HMS Black Prince (81)
Service
- as Black Prince30 November 1943 — March 1962644 days of the war
- as HMNZS Black Prince25 May 1946 — 1 April 1961
- Name
- HMS Black Prince
- Pennant / hull number
- 81
- Namesake
- Edward, the Black Prince
- Builder
- Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Laid down
- 2 November 1939
- Launched
- 27 August 1942
- Commissioned
- 30 November 1943
- Decommissioned
- March 1962
- Fate
- Scrapped, 2 May 1962 (1962)
- Status
- Scrapped
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 5,950 long tons (6,045 t)
- Displacement, full load
- 7,200 long tons (7,316 t)
- Length
- 156.06 m (512 ft) OA
- Beam
- 15.39 m (50.5 ft)
- Draught
- 4.27 m (14 ft)
- Speed
- 32.3 knots (59.7 km/h, 37.1 mph)
- Range
- 3,685 nmi (6,825 km)
- Complement
- 530
- Main gun
- 133 mm (5.2 in)
HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class cruiser light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number 81. The ship was named after Edward. Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland laid her keel on 2 November 1939. She entered service on 30 November 1943, having been launched on 27 August 1942.
16 ships of the class were built. The class followed the Arethusa-class cruiser and was succeeded by the Fiji-class cruiser.
She displaced 5,950 long tons standard and 7,200 long tons at full load. She measured 156.1 m (512 ft) long with a beam of 15.4 m (50 ft). Her designed speed was 32.2 knots, and she carried a complement of 530. Her main battery was of 133 mm (5.2 in) calibre.
62,000 shp drove four shafts.
She served with the Royal Navy as Black Prince until March 1962. She then passed to the Royal New Zealand Navy, serving as HMNZS Black Prince from 25 May 1946. She was in commission for 644 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned in March 1962.
She was broken up for scrap on 2 May 1962.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbines
- Power
- 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
- 62,000 shp (46 MW)
- Armament
- 8 × QF 5.25 inch dual guns
- 6 × 20 mm dual AA guns
- 3 × 2-pounder (40-mm) pom-poms quad guns
- 2 × 21 inch triple torpedo tubes
- Armour
- Belt: 3 in
- Deck: 1 in
- Magazines: 2 in
- Bulkheads: 1 in
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS Black Prince (81) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Royal Navy official photographer — This photograph FL 2239 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 8308-29) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons