1
9 4 2
July
Contractor's trials.
14th
Commissioned for service
after delay due
to shortage of materials.
Nominated
for duty in Mediterranean.
August
Shakedown and work-up at Scapa
Flow
with Home Fleet.
September
On completion retained in Home
waters with 10th Cruiser Squadron.
Deployed in
NW Approaches.
October
13th
Embarked RAF medical unit and
took passage to Murmansk
with HM Destroyers
INTREPID
and OBDURATE.
28th
Arrived in UK
with RAF aircrew and ground staff which
accompanied HAMPDEN
aircraft
sent to Russia
with Convoy PQ18. Called
at
Spitzbergen
on passage.
(For details of
all Russian Convoy operations see CONVOY
! by P Kemp ,
CONVOYS
TO RUSSIA
by RA Ruegg
and RUSSIAN CONVOYS by B Schoefield).
30th
Joined HM Battleships DUKE OF YORK
and NELSON, HM Battlecruiser RENOWN,
HM Aircraft
Carriers FORMIDABLE and VICTORIOUS, HM
Cruiser BERMUDA
with
destroyer
screen for passage to Gibraltar
in support of North African landings.
(Operation TORCH
- For details see
Naval Staff History and ENGAGE THE
ENEMY
MORE
CLOSELY by Corelli
Bamett).
November
6th
Joined Force H on arrival.
8th
Deployed with HM Destroyer
ASHANTI for deception operation
using wireless signals
to
divert enemy attention to landings.
15th
Deployed as Force Q with
HM Cruisers AURORA,
CHARYBDIS, SCYLLA and
SIRIUS based at
Bone for offensive operations against
enemy convoys in Gulf
of Tunis.
HM Destroyers
QUENTIN and QUIBERON provided screen.
(For details see
THE BATTLE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN by D MacIntyre).
December
2nd
In action with HM Cruisers
AURORA, SIRIUS, HM Destroyers
QUENTIN and
QUIBERON
against Italian convoy (H), north of Tunis.
Four transports and escorting
destroyer
FOLGORE sunk.
14th
During deployment with
Force Q, hit on starboard
side by torpedoes from Italian
submarine
MOCENIGO west of Galita
Island.
Sustain heavy structural damage to Bow
and
stern structure which were blown off.
Steering was
unusable and the after two
turrets
could not be used. Taken to Algiers
1
9 4 3
January
1st
Passage to Gibraltar.
4th
Taken in hand for temporary
repair by
HM Dockyard.
February
Temporary repair in
continuation.
to
Permanent
repair arranged in USA.
March
April
5th
Passage to USA
with call at Bermuda.
30th
Taken in hand for repair in Philadelphia.
May
Under repair.
to
September
October
Post refit
trials.
November
Repair
and refit work completed.
Passage to UK
December
2nd
Arrived in UK.
31st
Taken in hand by Tyne
shipyard for completion of refit and
alterations work which
was
not possible in USA
1
9 4 4
January
Refit in hand.
to
Upper
forward turret (Q) Turret removed to
lessen top-weight and replaced
by
February
quadruple pom-pom.
Extensive radar and communication
equipment changes made for
future
deployment as Escort Flagship and
to provide
facilities for control of
aircraft.10cm
Radars, Types 293 and 277 for surface
warning
and height finding
fitted.
Fire-control radar provided for forward
close range
AA armament.
IFF
(Interrogation) equipment and VHF D/F
set installed.
(For details of
development and use of radar by RN see
RADAR AT SEA
by D Howse).
March
Post refit
trials.
Nominated for
support of British Force G during Normandy
landings in Bombarding
Force K (Operation NEPTUNE).
April
Joined 10th Cruiser
Squadron, Home Fleet on completion.
Carried out
naval gunfire support training.
May
Deployed with Squadron
in Home Fleet
Joined HM
Cruisers ORION, AJAX
and EMERALD at Belfast
to form Force K.
Assigned
gun batteries at Vaux-sur-Aure
in Bombardment Plan.
