NAVYPEDIA

Photo

Belfast early 1950s

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Belfast	35, 1948- C35	1000	Harland & Wolff, Belfast	10.12.1936	17.3.1938	3.8.1939	preserved 10.1971
Edinburgh	16	1537	Swan Hunter, Wallsend	30.12.1936	31.3.1938	6.7.1939	sunk 2.5.1942

Technical data

Max speed, kts, kn	32.5
Displacement standard, t	10550
Displacement full, t	13175 (Belfast later 14900)
Length, m	176.5 pp 187.0 oa
Breadth, m	19.3 (Belfast later 20.2)
Draught, m	6.48 deep load (Belfast later 7.06)
No of shafts	4
Machinery	4 sets Parsons geared steam turbines, 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	80000
Fuel, t	oil 2250 later 1990)
Endurance, nm(kts)	12200(12)
Armour, mm	belt: 114, bulkheads: 64, turrets: 102 - 51, barbettes: 51 - 25, deck: 76 - 38
Armament	4 x 3 - 152/50 BL Mk XXIII, 6 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVI, 4 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss Mk I, 2 x 8 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII, 2 x 4 - 12.7/62, 2 x 3 - 533 TT, 3 aircraft (Walrus, Swordfish, Seafox), 1 catapult D-I-H
Complement	850

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

Enlarged variant of Gloucester class cruisers. It was supposed at early design stages to arm these ships by 16 152mm guns in quadruple turrets. Designers have faced a number of stubborn problems during mounts design and consequently the ships began to be designed with already completed triple turrets but with strengthened protection and antiaircraft armament.

Armored belt was lengthened in a bow and a stern to end turrets (it did not reach internal turrets on predecessors), armored deck became more thick. Number of 102mm twins have increased to six and octuple pompoms have mounted instead of the quadruple. In other aspects new cruisers differed from earlier colleagues a little, though because of transfer of catapult from space between funnels forward (between the first funnel and fwd superstructure) they have gained original enough outline profile. One of lacks of these cruisers became unsuccessful arrangement of antiaircraft artillery magazines, being too far from mounts.

Protection

114mm armoured belt extended from "A" to "Y" barbettes and to upper deck abreast boiler rooms and fore engine room and to main deck abreast aft engine room, CCC and magazines. Belt was closed by 64mm bulkheads. Armoured deck 51mm thick (51mm with 38mm slopes over steering gear and 76mm over magazines). Turrets had 102mm face armour and 51mm roofs. Barbettes had 51mm armour by sides and 25mm armour fore and aft. They were doubled over forecastle deck.

Modernizations

1939, both: - 4 x 1 - 47/40

9/1940, Edinburgh: + type 279 radar

7/1941, Edinburgh: + 6 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV

early 1942, Edinburgh: + type 273, type 284, type 285 radars

(11/1939 - 10.1942), Belfast: new bulges fitted, breadth rose to 20.2m, deep load rose to 7.06m, displacement rose to 11500/14900t, maximal speed felt to 30.5kts. There was new belt over bulges 102mm thick. - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62; + 5 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV, type 273Q, type 281, type 283, type 284, type 285 radars

6/1943, Belfast: + 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV

5/1944, Belfast: - 1 x 2 - 20/70; + 6 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV

5/1945, Belfast: - 2 x 2 - 102/45, 8 x 1 - 20/70, catapult with seaplanes, type 273Q, type 281, type 284 radars; + 4 x 4 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII, 4 x 1 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII, type 274, type 281B, type 293 radars

8/1945, Belfast: - 2 x 2 - 20/70, 2 x 1 - 20/70; + 5 x 1 - 40/56 Bofors Mk III

1/1946, Belfast: 4 x 3 - 152/50 Mk XXII, 4 x 2 - 102/45 Mk XIX, 5 x 1 - 40/60 Mk III, 2 x 8 - 40/39 Mk VIA, 4 x 4 - 40/39 Mk VII, 4 x 1 - 40/39 Mk VIII, 2 x 2 - 20/70 Mk V, 4 x 1 - 20/70 Mk III, 2 x 3 - 533 TT, type 274, type 281B, type 283, type 285, type 293 radars

1959, Belfast: - 5 x 1 - 40/60, 2 x 8 - 40/39, 4 x 4 - 40/39, 2 x 2 - 20/70, 4 x 1 - 20/70; + 6 x 2 - 40/60 Mk 5, 4x type 903 radars

1963, Belfast: - 2 x 2 - 40/60

Naval service

Edinburgh 30.4.1942 in Arctic was damaged by two torpedoes from German submarine U456 and 2.5.1942 in battle with German destroyers has received the third torpedo hit from Z24, lost speed and was sunk by torpedo from destroyer Foresight. Belfast was badly damaged by a magnetic mine 21.11.1939 and repaired till October, 1942. Now she is preserved as the museum in London.

Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.