County-class cruiser
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Australia in 1937
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Class overview | |
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Name | County class |
Operators | |
Preceded by | Hawkins class |
Succeeded by | York class |
Subclasses | Kent, London, Norfolk |
In commission | 1928–1959 |
Planned | 16 |
Completed | 13 |
Cancelled | 3 |
Lost | 3 |
Retired | 10 |
General characteristics Kent class[1][page needed] | |
Type | Heavy cruiser |
Displacement |
|
Length | |
Beam | 68 ft (21 m) across bulges |
Draught |
|
Propulsion | 8 × Parsons (Brown-Curtis in Berwick) geared steam turbines on 4 shafts, 80,000 shp (60,000 kW) |
Speed | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) |
Range |
|
Complement | 685 standard, 710 as flagship, 784 during wartime |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
General characteristics London class | |
Displacement |
|
Length | |
Beam | 66 ft (20 m) |
Draught |
|
Speed | 32.25 knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph) |
Complement | 700 standard, 852 during war |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
Notes | Other characteristics as per Kent |
General characteristics Norfolk class | |
Displacement |
|
Length | |
Beam | 66 ft (20 m) |
Draught |
|
Complement | 710 standard, 819 during wartime |
Armament |
|
Notes | Other characteristics as per London |
The County class was a class of heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the years between the First and Second World Wars. They were the first post-war cruisers constructed for the Royal Navy and were designed within the limits of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Such ships, with a limit of 10,000 tons standard displacement and 8-inch calibre main guns may be referred to as "treaty cruisers" (the term "heavy cruiser" was not defined until the London Naval Treaty of 1930[1][page needed]).
The thirteen Counties were built in the Kent, London and Norfolk sub-classes. They were the only 10,000-ton 8-inch gun, or "A", cruisers that the Royal Navy built. The Counties are remembered for their distinctive three-funnel layout and service in all the major naval theatres of the Second World War.
To extract more ships from the treaty limits, the navy planned to construct 8,250-ton "B" ships, six of which could be built in place of five Counties. The extra ship that this afforded was an attractive proposition for a navy that had the immense peacetime commitments of empire.[1][page needed][2] Peacetime economies and politics intervened and only two B-type cruisers were built, an 8-inch gun modified County design: the York class.
In 1929, the mean cost of each "A" ship was estimated to be £2,180,000, whilst the mean cost of each "B" ship was estimated to be £1,800,000.[3]
Design and development
The design of the class was led by Charles Lillicrap, a member of the naval construction department of the Admiralty.[4]
The 10,000-ton treaty cruisers were the first type of warships built to internationally agreed restrictions.[5][page needed] These restrictions posed new engineering challenges and forced compromises upon designers in how to extract the best balance of speed, armament and protection.[1][page needed] The United States Navy adopted a design with triple-gun turrets, allowing the hull to be shortened thus saving weight that could be put into protection. This approach required increased power, as the speed of a ship is a function of the ratio of length to beam. The Royal Navy had a requirement for a vessel for colonial trade route defence, which required a good cruising range and speed and independent fighting power. This determined the need for a long hull and the use of four twin-gun turrets, with any remaining displacement invested in protection.
The design was conservative in nature, especially when compared to the contemporary
As had been tested in the First World War Emerald class cruiser HMS Enterprise, whose completion had been delayed post-war, the Counties featured a new design of forward superstructure incorporating the navigating bridge, wheelhouse, signalling and compass platforms and gunnery director in a block. This advance considerably rationalised the separate armoured conning tower and myriad of decks and platforms of older designs. Moving the fire-control equipment from the mast negated the need for a heavy tripod and light pole masts sufficed for signalling yards and the spread of wireless antennae.
