HMS Shropshire
Service
- as HMS Shropshire24 September 1929 — 23 December 19421,209 days of the war
- as HMAS Shropshire20 April 1943 — 10 November 1949866 days of the war
- Name
- HMS Shropshire
- Namesake
- Shropshire, England
- Builder
- William Beardmore and Company (Dalmuir, Scotland)
- Ordered
- 17 March 1926
- Laid down
- 24 February 1927
- Launched
- 5 July 1928
- Commissioned
- 24 September 1929
- Decommissioned
- 23 December 1942
- Fate
- Sold for scrap, 16 July 1954 (1954)
- Status
- Scrapped
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 9,750 long tons (9,906 t)
- Displacement, full load
- 13,315 long tons (13,529 t)
- Length
- 192.94 m (633 ft)
- Beam
- 20.12 m (66 ft)
- Draught
- 6.4 m (21 ft)
- Speed
- 32 knots (59.3 km/h, 36.8 mph)
- Range
- 2,546 nmi (4,715 km)
- Complement
- 690
- Main gun
- 203 mm (8 in)
HMS Shropshire was a County-class cruiser heavy cruiser, operated by the Royal Navy. The ship was named after Shropshire. William Beardmore and Company (Dalmuir, Scotland) laid her keel on 24 February 1927. Launched on 5 July 1928, she entered service on 24 September 1929.
Her class ran to 13 ships. The class followed the Hawkins-class cruiser and was succeeded by the York-class cruiser.
She displaced 9,750 long tons standard and 13,315 long tons at full load. She measured 192.9 m (633 ft) long with a beam of 20.1 m (66 ft). Her designed speed was 32 knots, and she carried a complement of 690.
Her main battery was eight 203 mm (8 in) guns.
She served with the Royal Navy as HMS Shropshire until 23 December 1942. She then passed to the Royal Australian Navy, serving as HMAS Shropshire from 20 April 1943. She was in commission for 2,075 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 23 December 1942.
She was broken up for scrap on 16 July 1954.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
- 4-shaft Parsons geared turbines
- 80000 shp
- Armament
- Original configuration:
- 8 × 8-in (203 mm) Mk VIII dual guns
- 4 × QF 4-in (102 mm) Mk V single AA guns
- 4 × 2-pdr (40 mm) single pom-poms
- 2 × 2-pdr (40 mm) quad pom-poms
- 2 × 0.5-in quadruple Vickers machine gun mount
- 2 × quadruple 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- April 1941 – November 1942 configuration:
- 8 × 8-in (203 mm) Mk VIII dual guns
- 4 × QF 4 in Mk XVI dual AA guns
- 2 × 2-pdr (40 mm) eight barrel pom-poms
- 10 × 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns
- 2 × .50 caliber quadruple Vickers machine gun mount
- 2 × quadruple 21-in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- November 1942 – April 1944 configuration:
- 8 × 8 in (203-mm) Mk VIII dual guns
- 4 × QF 4 in Mk XVI dual AA guns
- 2 × 2-pdr (40 mm) eight barrel pom-poms
- 6 × 20-mm (0.8 in) single guns
- 7 × 20-mm (0.8 in) dual guns
- 2 × 0.5-in quadruple Vickers machine gun mount
- 2 × quadruple 21-in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- January 1945 – February 1946 configuration:
- 8 × 8-in (203 mm) Mk VIII dual guns
- 4 × QF 4 in Mk XVI dual AA guns
- 2 × 2-pdr (40 mm) eight barrel pom-poms
- 2 × 20-mm (0.8 in) dual guns
- 15 × 40-mm (1.5 in) Bofors Mk III single guns
- Armour
- 1 to 4 in magazine box protection
- 1.375 in deck
- 1 in side-plating, turrets and bulkheads
- 4.5 in belt
- 4 in internal boiler room sides (added 1936–1940)
- Aircraft
- One aircraft, one catapult. Three planes used during service; Fairey III, Hawker Osprey, Supermarine Walrus
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS Shropshire on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Royal Navy official photographer — This photograph FL 5928 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 8308-29) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons