HMS Ajax (22)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Leander-class light cruiser |
| Name: | HMS Ajax |
| Builder: | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down: | 7 February 1933 |
| Launched: | 1 March 1934 |
| Commissioned: | 3 June 1935 |
| Decommissioned: | February 1948 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap in 1949 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7,270 tons standard 9,740 tons full load |
| Length: | 554.9 ft (169.1 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Draught: | 19.1 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | Four Parsons geared steam turbines Six Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers Four shafts 72,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,730 nm at 13 knots |
| Complement: | peacetime 550 wartime 680 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
type 284/286 air search radar type 273/271 surface search type 285 6 inch (152 mm) fire control type 282 40 mm fire control |
| Armament: |
Original configuration: 8 × 6 in guns 8 × 4 in (102 mm) 16 × 40 mm 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (quadruple mounts) |
| Armour: | 4 in (102 mm) main belt 2.5 in (64 mm) ends 1.25 to 2 in (32 to 51 mm) deck 1 in (25 mm) turrets |
| Aircraft carried: | One catapult-launched aircraft Original type was a Fairey Seafox catpult and aircraft later replaced with Supermarine Walrus |
| Notes: | Pennant number 22 |
HMS Ajax was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom during World War II. She was made famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta, as a supply escort in the Battle of Tobruk.
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[edit] Before the War
Built at Vickers shipyard, Barrow-in-Furness, England, she was laid down on 7 February 1933, launched on 1 March 1934, and completed on 12 April 1935. Ajax served on the America and West Indies Station from completion, then joined the South American Division on the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. There she sank the German merchant Olinda and intercepted the German merchant Carl Fritzen and the passenger ship Ussukuma. Both ships scuttled themselves to avoid capture.
[edit] The Battle of the River Plate
Operating off the River Plate, she intercepted the German merchantmen Carl Fritzen, Olinda, and Ussukuma. She was the flagship of Commodore Henry Harwood's Force G during the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee. Ajax was hit seven times by the Germans but inflicted more damage on the Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939. Ajax was also in Chile and assisted in relief work after an earthquake in Concepcion, and many years later surviving members of HMS Ajax were awarded medals from the Chilean Government for valued assistance.
[edit] Mediterranean, Crete and North Africa
Under repair until July 1940, she then moved to the Mediterranean. On October 11/October 12, 1940 she engaged Italian forces off Cape Passero, sinking the Spica class torpedo boats Airone and Ariel, and badly damaging the Italian destroyer Artigliere, which was later sunk by HMS York. According to Seaman Harry Mansfield, the Ajax intercepted retreating German and Italian warships which were cruising towards Crete and fired a variety of small arms and large guns completely destroying the enemy. The Ajax then took part in the Battle of Taranto, a night operation which was held under by RDF (radio detection finder), where it again engaged and destroyed the Italian fleet. Ajax participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan and was hit by bombs from Ju 87's on 21 May. She evacuated many troops from Crete up until 29 May 1941. [1] She then covered Syrian operations in June, and joined Force K at Malta in November 1941, but was withdrawn in February 1942.
[edit] D-Day and Post war
She was refitted in England from May to October 1942, then returned to the Mediterranean where she was again damaged by bombs. After repairs in New York between March and October 1943, Ajax went back to the Mediterranean. As part of Force K, she bombarded Gold Beach during the D-Day invasion, and later supported the landings in southern France. Ajax operated in the Aegean during the reoccupation of Athens and the communist uprising in Greece.
After the war, the Ajax was involved in the Exodus incident, where she formed part of the Royal Navy task force trailing the illegal immigrant ship.
[edit] Ajax remembered
She was decommissioned in February 1948. She was initially intended to be sold to the Indian Navy but this deal did not materialize because of Winston Churchill's apparent disapproval of the sale and he felt that such an important vessel would be better off broken up to preserve her history. She duly arrived at Newport for breaking up on 18 November 1949.
The town of Ajax, in Ontario, Canada, was named after the cruiser following the Battle of the River Plate. The town has streets named after members of the ship's company. For example, Harwood Avenue is the town's main north-south street.
In addition, many street signs in the town bear the silhouette of the ship, and the ship's anchor rests in front of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
The ship's bell is currently located at Summerhill Mansion, Kingswood School, Bath, England.
[edit] References
- ^ The Churchill Centre: Winston Churchill on Ships and the Navy
- Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. ed., London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- HMS Ajax at Uboat.net
[edit] See also
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