HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast at her London berth, painted in Admiralty pattern Disruptive Camouflage
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Belfast
Ordered	21 September 1936
Builder	Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Yard number	1000[1]
Laid down	10 December 1936
Launched	17 March 1938
Completed	3 August 1939[1]
Commissioned	5 August 1939
Decommissioned	24 August 1963
Identification	Pennant number C35
Motto	Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus (Latin: For so much, how shall we repay?)
Honours and awards	Arctic 1943 North Cape 1943 Normandy 1944 Korea 1950–52
Status	Museum ship since 21 October 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement	11,550 tons
Length	613 ft 6 in (186.99 m) overall[5]
Beam	63 ft 4 in (19.3 m)
Draught	18 ft 3 in (5.56 m) forward 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) aft
Installed power	80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Admiralty oil-fired 3-drum boilers 4 × Parsons single reduction geared steam turbines
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Complement	781–881 (as flagship, 1939)[7]
Armament	1939: 12 × 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XXIII guns (4×3) 12 × 4-inch (102 mm) Mk XVI dual purpose guns (6×2) 16 × 2-pounder (40 mm) anti-aircraft guns (2×8) 8 × 0.5-inch (13 mm) AA machine guns (2×4) 6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×3)
Armour	Main belt: 4.5 inches (114 mm) Main turrets: Up to 4 inches (102 mm) Decks over magazines: 3 inches (76 mm) Decks over machinery: 2 inches (51 mm) Bulkheads: 2.5 inches (63.5 mm)[2][3]
Aircraft carried	2 × Supermarine Walrus (disembarked June 1943)[6]
Aviation facilities	2 × hangars 1 × catapult (removed 1945)[4]

HMS Belfast is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum.

Construction of Belfast, the first ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the capital city of Northern Ireland and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939, Belfast struck a German mine and, in spite of fears that she would be scrapped, spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Belfast returned to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment, and armour. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943 and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944, Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945, she was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950–52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before she entered reserve in 1963.

In 1967, efforts were initiated to avert Belfast's expected scrapping and to preserve her as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum, and the Ministry of Defence was established and then reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. In 1971, however, the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her preservation. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London. Opened to the public in October 1971, Belfast became a branch of the Imperial War Museum in 1978. Since 1973 she has been home to the City of London Sea Cadets who meet on board twice a week.^[8] A popular tourist attraction, Belfast received over 327,000 visitors in 2019.^[9] As a branch of a national museum and part of the National Historic Fleet, Belfast is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, admissions income, and the museum's commercial activities.