The Greenlandian Navy had solved the problem of replacing the older light cruisers with the Tallai and Qos class cruisers.
1940 and three of the Maweth class heavy cruisers were sunk, one after the other. The lead ship in the line received two torpedo hits, slowed and started healing to port. The rear-admiral ordered the Asmodeus to render assistance. The Asmodeus went to the aid of the Belphegor, which was heeling further and further to port, and went alongside to take off survivors when the Asmodeus was also hit by two torpedoes on the port side. The rear-admiral onboard the Maweth was circling, at a distance, and was watching the chaos his order had created. A lookout called out "torpedoes to port" and the order was given to comb the torpedoes. It was going to be close. Too close and one torpedo hit the Maweth in the stern wrecking the steering and port side screws. The ship started circling at slow speed. Another lookout calls "torpedoes incoming". Nothing the Captain can do except pray they missed. They did not. Boom, boom, two more hits and the Maweth is also now in a sinking state. One submarine, eight torpedoes fired, seven hits, three cruisers eventually sunk. One rear-admiral court-martialled.
But this created the need for a new class of heavy cruiser to not only replace the losses but also replace those older heavy cruisers, still in service, in the not to distant future.
The design work started just as the last torpedo exploded. A brand new concept, no aircraft handling facilities, no torpedo tubes. Brand new 8" weapon system, with 325 pound shell, 55 calibre barrels, and a better semi-automatic firing system that increased the firing rate from 4-5 to 7-8 rounds per minute. While this does not sound much, it meant that the eight guns fired as many shells as the Shadrafa classes twelve guns with bigger shells. The new guns would be fitted in new twin turrets, four to a ship. That was not the only new weapon being designed that would be fitted to the ships. A new fully automatic 3" was under development and would be fitted to the ships with six twin turrets. This system was rushed into service still with teething troubles, so four of the old 40mm mountings were fitted with predictors to give the ship AA firepower if the 3" failed. The new gun directors, and their associated radar targeting systems, for the 8", were the very best available when fitted on the ships in 1944 just prior to the first ships completing. There were three directors fitted for the 3". Search radar of all types were fitted to the masts to identify the targets for the guns to shoot at. The largest user of space was now the magazines. The 8" and 3" guns needed twice as much ammunition than the 100 rounds per gun for the 8" and 250 rounds per gun for the 3" that was used as the measure for the older ships with their slower firing guns. Mobile ammunition buckets. One thing the automatic weaponry did do was to save on personnel required aboard ship.
The first pair completed late in 1944 and joined the fleet just in time to watch the Germans surrender, VE Day. They were then transferred to the Pacific with their Task Force, where they joined the British Pacific Fleet cleaning up the loose Japanese ships still scattered around the Asian ports. Singapore was still a popular port as it was close to the oil fields in Sumatra. Air attacks on Sumatra were made to put the oil refineries out of action. This forced the Japanese to try and transfer some of their ships from Singapore to Japan. Allied ships were in place to intercept these forces and the Pidray and Nikkal were part of a cruiser force that intercepted two Atago class cruisers and using their excellent radar systems shot them to bits in a short and sharp night action in July 1945.
