HMS Berwick (65)

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History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Berwick
BuilderFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down15 September 1924
Launched30 March 1926
Commissioned12 July 1927
Decommissioned1946
IdentificationPennant number 65
FateAllocated to British Iron & Steel Corporation for scrapping on 15 June 1948 and arrived at Hughes Bolckow, Blyth, on 12 July for breaking up.
General characteristics
Class and typeCounty-class heavy cruiser
Displacement
  • 9,750 tons (9,924 t) standard
  • 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length630 ft (190 m)
Beam68 ft 3 in (20.80 m)
Draught16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion
  • Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • Four shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines
  • 80,000 shp
Speed31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range3,100 nautical miles at 31.5 knots (5,740 km at 58 km/h), 13,300 nautical miles at 12 knots (24,600 km at 22 km/h); 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement700
Armament
Armour
  • Original configuration:
  • 1 to 4 in magazine box protection
  • 1.375 in deck
  • 1 in side-plating, turrets and bulkheads
  • 4.5 in belt
  • 4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936–1940)
Aircraft carriedThree aircraft with one catapult, removed in 1942

HMS Berwick,

China Station, where she remained until a temporary detachment to the Mediterranean in 1936. Along with the rest of her Kent class sub-group of County-class ships, Berwick underwent reconstruction between 1937 and 1938, where her single 4-inch guns were replaced with double mounts, numerous light machine guns were added, along with a significant addition of note; a cemented 4-inch (100 mm) thick and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep armoured belt was added to both sides of her hull beginning at the armoured deck
down past her water line.

History

HMS Berwick off the Norwegian coast in rough seas

After these modifications, she completed her

Denmark Straits
during March 1940.

On 9 April 1940 she participated in the

Norwegian Campaign and on 10 May 1940 in the Invasion of Iceland. She was then allocated to Force "H" at Gibraltar arriving on 7 November. On 27 November, while taking part of Operation Collar, Berwick was hit by a single 203 mm (8 in) shell from an Italian heavy cruiser, either Pola or Fiume,[3] which knocked out her "Y" turret and killed seven men. A second round that struck her some minutes later destroyed the aft electric switchboard, leaving the cruiser's aft section without power.[4][5] Some sources credit the second hit to an Italian Trento-class cruiser, either lead ship Trento or her sister-ship Trieste, the only Italian Royal Navy heavy cruisers within range at the time of the strikes.[6]

On 25 December 1940, Berwick engaged the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper off the Canaries when she formed part of the escort to convoy WS-5A, a troop convoy to the Middle East. Despite being thoroughly ready for combat, Berwick got the worst of the encounter. She scored no hits on Admiral Hipper, and sustained a fair amount of damage, being hit by several 8-inch (which for the most part passed right through the ship) and 4.1-inch shells. The action did however, drive off Admiral Hipper, and saved the convoy from any losses. Four of her complement were killed and she had to return to Britain for repairs, which lasted until June 1941.

When repaired Berwick joined the

Free Norwegian Forces from Britain to Murmansk, so that they could participate in the Liberation of Finnmark.[8] She escorted two carrier raids against the German battleship Tirpitz
in 1944 and again in 1945. Berwick's last role was to escort carriers that were raiding the Norwegian coast in 1945.

After the war she was allocated to BISCO for scrapping on 15 June 1948 and arrived at Hughes Bolckow, Blyth, on 12 July for breaking up.

Citations

  1. ^ "H.M.S. BERWICK HERE FROM ENGLAND: To Succeed York as Fleet Flagship Very Shortly". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 19 January 1939. p. 1.
  2. ^ "KING'S COLOURS TAKEN BY H.M.S. BERWICK. Admiral Meyrick Present at Ceremony Yesterday. YORK SAILS FOR HOME TODAY". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 31 March 1939. Pages 1, 2, and 7.
  3. .
  4. ^ "Royal Navy casualties, killed and died, November 1940". www.naval-history.net.
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ "Norman Vere Grace, RN". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  8. ^ Simon Orchard, "THE EVACUATION OF FINNMARK & THE RE-ENTRY OF NORWEGIAN FORCES INTO NORWAY, OCT 1944-MAY 1945." [1]

References

External links