Leander class cruiser (1931)
| HMS Ajax | | Leander-class | |
|---|
| General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | 9,740 tons full load (9,000 Sydney-class) |
| Length: | 554.9 ft |
| Beam: | 56 ft |
| Draught: | 19.1 ft |
| Propulsion: | 4 Parsons geared steam turbines, 6 boilers (4 Sydney-class), 4 shafts, 72,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots |
| Range: |
| Complement: | 570 |
| Armament: | Original configuration:
8 × 6 in guns
4 × 4 in guns
12 × 0.5 in machine guns
8 × 21 in torpedo tubes |
| Aircraft: | 1 Fairey Seafox (Fairey Swordfish WWII. Supermarine Walrus in Sydney-class) |
The
Leander class was a class of eight (including modified Australian
Leanders)
light cruisers built for the
Royal Navy prior to
World War II.
The
Leander class was influenced by the
York class heavy cruiser, and was an attempt to better provide for the role of commerce protection. The 7,000-7,200 ton
Leanders had a good armament consisting of eight 6 inch guns in twin turrets, two forward, two aft. Their secondary armament consisted of four 4 inch guns which was later increased to eight in four twin turrets. They had weak anti-air warfare weaponry, having just twelve 0.5 inch machine guns. Additional armament consisted of eight 21" torpedo tubes, and provision was made in the design for carriage of two catapult-launched
Fairey Seafox aircraft. Speed was 32 knots, but only 845 tons of armor was provided, making the design susceptible to catastrophic damage, but still superior to many other vessels of similar displacement. This was added to by the fact that the first five vessels did not contain dispersed machinery, and had only a single funnel, a unique feature amongst British cruisers.
The three vessels built for Australia were modified slightly, primarily in having the machinery dispersed. This resulted in a second funnel being added.
During the war, significant modifications were made to the vessels. Various additional antiaircraft armament was added, and the two New Zealand vessels landed a turret to carry heavier 20 mm and 40 mm antiaircraft guns. Changes to the aircraft launching capability were reported, although use is unclear. Both
Fairey Swordfish and
Supermarine Walrus aircraft are reported to have been used by the class, with the Walrus likely being only by Royal Navy vessels.
The
Leander class was named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936. The Australian vessels were renamed after Australian cities.
Named after the
character from Greek mythology. Loaned to New Zealand, commissioned as HMNZS
Leander in September 1941. At the
Battle of Kolombagara,
Leander was heavily damaged by a
Long Lance torpedo, causing many casualties, and sending the ship to repairs for two years.
The
Achilles was the second vessel loaned to New Zealand, commissioned as HMNZS
Achilles in September 1941. She had earlier participated in the
Battle of the River Plate.
Achilles was sold to
India in 1948, being renamed
Delhi.
The
Ajax participated in the
Battle of the River Plate. The town of
Ajax, Ontario was named after the ship, with street names in the town named after members of the crew.
Ajax also participated in the
Battle of Cape Matapan.
Manned by New Zealand crew, although not part of the
Royal New Zealand Navy.
Neptune was sunk by an Italian mine off the coast of
Tripoli.
Orion participated in the evacuation of
Crete in 1940 and was heavily damaged.
Built for the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and modified as the
Sydney class,
Perth was lost in the
Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942.
Built for the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and modified as the
Sydney class,
Hobart took part in the
Battle of the Coral Sea and provided fire support for the amphibious landings at
Guadalcanal.
Built for the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and modified as the
Sydney class,
Sydney operated with British forces in the Mediterranean theatre, participating in the
Battle of Cape Matapan as well as the
Battle of Calabria in 1940, sinking two Italian destroyers, the
Espero and
Zeffiro. In 1941,
Sydney was sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser
Kormoran off the coast of Australia.
*
List of ships of World War II
