HMS Dido (37)
.jpg) HMS Dido | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Dido |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, UK) |
| Laid down: | 26 October 1937 |
| Launched: | 18 July 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 30 September 1940 |
| Out of service: | October 1947 |
| Reclassified: | In reserve at Gareloch between 1947 to 1951) and at Portsmouth between 1951 to 1958 |
| Identification: | Pennant number 37 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, arrived at Thomas W Ward Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness on 18 July 1957. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Dido-class anti-aircraft cruiser |
| Displacement: | 5,600 long tons (5,700 t) (standard) 6,850 long tons (6,960 t) (full load) |
| Length: | 485 ft (148 m) p.p. 512 ft (156 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Installed power: | 62,000 shp (46,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × Parsons geared steam turbines 4 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers 4 × shafts |
| Speed: | 32.25 kn (37.11 mph; 59.73 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,500 nmi (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) at 30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h) 4,240 nmi (4,880 mi; 7,850 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 1,100 short tons (1,000 t) fuel oil |
| Complement: | 480 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Type 281 RADAR from September 1940[1] |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | |
HMS Dido was the name ship of her class of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, UK), with the keel being laid down on 26 October 1937. She was launched on 18 July 1939 and commissioned on 30 September 1940.
History
Mediterranean
On 18 August 1942 Captain H. W. U. McCall brought Dido to Massawa for major repairs to a bomb-damaged stern. Dido was at that time one-quarter of British surface power in the Eastern Mediterranean it was critical that she be repaired as quickly as possible. The only working drydock in Massawa was not large enough to lift Dido entirely so she was partially floated up to clear the stern, leaving the bow low in the water. Six days later Dido was undocked to return to battle alongside her three sister ships, Euryalus, Cleopatra and Sirius.[2]
Post War
In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,[3] where she was flagship of the Reserve Fleet.
She was subsequently decommissioned and sold for scrap to Thomas William Ward (industrialist) and scrapped at Barrow in 1957.
Commanding officers
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1942 | |
| 1953 | 1953 | Captain T E Podger RN |
Notes
- ↑ Macintyre, Donald, CAPT RN "Shipborne Radar" United States Naval Institute Proceedings September 1967 p.75
- ↑ Commander Edward Ellsberg, O.B.E. Under the Red Sea Sun, (1946). Dodd, Mead and Co., New York
- ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
Publications
- 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 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- World War II cruisers
- HMS Dido at Uboat.net
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Dido (37). |
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