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{{short description|Royal Navy ship}}
{{short description|British/New Zealand Cruiser}}
{{other ships|HMS Royalist}}
{{other ships|HMS Royalist}}
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'''HMS ''Royalist''''' was a ''Bellona''-class (improved {{sclass|Dido|cruiser|0}}) [[light cruiser]] of the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) during the Second World War.
'''HMS ''Royalist''''' was a ''Bellona''-class (improved {{sclass|Dido|cruiser|0}}) [[light cruiser]] of the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) and [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] (RNZN) during the [[World War II|Second World War]] and early [[Cold War]].


After commissioning in 1943, ''Royalist'' was modified with extra facilities and crew for operating as a flagship for aircraft carrier operations. Initially, it operated in the North Sea before transferring to the Mediterranean for the [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of southern France]]. ''Royalist'' remained in the Mediterranean for actions against German forces in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] to the end of 1944. Then it moved to the Far East in February 1945 where it served until the end of the war.
After her commissioning in 1943, ''Royalist'' was modified with extra facilities and crew for operating as a flagship in [[aircraft carrier]] operations. Initially, she operated in the [[North Sea]] before transferring to the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] for the [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of southern France]]. ''Royalist'' remained in the [[Aegean Sea]] until the end of 1944 before sailing to the [[Far East]] in 1945 where the ship served until the end of the war.


The ''Royalist'' was then put into reserve until 1953 when the RN decided to proceed with plans to refit the ship for a new intended operational role as a fast [[radar picket]]. The cost of reconstruction and reactivation of the ship led the RN to transfer the vessel to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in 1956 as a replacement for its sister ship [[HMS Bellona (63)|HMS ''Bellona'']], which had been in New Zealand service since 1947. In return, New Zealand covered the reconstruction costs of the ''Royalist''. After ten years of service with the RNZN, which included involvement in the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956 and the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] from 1963 to 1965, the ship returned to the United Kingdom where it was scrapped.
''Royalist'' was then put into reserve until 1953, when the Navy decided to proceed with plans to refit the ship. The high cost of reconstruction and new governmental policy forced the RN to transfer the vessel to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in 1956. In return, New Zealand covered the reconstruction costs of ''Royalist''. After ten years of service with the RNZN, which included involvement in the [[Suez Crisis]] and the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] from, she was scrapped in 1967.


== Development ==
== Development ==
The Royal Navy intended in late 1943 to use the ''Bellona'' class as [[flagship]]s for [[escort carrier]] and cruiser groups for the projected [[invasion of Normandy]] and [[Operation Dragoon|of southern France]] and for operations with the [[United States Navy]] and with the RN fleet in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. ''Royalist'' quickly diverged from the rest of the class from the start being fitted out - within months of commissioning - with further modifications. These modifications gave it two extra rooms for additional communications with aircraft carriers and [[Fleet Air Arm]] aircraft and one of the first implementations of an "Action Information Office" (AIO) – an early [[Combat information center|operations room]] for plotting and display of the tactical position and associated mechanical computers to make it more effective. Intended to enhance the vessel's role as a command ship in northern Atlantic waters for operations against the German capital ships {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}}, the extra equipment took the ship to the limit, leaving minimal comfort and sleeping provision for the crew.{{sfn|Raven|Roberts|1980|pp=294, 324}} The wartime development of radar and the requirement to equip ''Royalist'' as a "Carrier Flagship"<ref name=NavalHistRoy>{{harvnb|Mason| 2004}}</ref> fitted with AIO increased the crew complement from 484 to 600, adding to the problem.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}


⚫
=== Design ===
⚫
''Royalist'' was built by [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] of [[Greenock]] laying down the keel on 21 March 1940. She was launched on 30 May 1942 and commissioned on 10 September 1943. She returned to the dockyard for alterations in November which were not complete until February 1944. Her French motto, ''Surtout Loyal'', translates to "Loyal above all".<ref name=NavalHistRoy/>
In 1943, the Royal Navy (RN) intended to use the [[Bellona class cruiser|''Bellona-''class]] as [[flagship]]s in escort carrier/cruiser groups during the [[Invasion of France (1940)|Invasions of France]] as well as during joint Royal Navy-[[United States Navy|US Navy]] operations in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]]. Within months of her commissioning, ''Royalist''<nowiki/>'s design diverged from the rest of her class. She was fitted with two extra rooms that further enabled her to communicate with aircraft carriers and [[Fleet Air Arm]] aircraft. In addition, she was modified with the incorporation of one of the first implementations of an "Action Information Office" (AIO). The AIO was a early [[Control room|operations room]], in which computers and manual plotting allowed a force to be managed efficiently. The AIO allowed her to operate as a command ship in the northern Atlantic, primarily in hunting German warships {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} and {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}}. The specialized equipment pushed crew members to their limits, as only minimal space remained for sleeping and comfort.{{sfn|Raven|Roberts|1980|pp=294, 324}} Compared to her base design requiring a crew of 484, Royalist's compliment was 600, adding to the aforementioned problems of cramped conditions. All together, ''Royalist'' was designated as a 'Carrier Flagship' when she was mounted with [[radar]].<ref name="NavalHistRoy">{{harvnb|Mason| 2004}}</ref>

=== Construction ===
⚫
''Royalist'' was built by [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] of [[Greenock]] who [[Keel laying|laid her keel]] on 21 March 1940. She was launched on 30 May 1942, and commissioned on 10 September 1943. She returned to the dockyard for alterations in November which were not complete until February 1944. Her French motto, ''Surtout Loyal'', translates to "Loyal above all".<ref name="NavalHistRoy" />


==Royal Navy career==
==Royal Navy career==
=== North Atlantic service ===
[[File:HMS Royalist spitfire.jpg|thumb|left |A [[Supermarine Seafire]] of [[807 Naval Air Squadron]] [[Fleet Air Arm]] flying above HMS ''Royalist'' during a training flight from the [[HMS Grebe|Royal Naval Air Station at Dekhelia]], near Alexandria, Egypt in February 1945]]
Following her commissioning, ''Royalist'' spent several months working up, during which time she underwent repairs for trial defects and for alterations and additions. These included modifications for service as a carrier flagship.<ref name=NavalHistRoy/> In March 1944 ''Royalist'' joined the [[Home Fleet]] and served for a short period in [[Arctic naval operations of World War II|the Arctic theatre]]. In this capacity, she took part in [[Operation Tungsten]], the carrier raid in April 1944 against the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' at anchor in a fjord in [[Norway]], as the flagship of Rear Admiral Arthur La Touche Bisset commanding Force Two (based around five carriers).
Following her commissioning, ''Royalist'' spent several months working up, in which she underwent repairs for trial defects and for further alterations and additions. These included aforementioned modifications for service as a carrier flagship.<ref name="NavalHistRoy" /> In March 1944, ''Royalist'' joined the [[Home Fleet]] and served for a short period in [[Arctic naval operations of World War II|the Arctic theater]]. In this capacity, she was flagship of [[Operation Tungsten]], the carrier raid in April 1944 against the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' at anchor in a fjord in [[Norway]].


After Tungsten ''Royalist'' escorted carriers for attacks on shipping off Norway before entering dock for a refit.<ref>Mason, 2011</ref> After completion of the work in June, ''Royalist'' was ordered to the [[Mediterranean]] to support the [[Operation Dragoon]] landings in the south of France in August 1944. ''Royalist'' was the flagship (Rear Admiral [[Thomas Hope Troubridge]]) of the RN/USN [[Task Force 88 (United States Navy)|Task Force 88]] (comprising carrier groups TG88.1{{efn|five British [[escort carrier]]s - ''Attacker'', ''Emperor'', ''Khedive'', ''Searcher'', and ''Pursuer''}} and TG88.2{{efn|two more British escort carriers and two US carriers and supporting British cruisers and US destroyers}}) that was to maintain air superiority over the beaches and support the landing operations.
After Tungsten, ''Royalist'' escorted carriers for attacks on shipping off [[Norway]] before entering dock for a refit.<ref>Mason, 2011</ref> After completion of the work in June, ''Royalist'' was ordered to the [[Mediterranean]] to support the [[Operation Dragoon]] landings in the south of France in August 1944. ''Royalist'' was the flagship (Rear Admiral [[Thomas Hope Troubridge]]) of the RN/[[United States Navy|USN]] [[Task Force 88 (United States Navy)|Task Force 88]] that was tasked with maintaining [[Air supremacy|air superiority]] over the beaches and support of landing operations.


=== Mediterranean service ===
After Dragoon, ''Royalist'' joined the [[Aegean Force]] preventing enemy evacuation from the islands in the [[Aegean Sea]]. On 15 September, accompanied by the destroyer {{HMS|Teazer|R23|6}}, she sank the transports ''KT4'' and ''KT26'' off [[Cape Spatha]]. She was then stationed in the Aegean until late 1944 when she was then in the eastern Mediterranean before a refit in early 1945 at Alexandria before transferring to the [[East Indies]] and joining the [[East Indies Fleet|Eastern Fleet]].
Following the Dragoon landings, ''Royalist'' joined the [[Aegean Force]], tasked with preventing enemy evacuation from the islands in the [[Aegean Sea]]. On 15 September, Royalist and destroyer {{HMS|Teazer|R23|6}} sank transports ''KT4'' and ''KT26'' off [[Cape Spatha]]. She was stationed in the Aegean until late 1944 before a refit in early 1945 at [[Alexandria]]. After her stint in the Mediterranean, she was transferred to the [[East Indies]] and joined the [[East Indies Fleet]].[[File:HMS Royalist spitfire.jpg|thumb|''Royalist'' and a [[Supermarine Seafire]] off [[Alexandria]], 1945 ]]


By April 1945 she was with the [[21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron]] as flagship, supporting the [[Yangon|Rangoon]] landings of [[Operation Dracula]].
By April 1945, she was flagship of the [[21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron]], supporting the [[Yangon|Rangoon]] landings of [[Operation Dracula]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}


From 10 May ''Royalist'' was covering a search group of carriers in Operation Mitre looking for Japanese warships carrying out evacuations in the area of [[Nicobar Islands|Nicobar]] and [[Andaman Islands]].{{efn|As part of Mitre, in the [[Battle of the Malacca Strait]] a force of five Royal Navy destroyers intercepted the Japanese cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Haguro||2}} and the destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Kamikaze|1922|2}} evacuating troops from [[Port Blair]] in the Andaman Islands}} For the remainder of the war she covered the carrier raids against targets in the East Indies and [[Sumatra]].
From 10 May, ''Royalist'' joined a group of carriers during [[Operation Mitre]], which searched for Japanese warships evacuating [[Nicobar Islands|Nicobar]] and the [[Andaman Islands]].{{efn|As part of Mitre, in the [[Battle of the Malacca Strait]] a force of five Royal Navy destroyers intercepted the Japanese cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Haguro||2}} and the destroyer {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Kamikaze|1922|2}} evacuating troops from [[Port Blair]] in the Andaman Islands}} For the remainder of the war, she supported carrier raids against targets in the [[East Indies]] and [[Sumatra]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}


Scottish author [[Alistair MacLean]] served on ''Royalist'' during the Second World War, and used his experiences as background for his acclaimed first novel [[HMS Ulysses (novel)|''HMS Ulysses'']] (1955) as well as for some of his subsequent works.
Scottish author [[Alistair MacLean]] served on ''Royalist'' during the war, and used his experiences as background for his acclaimed first novel [[HMS Ulysses (novel)|''HMS Ulysses'']] (1955) as well as for some of his subsequent works.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}


==Post war reconstruction==
==Post war reconstruction==


''Royalist'' was withdrawn from the East Indies after the conclusion of hostilities and returned home to be mothballed and dehumidified in 1946.
''Royalist'' was withdrawn from the East Indies after the end of the war and returned home to be mothballed and [[Dehumidifier|dehumidified]] in 1946.


