HMS Bellona (63)

HMS "Bellona" was the name ship of her subgroup of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was a modified "Dido"-class design with only four turrets but improved AA armament. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Govan, Scotland), with the keel being laid down on 30 November 1939. She was launched on 29 September 1942, and commissioned on 29 October 1943.

"Bellona" was named after a Goddess of War. Her motto was 'Battle is our Business'.

History

"Bellona" participated in several Russian Convoys, both before and after D-Day. Prior to D-day, she took over Channel patrol in place of HMS "Charybdis", which had been sunk off the Channel Islands by a radio-controlled bomb. On arrival at Plymouth, "Bellona" was fitted with equipment for jamming the radio signals that controlled the bombs. "Bellona" and seven destroyers were involved, including HMS "Tartar". The codename for the Channel patrol force was 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs'.

During the day, the force anchored in Plymouth Sound, as air defence of Plymouth. At dusk, under cover of darkness and maintaining radio and rador silence, the force would proceed at full speed to the French coast to keep the German Narvik class destroyers bottled up in Brest. The force would return to Plymouth by daylight. By day, the Royal Air Force would patrol the Channel and, by night, Plymouth.On D-day, "Bellona's" duty was to help to support Omaha Beach, the American sector. The American battleships USS "Texas" and USS "Arkansas" were also there.

As the army advanced, "Bellona" fired her guns well inshore at targets spotted by aircraft and forward observation officers off shore. On several occasions "Bellona" returned to Plymouth to get more ammunition and change the gun barrels because of wear. At night "Bellona" went close inshore and did the night firings.

In July 1944 "Bellona" covered the carrier raids against the German battleship "Tirpitz", but the following month was back in the Channel, attacking German convoy traffic in the Bay of Biscay and off the Brittany coast.

The "Bellona" returned to northern waters for the remainder of the war, on Arctic convoys, carrier and cruiser sweeps along the Norwegian coastline, before arriving in Copenhagen at the German surrender in May 1945.

After the war she was part of the 10th Cruiser Squadron until 1946, when she was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, reverting to Royal Navy control after the transfer of HMS "Royalist" in 1956. On 5 February 1958 she arrived at the Briton Ferry yard of Thomas W Ward Ltd to be broken up.

References

*Colledge
* [http://www.world-war.co.uk/index.php3 WWII cruisers]
* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4021.html HMS Bellona at Uboat.net]