NAVYPEDIA

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Gambia	48 - C48		Swan Hunter, Wallsend, UK	24.7.1939	30.11.1940	21.2.1942 // 2.1944	to UK 3.1946

Technical data

Displacement standard, t	8530
Displacement full, t	10830 - 11090
Length, m	164.0 pp 169.3 oa
Breadth, m	18.9
Draught, m	6.20 - 6.32
No of shafts	4
Machinery	4 sets Parsons steam geared turbines, 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	72500
Max speed, kts	31.5
Fuel, t	oil 1613 - 1700
Endurance, nm(kts)	10100(12)
Armour, mm	belt: 89 - 83, bulkheads: 51 - 38, turrets: 51 - 25, barbettes: up to 25,  deck: 51 - 32
Armament	4 x 3 - 152/50 BL Mk XXIII, 4 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVI, 2 x 4 - 40/39 2pdr QF Mk VIII, 10 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk IV, 2 x 3 - 533 TT
Electronic equipment	2x type 272, type 281, type 283, type 284, type 285 radars
Complement	920 war

Standard scale images

Project history

Occurrence of Colony class became one of consequences of London conference in 1936 limited displacement of newly designed cruisers by 8000t. Design of Southampton class was revised under these requirements and result was more compact Fiji in which  length of hull was more than to 10m shortened at the expense of cramped arrangement. Usage of less power machinery and easier armouring have allowed to store the same armament as at a prototype, and a transom stern has given the chance to avoid strong fall of speed (on 0.5kts). Waterline belt became a little thin but at the expense of a smaller length of the hull reached end barbettes, and thickness of an armour deck even has increased. Return to more simple vertical stacks and masts became characteristic kind of these ships.

Low metacentric height was main lack of design and it has created serious problems at wartime updates: it was necessary to land one of main turrets for placing of numerous AA guns and the electronic equipment on most of class in the end of war .

The last 3 ships of Fiji class (2nd group) were completed under some changed design considering experience of the first year of war: with the strengthened antiaircraft arms. Because of already mentioned very cramped arrangement one main turret had landed and catapult was removed (hangars have been left, but were used for other purposes).

Protection

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. Its thickness was 89 mm abreast magazines and 83 mm abreast machinery. Belt was closed by 51 - 38-mm bulkheads. Armoured deck was 51-mm thick (32-mm with 38-mm slopes over steering gear). Transom stern was 38-mm thick.

Modernizations

None.

Naval service

No significant events.