The modernisation of four ''Dido''-class cruisers including ''Royalist'' was approved by the Admiralty board on 30 March 1950 and 6 April 1950.{{efn|the other three were {{HMS|Diadem|84|6}}, {{HMS|Sirius|82|2}} and {{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}} }}<ref>ADM 116/5632. p 124-9 & 175-93, Friedman 2010 p 284, Walters, 2019 p.233</ref> ''Royalist'' was planned to be the first of four to six ''Dido''- and ''Bellona''-class cruisers to be modernised under the programme, with work planned to begin in January 1953.<ref>{{harvnb|Friedman|2010| p= 284}}</ref> The decision to prioritise the updating of ''Royalist'' and the ''Dido''s were for the same reasons the RNZN accepted HMS ''[[HMS Black Prince (81)|Black Prince]]'' and ''[[HMS Bellona (63)|Bellona]]'' as replacements for ''[[HMS Gambia (48)|Gambia]]'' in 1946; the ''Dido''s were modern, more economical in fuel and manpower,<ref>M. Wright. ''Blue Water Kiwis. NZ Naval Story'' (2001) Reed. Auckland, p146-8.</ref> and could be modernised on a realistic timescale and budget by fitting Type 275 radar directors with British adaptions of the US Mk 37 fire control for effective medium range anti-aircraft cover.<ref>{{cite book|first= N |last= Friedman |title=British Battleships 1906-1946 |date=2015 |publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley |pages= 338–9}}</ref> Previous post war plans to refit the [[Fiji-class cruiser|Colony-class]] and [[Minotaur-class cruiser (1943)|''Swiftsure''-class]] cruisers were abandoned in 1950 on cost and time grounds<ref>{{harvnb |Walters|2019|pp= 231–3}}</ref>{{efn|In 1950 the Colony class cruisers, other than HMS ''Newfoundland'' under extended refit in 1950-1, were scheduled for disposal by 1955 as they were too cramped and uncomfortable for East of Suez service. With the modern operations rooms and AIO added in 1946-51 there was insufficient space for the gun crews needed to man more than one of the three 6-inch turrets <ref>{{harvnb| Walters|2019| pp=231–3}} and Table 7.1</ref>}} The ''Dido'' class had the same 5.25-inch guns as the [[King George V-class battleship (1939)|''King George V'' battleships]] and the battleship [[HMS Vanguard (23)|HMS ''Vanguard'']] .<!-- The ''Dido'' cruisers were essentially the same size as 50 cruiser-destroyers the RN planned as cruiser replacements in 1949-50.{{Cn|date=March 2023}} -->
Concerned about the growth and threat of the [[Soviet Navy]], the [[Admiralty Board (United Kingdom)|Admiralty board]] ordered a modernization of four ''Dido''-class cruisers in 1950.{{efn|the other three were {{HMS|Diadem|84|6}}, {{HMS|Sirius|82|2}} and {{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}} }}<ref>ADM 116/5632. p 124-9 & 175-93, Friedman 2010 p 284, Walters, 2019 p.233</ref><ref name=":0" /> ''Royalist'' was planned to be the first of four to six ''Dido''/''Bellona''-class cruisers to be modernized under the program, with work planned to start in January 1953.<ref>{{harvnb|Friedman|2010| p= 284}}</ref> The ships were chosen as they were modern, economical, and could be easily modified with new radars and [[Fire-control system|fire control systems]].<ref>M. Wright. ''Blue Water Kiwis. NZ Naval Story'' (2001) Reed. Auckland, p146-8.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Friedman |first=N |title=British Battleships 1906-1946 |date=2015 |publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley |pages=338–9}}</ref>{{fv|These (pp. 338–339) pages of Friedman's ''British Battleships'' says nothing about modernising cruisers|date=May 2024}} The importance of the refits increased when other attempts to do the same to [[Fiji-class cruiser|''Colony''-class]] and [[Minotaur-class cruiser (1943)|''Swiftsure''-class]] cruisers were canceled.<ref>{{harvnb |Walters|2019|pp= 231–3}}</ref>


The modernization required the construction of a new [[superstructure]] and the addition of a fire control system, with the work planned to only extend the cruiser's lifespan by 6 years. In March 1953, reconstruction of ''Royalist'' began.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |first=R. J. |last=McDougal |title=NZ Naval Vessels |publisher=GP Books |date=1989 |page=32}}</ref>
The reconstruction of ''Royalist'' from deep preservation with a new superstructure and advanced interim fire control fitted involved major work but was intended to extend the cruiser's life by only six years to cover the period of maximum danger and threat from the USSR.{{efn| ''Diadem'' was better preserved and was offered to the RNZN as an alternative in 1955}} <!--However the Suez crisis and [[Duncan Sandys]] [[1957 Defence White Paper]], accelerated the phase out of RN cruisers, downgraded HMS ''Vanguard'' to a reserve HQ ship displacing HMS ''Cleopatra'' and HMS ''Dido'' by October 1956,<ref> M. Wright. ''The Last Battleship''. Intruder. Wellington (2018 </ref> ''Royalist'' and ''Diadem'' were complex warships even as built in 1944. After refit and rewiring in 1956 they could never be further updated and to be kept running needed 200 men aboard even for short periods in reserve and refit; difficult for small navies such as the RNZN.{{Cn|date=March 2023}} -->


In March 1953 the reconstruction of ''Royalist'' was started <ref>{{cite book |first=R. J. |last=McDougal |title=NZ Naval Vessels |publisher=GP Books |date=1989 |page=32}}</ref> The works included new superstructure and electronics, but retained the old engines. However after the Conservatives came to power in the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|general election of 1951]], there was a change of focus. Churchill favoured the RAF and the 1952 Navy Estimates (the budget for the RN) was reduced.<ref>Seldon, 1981. pp 314–20</ref> The massive expansion in defence spending by the [[Attlee ministry|Attlee government]] which allowed the ''Dido'' and Town reconstruction programmes to be fully designed was unaffordable by 1952, and the Type 275 Mk 6 radar (which could have allowed immediate fitting of the in-service cruisers [[HMS Phoebe (43)|HMS ''Phoebe'']], [[HMS Diadem (84)|''Diadem'']], [[HMS Cleopatra (33)|''Cleopatra'']] and [[HMS Euryalus (42)|''Euryalus'']] to give long range AA capability to the 5.25 DP guns), was unavailable in a UK/RN model until 1955 <ref>{{cite book|first=Corelli |last=Barnett |title= The Verdict of Peace. Britain between Yesterday and the Future |publisher= MacMillan |location=London |date=2001 |pages=122–131, 347}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2022}} and there was only enough unused stock of earlier equivalent sets{{efn|supplied under Lend Lease in 1944-45}} to fit the carriers [[HMS Eagle (R05)|HMS ''Eagle'']] and [[HMS Ark Royal (R09)|''Ark Royal'']].<ref>{{citation |first1=Peter |last1=Hodges |first2= Norman |last2=Friedman |title= Destroyer Weapons of World War 2 |publisher=Conway |location=London |orig-date=1979 |date=2003 | pages= 101–03}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first=P |last=Marland |title=Post War Fire Control in the RN |work= Warship 2014 |publisher=Conway |location=London |date=2014 | page= 14}}</ref>
Following the Conservative victory in the [[1951 United Kingdom general election|general election of 1951]], attitude towards the RN changed. Newly re-elected [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] supported the [[Royal Air Force|Royal Airforce]] at the cost of the navy, and its budget was cut in 1952.<ref>Seldon, 1981. pp 314–20</ref> The shift in policy undermined naval expansions by the outgoing [[Attlee ministry|Attlee government]], and the Navy was forced to cancel upgrades of many ships.<ref>{{citation |first1=Peter |last1=Hodges |first2= Norman |last2=Friedman |title= Destroyer Weapons of World War 2 |publisher=Conway |location=London |orig-date=1979 |date=2003 | pages= 101–03}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first=P |last=Marland |title=Post War Fire Control in the RN |work= Warship 2014 |publisher=Conway |location=London |date=2014 | page= 14}}</ref> Under these financial cuts, plans to refurbish ''Royalist'' and her sister ships were postponed by three years. In 1954, a review of the Royal Navy found that the cruiser conversions lacked "dual war and peace, [and] cold war capabilities required" for the Navy, and the program was further deprioritized.<ref>Seldon, 1981, p. 315</ref><ref>T. Benbow. ''The RN & Sea Power British Strategy 1945-55''. Inst Historical Research. University of London (2018)</ref>

The delays in equipment made completion of the ''Tiger'' class cruisers by 1954 impossible and an alternative plan to reconstruct the larger Town-class light cruisers, [[HMS Liverpool (C11)|HMS ''Liverpool'']] and [[HMS Glasgow (C21)|HMS ''Glasgow'']] with improved AA to provide self and area defence for convoys and amphibious groups was cancelled in 1952.<ref>{{harvnb|Walters|2019|pp= 228–232}}</ref>

