HMS Sirius (CL-1939)
HMAS Darwin (CL-1940)
HMSAS Bechuanaland (CL-1940)
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Probably the most important design of light cruiser the Royal Navy produced,
the first of the class to complete was the HMAS Newcastle in 1939 and a total of
36 ships were completed to the design. The design was based on the successful
Leander class ships with the main upgrade being the move to the twin power
operated 4" (Mk XX) mountings and a better AA outfit. Aircraft handling and
storage was also inproved.
The first RN ship to complete was HMS Sirius in April of 1939 with the RAN
completing their first ship HMAS Newcastle in June of 1939. The first 12 ships
(8xRN & 4xRAN) were all completed with the slanted funnels. From the RN Town
class onwards the ships had upright funnels. During 1942 a shortage of the Mk XX
4" turret led to several of the ships being fitted with the Mk XVI open
mountings instead. The AA outfits changed virtually from ship to ship as and
when different types of AA armaments were available. The quad 0.5" machine guns
were an early casualty being replaced with twin 20mm and later 40mm AA cannons.
Some ships had quad 2 pounders while other ships had a mixture of quad and
octuple 2 pounder mountings.
HMSAS Uganda with the upgraded 6", twin 40mm over the hangar, upright funnels
and Mk XVI 4". The aircraft handling facilities have been removed.
With the Kamikaze menace a problem in the Pacific, all the ships headed that way
had their AA weaponry upgraded. The 20mm cannons and lesser machine guns were
removed and only the big 2 pounder mountings and 40mm weaponry were placed
aboard. HMS Kenya above has a uniform set of twin 40mm mountings with radar
predictors added for more accurate firing.
| Displacement |
8,200 tons std 10,400 tons full load |
| Length |
562 ft |
| Breadth |
64 ft |
| Draught |
22 ft |
| Machinery |
4 shaft steam turbines, 80,000 shp |
| Speed |
32 knots |
| Range |
7000 miles at 18 knots |
| Armour |
4" side, 2" deck, 3" turrets |
| Armament |
HMS Sirius 1939
9 x 6" (3x3)
10 x4" (5x2)
16 x 2pd (4x4)
12 x 0.5"mg (3x4) |
HMS Kenya 1943
9 x 6" (3x3)
10 x4" (5x2)
16 x 40mm (8x2)
|
| Aircraft |
3 |
2 |
| Torpedoes |
6 x 21" (2x3) |
nil |
| Complement |
710 |
745 |
| Notes |
|
Commonwealth ships:
Leander Upgrade (8): HMS Sirius, HMS Isis,
HMS Arrogant, HMS Highflyer, HMS Challenger, HMS Amphitrite, HMS Diadem, HMS
Europa.
Town Type (12): HMS Falmouth, HMS Nottingham, HMS Birkenhead, HMS Chester, HMS
Sheffield, HMS Manchester, HMS Glasgow, HMS Lowestoft, HMAS Newcastle, HMAS
Darwin, HMAS Whangarei, HMAS Whyalla
Colony Type (10): HMS Mauritius, HMS Honduras, HMS Jamaica, HMS Nigeria, HMS
Kenya, HMS Fiji, HMS Trinidad, HMS Ceylon, HMSAS Uganda, HMSAS Bechuanaland
Superb Type (6): HMS Superb, HMS Swiftsure, HMS
Astraea, HMS Canopus, HMS Agamemnon, HMS Bellerophon
Original drawing for this class which now looks bloody horrible. Surprising what
10 years of better pixel art can produce.
.PNG)
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