June
3rd
Sailed from Clyde
with Force K in Convoy G12 escorted
by HM Destroyers GRENVILLE
and
UNDINE.
5th
Netherlands Gunboat FLORES
joined Force K in Solent.
Passage with
Convoy G12 through swept Channel to
Bombardment area.
6th
Engaged target batteries during
Assault Phase and later hit
the battery at Longues
previously
silenced by HMS AJAX.
7th
Deployed in Eastern Task
Force area
during Build-up Phase for gunfire
support.
25th
Bombarded German batteries near
Querqueville
with H M Cruisers EMERALD,
ENTERPRISE
and GLASGOW,
US
Battleship USS
NEVADA,
US
Cruisers USS
TUSCALOOSA and
USS QUINCY screened by USN Destroyers.
26th
Provided naval gunfire support
with HM Battleship RODNEY, HM
Monitor ROBERTS,
HM Cruisers
BELFAST and DIADEM during British
offensive in Caen
area.
Hit on the
quarterdeck by 150mn shell from shore
battery which failed to explode.
July
Naval gunfire support
off Normandy
in continuation.
Returned to
Devonport for re-lining of main
armament barrels.
Resumed support
role off Normandy.
(For details of Normandy
landing operations see OPERATION NEPTUNE
by K Edwards
and
LANDINGS IN NORMANDY,
JUNE 1944 (HMSO)).
Nominated for
support of landings in south of France.
August
4th
Took passage to join CAMEL
Gunfire Support
Group in Task Force 87) for allied
landings
in southern France
as part of Task Force 87 under US
Command.
(Operation
DRAGOON - For details see
INVASION OF THE SOUTH OF
FRANCE
(HMSO)).
11th
Sailed from Salerno
with US
Battleship ARKANSAS,
US
Cruisers TUSCALOOSA
MARBLEHEAD
and BROOKLYN
screened by US destroyers.
14th
Met CAMEL Convoy SF1A.
15th
Fired 394 rounds at batteries
between Cannes
and Antibes
and on St Marguerite.
Later bombarded
shore targets in Golfe
de Frejus.
Under some return fire.
16th
Bombarded troops and vehicles
in CAMEL area.
22nd
Released from DRAGOON and
resumed control by CinC
Mediterranean.
September
Nominated for duty in Eastern
Mediterranean
with British Aegean Force.
24th
Deployed with HM Cruisers
ORION, AJAX,
ROYALIST, BLACK PRINCE,
AURORA
and CEYLON
in British Aegean Force to support
allied forces
re-occupying
Aegean
Islands.
October
Aegean support in
continuation.
16th
Deployed on interception of
craft evacuation German troops
and sank 2 caiques.
November
Support duty in Aegean
in continuation.
9th
Escorted military convoy to Salonika
for re-occupation.
(See ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY for details of Aegean
operations),
22nd
Allocated to British Pacific
Fleet on
formation.
25th
Took passage from Alexandria
for Trincomalee.
December
Joined BPF on arrival.
13th
Part of Force 67 covering air
attacks on harbour, rail and
oil installation in N.
Sumatra
at Belawan-Deli
by
H M Aircraft Carriers INDOMITABLE and
ILLUSTRIOUS
with
HM Cruisers NEWCASTLE and BLACK PRINCE
screened by HM
Destroyers
KEMPENFELT,
WESSEX,
WHIRLWIND, WRANGLER
and WAKEFUL.
(Operation
ROBSON).
(For details of
operations in Indian
Ocean
see
OPERATION PACIFIC by E Gray).
1
9 4 5
January
2nd
Part of Force 67 covering air
attacks on oil refineries at Pangkalan
Brandan in
Sumatra,
by HM Aircraft Carriers INDOMITABLE,
VICTORIOUS and
INDEFATIGABLE
with H M Cruisers SUFFOLK,
BLACK PRINCE and CEYLON
with
screen
of eight destroyers.
(Operation
LENTIL).
4th
Present during air
operations.