The RAF had priority, and the Royal Navy's view of development - centred on frigates and large carriers - was not liked by Churchill{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}. The cruiser reconstruction program was suspended for three years. The radical defence review in June 1953 saw heavy cuts to the navy but ''Royalist''{{'}}s modernisation continued under a revised defence [[White paper]] in February 1954 which restored the RN programme and plans to complete the aircraft carrier ''[[HMS Hermes (R12)|Hermes]]''{{efn|Laid down during the war, work on ''Hermes'' had been suspended until 1952 when she was launched to free up the slipway}} and the {{sclass|Tiger|cruiser|1}}s, but rejected starting further ''Dido''/''Bellona'' conversions as they lacked the "dual war and peace, cold war capabilities required for the RN".<ref>Seldon, 1981, p. 315</ref><ref>T. Benbow. ''The RN & Sea Power British Strategy 1945-55''. Inst Historical Research. University of London (2018)</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}} {{efn| By mid 1954, ''Cleopatra'' had served 12.5 years which was the limit for starting economical reconstruction on wartime ''Dido'' and Colony cruisers which had been built with a design life of 20 years.<ref>A. Raven & J. Roberts. 1980. Ch, Postwar</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2021}}.}} The other ''Dido''{{'}}s – [[HMS Sirius (82)|HMS ''Sirius'']] and ''Phoebe'' – scheduled in the 1952 program to start reconstruction in April 1954,<ref>{{harvnb|Friedman|2010| pp=284–7}}</ref> were inspected in 1954 and declared for scrap due to inadequate mothballing combined with the poor wartime steel used in their construction.<ref>D. Van Der Vat. Standard of Power. RN in the Twentieth Century. Pilmco. London (2001) p327</ref><ref>D.K. Brown.<!-- Nelson to Vanguard Warship Development 1923-1945 . Chatham . London --> (2000) p 206</ref><ref>Preston. <!-- All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1982. Pt 1. Western Powers, (ed) R. Gardiner. Conway Maritime. London -->(1982) p135</ref> Plans were made in 1952 for a more comprehensive modernisation of ''Cleopatra'' and ''Diadem'' starting in June and November 1955 with reboilering, full NBC protection,<ref>{{harvnb|Friedman|2010| p=287}}</ref> and new radar{{Efn|Type 992TA and 982 Air Warning}}<ref>{{harvnb|Walters|2019| p=232}}</ref> but reconstruction by 1955 at 5-6 million pounds per cruiser was twice that of an AD conversion of [[Battle-class destroyer]]s which were capable of carrying out some cruiser presence, patrol and GFS roles. The radical reviews of the RN in 1953 and 1954 concluded that the risk of a third world war had lessened. The immediate provision of interim ``AA cruiser conversions and the upgrade of the [[Leopard-class frigate|Type 41]], [[Salisbury-class frigate|Type 61]] and [[Rothesay-class frigate|Type 12]] frigates then under construction with 3-inch automatic guns and 40&nbsp;mm guns was cancelled in February 1955 to reduce the cost of the rearmament programme and reallocate the approved 25 3-inch AA turrets to the ''Tiger'' cruisers and scheduled large 18,000 ton missile cruisers.<ref>Friedman (2008) p205</ref> The Type 41 design was upgraded in 1954 with extra communications UHF, HF channels, generator capacity and the addition of LRAW 960/965 radar in February 1954 to play the radar picket role intended for ''Royalist'' with Commonwealth aircraft carriers and amphibious groups. This meant the Type 41 no longer had the space and weight to take the massive twin 3-inch mounts. The new Type 275 Mk 6 flyplane fire control systems would be refitted to eight [[C-class destroyer (1943)#"Ca" (or 11th Emergency) Flotilla|Ca-class destroyers]] instead of the ''Dido''s in 1955-59. It was envisaged the destroyers could play a cruiser role, escorting convoys and task forces, destroying enemy trade and attacking enemy heavy units in torpedo and gun attacks as part of RN destroyer and cruiser groups. The unrealism of the role announced for the Ca destroyers nearly saw the 2nd Ca flotilla reconstruction cancelled in 1954-5{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} although it is clear the RN saw their real role in the North Sea and south east Asia.<ref>Brown & Moore (2013), p 46-47 & Friedman.<!-- British Destroyers & Frigates-->(2008) p 230-1</ref> The Royal Navy planned on the incorrect{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} basis that guns would be ineffective for AA from 1963, as air targets were assumed to have increased speed from Mach 0.9 to Mach 2. It was decided by February 1955 that low (55-degree) elevation 4.5-inch guns would be adequate and accurate for GFS and sufficient surface cover <ref>Friedman.<!-- British Destroyers & Frigates -->(2008) pp 176-77, 243-247</ref> for the new [[Tribal-class frigate|Type 81 General Purpose frigates]] and updated Ca destroyers. A reduction in the naval budget with more standardisation of classes and gun calibre was essential and the 4.7-inch and 5.25-inch gun equipped classes of battleships, cruisers and destroyer were transferred to reserve, sold or scrapped{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}.

Five-year life extension refits for Colony-class cruisers ''Bermuda'' and ''Gambia'', were completed at half the cost,{{sfn|Grove|2006| p= 225}} of a ''Bellona'' reconstruction, as was the reconstruction of destroyers as AD/AW picket role planned in 1955 using the 1943 Battle class destroyers completed in 1948. Life extension of the Town-class cruisers, HMS ''Sheffield'' and HMS ''Belfast'' (which were put into reserve from 1959 and 1963 respectively) was a poor return on expensive refits. HMS ''Swiftsure was'' reconstructed in 1957-1959 <ref>Gardiner and Preston.<!-- All the Worlds Fighting Ships. Pt 2 Western Powers. Conway. London--> (1982) p 136</ref> but never recommissioned. The final cruiser refits were as flagships, [[NATO]] command ships and for shore bombardment. The older more spacious Town-class with more compartments were easier to refit with extra electronic systems and more comfortable East of Suez but only because - like the Colony class cruisers - they were crewed to man only one of thre main 6-inch turrets after 1952. The later Colony cruisers (1942), ''Swiftsure''class (1944-45), Dido class ships rebuilt in the USA (1944) and ''Bellona''s (1943) were, also too cramped for use as flagships or peace time RN diplomacy in the Far East.<ref>Walters, Town Class cruisers (2019)</ref>

The postwar RN programme envisaged that Soviet bombers would be improved [[Tupolev Tu-4]]s{{efn|a direct copy of the US [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] strategic bomber of late World War II}} or Lincolns{{clarify|A British design that USSR wouldn't be copying - why is this referred to|date=October 2021}} flying at {{cvt|320|mph}} at {{cvt|4.4|mi|km}} height, however, as part of the 1954 [[International Workers' Day#Russia|May Day parade]], the new Soviet [[Tupolev Tu-16]] "Badger" and [[Myasishchev M-4]] "Bison" jet bombers were first shown to the public and the West. Flying {{cvt|7|mi|km}} high at {{cvt|600|mph}}; it would take 20 seconds for 5.25-inch shells to reach that height. An updated 5.25 cruiser was a possible solution and deterrent to the new Soviet threat, which could not be countered by a frigate with a single 4.5-inch turret.<ref>{{citation |first= P. |last=Marland |title= The Vickers N(R) |work= Warship 2013 |publisher= Conway |location= London |date=2013 |pages=174–6}} & "Post War Weapons in the RN" in ''Warship 2015, p 148''.</ref>


== Transfer to Royal New Zealand Navy ==
== Transfer to Royal New Zealand Navy ==
In 1955, the RN was looking to offload the half-renovated and obsolete ''Royalist''. The offer was accepted by [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|New Zealand Prime Minister]] [[Sid Holland]], who offered that his nation would pay for the rest of her reconstruction.<ref>McIntosh papers, A36 folder, letter 5/7/1956, NZ London HC diplomat Frank Corner letter to NZ Foreign Affairs, CE McIntosh in {{cite book |last=Tempelton |first=Malcolm |title=Ties of Blood and Empire: New Zealand's Involvement in Middle East Defence and the Suez Crisis |date=1994 |publisher=AUP |location=Auckland |pages=124, p253, footnote 8/(5)}}</ref>
The New Zealand Prime Minister [[Sid Holland]] decided to accept the offer of ''Royalist'' in February 1955. By then the cruisers reconstruction was only half completed at a cost of 3 million pounds;<ref>McIntosh papers, A36 folder, letter 5/7/1956, NZ London HC diplomat Frank Corner letter to NZ Foreign Affairs, CE McIntosh in {{cite book |first=Malcolm |last=Tempelton |title=Ties of Blood and Empire: New Zealand's Involvement in Middle East Defence and the Suez Crisis |publisher= AUP |date=1994 |location= Auckland |pages=124, p253, footnote 8/(5)}}</ref> New Zealand ultimately paid £4.5 million for the reconstruction. In early 1955 Holland reached the decision after a seven-week visit to the US and UK where he met American vice president [[Richard Nixon]], secretary of state [[John Foster Dulles]], and Churchill. He stressed that a modernised cruiser rebuilt for limited war East of Suez was of more value than modern frigates for escort duties against submarines in broken back war. In Churchill's view, a nuclear war was likely to be a brief exchange of the new thermonuclear weapons and unlikely to last long enough for anti-submarine convoys to be useful. Holland was more influenced by the advice of the British Minister of Defence [[Harold Macmillan]],<ref>{{citation |title=New Zealand Parliamentary Debates |date=24 March 1955 |publisher=Hansard | pages=21–22}}</ref> to refocus NZ defence on the Pacific and shorter lines of communication to South East Asia<ref>Holland. New Zealand Parliamentary Debates 24 March 1955, pp. 12-21</ref> rather than Middle East. The British First Sea Lord and Admiralty minister stressed the availability of ''Royalist'' and that an order of two or three anti-submarine frigates would probably proceed,<ref name=NZHansardApr1955>T.A McDonald, NZ Minister of Defence. {{citation |title=New Zealand Parliamentary Debates |date=27 April 1955 |pages=575, 579}}</ref> the [[Type 12 frigate]] was untested and unproven and the RN viewed it was desirable to wait for new frigates suitable for NZ conditions with more gunpower and anti-submarine capability.<ref name=NZHansardApr1955/>


''Royalist''<nowiki/>'s transfer occurred when the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] (RNZN) was at a crossroads about its future. Internal factions within the RNZN and New Zealand government disagreed regarding the roles and doctrine of its Navy, with many unsure how a nuclear-era force should function and the importance of [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] frigates.<ref>{{citation |title=New Zealand Parliamentary Debates |date=24 March 1955 |pages=21–22 |publisher=Hansard}}</ref><ref>Holland. New Zealand Parliamentary Debates 24 March 1955, pp. 12-21</ref> ''Royalist''<nowiki/>'s refurbishment cost of £4.5 million indicated the position of the Navy, as the RNZN chose to refurbish the cruiser rather than build two [[Frigate|frigates]] with the same funds.<ref>Pugsley. 2003 p. 46</ref><ref>Pugsley 2003, p. 422, note 41</ref>
The cost of ''Royalist''{{'}}s reconstruction reached £4.5 million.<ref>Pugsley. 2003 p. 46</ref> (the same as the cost of two new 2,500-ton frigates). A minority of RNZN opinion, including Captain [[Peter Phipps (admiral)|Peter Phipps]], saw it as a policy reversal, stopping the RNZN from maintaining six frigates, good training conditions and commonality with new RN frigates.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} However ''Royalist'', with massive assistance from the RN and US Navy, was operational, post-refit for nine and half years. After Suez in 1956, the Royal Navy transferred the bulk of the fleet to the Indian and Pacific Oceans from 1957 to 1967. As a result, ''Royalist'' could be deployed with the RN carrier fleet.


