nominated for return to Home Fleet.
December Passage
to Scapa Flow
4th Rejoined Home
Fleet for convoy defence and patrol duty in NW Approaches.
31st Deployed with HM Battleship KING GEORGE
V and HOWE with Fleet destroyers to provide
cover for returning Russian Convoy RA51 after the attacks on the inward
Russian Convoy
JW51B by German warships HIPPER and LUTZOW.
(For details of all Russian Convoy operations see ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE
CLOSELY,
THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS by B. Schoefield, CONVOY !
by P Kemp and Russian Convoys
by R Woodman.)
1 9 4 3
January
4th Detached from JW51B during passage
and provided cover for retrun Convoy RA51
during passage from Kola Inlet
to Loch Ewe.
17th Deployed with HM Cruisers GLASGOW and
KENT to providew cover for passage of
Russian Convoy JW52 during passage to Kola Inlet.
27th Detached from JW52 on arrival at Kola
Inlet
29th Deployed to provide cover for passage
of return Convoy RA52 during passage to Loch Ewe
from Kola Inlet
(Note: Attack by U625 failed – See HITLER’S U-BOAT WAR by C Blair.)
February
9th Returned to Scapa Flow on release
from RA52
March
29th Deployed with HM Destroyer ATHABASCAN
(RCN) for patrol in Faeroes - Iceland Gap
after German battleships TIRPITZ.SCHARNHORST and LUTZCW were reported at
sea
April
2nd Returned to
Scapa Flow without sighting any enemy ships.
May
Relieved HM Cruiser SCYLLA as escort for rms
QUEEN MARY during passage to Canada
with Prime Minister
embarked for TRIDENT Meeting with President Roosevelt..
27th Escorted HM Battleships ANSON and
VALIANT from Scapa Flow to Rosyth.
31st Sailed from Greenock with HM Cruiser
CUMBERLAND, HM Destroyers
ATHABASCAN (RCN) and
ECLIPSE covered by HM Aircraft Carrier FURIOUS, HM Cruiser
SCYLLA screened by HM Destroyers ECHO and
MIDDLETON
(Operation GEARBOX –
Relief for Spitzbergen Garrison)
June Bad weather forced ships to
shelter at Akureri,
Iceland.
7th Sailed for
Spitzbergen.
10th Arrived at Spitzbergen
Ship's aircraft used to
patrol the area.
14th Returned to Scapa Flow.
30th Transferred to Plymouth to provide
cruiser cover for anti-submarine operations by
Support
Groups B2 and 2nd Support Group in Bay of Biscay
with HM Cruiser GLASGOW to prevent
any attacks by destroyers.
(Operations MUSKETRY and SEASLUG).
(Note: These
operations were carried out in conjunction with RAF Coastal Command).
July Bay of Biscay support duty
in continuing.
August Supported
Anti-submarine operations by 40th Escort Group and 5th Support Group off the
Spanish coast during
which attacks were made for the first time by Hs293 weapons
(Operation
PERCUSSION).
(Note: The escorts involved include HM Frigates NENE and TWEED.
See also HITLER’S BOAT WAR by C Blair.)
This
deployment also covered passage of outward Convoy os54 and inward SL134)
September
Under refit at Devonport.
(Note: Close Range AA defence
supplmented bt additional
20mm Oerlikon guns.)
October
Carried out harbour and sea trials on completyion
of dockyard work.
25th Passage to
resume Home Fleet duty at Scapa Flow.
November
19th Provided
cruiser cover with HMS JAMAICA and HMS KENT for passage of the Russian
Convoys JW54A and JW54B and later for returning convoy RA54B.
December
3rd Returned to
Home Fleet duties at Scapa Flow.
11th Taken in hand for repair to heavy
weather damage whilst in Arctic waters.in Clyde
shipyard.
22nd Resumed Home Fleet duties
1 9 4 4
January On completion rejoined Home
Fleet.
27th Deployed in Barents Sea to provide
cruiser cover with HMS BERWICK and HMS KENT for
passage of the
Russian Convoys JW56A and JW56B.
February Remained in area to cover returning
Convoy RA56.
7th Detached
from RA56 and resumed Fleet duties in NW Approaches.
(Note: Deployment to
provide cover for intended air operations by HM Aircraft Carrier
FURIOUS
against enemy shipping off Norwegian coast was not carried out.)
March Home Fleet deployment at Scapa Flow in
continuation.
31st Taken in hand for refit in Tyne
shipyard.
April Under refit.
(Note: Aircraft
facilities removed and additional 20mm Oerlikon guns fitted.)
May Rejoined
Home Fleet.
(Note: Operation by
Home Fleet units to cover air strikes was abandoned when ships sighted and
ships
returned to Scapa Flow.)
