HMS Suffolk (55)

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HMS Suffolk on the Tyne
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Suffolk
Builder	Portsmouth Dockyard, UK
Laid down	30 September 1924
Launched	16 February 1926
Commissioned	31 May 1928
Decommissioned	25 March 1948
Identification	Pennant number 55
Motto	Nous maintiendrons: 'We shall maintain'
Honours and awards	Norway 1940 Bismarck Action 1941 Arctic 1941-2 Burma 1945
Fate	Scrapped, vessel was allocated to BISCO on 25 March 1948 and was scrapped at J Cashmore's (Newport, Wales)1948.
Badge	On a Field Green a castle Gold hanging therefrom a key Silver.
General characteristics
Class and type	County-class heavy cruiser
Displacement	9,750 tons (9,924 t) standard 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length	630 ft (190 m)
Beam	68 ft 3 in (20.80 m)
Draught	16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion	Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers Four shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines 80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Speed	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Range	3,100 nmi (5,700 km; 3,600 mi) at 31.5 kn (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) 13,300 nmi (24,600 km; 15,300 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement	700
Armament	Original configuration: 8 (4x2) 8-inch (203 mm) dual guns 8 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V single AA guns 8 (2x4) 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-poms quad guns 8 (2x4) 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) quadruple machine guns 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) quadruple torpedo tubes. 1937 – 1941 configuration: 8 × 8-inch (203 mm) dual guns, 6 × 4-inch (102 mm) single AA guns, 2 × 2 pdr eight barrel quad guns, 2 × 0.5-inch MG quadruple guns. 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) quad torpedo tubes. 1941 – 1942 configuration: 8 × 8-inch (203 mm) dual guns, 6 × 4-inch (102 mm) single AA guns, 2 × 4-inch (102 mm) dual AA guns, 4 × 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns, 2 × 2 pdr eight barrel quad guns, 2 × 0.5-inch MG quadruple guns. 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) quad torpedo tubes. 1942 – 1944 configuration: 8 × 8 in (203 mm) dual guns, 6 × 4 in (102 mm) single AA guns, 2 × 4 in (102 mm) dual AA guns, 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns, 5 × 20 mm (0.8 in) dual power-operated guns, 2 × 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) eight barrel quad guns, 2 × 21 in (533 mm) quad Torpedo Tubes.
Armour	Magazine box protection: 1–4 in (25–102 mm) Deck: 1.375 in (34.9 mm) Side-plating, turrets and bulkheads: 1 in (25 mm) Belt: 4.5 in (114 mm) 4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936–1940)
Aircraft carried	Three aircraft with one catapult, removed in 1943.

HMS Suffolk, pennant number 55, was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, and part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK, with the keel being laid down on 30 September 1924. She was launched on 16 February 1926, and commissioned on 31 May 1928. During the Second World War, Suffolk took part in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940 and then the Battle of the Denmark Strait in 1941, before serving in the Arctic throughout the following year. After a refit that concluded in April 1943, the cruiser served in the Far East until the end of the war. In the immediate post-war period, Suffolk undertook transport duties between the Far East, Australia and the United Kingdom before being placed in reserve in mid-1946. The vessel was sold off and then scrapped in 1948.