Those in favor of a new cruiser believed a ship like ''Royalist'' would be able to serve an [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] role in supporting allied operations in the Pacific, alongside the RN and [[Royal Australian Navy]].<ref name="Dennerly122">P. Dennerly. ''First to the Flag. Biography of Vice Admiral Peter Phipps in Maritime Dimensions in the Asian Pacific Region''. RNZN Museum. 2004. Auckland, pp. 122-3</ref><ref name=":1">RY257/182 9 April 1956</ref> ''Royalist'' was faster, more armed, and had better range then the [[Whitby-class frigate|''Whitby''-class frigates]] proposed to be bought instead. Furthermore, concern about Soviet cruisers raiding shipping in the [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]] gave her the edge over the primarily [[Anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] ships.<ref>{{Citation |last=Clarke |first=Alex |title=Sverdlov Class Cruisers and the Royal Navy Response |date=12 May 2014 |website=GlobalMaritimeHistory.com |url=https://globalmaritimehistory.com/sverdlov_class_rn_response/ |access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref>
The ship was handed over to the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] on 9 July 1956. When Captain Phipps went to take command of ''Royalist'' in 1955, New Zealand diplomat [[Frank Corner]] showed his own view when he noted that Phipps agreed that the ship was a [[white elephant]] unsuitable for use in the Pacific. However, The RNZN had operated the ''Bellona''{{efn|Phipps had been an executive officer on HMS ''Bellona'' while it was on loan to New Zealand post-war}} and ''Black Prince'' (the same class as ''Royalist'') since 1946 as part of NZ Defence contribution in 1946–54.<ref>Pugsley 2003, p. 422, note 41</ref> Phipps claimed the cruiser's range was limited and it could not even reach [[Panama]] without refuelling. However, Phipps also stated publicly when the cruiser reached Auckland, that it was updated as a most modern warship with the capability to take "three targets simultaneously and shoot down air targets with reasonable frequency often on the first salvo"<ref>{{citation |work=NZ Weekly News |date= 26 December 1956 |title=Royalist home for Christmas |publisher= Wilson & Hooton |location= Auckland |page= 31}}</ref>


New Zealand only covered her reconstruction costs, and did not out-right buy the ship. This was due to the RN only 'loaning' the vessel, as the RNZN was not seen as being an independent force within the [[British Empire]]. When her modifications were complete, New Zealand refused to accept the vessel, stating that the poor World War II-era sleeping arrangements and lack of [[CBRN defense|ABC]] equipment were unsatisfactory. This soured relations between the two navies, as the RN did not appreciate perceived refusal from a subordinate.<ref name="Dennerly122" /><ref name=":1" />
The [[Whitby-class frigate|Type 12 (''Whitby''-class) anti-submarine frigates]] proved in use to have only 2/3rds of the projected endurance of 4000&nbsp;nm at 15 knots. By comparison, the longer-range diesel version Type 41 [[Leopard-class frigate|''Leopard''-class anti-aircraft frigates]], with two twin 4.5 turrets, would have countered the problem of unreliability with the single turret of the ''Otago-''class. The Type 41 (and Type 61 ''[[Salisbury-class frigate|Salisbury]]''[[Salisbury-class frigate|-class aircraft direction frigate]]) original radar and fire control fit was similar to ''Royalist'' and the Type 12 <ref>G. M. Stephen. ''British Warship Design since 1906''. Ian Allan. London (1985) p 76-84</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=David K | last1=Brown |first2= George |last2= Moore |title=Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design Since 1945 |publisher=Seaforth |date=2013 |page=74}}</ref> except the frigates had AC electrics.


The ship was handed over to the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] on 9 July 1956 following the completion of the work. Controversy over her purchase (and governmental stance) persisted, with the ship being viewed as either a [[white elephant]] or the most modern and capable vessel of the RNZN.<ref>{{citation |title=Royalist home for Christmas |date=26 December 1956 |work=NZ Weekly News |page=31 |location=Auckland |publisher=Wilson & Hooton}}</ref>
The New Zealand Navy Board, which included three RN officers, argued the RN view that the RNZN needed a cruiser in the South Pacific and to support the RAN/RN. The point of ''Royalist'' from the RN viewpoint was a powerful interim late 1950s medium-range AA platform. The space and comfort problems were only minimally altered by any economy in the AIO suite or 40&nbsp;mm light AA and reducing to three main turrets destroyed the cruiser's primary AA value.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
The cruiser was an RN cruiser on loan, and not renamed "HMNZS ''New Zealand''". The UK did not regard the RNZN as an independent force compared to the RAN and RCN.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} Phipps demanded some improvements and refused on 6 April 1956, in front of the dockyard superintendent and 40 assembled dockyard and ''Royalist'' RN/RNZN officers to sign the standard RN D448 release form for accepting the ''Royalist'' refit was completed to a specified standard,<ref name=Dennerly122>P. Dennerly. ''First to the Flag. Biography of Vice Admiral Peter Phipps in Maritime Dimensions in the Asian Pacific Region''. RNZN Museum. 2004. Auckland, pp. 122-3</ref><ref>RY257/182 9 April 1956</ref> while in command of {{HMS|Bellona|63|6}} as an accommodation ship. Phipps finally accepted the cruiser three weeks later after the minimum of adjustments; four showers were added; the officers' baths removed and minor ventilation improvements.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}


As part of the [[Kiwi (nickname)|Kiwi]] half of her refurbishment, ''Royalist'' was fitted with a new radar, fire control system, and three 'STAAG 2' 40 millimeter anti-air guns.<ref>G. M. Stephens. ''British Warship Design''. Ian Allan. London (1986) p. 84</ref>
The Royal Navy saw Phipps' action as a disruption of the Suez naval preparations by a colonial upstart and an action unfitting of a serious RN senior officer and gentleman.<ref name=Dennerly122/> Post-Suez the RNZN view of Phipps, the RNZN, its officers, and men, was unchanged. New Zealand was viewed as having zero capability for strategic assessment<ref>Pugsley. 2003, p. 47</ref> and the RN requested confirmation from the New Zealand government that in 1957 the RN East Asian staff would have authority of ''Royalist''.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

''Royalist'' lacked the pre-wetting, [[CBRN defense|ABC]] spraydown equipment, specifically requested by the RNZN in 1955.<ref>Royalist Proceeding 1956–65. NZ National Archives. Wellington. NZ</ref> The Devonport UK dockyard noted that installing spraydown to wash off [[nuclear fallout]] was possible, providing a copy of the plan of the pre-wetting system under installation in {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|6}}, and suggested the New Zealand dockyard could do the job. In 1957, ''Royalist'' like the other ''Dido''-class cruisers had beds only for 47 officers, in a standard cabin; the ratings had only a hammock. ''Royalist'' lacked even the single extra room with a sofa for [[Naval rating|senior rates]] that the other ''Dido'' cruisers had did offer speed and extra communications systems and an Action Information Office (AIO) fitted late 1943. The other ''Dido''-class cruiser fitted with AIO, HMS ''Scylla'', was also seen as valuable post-war. ''Scylla'' had detonated a mine on 23 June 1944 off [[Arromanches-les-Bains|Arromanches]]. It was deemed uneconomic at the time to return her to wartime service but reconstruction at [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham]] began in 1945 with a new fit of two twin Mk 6 3-inch/70 mounts and Type 992 radar approved.{{sfn|Friedman|2010|p=}}{{page needed|date=October 2021}}<ref>Friedman ''British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War & After'' (2006) pp. 163–67</ref> In 1947, after £350,000 of work, defence cuts, and delays, the cruiser was written off.<ref>{{cite news|author=W A Crumley. |title=Scrapped after 350,000 repairs & 3 years work. Cruiser, HMS Scylla |id= photo -cutting/1947 UK press article in G. Smith. HMS Scylla. Naval-History.Net}}</ref> AIO-fitted cruisers (usually late Colony class and ''Minotaur'' class<ref name=roberts>Raven & Roberts, 1980, pp. 294, 324</ref>) doubled the effectiveness of armament in RN postwar assessment,.<ref>Raven & Lenton, 1973</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2018}}

The concern of New Zealand naval servicemen and Phipps was on living conditions, recruitment, ammunition resupply in the Pacific and an affordable schedule of new frigates. The New Zealand [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)|Department of External Affairs]] viewed the British Treasury as getting rid of an odd cruiser and getting New Zealand to pay for the warships refit.<ref>McGibbon, 1999, p. 186</ref><ref>Templeton, 1994, p. 124</ref> However, as with ''Bellona'' and ''Black Prince'' in 1946, transferring ''Royalist'' would supplement Australian defence. By 1955 the RAN had only light 4.5-inch gun, Battle-class and {{sclass|Daring|destroyer|0||1949}} destroyers (building) and light carriers, HMAS ''Melbourne'' and ''Sydney'', with obsolete{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Sea Venom fighters. ''Royalist'' could join an RAN task force with ''Melbourne'' and ''Sydney'' and the cruisers armament gave AA and some deterrence to ''Sverdlov'' cruisers. ''Royalist'', had modern two-channel fire control for its guns and radar processing and communications with the RN/ RAN fleet air arms.<ref>{{harvnb|Raven |Roberts |1980 |pages=364–365}}</ref> The Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies was dubious that RN policy in the age of nuclear deterrence, was a "minor fleet to the Far East in peacetime only" and no real counter to piecemeal communist erosion in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{citation|first=K. |last=Hack |title= Defence and Decolonisation in SE Asia |publisher= Curzon Press |date=2001 |location=Surrey |page= 148}}</ref><!-- not in Bartlett <ref>{{citation |first= C. J |last=Bartlett |title=The Long Retreat, A Short History of British Defence Policy 1945-1970 |publisher=St Martins Press |location=London |date=1972 }}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}</ref> --><ref>Def 5/52, COS (54)136. The Redeployment of the Far East Fleet in War 24/4/1954</ref> The UK defence review released on 10 July 1953, argued that new hydrogen bombs reduced the likelihood of 'long' broken-backed war requiring trans-Atlantic convoys and maintaining cruisers. The RN could not afford new AA gun models to supplement expensive missile developments like the Seaslug missile.<ref>G. Moore. "Postwar Cruiser Design for the RN 1946-1956" in ''Warship 2006''. Conway Maritime (London) 2006, pp. 51–55</ref> [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Mountbatten]] publicly defended ''Royalist'' as the most modern British cruiser in Auckland when it arrived in December 1956<ref>RNZ. Yesterdays. Sat Evening. NZ Sound Archives</ref>{{verify source|the lack of details of this cite make in unverifiable - when was this broadcast? - Is this radio New Zealand?|date=June 2022}} and regarded Phipps as inexperienced and unsuitable.<ref>McGibbon, 1999</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} Mountbatten viewed New Zealand's cabinet and officials as out of touch with the [[Cold War]] need to maintain ready, broad-based naval and defence capabilities and frequently visited New Zealand to make appeals.<ref>Mountbatten, 1979</ref> {{page needed|date=May 2018}}

