Hestia Class Cruisers.
The final ship of the Cerberus class heavy cruisers was completed in 1930. A new design for a smaller 'light' cruiser with 6" guns was put into production which coincided with the Leander type in the UK. The design was the familiar four turret, two forward, two aft, configuration. The 6" gun was a new model and replaced the 5.5" gun that had been the cruiser standard for so long. With a range of 27,000 yards and with a 110lb shell, it was as good as any 6" gun of the same time period. The six ships were laid down in pairs completing in 1933, 1935, 1937.
As completed 1933:
Displacement: 9,000 tons standard, 12,500 tons full load.
Dimensions: 550 x 57 x 22 feet
Machinery: 2 shaft, geared turbines, 75,000shp
Speed: 33 knots
Endurance: 9,000 miles at 15 knots
Armour: 4.5" belt, 2" deck, 3.5" turrets.
Armament:
8 x 6" (4x2)
8 x 4" (4x2)
12 x 25.4mm (6x2)
Torpedoes: 6 x 21" (2x3)
Aircraft: 2
Crew: 600
By 1942 the surviving units had gone through several refits to bring them up
to date with the later cruisers. Radar and the 40mm turrets were added while the
aircraft handling facilities were deleted. It was decided that further costs
should not be spent on ships that would not see much past the end of the war.
The 20x40mm made a big difference to the AA value of the ships.
AWS Hestia (1933) Career/Fate
AWS Proteus (1933) Career/Fate
AWS Nikon (1935) Career/Fate
AWS Photon (1935) Career/Fate
AWS Aether (1937) Career/Fate
AWS Uranus (1937) Career/Fate