HMS Kenya (C14)

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HMS Kenya (C14) was a Crown colony class cruiser (Fiji sub-class) of the British Royal Navy. The ship was named after Kenya, a British possession at the time of the ship's construction.

Kenya was launched on 18 August 1939. She took part in the hunt for the Bismark in May 1941, and took part in numerous operations, including Operation Archery (nicknamed "The Pink Lady" around this time due to her Mountbatten Pink paint scheme), Operation Halberd, Operation Harpoon and Operation Pedestal, during which she was damaged by the Italian submarine Alagi (on the 12 August 1942). She returned to service in December 1942, serving with the Home Fleet until she was transferred to the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the Far East in 1944.

During the final years of the war, she was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet and was involved in support operations for the carrier raids on the Japanese controlled islands in the Indian Ocean, and covered the Arakan landings in 1945.

After World War II, she went into refit, then served in the 8th Cruiser Squadron in the West Indies Station until 1947. When the Korean War erupted, she was re-commissioned into the 5th Cruiser Squadron. She was finally scrapped in 1962.

Images of the entire Fiji class can be found at http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/fiji_class.htm

Crown Colony-class cruiser

Royal Navy

Fiji group