Sheffield

H.M.S. Sheffield

24

1942

(Neptun 1143a)

Class: Southampton (1st group) - 5 cruisers of 1934-35
Displacement: 9,100 tons
Dimensions: 558 (pp) 591.5 (oa) x 62.25 x 17 ft
Machinery: 4-shaft geared turbines, SHP 75,000 = 32 knots
Armor: Main belt 3in-4in, deck 2in, turrets 1in-2in, DCT 4in
Armament: 12-6in (4x3), 8-4in AA (4x2), 8-2pdr AA (2x4), 6-20mm AA (6x1) guns; 6-21in TT (2x3); 2 aircraft
Complement: 750

Builder: Vickers-Armstrong (Walker)
Laid Down: 31 Jan 1935
Launched: 23 Jul 1936
Completed: 25 Aug 1937

Service: 18th CS Home Fleet, Sep 1939-May 1940. Participatied in Norwegian campaign Apr 1940. Temporary detached Immingham, May-Jul 1940. 18th CS Home Fleet, Jul 1940 for anti-invasion duties in English Channel. Force "H", Sep 1940-Sep 1941. Present at Battle of Spartivento 27 Nov 1940, Genoa bombardment 9 Feb 1941. Damaged by mine off Islay 17 Mar 1941 and by bomb in Mediterranean 30 Mar 1941. Hunt for German battleship Bismarck May 1941. Intercepted German supply ship Friederich Breme which scuttled herself 12 Jun 1941. 10th CS Gibraltar, Oct 1941. 18th CS Home Fleet, Nov 1941-Sep 1942. Damaged by mine off Iceland 4 Mar 1942. 10th CS Home Fleet, Oct 1942-Jul 1943. Supported landings in North Africa Nov 1942. In Battle of the Barents Sea, defending Arctic convoy JW51B, she engaged German cruiser Admiral Hipper and sank German destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt (Z16) off Bear Island 31 Dec 1942. Heavy weather damage Arctic 17 Feb 1943. Refit Apr-May 1943. Attached Cruiser, Plymouth Command, Aug-Sep 1943. Force "K", Oct-Dec 1943, supporting landings at Salerno. 10th CS Home Fleet, Dec 1943-Nov 1944. At Battle of North Cape 26 Dec 1943 when German battlecruiser Scharnhorst was sunk. Participated in Operation Tungsten attack on Tirpitz 3 Apr 1944. Refit at Boston and in UK Aug 1944-Mar 1946.
Postwar served in the West Indies, home waters, and the Mediterranean, refitting several times, and serving at sea up to 1960. Played the part of cruiser HMS Ajax in the war film "The Battle of the River Plate" in 1955. Scrapped Inverkeithing from Sep 1967.