''Royalist'' was fitted with a powerful combination of the standard fit of mid-1950s new RN warships radar, fire control and (three) STAAG 2 close-in anti-aircraft systems firing RN 40&nbsp;mm ammunition. STAAG was a maintenance nightmare<ref>G. M. Stephens. ''British Warship Design''. Ian Allan. London (1986) p. 84</ref> withdrawn from the RN in 1959–60.<ref>P. Hodges & N. Freidman. ''British Destroyer Weapons'' Conway Maritime. London (1979) pp. 97–8.</ref> The 5.25-inch DP guns, which were also fitted to ''Vanguard'' and at Gibraltar were accurate, unlike the 4-inch AA on the Colony class. ''Royalist''{{'}}s modernisation for AA/AW and particularly air defence support of RN carrier fighters and strike aircraft would prove useful for [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Suez]], the Malaysian Emergency and the confrontation with Indonesia.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

''Royalist'' could escort convoys across the whole distance at a speed of {{convert|19|kn}}, compared with the Type 12's ability to make the long leg from [[Fiji]] to Hawaii at 10-15 knots. It was arguable that the traditional cruiser's role in trade defence against Soviet cruisers and raiders was relevant,<ref>{{Citation |first=Alex |last=Clarke |title=Sverdlov Class Cruisers and the Royal Navy Response |website=GlobalMaritimeHistory.com |date=12 May 2014 |url=https://globalmaritimehistory.com/sverdlov_class_rn_response/ |access-date=3 November 2015}}</ref> as was contributing effective AW/AD to RN/ RAN carrier task forces.<ref>Pugsley, 2003, pp. 46, 422 (note 41)</ref>

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[[File:View from the bridge of HMNZS Royalist at Devonport Naval Base, 1956.jpg|thumb|right|HMNZS ''Royalist'' at the [[Devonport Naval Base]], 1956]]

After refitting, ''Royalist'' was re-equipped with new equipment as an AA and AD picket for carriers. The cruiser retained 5.25-inch guns, upgraded to RP20 as more powerful high level AA and surface weapons. The refit was to prepare it for all-out hot wars and high-level gun engagement of shadowers.{{sfn|Grove|2006| p= 225}} Except for ''Royalist'', this modernisation was cancelled in 1953 on cost grounds.{{sfn|Grove|2006| p= 225}} Defence review and RAF assessments that the ''Sverdlov'' and Russian air threat in the 1955–58 period was exaggerated. The RAF estimated 300 Badger jet bombers in 1956 - the actual number was 500. The delay in the cruiser programme meant most war legacy cruisers had reached 12 years in service, doubling the cost of structural modernisation and reducing the programme. Only ''Royalist''{{'}}s update and a ten-year life extension of HMS ''Ceylon'' was approved in 1953.{{sfn|Grove|2006| p= 225}}

In transferring ''Royalist'' to New Zealand, the Royal Navy assumed the RNZN as an extension of the RN and the junior New Zealand service and government followed British command. Around 25% of the officers on ''Royalist'' were RN officers on loan or exchange, as were many of the specialist ratings. The RNZN officers on the cruiser were usually of junior experience and had lengthy training with the RN in the UK. Even on the cruiser's final deployment in 1965 on Confrontation patrols in southeast Asia, many RN and RAN officers occupied higher-ranking officer positions on board.<ref>Pugsley, 2003, p. 38</ref>


==Royal New Zealand Navy career==
==Royal New Zealand Navy career==
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[[File:HMNZS Royalist in Waitemata Harbour, 1956.jpg|thumb|HMNZS ''Royalist'' during the [[Suez Crisis]]]]


=== Suez ===
=== Suez Crisis ===
{{Main article|Suez Crisis}}
After working up in UK waters, ''Royalist'' was operational with the [[Mediterranean Fleet|British fleet in the Mediterranean]]. From August 1956, NZ Prime Minister [[Sidney Holland]] was persuaded by [[Anthony Eden]] to maintain ''Royalist'' on station in the Mediterranean as an invaluable, 'strategic deployment' and 'deterrent'<ref>PRO:CAB 134//216.E(56) 12/8/56</ref><ref name=Pearson>{{cite book |first=J |last=Pearson |title=Antony Eden and the Suez Crisis. Reluctant Gamble |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |date=2005 |pages=49–56}}</ref> against Egyptian or Israeli aggression; Eden assured Holland that it was purely precautionary move.<ref name=Pearson/><ref>AP 20/25/7 PMPT T331/56/ no353 Eden to Holland 4 Aug 1956</ref> At the same time, Eden and the RN continued the dual strategy<ref name=Pearson/> while both negotiating with Egypt and preparing war, and attempting to lock ''Royalist'' into the strategy through persuasion by the First Sea Lord (and Chief of Naval Staff) Lord Mountbatten and the First Lord of the Admiralty, [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]]. Eden and the C-C of the fleet clearly felt {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}''Royalist'' was superior to the RN cruisers available in the Med and provided alternative threat scenarios of possible Israeli air threats to the RN fleet,<ref>ADM 116/6097 of 22-26 Oct 1956 correspondence of PM Eden with first Lord Hailsham and Holland</ref> and used other delaying tactics to avoid releasing Royalist to return to New Zealand. The NZ Cabinet largely supported the British in the Suez Crisis invasion, with only future prime minister Marshall and the Minister of Defence MacDonald dissenting. To order ''Royalist'' to simply withdraw and immediately return was too damaging to the RNZN and crew morale and future NZ trade with Britain. The NZ cabinet accepted an intermediate proposal of allowing ''Royalist'' to remain with the fleet but to not participate in action though what defined action or inaction was unclear. So ''Royalist'' remained with the fleet awaiting the possibility of action against the Egyptian air force during the [[Suez crisis]]. ''Royalist'' was intended to be mainly a picket and rescue ship offering aircraft direction for RAF [[English Electric Canberra]] bombers and RN carrier-based [[Hawker Sea Hawk]] and [[de Havilland Sea Venom]] aircraft. ''Royalist'' had the same long-range air warning Type 960/277Q radar carried by British cruisers in the area, but superior AA gunnery and aircraft direction to the other cruisers and destroyers.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

After [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|hostilities with Egypt commenced]], Commonwealth support for the mission was confined to New Zealand and Australia, South Africa viewing it as an issue to be avoided and Canada as irrelevant to its own interest.<ref>P. Lyons. "The old Commonwealth. The first four Dominions" in M. Howard & R. Louis. ''The Oxford History of the 20c'', OUP (1998) Oxford, p300</ref> International opposition and the possibility of being held responsible left Holland (who had a cabinet of old-fashioned British patriots{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}) in the position of wanting both to "stand by the UK" despite their misgivings while not damaging New Zealand's relationship with the US. President Eisenhower viewed the British and French invasion as embarrassing as it coincided with his attempt at reelection as President and the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|USSR had invaded Hungary.]]<ref name="kyle">{{harvnb|Kyle|1991|pages=394–395}}</ref> Holland appeared to suffer a mild heart attack on the day of the invasion but on hearing the Anglo-French action had begun remained in his parliamentary office for 48 hours <ref name=BG70>{{cite book |last = Gustafson |first = Barry |author-link = Barry Gustafson |title = The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party |year = 1986 |publisher = Reed Methuen |location = Auckland |isbn = 0-474-00177-6 |p=70}}</ref> supervising New Zealand's response and the drafting of orders, cables and to the UK Government, Foreign Office and Royalist, after heated exchanges with NZ Foreign Service officers, RNZN and NZDF staff, and his Cabinet on instructions to Cpt Phipps to withdraw ''Royalist.'' Hollands health and National government never recovered from the Suez crisis and dissention, within his own staff <ref>{{cite book|author= Gustafson |title=History of the NZ National Party |date=1998 |location= Wellington |page=70}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason='calling' seems understated. Wouldn't the PM give an order or direction to the ship's Cpt Phipps to withdraw from operations against Egypt?|date=October 2021}}{{clarify|this citation looks like a mangling of the other one|date=April 2024}} At that point the only other immediately available replacement cruiser was {{HMS|Jamaica|44|6}}, which lacked modern AA systems and the equipment to process air-warning radar data and "multiple communication channels" with Fleet Air Arm aircraft. {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}''Royalist'' continued on station {{convert|40|NM|abbr=on}} off the Egyptian coast with RN destroyers as an emergency picket. There it covered the first Sea Hawk strikes from the carriers ''Eagle'', ''Bulwark'' and ''Albion'' which were {{convert|95|NM|abbr=on}} from the Egyptian coast; the maximum range for the carriers radar and for the Sea Hawks to attack the Egyptian Air Force bases at Cairo and return.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobbs|2015| pp= 173–4 & 187}}</ref> The previous afternoon photo-reconnaissance flights had identified 63 MiG fighters and 49 [[Ilyushin Il-28]] "Beagle" bombers there.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobbs|2015| pp= 173–4}}</ref> The night RAF bomber strikes from Malta and Cyprus had failed to destroy any of the Egyptian aircraft on 31 November.{{efn|The planned attack on [[Cairo West Air Base]] airport had been cancelled as too close to the civilian airport: the eight Vickers Valiant heavy bombers had been recalled to Malta, and the seven Canberra diverted to strike Almaza airbase instead<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Suez Crisis 1956 |last=Varble |first=Derek |year=2003 |publisher=Osprey |location=London |series=Essential Histories |isbn=978-1841764184 |page=53}}</ref>}} ''Royalist'' remained on station for possibly 24 hours as AD picket and rescue ship, sometimes assisting the RN fighter bombers to navigate to targets and return to their carriers until {{HMS|Ceylon|30|6}} transferred from shore bombardment duty off [[Port Said]] and the risk from Egypt's jet fighters and bombers was suppressed. A day later, ''Royalist'' withdrew from a scheduled bombardment mission in support of a RN destroyer squadron, moving further offshore away from the main body of the RN fleet (and changing identity to the RNZN "Black Swan" according to some accounts{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}) but continuing to assist the in its primary air warning and communications role.
Holland had officially ordered a withdrawal from operations but allowed the cruiser to stay with the Operation Musketeer fleet.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} In a lengthy meeting the NZ cabinet had "decided not to decide" and while NZ did not want to embarrass Britain by withdrawing ''Royalist'' "there was insufficient time for a decision not to withdraw".<ref name="kyle" /> The [[Egyptian Air Force]] remained a threat to the RN fleet and ''Royalist'' was crucial to fleet defence.<ref>{{Cite book |first=James |last= Holland |title=Royal Air Force, The Official Story |publisher=Welbeck |date=2018 |location= London |p= 174}} and Hobbs (2015) p 173-4 <!-- & phone interviews, mid 1990s, NZ with Royalist Radar crews (56–65) --></ref> The reality of the pro-Musketeer sentiments{{Clarify|reason=is this sentence trying to say the crew wanted to be active in Musketeer and something else is missing, or just noting the crew composition and hence they were pro-action?|date=October 2021}} of the RNZN/RN crew in which most of the key officer and senior rating positions were RN officers and many of the RNZN officers were also essentially professional RN career officers. On the return voyage to New Zealand Phipps told the crew they deserved the recognition given to RN personnel for their involvement in the incident.<ref name="Pugsley, 2003">Pugsley, 2003</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2022}} In the 2000s the New Zealand Labour Government and the RNZN awarded these personnel battle honours for war service in the Mediterranean. The cruiser's log for the crucial days of the Suez War was destroyed at the time meaning the full account of her Suez service will never be known.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