Armament
The guns,
Secondary armament consisted of four
Protection
The initial design left little weight to distribute amongst protection. Thus, the traditional side-belt of armour was dispensed with and the 1-inch (25 mm) side plating was sufficient to only give protection against shell splinters. A 1.25-inch (32 mm) protective deck covered the machinery spaces and there were "box citadels" protecting the magazines and shell rooms; 2.5-inch (64 mm) crowns and 4-inch (100 mm) sides, closed by 2.5-inch bulkheads. The aft box citadel had slightly reduced thicknesses at the ends and the citadel amidships had thinner armour as it lay within the confines of the armoured deck and side plating. There was a 1.5-inch (38 mm) arch over the steering gear closed by a 1-inch-thick forward bulkhead. The turrets and barbettes received only thin splinter plating, as did the
Differences and modifications
Kent class
Originally planned as a programme of 17 Royal Navy vessels, the numbers were cut back significantly following the formation of the first Labour Government after the election of December 1923. Of the eight ships planned to begin construction in 1924, only five were approved, with a further two ordered later by the Royal Australian Navy.[8]
These initial seven ships – Berwick, Cornwall, Cumberland, Kent, and Suffolk, built for the Royal Navy, and Australia and Canberra for the Royal Australian Navy – formed the Kent class. All were ordered in 1924 and commissioned in 1928. It was quickly found necessary to heighten the funnels by some 15 feet (4.6 m) to clear the flue gasses from the aft superstructure. The Australian ships, Australia and Canberra had them raised a further 3 feet (0.91 m). Between 1930 and 1933 the aircraft and catapult were added, as was a high-angle HACS director for the 4-inch guns. Kent received an additional pair of 4-inch guns in 1934, and she, Berwick and Cornwall each received a pair of QF 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns added abreast the fore funnel.
By the mid-1930s, the British Kents were due for modernisation. However, there was little surplus weight for the designers to work with while remaining within the Treaty requirements; they were between 150 and 250 tons under the treaty limits and it was estimated that a further 200-odd tons could be gained through various savings.[1][page needed] A 6-foot-deep (1.8 m) armoured belt, 4.5-inch (110 mm) thick, was added amidships, extending down from the armoured deck to 1 foot below the waterline. Cumberland and Suffolk had the aft superstructure razed and replaced by a large hangar for two aircraft and a fixed athwartships catapult. A crane was fitted on either side of the after funnel, and the rear gunnery, navigation and control positions were relocated to the hangar roof. The single 2-pounder guns were removed, and quadruple mountings, Mark VII, were added on either side of the bridge. The 4-inch guns were relocated, and the rearmost pair were replaced by twin mountings Mark XIX for the QF 4-inch Mark XVI. To keep weight within acceptable margins, the hull was cut down by one deck aft of "Y" turret. Berwick and Cornwall were similarly converted, but with more weight in hand the hull was not cut down; all four 4-inch mounts were twins and the 2-pounder guns were octuple mounts. By 1939, the torpedo tubes had been removed in all four ships.
Kent had less weight available for improvements and therefore was not given such an extensive modernisation. While she received the 4-inch armour belt and the double 4-inch gun mounts like her sisters, she retained the rotating catapult and after superstructure, with an additional fire-control position mounted on a distinctive lattice structure aft. Her anti-aircraft armaments were improved as for her sisters, but the multiple 2-pounders and their directors were carried aft, by the lattice structure. The naval historian H. Trevor Lenton estimates that despite the best attempts, none of these ships stayed within the treaty limits; Kent's full load displacement was 14,197 tons, indicating a standard displacement of around 10,600 tons. Lenton expresses doubts whether the Admiralty ever informed the Government of these excesses, as with war imminent, "there were more pressing demands on their time".[1][page needed] Another historian, Leo Marriott, gives an alternative displacement of 10,300 tons and notes that it was "unofficially accepted" by the UK, USA, Italy, France and Japan that refits could allow ships to exceed the London treaty limits by up to 300 tons.[9]
London class
The second group, the four ships of the London class (
In all ships but Sussex, four 4-inch guns were added in single mountings abreast the funnels. The single 2-pounder guns were removed, and two quadruple mounts for 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns were added. Shropshire acquired an additional anti-aircraft fire control director. Early in the war, the additional 4-inch guns were removed, and the original 4-inch guns altered to the Mark XVI twin mounts. The octuple 2-pounder guns that had originally been designed in were also finally added.
