HMS Bellona (63)

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Career
HMS Bellona just after completion in 1943 - note she has her war (Dazzle) colours on.
Built By:	Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Govan, Scotland)
Laid down:	30 November 1939
Launched:	29 September 1942
Commissioned:	29 October 1943
Loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy:	17 April 1946, Returned to the Royal Navy control in April 1956
Reserve	In reserve between 1956 to 1957.
Decommissioned:	June 1957
Fate:	Scrapped, Arrived at Briton Ferry yard of Thomas W Ward Ltd, (Barrow-in-Furness, UK) in 5 February 1958.
Penant:	63
General Characteristics
Type:	Light (Anti Aircraft) Cruiser
Displacement:	5,950 tons standard 7,200 tons full load
Dimensions:	485 pp, 512 by 50.5 by 15.0 ft (156 by 15.4 by 4.6 m)
Armament:	Original configuration: 8 x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual guns, 6 x 20 mm dual AA guns, 3 x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns, 2 x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes. Early 1943 - Early 1945 configuration: 8 x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual guns, 6 x 20 mm dual AA guns, 12 x 20 mm single AA guns, 3 x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns, 2 x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes.
Armour:	Original configuration: Belt: 3 inch, Deck: 1 inch, Magazines: 2 inch, Bulkheads: 1 inch.
Propulsion:	Parsons geared turbines, 4 shafts, 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 62,000 shp (46 MW) = 32.25 knots maximum speed
Range:	2,414 km (1,500 miles) at 30 knots, 6,824 (4,240 miles) at 16 knots ; 1,100 tons fuel oil
Complement:	530

HMS Bellona was the name ship of her class of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was a modified Dido design with only 4 turrets but improved AA armament - aka Dido Group 2. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Govan, Scotland), with the keel being laid down on 30 November 1939. She was launched on 29 September 1942, and commissioned 29 October 1943.

Bellona was named after a Goddess of War. Her motto was 'Battle is our Business'.

[edit] History

Bellona participated in several Russian Convoys, both before and after D-Day. Prior to D-day, she took over Channel patrol in place of HMS Charybdis, which had been sunk off the Channel Islands by a radio-controlled bomb. On arrival at Plymouth, Bellona was fitted with equipment for jamming the radio signals that controlled the bombs. Bellona and seven destroyers were involved - HMS Tartar. The codename for the Channel patrol force was 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs'.

During the day, the force anchored in Plymouth Sound, as air defence of Plymouth. At dusk, under cover of darkness and maintaining radio and rador silence, the force would proceed at full speed to the French coast to keep the German Narvik class destroyers bottled up in Brest. The force would return to Plymouth by daylight. By day, the Royal Air Force would patrol the Channel and, by night, Plymouth.

On D-day, Bellona's duty was to help to support Omaha Beach, the American sector. The American battleships Texas and [[USS Arkansas (BB-33|Arkansas}} were also there.

As the army advanced, Bellona fired her guns well inshore at targets spotted by aircraft and forward observation officers off shore. On several occasions Bellona returned to Plymouth to get more ammunition and change the gun barrels because of wear. At night Bellona went close inshore and did the night firings.

In July 1944 Bellona covered the carriers raids against Tirpitz, but the following month was back in the Channel, attacking German convoy traffic in the Bay of Biscay and off the Brittany coast.

The Bellona returned to northern waters for the remainder of the war, on Arctic convoys, carrier and cruiser sweeps along the Norwegian coastline, before arriving in Copenhagen at the German surrender in May 1945.

After the war she was part of the 10th Cruiser Squadron until 1946, when she was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, reverting to Royal Navy control after the transfer of Royalist in 1956. On 5 February 1958 she arrived at the Briton Ferry yard of Thomas W Ward Ltd to be broken up.

See HMS Bellona for other ships of this name.

Royal Navy

Dido group