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=== Malaya ===
{{see also|Military history of New Zealand in Malaysia}}
In early 1957 ''Royalist'' was involved in exercises with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS ''Melbourne''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-melbourne-ii|title=HMAS ''Melbourne'' (II)|access-date=15 September 2008|publisher=Sea Power Centre|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212202838/http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-melbourne-ii|archive-date=12 December 2013}}</ref> The cruiser made two shore bombardment missions in 1957–1958 during the [[Malayan Emergency]] against suspected terrorist areas in southeast [[Johore]], firing about 240 5.25-inch rounds.<ref>Pugsley. 2003, p. 50</ref> In AA exercises with the British [[Eastern Fleet|Far East Fleet]] in 1956–57, ''Royalist'' outperformed the (pre-war) RN {{sclass2|Town|cruiser|1||1936}}s, shooting down five [[Gloster Meteor]] unmanned targets and many towed targets immediately on opening fire.<ref>Pugsley, 2003, p. 49</ref>

In 1960 ''Royalist'' had a major five-month refit. It was expected the cruiser would only serve another two and a half years; the New Zealand navy board was seeking loan of a third ''Whitby''-class frigate (Type 12) from the Royal Navy<ref>D. Fairfax. "Frigates" & G. McLean "RNZN History" in I. McGibbon. ''Companion to NZ Military History''. OUP.(2000) Auckland, pp. 186-7 & 467</ref> However the RN was only just introducing and trialling the improved {{sclass|Rothesay|frigate|0}} (Type 12M) frigates and was short of effective frigates and cruisers. In February 1964 after {{HMAS|Voyager}} was [[Melbourne–Voyager collision|lost after it collided with the aircraft carrier ''Melbourne'']], the UK offered Australia the ''Daring''-class destroyers, {{HMAS|Duchess|D154|2}} (available immediately) and {{HMS|Defender|D114|2}} then in mid-life refit with new MRS3 fire control.<ref>HMAS Duchess. Australian Seapower History. RAN. Retrieved 6-5-2020. Canberra.</ref> ''Defender'' was available to replace ''Royalist'' from February 1965.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}


After working up in British waters, ''Royalist'' was assigned to the [[Mediterranean Fleet|British fleet in the Mediterranean]]. In August 1956, New Zealand Prime Minister [[Sidney Holland]] was persuaded by British Prime Minister [[Anthony Eden]] to keep her in the Mediterranean as a deterrent to [[Egypt|Egyptian]] or [[Israel|Israeli]] aggression.<ref>PRO:CAB 134//216.E(56) 12/8/56</ref><ref name="Pearson">{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=J |title=Antony Eden and the Suez Crisis. Reluctant Gamble |date=2005 |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |pages=49–56}}</ref><ref>AP 20/25/7 PMPT T331/56/ no353 Eden to Holland 4 Aug 1956</ref> Despite not operating her, the RN wanted to keep the cruiser on station due to her anti-air capabilities and the threat of hostile aircraft. Following diplomatic negotiations between the two respective governments, the [[Cabinet of New Zealand|New Zealand Cabinet]] agreed not to recall the cruiser under the condition that she did not participate in combat.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
In 1962, ''Royalist'' suffered permanent damage in rough weather in the [[Tasman Sea]] with the keel twisted out of alignment. The RAN captain, determined to make Auckland for a [[Rugby union|Rugby Union]] test between the [[Wallabies]] and [[All Blacks]] at [[Eden Park]], had been running the ship at excess speed into a head sea.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bradley |first=I. |title=Don't Rock the Boat |date=2004 |location=Auckland |pages=122–3}}</ref> The back of the cruiser was technically broken and it could have been assessed as a 'constructive loss' and, as uneconomic to repair, scrapped.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} It would never be possible again for the cruiser's gun directors to determine the cruisers datum centreline necessary for accurate targeting.<ref>{{cite book |first=Captain C. (RNZN) (retd) |last=Carl |title=Throw me a Line |publisher=Holos Books (OTM) |date=2002 |location=Auckland |page=112}}</ref>


Following [[Suez Crisis|British attacks on Egypt]] as part of [[Operation Musketeer (1956)]], [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] support for the operations faltered. New Zealand soon became concerned about harming its [[New Zealand–United Kingdom relations|relations with the UK]] by not supporting the plan and harming its relations with other global powers if it did. <ref>P. Lyons. "The old Commonwealth. The first four Dominions" in M. Howard & R. Louis. ''The Oxford History of the 20c'', OUP (1998) Oxford, p300</ref><ref name="kyle">{{harvnb|Kyle|1991|pages=394–395}}</ref> Following several days of posturing in [[Auckland]], Holland decided to order ''Royalist'' to withdraw from operations.<ref name="BG70">{{cite book |last=Gustafson |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Gustafson |title=The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party |publisher=Reed Methuen |year=1986 |isbn=0-474-00177-6 |location=Auckland |page=70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Gustafson |title=History of the NZ National Party |date=1998 |location=Wellington |page=70}}</ref>
The cruiser operated with the British Far East Fleet, in three tours of duty in 1963, 1964 and 1965, during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] the crews being belatedly awarded [[General Service Medal (1962)|General Service Medals]] for the 1963–64 tours and Operational Service Medals for active service in combat zones in 1956, 1957–1958 and 1965, finally recognised by the New Zealand government in 2000. From mid-1963, reports by the captain of ''Royalist'' noted that one of the two Mk 6/275 HALADCTs were often unserviceable, often one or two STAAGs were, while the ship's hull and lower structure was marginal requiring constant work and frequent painting, requiring an extra Asian workforce due to the construction of the cruiser out of "low-quality wartime steel", and the ship's below-deck humidity and constant temperature at a minimum of {{convert|85|F|C|0}}. The ship's modernisation had provided only for a lifespan of six years, so these conditions were expected. Effective modernisation of the ship after acquisition from the Royal Navy only amounted to several ECM/ESM updates.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}


As New Zealand figured out the nation's stance on the crisis, the cruiser operated with the RN fleet as an [[Anti-aircraft warfare|air defense]] [[radar picket]], rescue ship for downed pilots, and as a method to coordinate British aircraft on bombing runs.<ref>{{harvnb|Hobbs|2015|pp=173–4 & 187}}</ref><ref name="kyle" /> Later on during the crisis, the New Zealand Cabinet met again to discuss ''Royalist''. Due to the cruiser forming an important part of the RN's anti-air defense in the area, and not wanting to harm relations further, the cabinet "decided not to decide" on her presence within the RN fleet. As such, she remained with the Royal Navy fleet yet did not participate further in Operation Musketeer.<ref name="kyle" />
By May 1964 the Indonesian Confrontation had escalated with Indonesian forces conducting cross-border raids in [[Kalimantan]] and landings in [[Borneo]]. The British Minister of Defence [[Peter Thorneycroft]] and Mountbatten requested the use of carriers and major units to conduct provocative passages,<ref>D. Easter. ''Britain and the Confrontation with Indonesia, 1960-66''. Taurus. NY. London (2012)</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} to encourage a revolt against [[Sukarno]] and his generals. After rest and recreation in Singapore, ''Royalist'' took on 580 tons of fuel oil on 14 July 1964 and the following morning took ammunition on from lighters.<ref>Log HMNZS Royalist 14/07/1964. NZ Nat Archives. Wellington</ref> It left Singapore in the afternoon returning to Auckland from Singapore via the Cairns races in Queensland, transited the Carmat Straits on 15 July, Sapud on 16 July (at ABC state Yankee{{technical inline|date=May 2020}}, at 2130 reduced to condition X Ray at 2230)<ref>Log HMNZS Royalist 16/7/1964</ref> in the Java Sea between [[Jakarta]] and southwest Kalimantan and then ran along the coast of Java thru the night to arrive off Bail at sunrise about 6.00 am and through the [[Lombok Strait]] on 17 July 1964<ref>NCB 083-PL 70R 18762 RLA 8-7-64</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=May 2022}} on what was described as "routine passage"{{Cn|date=November 2023}} in the highly confidential communication to Canberra.


=== Pacific service ===
The two transits of the straits made the task group led by the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}}, a month apart that followed were both also described as routine passage only the second was even notified with a note from the RN naval attaché at the British embassy to the [[Indonesian Navy]], which was a concession the track would be through Lombok not Djakarta and the major Indonesian military bases{{Clarify|reason=this sentence is confusing|date=November 2023}}. During the transit of the straits, the guns were fully manned with the crews closed up; if the cruiser had been "buzzed" by Indonesia aircraft or patrol craft, the captain was instructed to take "precautionary measures" and not train or elevate the guns or test fire them again during the deployment, a "diplomatic artifact"{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} given a scenario of an undetectable possible threat of surprise long-range air-launched [[Kh-20]] (NATO reporting name "Kangaroo") cruise missile attack from Indonesia bombers{{clarify|was this an actual or imagined possibility - as USSR held these missiles and aircraft that launched them?|date=October 2021}}<ref>Log of HMS Royalist. 1964. NZ National Archives and ret Rear Admiral Hunter (notes) re 1964 Potential OP service Award NZMDF 2006 report</ref> and full ABC protection at X-Ray state 9{{Explain|reason=What does this mean?|date=May 2022}}<ref>Log of HMS Royalist 1964</ref>
[[File:View from the bridge of HMNZS Royalist at Devonport Naval Base, 1956.jpg|thumb|right|HMNZS ''Royalist'' at [[Devonport Naval Base]], 1956]]''Royalist'' continued to operate with allied navies in the 1950s, and her anti-air capabilities were proven when she outperformed RN cruisers during exercises.<ref>Pugsley, 2003, p. 49</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=HMAS ''Melbourne'' (II) |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-melbourne-ii |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212202838/http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-melbourne-ii |archive-date=12 December 2013 |access-date=15 September 2008 |publisher=Sea Power Centre}}</ref> As part of New Zealand involvement in the [[Malayan Emergency]], she was used to repeatedly shell the [[Malayan National Liberation Army|MNLA]] in [[Johor|Johore]].<ref>Pugsley. 2003, p. 50</ref>


