HMS Manchester (C15)

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Career

Ordered:
Laid Down:	28 March 1936
Launched:	12 April 1937
Commissioned:	4 August 1938
Fate:	Scuttled on 13 August 1942 off Tunisia
General Characteristics
Displacement:	11,930 tons
Length:	591.6 ft (180 m)
Beam:	64.9 ft (20 m)
Draught:	20.6 ft (6 m)
Propulsion:	Steam turbines, 4 shafts, 4 boilers, 82,500 hp (61.5 MW)
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h)
Range:
Complement:	750
Armament:	Original Configuration: Twelve 6 in (152 mm) guns in triple turrets 8-4 in (102 mm), 8-40.5 mm, 8-0.5 in (12.7 mm) MG, 6-21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (later removed)
Aircraft:	Two Supermarine Walrus aircraft (Removed in the latter part of WWII)

The second HMS Manchester (15) was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She belonged to the Gloucester subclass. She was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn in March 1936, launched in April the following year and commissioned in August 1938. She had a relatively short, but active, career.

She first saw action during the ill-fated Norwegian Campaign in 1940, where she won her first battle honour. In 1941, Manchester, along with other Royal Navy warships, engaged an Italian cruiser squadron, in an engagement that became known as the battle of Cape Spartivento. She also gained battle honours during the arduous, and dangerous Arctic and Malta convoys in 1941–1942.

In 1942, Manchester took part in Operation Pedestal, an operation to supply the besieged island of Malta, and which cost a number of warships, including the loss of the carrier Eagle. During the operation, on 13 August, she was torpedoed by an Italian E-boat off Tunisia, killing several of her crew, and she was subsequently scuttled by explosive charges.

Her commander, Captain Harold Drew, was court-martialled due to the Admiralty's belief the ship could have been saved by reaching a neutral port. It was a contentious decision, the ship had been very badly damaged, and the Captain had feared the ship might fall into enemy hands. Many of the ship's crew were rescued by an Allied warship, however, many became prisoners of the Vichy French in Tunisia. In 2002, Manchester was the subject of a documentary by ITV, called "Running the Gauntlet".

See HMS Manchester for other ships of the name.