HMS Effingham

Effingham between 1925 and 1936
History
United Kingdom
Name	Effingham
Namesake	Lord Howard of Effingham
Ordered	December 1915
Builder	HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
Laid down	6 April 1917
Launched	8 June 1921
Completed	July 1925
Identification	Pennant number: 98 (1925);[1] I98 (1938); D98 (1940)[2]
Fate	Wrecked off Bodø, Norway, 18 May 1940
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Hawkins-class heavy cruiser
Displacement	9,860 long tons (10,020 t) (standard) 12,800 long tons (13,000 t) (deep load)
Length	604 ft 10 in (184.4 m) (o/a)
Beam	65 ft (19.8 m)
Draught	19 ft 3 in (5.9 m) (deep load)
Installed power	10 × Yarrow boilers 65,000 shp (48,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 4 × geared steam turbines
Speed	30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph)
Range	5,640 nmi (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	690
Armament	7 × single 7.5 in (191 mm) guns 3 × single 4 in (102 mm) AA guns 2 × single 2-pdr (1.6 in (40 mm)) AA guns 6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 1.5–3 in (3.8–7.6 cm) Deck: 1–1.5 in (2.5–3.8 cm) Gun shields: 1 in (2.5 cm)
General characteristics (1938)
Installed power	8 × Yarrow boilers 61,000 shp (45,000 kW)
Speed	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range	5,410 nmi (10,020 km; 6,230 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	over 800
Armament	9 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 4 × single 4 in AA guns 3 × quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AA machine guns 4 × 21 in torpedo tubes

HMS Effingham was one of five Hawkins-class heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was not finished during the war and construction proceeded very slowly after the end of the war in 1918. Completed in 1925, the ship was assigned to the East Indies Station, sometimes serving as a flagship. She returned home in 1932 and was assigned to the Reserve Fleet as its flagship for the next four years. Effingham was rearmed and modernized in 1937–1938 and then resumed her previous role.

When the Second World War began in September 1939, Effingham was assigned to the Northern Patrol, but severe engine problems caused her to spend most of the next six months under repair. In between dockyard visits, the ship ferried a load of gold bullion to Canada and was briefly assigned to the North America and West Indies Station. After a lengthy refit at the beginning of 1940, Effingham supported Allied troops during the Norwegian Campaign, mostly bombarding German positions and providing naval gunfire support to troops ashore. While ferrying troops and supplies to Bodø on 18 May, the ship struck a shoal due to a navigational error and sank in shallow water. Her crew was evacuated without loss and the cruiser destroyed by a pair of torpedoes from an accompanying destroyer. Her wreck was salvaged after the war with only some minor wreckage remaining.