By 1960, the cruiser was expected to serve another 2 and a half years, and the Navy began searching for a replacement. At the time, the RN was short of loanable cruisers, so the destroyer [[HMAS Duchess (D154)|HMS ''Duchess'' (D154)]] was transferred to cover the decommissioning of both ''Royalist'' and the recently sunk [[HMAS Voyager (D04)|HMAS ''Voyager'']].<ref>HMAS Duchess. Australian Seapower History. RAN. Retrieved 6-5-2020. Canberra.</ref><ref>D. Fairfax. "Frigates" & G. McLean "RNZN History" in I. McGibbon. ''Companion to NZ Military History''. OUP.(2000) Auckland, pp. 186-7 & 467</ref>
The task force was led by ''Victorious'' on 19 September 1964, with two{{Clarify|reason=two Countys are mentioned but only one (Hampshire) is named|date=October 2021}} [[County-class destroyer|County-class]] guided missile destroyers (including {{HMS|Hampshire|D06|6}}, which replaced the cruiser {{HMS|Lion|C34|6}}) and the frigates {{HMS|Dido|F104|6}} and {{HMS|Berwick|F115|6}}. ''Victorious''{{'}}s assertion of the right of innocent passage by a carrier caused mass panic in Java,<ref>Roberts, 2009, p. 51</ref> but proved effective in establishing rights for naval passage and that Indonesia's assertion was unlikely to be outright war to stop Malaysian independence.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}{{Relevance inline|reason=This paragraph is about Victorious's passage, which did not involve the subject of this article|date=May 2022}}


In 1962, while sailing in rough weather in the [[Tasman Sea]], the cruiser's [[keel]] twisted out of alignment. It was found that her captain ran the ship at excess speed into a [[head sea]] in an attempt to make it back to land to watch a [[Rugby union|Rugby]] match between the [[Australia national rugby union team|Wallabies]] and [[All Blacks]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bradley |first=I. |title=Don't Rock the Boat |date=2004 |location=Auckland |pages=122–3}}</ref>
There was considerable doubt among RNZN staff whether ''Royalist'', which had not had a major refit since 1956, could deploy again in 1965.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} It managed to deploy again after a seven-week refit working round the clock in Devonport dockyard and work up in the [[Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana|Hauraki Gulf]], where it managed {{convert|27|kn}} at half power. The cruiser provided a presence and superficial appearance of capability. It was judged that the fire control systems needed 12 months refit or $140,000 new 275/MK 6 HALCT{{Clarify|reason=NZ dollars? or US equivalent?|date=October 2021}} of new parts,<ref>Reports and Returns. Mod Pre & Post refit trials ;(1) 1955–64 & (2) 1965 Rc 72/1/10,</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=May 2022}} only two STAAG CIWS mounts were serviceable, and the two UA3 ESM systems were unreliable.<ref>Reports & Returns, Mod & Refit.1965. 72/1/10,</ref> It was hoped the worn steam turbines could last 15 months to allow a final 1966 visit to all the New Zealand ports if "hope prevailed over fear".{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}


Between 1963 and 1965, she operated with the British [[Far East Fleet (United Kingdom)|Far East Fleet]] during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation|Indonesia–Malaysia Confrontation]]. She joined British vessels in making provocative passages between [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] Islands in an attempt to deter Indonesian attacks on [[Malaysia]]. During these deployments, her age began to show, as captains described unserviceable equipment, structural degradation, and below-deck overheating; by now, the ship was already beyond her lifespan and overdue for retirement. <ref>Roberts, 2009, p. 51</ref>
Against most RNZN staff advice it was decided not to inform the Commander of the British Far East Fleet, of the situation as "Commander Far East has enough trouble fitting ''Royalist'' in his operational plans now with limitations on his main capability in the Confrontation War."<ref>Reports & Returns. Mod & Refit. 1955-64 & 65. 72/1/10</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=May 2022}} The Royal Navy was desperately overstretched during the confrontation, and keeping one carrier fully operational in the theatre at all times was difficult<ref>Twiss & Bailey, 1996</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} to provide nuclear deterrence to Jakarta with the threat of potential aerial nuclear strike.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The high-maintenance ''Tiger''-class cruisers required far too much human and technical resources to be operated East of Suez in a complementary role for GFS and carrier escort with the Far East Fleet; HMS ''Lion'' was withdrawn after a boiler explosion on anti-infiltration patrol, and {{HMS|Blake|C99|6}} was put into reserve from December 1963 due to crew shortages in the RN.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} HMS ''Royalist'' was still perceived by the RN as useful and needed in Singapore; while it could not run at 25 knots with RN carrier groups launching aircraft, it could escort the amphibious carriers [[HMS Albion (R07)|HMS ''Albion'']] and [[HMS Bulwark (R08)|HMS ''Bulwark'']]. The RN decided that ''Royalist'' would go to [[Pearl Harbor]] for a second workup, rather than a longer refit in Devonport dockyard, before deploying to [[Hong Kong]] and Singapore in support of RN forces.


Many in the RNZN doubted that the ageing ship could deploy again. Despite these concerns, she spent two months being refitted to allow her to rejoin the overstretched Far East Fleet in 1965. Following this work, it was estimated that the ship's steam turbines could be kept operational for 15 more months.<ref>Twiss & Bailey, 1996</ref><ref>Reports and Returns. Mod Pre & Post refit trials ;(1) 1955–64 & (2) 1965 Rc 72/1/10,</ref> For her last ever deployment, she was ordered to [[Pearl Harbor|Peral Harbor]] for further maintenance before being sent to [[Hong Kong]] and [[Singapore]] to relieve the British fleet.<ref name=":2">Pugsley 2003, p. 245</ref> Once in Singapore, she conducted anti-infiltration patrols, boarded boats, deployed shore patrols, served as a simulated "enemy [[Sverdlov-class cruiser|Sverdlov cruiser]]"<ref name=":2" /> in exercises, and provided air defense for [[HMS Bulwark (R08)|HMS ''Bulwark'']] off Borneo.<ref>HMNZS Royalist 1965 Log & Pugsley. 2003. notes 121 &122. HMS Royalist Proceedings 1965. RNZN Museum, Devonport, Auckland</ref>
During ''Royalist'' stay at Pearl Harbor the USN staff and naval dockyard provided substantial assistance in alleviating some of the cruiser's faults and adjustments to allow the fire control system to be aligned for brief periods.{{Cn|date=November 2023}} During the subsequent workup ''Royalist'' achieved "E Excellent" for Efficiency, meaning maximum efficiency within system capability though, like all peacetime naval or weapon tests, actual effectiveness was not measured.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} During a brief spell on station at Singapore in 1965, ''Royalist'' conducted anti-infiltration patrols, boarding boats, deployed shore patrols, and participated in Exercise Guardrail as the simulated "enemy Sverdlov cruiser"<ref>Pugsley 2003, p. 245</ref> and provided extra men, potential heavy gunfire support, and air defence support for ''Bulwark'' on a vulnerable deployment transferring a new helicopter squadron to [[Borneo]].<ref>HMNZS Royalist 1965 Log & Pugsley. 2003. notes 121 &122. HMS Royalist Proceedings 1965. RNZN Museum, Devonport, Auckland</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=November 2023}} For the 1965 Far East tour, the crew were awarded [[New Zealand Operational Service Medal|Operational Service Medal]]s. This reflects the general build up in tension with Indonesia, the probable use of weapons by landing parties, the higher grade of main munition preparation and the political support for the mission, but the earlier deployments of ''Royalist'' when its system were more effective were much more important in the tactical and even strategic sense.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}


While returning to New Zealand, a [[boiler]] and [[turbine]] broke down, canceling her [[Waitangi Day]] tour of the country and ending her career five months early.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
The 1965 deployment was somewhat marred{{Citation needed|date=October 2021|reason=a cite is needed to say that the tour was 'marred'}} by the refusal by the New Zealand [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)|Ministry of External Affairs]] and British ambassadors to allow ''Royalist'' to dock with RN ships at Tokyo or [[Yokohama]] during a Royal visit by Princess Alexandra from the UK.<ref>Reports & Returns. HMNZS Royalist. R 72/1/10 1965. NZ National Archives, Wellington, NZ (Open access)</ref> According to the Royal Navy attaché in Tokyo, the RNZN sailors "could not afford the one pound per minute price in the [[Ginza]] nightclubs."<ref>Reports & Return. HMNZS Royalist. 1965. NZ National Archives. R 72/1/10 Wellington, NZ.</ref> The captain of ''Royalist'', J.P. Vallant replied to the Deputy Secretary of Defence in Wellington, "..find it quaint that ... the New Zealand navy is persona non grata in Tokyo ."<ref>Cpt. J. P. Vallant. HMNZS Royalist. Reports & Returns. 1965. 72/1/10.</ref> ''Royalist'' was allowed, r & r elsewhere in Japan after New Zealand diplomats persuading local police chiefs not to [[curfew]] the RNZN crew seeking respite from the awful conditions on the old cruiser and allow the bars to open 24 hours.<ref>Reports & Returns. HMNZS Royalist. 1965. R 72/1/10</ref> After further shore leave in [[Bangkok]], Singapore, and [[Subic Bay]], ''Royalist'' returned to New Zealand, after a valiant repair of a milking boiler and turbine en route. It was unable to make its final scheduled 1966 visit for [[Waitangi Day]] (6 February) and tour of the New Zealand ports, and was effectively paid off five months early.


==Decommissioning and fate==
==Decommissioning and fate==
''Royalist'' was paid off on 4 June 1966 and, after eleven years in the RNZN, ''Royalist'' reverted to [[Royal Navy]] control in 1967. She was sold for scrap to the Nissho Co, Japan, in November 1967 and was towed from [[Auckland]] to [[Osaka]] on 31 December 1967.
''Royalist'' was paid off on 4 June 1966 and, after eleven years in the RNZN, reverted to [[Royal Navy]] control in 1967. She was sold for scrap to the Nissho Company of Japan in November 1967. She was towed from [[Auckland]] to [[Osaka]] on 31 December 1967 and [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] upon arrival.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}


==Notes==
==Notes==

Latest revision as of 04:23, 19 May 2024

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Royalist.

Royalist anchored at Greenock, Scotland, in September 1943
History
United Kingdom
NameRoyalist
BuilderScotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock
Laid down21 March 1940
Launched30 May 1942
Commissioned10 September 1943
Recommissioned1967
DecommissionedNovember 1967
Out of serviceIn reserve from 1946 to 1956 Loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy from 1956 to 1966
IdentificationPennant number: 89
FateSold for scrap, November 1967
New Zealand
NameHMNZS Royalist
Commissioned1956
Decommissioned1966
Out of serviceReturned to Royal Navy control 1967
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeDido-class light cruiser
Displacement
  • 5,950 tons standard
  • 7,200 tons full load
Length
  • 485 ft (148 m) pp
  • 512 ft (156 m) oa
Beam50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power62,000 shp (46 MW)
Propulsion
Speed32.25 knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph)
Range
  • 1,303 nmi (2,414 km) at 30 kn (56 km/h)
  • 3,685 nmi (6,824 km) at 16 kn (30 km/h)
Complement530
Armament
Armour

HMS Royalist was a Bellona-class (improved Dido-class) light cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) during the Second World War and early Cold War.