From 1938 to 1941, London received an altogether more comprehensive modernisation. Her upperworks were removed and replaced by new fore and aft superstructures and two upright funnels modelled on the contemporary
The outbreak of war prevented what had ended up being a rather fruitless cosmetic rebuild being extended to the rest of her sisters, as had originally been intended. The remaining Londons thus never received side armouring or the improved aircraft complement.
During wartime refits, the last three Londons underwent similar alterations as the Kents did, having their eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes removed, and "X" 8-inch (203 mm) turret removed, although both London and Shropshire retained it. Shropshire, unlike her two un-converted sisters retained her torpedo armament, and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in early 1943 to replace Canberra.
Norfolk class
The final pair of Counties –
The Norfolks were repeats of the Londons with minor alterations. The bridge and after superstructure were lowered. The 8-inch gun mountings were Mark II variants that simplified loading but ended up being heavier than the Mark I variant.[11] The 4-inch guns were relocated forwards in order that they did not obstruct the catapult and aircraft which had been mounted lower down than in their predecessors. During 1937, the 4-inch guns were replaced by twins, octuple 2-pounders were added around the after superstructure and the single guns forward were removed. These improvements pushed the standard displacement over 10,400 tons.[1][page needed]
During the war, UP rocket launchers were initially added, but they were later removed along with the Vickers guns. These were replaced by the altogether more useful 20 mm Oerlikon gun. An additional director for the 4-inch guns was added, and the pole masts were replaced by tripods to support the additional weight of masthead electronics. Dorsetshire was sunk in 1942, and so it was only Norfolk that underwent a refit in 1944, during which her aircraft, catapult and X turret were removed. This allowed four quadruple 2-pounder mounts and their directors and four single 40 mm Bofors guns to be added. An extra superstructure was added aft to carry barrage directors, fitted with radar Type 283, which finally allowed the main armament to serve in its intended anti-aircraft role.
It was intended for Surrey and Northumberland to have a modified design, more heavily armoured but 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) slower.[12][non-primary source needed]
Comparison of classes
Class | Number built & planned |
Ordered | Length | Beam | Speed (full load) |
Displacement (standard, long tons) |
Main armament |
Belt armour |
Torpedo tubes |
Complement |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kent | 7 of 10 | 1924 | 630 ft (190 m) |
68 ft (21 m) |
31+1⁄2 kn | 10,570 | 8 × 8-inch | 4.5 in (110 mm)[A] |
8 | 685 |
London | 4 of 4 | 1925–1926 | 632+3⁄4 ft (192.9 m) |
66 ft (20 m) |
32+1⁄4 kn | 9,830 | 8 × 8-inch | 3.5 in (89 mm)[B] |
8 | 700 |
Norfolk | 2 of 5 | 1926–1927 | 632+3⁄4 ft (192.9 m) |
66 ft (20 m) |
32+1⁄4 kn | 10,300 | 8 × 8-inch | 3.5 in (89 mm) |
8 | 725 |
York | 2 of 5 | 1926–1928 | 575 ft (175 m) |
58 ft (18 m) |
31+1⁄2 kn | 8,250 | 6 × 8-inch | 3 in (76 mm) |
6 | 623 |
Ships
Ship | Pennant | Subclass | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berwick | 65 | Kent | Fairfield Shipbuilding &
Engineering Company, Govan |
15 Sep 1924 | 30 Mar 1926 | 15 Feb 1928 | Broken up at Blyth, 1948 |
Cumberland | 57 | Barrow in Furness
|
18 Oct 1924 | 16 Mar 1926 | 21 Jan 1928 | Broken up at Newport, 1959 | |
Suffolk | 55 | HM Dockyard Portsmouth | 30 Sep 1924 | 16 Feb 1926 | 31 May 1928 | Broken up at Newport, 1948 | |
Kent | 54 | HM Dockyard Chatham | 15 Nov 1924 | 16 Mar 1926 | 22 Jun 1928 | Broken up at Troon, 1948 | |