13th
Took part in rehearsal at sea
for MERIDIAN
operations (See
below).
16th
Sailed from Trincomalee in
Force 63 with British Pacific
Fleet for air operations
during
passage to Australia.
24th
Part of screen for HMS
INDOMITABLE, HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and HMS
VICTORIOUS
during
air attacks on oil refinery at Pladjoe,
north of Palembang.
(Operation
MERIDIAN
I).
(Note: Ships
refuelled in Exmouth
Bay
before after MERIDIAN
I & II.)
29th
Continued screening duty during
air attacks on Soengi-Gerong,
near Palembang
by
same
ships of TF63 (Operation MERIDIAN).
February
Passage to Sydney
with call at Melbourne
on 4th February.
10th
Arrived at Sydney
with Task Force 113 (redesignated
TF63 after MERIDIAN).
March
Exercised with BPF units for
operational service in Pacific with 5th
US Fleet.
7th
Arrived at Manus, Admiralty
Islands
as Task Force 113.
15th
After delays US
approval received for deployment with US
5th Fleet.
18th
Took passage from Manus for
joint RN/USN
operations in SW Pacific.
23rd
Sailed from Ulithi
to support US landings on Okinawa.
Redesigned
Task Force 57.
(For details of
operations in 5th US Fleet see OPERATION
PACIFIC, TASK FORCE 57
by P
Smith, THE FORGOTTEN FLEET by J Winton,
CARRIER VICTORY
by JM
Ludley
and WAR
WITH JAPAN
(HMSO).
26th
Part of TF57 deployed on
neutralisation of airfield in Sakishima
Group.
(Operation
ICEBERG).
Acted as
radar picket with HM Destroyer
KEMPENFELT 30 miles away
from Fleet units.
28th
Deployed as radar picket to
refuelling group with HM
Destroyer WAGER. Under
air attacks.
April
6th
Deployed as Radar Picket ship
with HM Destroyer URANIA
during continuation of air
attacks
by RN and USN carriers of Task Forces 57
and 58 (Operation
ICEBERG).
9th
Diverted from ICEBERG with
British Task Force 57 for air
attacks en Formosa.
(Operation
ICEBERG OOLONG).
15th
Returned to Sakashima
Gunto with
TF57 to continue ICEBERG operations.
20th
Deployed briefly off Leyte
with HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and the destroyers
HMS WAGER
and
HMS WHELP.
May
Sakishima
Gunta
operations in continuation.
4th
Sailed to Sydney
with HMS ILLUSTRIOUS, HMS WAGER and HMS
WHELP.
15th
Under refit.
June
Refit in continuation
July
On completion took
passage to join British Pacific Fleet as
relief for HM Cruiser
UGANDA
in Task Force 37 (Redesignation
of TF57 after transfer to US 3rd
Fleet).
(Note: HMS
UGANDA was manned by the Royal Canadian
Navy and was later
withdrawn
from operations in Pacific because of
Canadian
Government ruling
that
only men who had volunteered were to
serve in
operations against Japan
were
to remain in the Pacific Fleet.)
27th
Relieved HMS UGANDA
in covering operations during joint
RN/USN air operations on
shore
targets and shipping in Japan.
31st
Deployed as relay ship for
communications between refuelling
group and operational
ships
with HMS ILLUSTRIOUS, HM Escort Carrier
RULER AND
HM Cruiser
ACHILLES (RNZN).
August
Fleet duties off Japan
in continuation
3rd
Deployed with Task Force 37
and
covered carriers during flying
operations.
10th
Detached from covering duty.
12th
Returned to Manus with TF37
ships not being retained in
Japanese waters because of
shortage
of fuel from British support tankers.
15th
Transferred to British Task
Unit 111.3 for collection of
British POW from Formosa
and
Chinese mainland with HM Aircraft
Carrier COLOSSUS, HM Cruiser BERMUDA,
HM
Destroyers TYRIAN, TUMULT, TUSCAN and
QUIBERON (RAN).
