HMS Calcutta (D82)

HMS Calcutta was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the Indian city of Calcutta. She was part of the Carlisle group of the C-class of cruisers.

She was laid down by Vickers Limited in 1917, and launched on 9 July 1918. Calcutta was commissioned too late to see action in the First World War, but was converted to an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1939 and deployed in the Mediterranean. On the night of 25 June 1940, Calcutta was sent to join the Canadian destroyers HMCS Restigouche and HMCS Fraser on a mission to the coast of Bordeaux, France where 4,000 refugees trapped by the German Army were awaiting rescue.

The warships encountered rough seas and poor visibility, forcing the commanding officer of the Fraser to close quarters with the other two vessels. Fraser executed a turn to port to bring the ship behind Calcutta but in doing so, the two ships collided, with the bow of the heavier Calcutta slicing into Fraser with such force that the destroyer was cut into three pieces. The Fraser sank with the loss of 45 crew, while 19 of Calcutta's crew were also killed.

Calcutta was used to escort allied convoys across the Mediterranean and became involved in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. She was sunk on 1 June 1941 by German Junkers 88 bombers approximately 100 nautical miles (190 km) off Alexandria, Egypt.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
• http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1195.html