19th Took part in Home Fleet exercises to
prepare for support of planned allied landings in Normandy.
(Operation NEPTUNE).
June Remained at Scapa Flow for
deployment by major Home Fleet units as needed in Channel or in
NW Approaches.
(Note: Home Fleet
units were deployed for diversionary operations off coast of Norway to
suggest
assault operations in Norway were intended.
Ship did
not therefore take part in active operations in Channel for NEPTUNE0.
30th
Nominated for duty with British Pacific Fleet and arrived in Clyde for
refit in commercial
shipyard.
August Under
refit in Clyde shipyard to prepare for service in Pacific.
to Fire control radar Type 284 replaced by
modern Type 274 centimetric Radar.
December Type 277 and Type 293 fitted for
surface warning and for height finding.
Type 281B air warning
radar using only one aerial unit re[placed Type 281 which used two masts.
(For details of
development and use of radar by RN see RADAR AT SEA by D Howse)
1 9 4 5
January Under refit
to
February
March Carried out harbour trials
9th Shipyard work completed and carried out
sea trials.
April Prepared for foreign service at
Scapa Flow with Home Fleet ships.
May
3rd Sailed for Mediterranean to work-up.
June
Completed work-up.
6th Took passage to Far East via Ceylon.
July
7th Arrived Sydney
to join BPF with HM Cruiser BELFAST.
August Deployed at Sydney
15th Nominated for duty in British Task Unit
111.3 for duty with HM Aircraft carrier
COLOSSUS, HM Cruiser
ARGONAUT, HM Cruiser BELFAST and H M Destroyers
TUMULT, TUSCAN, TYRIAN and QUIBERON.
P o s t W a r
N o t e s
HMS BERMUDA joined the RN
ships in TU111.3 and first went to the US Navy Base at Leyte before taking passage to Formosa
where she attended the formal surrender of the island on 9th September. The ship assisted in
evacuation of PoW from Japan and of civilian
personnel from Weittsien. Later that month she was deployed
at Shanghai for repatriation duties with HM Cruiser ARGONAUT and assisted in shore operations At Hong
Kong. This ship became Flagship of the 5th Cruiser Squadron and remained in the
Far East when the repatriation was completed. Deployed with the PACIFIC Fleet
she visited Australia and refitted in Hong Kong
during 1946. Fleet service in the Far East continued in 1947 with visits to Shanghai and ports in
Japan. In May 1947 this cruiser took passage from Hong Kong to return to UK via
Suez and arrived at Plymouth on 19th June. Paid-off at Chatham the ship was
reduced to Reserve status before refit at Chatham.
She re-commissioned at Devonport in
October 1950 for service in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean until 1953 when
she remained in service and re-commissioned in March 1953 for deployment in the
Mediterranean until 1954 when transferred to the Home
Fleet as Flagship of Flag Officer Flotillas. Paid-off
in 1956 she was taken in hand for major refit and modernisation. The modernised
ship rejoined the Fleet and remained in service until 1962, During her later
commissions she was deployed in the Home Fleet and in the Mediterranean.
Visits were paid to ports in Europe, in the
Mediterranean and to Bermuda on three occasions. Nominated for reduction to
reserve, she was deployed in Home Waters
as a Flagship, Home Fleet. In 1963 she was paid off and destored
before finally Paid-off at Portsmouth on 30th July 1962. Whilst in un-maintained
Reserve the ship was placed on the
Disposal List in 1965 and sold to BISCO
for demolition by T W Ward. She arrived
under tow at the breaker’s yard in tow at Briton Ferry on 26th August that
year.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS
of HMS BERMUDA
by Don Kindell
Date
convoy Joined convoy
Convoy
No. Left convoy Date convoy
sailed as escort arrived
30/12/42 31/12/42 RA 051 03/01/43 11/01/43
17/01/43 21/01/43 JW 052 24/01/43 27/01/43
29/01/43 30/01/43 RA 052 02/02/43 09/03/43
24/04/43 28/04/43 MKF 013 29/04/43 02/05/43
10/07/43 20/07/43 MKF 018 21/07/43 23/07/43
08/08/43 13/08/43 OS 053KM 14/08/43 17/08/43
28/07/43 14/08/43 SL 134 16/08/43 19/08/43
15/11/43 19/11/43 JW 054A 24/11/43 24/11/43
22/11/43 27/11/43 JW 054B 03/12/43 03/12/43
26/11/43 27/11/43 RA 054B 03/12/43 09/12/43
12/01/44 23/01/44 JW 056A 26/01/44 28/01/44
22/01/44 unknown JW 056B unknown 01/02/44
03/02/44 05/02/44 RA 056 07/02/44 11/02/44
(Note on Convoys)