Cornwall | 56 | HM Dockyard Devonport | 9 Oct 1924 | 11 Mar 1926 | 10 May 1928 | Sunk by Japanese aircraft in "Easter Sunday Raid" south of Ceylon, 5 Apr 1942 | |
London | 69 | London | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | 23 Feb 1926 | 14 Sep 1927 | 31 Jan 1929 | Broken up at Barrow-in-Furness, 1950 |
Devonshire | 39 | HM Dockyard, Devonport | 16 Mar 1926 | 22 Oct 1927 | 18 Mar 1929 | Broken up at Newport, 1954 | |
Sussex | 96 | Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn
|
1 Feb 1927 | 22 Feb 1928 | 19 Mar 1929 | Broken up at Dalmuir, 1950 | |
Shropshire | 73 | William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir
|
24 Feb 1927 | 5 Jul 1928 | 12 Sep 1929 | To RAN 1943 Broken up at Troon, 1954 | |
Norfolk | 78 | Norfolk | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan | 8 Jul 1927 | 12 Dec 1928 | 1 May 1930 | Broken up at Newport, 1950 |
Dorsetshire | 40 | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | 21 Sep 1927 | 24 Jan 1929 | 30 Sep 1930 | Sunk by Japanese aircraft in "Easter Sunday Raid" south of Ceylon, 5 Apr 1942 | |
Surrey | n/a | HM Dockyard, Devonport | Cancelled 14 Jan 1930 | ||||
Northumberland | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | ||||||
Not named | — |
Ship | Pennant | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | I84 | John Brown & Company, Clydebank | 9 Jun 1925 | 17 Mar 1927 | 24 Apr 1928 | Broken up at Barrow-in-Furness, 1955 |
Canberra | I85 | 9 Sep 1925 | 31 May 1927 | 10 Jul 1928 | Crippled by Japanese gunfire at Battle of Savo Island 9 Aug 1942; subsequently abandoned and scuttled |
Service
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The County class saw much service during the Second World War. Norfolk and Suffolk were equipped with
The class saw service in nearly every theatre of the war. Norfolk, Suffolk, and Dorsetshire were involved in the pursuit of Bismarck and
The survivors began decommissioning in 1948, and were all decommissioned by the mid-1950s, except Cumberland, which was an armaments trials ship testing the automatic 6-inch and 3-inch guns that would be fitted to the Tiger class. She was scrapped in 1959.
Canarias class
Two ships based on the County class, Canarias and Baleares of the Canarias class, were designed in the UK and constructed in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval. Completed in the late 1930s for the Spanish Navy, they saw service during the Spanish Civil War. Although they shared a common hull, machinery and main armament, the Spanish ships had a notably different appearance, with an enormous single funnel – though Canarias received two funnels in a later refit – and an equally tall forward superstructure.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lenton
- ^ Marriot (2005) c. 3, para. 23
- ^ Cuthbert Headlam (20 February 1922). "Cruiser Construction (Cost)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 225. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1104. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34532. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d Marriot (2005)
- ^ Campbell (2002)
- ^ Marriot (2005) c.3, para. 6
- ^ Marriot (2005) c.3, para. 9
- ^ Marriot (2005) c. 2, para. 14
- ^ Marriot (2005) Appendix 3, para. 4
- ^ [ADM 1/9301 10,000ton Cruiser: legend and design. 1929 and ADM 1/9306 "Y" design Cruiser: report and details. 1929]
Bibliography
- Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
- Campbell, John (2002). Naval Weapons of World War Two. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-924-7.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Marriot, Leo (2005). Treaty Cruisers: The First International Warship Building Competition. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 9781783409761.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Sturton, I. A. (1977). "H.M.S. Surrey and H.M.S. Northumberland". Warship International. XIV (3): 243–252. ISSN 0043-0374.
- ISBN 1-86019-874-0.