After her commissioning in 1943, Royalist was modified with extra facilities and crew for operating as a flagship in aircraft carrier operations. Initially, she operated in the North Sea before transferring to the Mediterranean for the invasion of southern France. Royalist remained in the Aegean Sea until the end of 1944 before sailing to the Far East in 1945 where the ship served until the end of the war.

Royalist was then put into reserve until 1953, when the Navy decided to proceed with plans to refit the ship. The high cost of reconstruction and new governmental policy forced the RN to transfer the vessel to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in 1956. In return, New Zealand covered the reconstruction costs of Royalist. After ten years of service with the RNZN, which included involvement in the Suez Crisis and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from, she was scrapped in 1967.

Development[edit]

Design[edit]

In 1943, the Royal Navy (RN) intended to use the Bellona-class as flagships in escort carrier/cruiser groups during the Invasions of France as well as during joint Royal Navy-US Navy operations in the Pacific. Within months of her commissioning, Royalist's design diverged from the rest of her class. She was fitted with two extra rooms that further enabled her to communicate with aircraft carriers and Fleet Air Arm aircraft. In addition, she was modified with the incorporation of one of the first implementations of an "Action Information Office" (AIO). The AIO was a early operations room, in which computers and manual plotting allowed a force to be managed efficiently. The AIO allowed her to operate as a command ship in the northern Atlantic, primarily in hunting German warships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. The specialized equipment pushed crew members to their limits, as only minimal space remained for sleeping and comfort.[1] Compared to her base design requiring a crew of 484, Royalist's compliment was 600, adding to the aforementioned problems of cramped conditions. All together, Royalist was designated as a 'Carrier Flagship' when she was mounted with radar.[2]

Construction[edit]

Royalist was built by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Greenock who laid her keel on 21 March 1940. She was launched on 30 May 1942, and commissioned on 10 September 1943. She returned to the dockyard for alterations in November which were not complete until February 1944. Her French motto, Surtout Loyal, translates to "Loyal above all".[2]

Royal Navy career[edit]

North Atlantic service[edit]

Following her commissioning, Royalist spent several months working up, in which she underwent repairs for trial defects and for further alterations and additions. These included aforementioned modifications for service as a carrier flagship.[2] In March 1944, Royalist joined the Home Fleet and served for a short period in the Arctic theater. In this capacity, she was flagship of Operation Tungsten, the carrier raid in April 1944 against the German battleship Tirpitz at anchor in a fjord in Norway.

After Tungsten, Royalist escorted carriers for attacks on shipping off Norway before entering dock for a refit.[3] After completion of the work in June, Royalist was ordered to the Mediterranean to support the Operation Dragoon landings in the south of France in August 1944. Royalist was the flagship (Rear Admiral Thomas Hope Troubridge) of the RN/USN Task Force 88 that was tasked with maintaining air superiority over the beaches and support of landing operations.

Mediterranean service[edit]

Following the Dragoon landings, Royalist joined the Aegean Force, tasked with preventing enemy evacuation from the islands in the Aegean Sea. On 15 September, Royalist and destroyer HMS Teazer sank transports KT4 and KT26 off Cape Spatha. She was stationed in the Aegean until late 1944 before a refit in early 1945 at Alexandria. After her stint in the Mediterranean, she was transferred to the East Indies and joined the East Indies Fleet.

Royalist and a Supermarine Seafire off Alexandria, 1945

By April 1945, she was flagship of the 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron, supporting the Rangoon landings of Operation Dracula.[citation needed]

From 10 May, Royalist joined a group of carriers during Operation Mitre, which searched for Japanese warships evacuating Nicobar and the Andaman Islands.[a] For the remainder of the war, she supported carrier raids against targets in the East Indies and Sumatra.[citation needed]

Scottish author Alistair MacLean served on Royalist during the war, and used his experiences as background for his acclaimed first novel HMS Ulysses (1955) as well as for some of his subsequent works.[citation needed]

Post war reconstruction[edit]

Royalist was withdrawn from the East Indies after the end of the war and returned home to be mothballed and dehumidified in 1946.

Concerned about the growth and threat of the Soviet Navy, the Admiralty board ordered a modernization of four Dido-class cruisers in 1950.[b][4][5] Royalist was planned to be the first of four to six Dido/Bellona-class cruisers to be modernized under the program, with work planned to start in January 1953.[6] The ships were chosen as they were modern, economical, and could be easily modified with new radars and fire control systems.[7][8][failed verification] The importance of the refits increased when other attempts to do the same to Colony-class and Swiftsure-class cruisers were canceled.[9]

The modernization required the construction of a new superstructure and the addition of a fire control system, with the work planned to only extend the cruiser's lifespan by 6 years. In March 1953, reconstruction of Royalist began.[5]

Following the Conservative victory in the general election of 1951, attitude towards the RN changed. Newly re-elected Prime Minister Winston Churchill supported the Royal Airforce at the cost of the navy, and its budget was cut in 1952.[10] The shift in policy undermined naval expansions by the outgoing Attlee government, and the Navy was forced to cancel upgrades of many ships.[11][12] Under these financial cuts, plans to refurbish Royalist and her sister ships were postponed by three years. In 1954, a review of the Royal Navy found that the cruiser conversions lacked "dual war and peace, [and] cold war capabilities required" for the Navy, and the program was further deprioritized.[13][14]

Transfer to Royal New Zealand Navy[edit]

In 1955, the RN was looking to offload the half-renovated and obsolete Royalist. The offer was accepted by New Zealand Prime Minister Sid Holland, who offered that his nation would pay for the rest of her reconstruction.[15]

Royalist's transfer occurred when the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) was at a crossroads about its future. Internal factions within the RNZN and New Zealand government disagreed regarding the roles and doctrine of its Navy, with many unsure how a nuclear-era force should function and the importance of anti-submarine frigates.[16][17] Royalist's refurbishment cost of £4.5 million indicated the position of the Navy, as the RNZN chose to refurbish the cruiser rather than build two frigates with the same funds.[18][19]

Those in favor of a new cruiser believed a ship like Royalist would be able to serve an anti-aircraft role in supporting allied operations in the Pacific, alongside the RN and Royal Australian Navy.[20][21] Royalist was faster, more armed, and had better range then the Whitby-class frigates proposed to be bought instead. Furthermore, concern about Soviet cruisers raiding shipping in the South Pacific gave her the edge over the primarily ASW ships.[22]

New Zealand only covered her reconstruction costs, and did not out-right buy the ship. This was due to the RN only 'loaning' the vessel, as the RNZN was not seen as being an independent force within the British Empire. When her modifications were complete, New Zealand refused to accept the vessel, stating that the poor World War II-era sleeping arrangements and lack of ABC equipment were unsatisfactory. This soured relations between the two navies, as the RN did not appreciate perceived refusal from a subordinate.[20][21]

The ship was handed over to the Royal New Zealand Navy on 9 July 1956 following the completion of the work. Controversy over her purchase (and governmental stance) persisted, with the ship being viewed as either a white elephant or the most modern and capable vessel of the RNZN.[23]

As part of the Kiwi half of her refurbishment, Royalist was fitted with a new radar, fire control system, and three 'STAAG 2' 40 millimeter anti-air guns.[24]

Royal New Zealand Navy career[edit]

HMNZS Royalist during the Suez Crisis

Suez Crisis[edit]

Main article: Suez Crisis

After working up in British waters, Royalist was assigned to the British fleet in the Mediterranean. In August 1956, New Zealand Prime Minister Sidney Holland was persuaded by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden to keep her in the Mediterranean as a deterrent to Egyptian or Israeli aggression.[25][26][27] Despite not operating her, the RN wanted to keep the cruiser on station due to her anti-air capabilities and the threat of hostile aircraft. Following diplomatic negotiations between the two respective governments, the New Zealand Cabinet agreed not to recall the cruiser under the condition that she did not participate in combat.[citation needed]

Following British attacks on Egypt as part of Operation Musketeer (1956), Commonwealth support for the operations faltered. New Zealand soon became concerned about harming its relations with the UK by not supporting the plan and harming its relations with other global powers if it did. [28][29] Following several days of posturing in Auckland, Holland decided to order Royalist to withdraw from operations.[30][31]

As New Zealand figured out the nation's stance on the crisis, the cruiser operated with the RN fleet as an air defense radar picket, rescue ship for downed pilots, and as a method to coordinate British aircraft on bombing runs.[32][29] Later on during the crisis, the New Zealand Cabinet met again to discuss Royalist. Due to the cruiser forming an important part of the RN's anti-air defense in the area, and not wanting to harm relations further, the cabinet "decided not to decide" on her presence within the RN fleet. As such, she remained with the Royal Navy fleet yet did not participate further in Operation Musketeer.[29]

Pacific service[edit]

HMNZS Royalist at Devonport Naval Base, 1956

Royalist continued to operate with allied navies in the 1950s, and her anti-air capabilities were proven when she outperformed RN cruisers during exercises.[33][34] As part of New Zealand involvement in the Malayan Emergency, she was used to repeatedly shell the MNLA in Johore.[35]

By 1960, the cruiser was expected to serve another 2 and a half years, and the Navy began searching for a replacement. At the time, the RN was short of loanable cruisers, so the destroyer HMS Duchess (D154) was transferred to cover the decommissioning of both Royalist and the recently sunk HMAS Voyager.[36][37]

In 1962, while sailing in rough weather in the Tasman Sea, the cruiser's keel twisted out of alignment. It was found that her captain ran the ship at excess speed into a head sea in an attempt to make it back to land to watch a Rugby match between the Wallabies and All Blacks.[38]

Between 1963 and 1965, she operated with the British Far East Fleet during the Indonesia–Malaysia Confrontation. She joined British vessels in making provocative passages between Indonesian Islands in an attempt to deter Indonesian attacks on Malaysia. During these deployments, her age began to show, as captains described unserviceable equipment, structural degradation, and below-deck overheating; by now, the ship was already beyond her lifespan and overdue for retirement. [39]

Many in the RNZN doubted that the ageing ship could deploy again. Despite these concerns, she spent two months being refitted to allow her to rejoin the overstretched Far East Fleet in 1965. Following this work, it was estimated that the ship's steam turbines could be kept operational for 15 more months.[40][41] For her last ever deployment, she was ordered to Peral Harbor for further maintenance before being sent to Hong Kong and Singapore to relieve the British fleet.[42] Once in Singapore, she conducted anti-infiltration patrols, boarded boats, deployed shore patrols, served as a simulated "enemy Sverdlov cruiser"[42] in exercises, and provided air defense for HMS Bulwark off Borneo.[43]

While returning to New Zealand, a boiler and turbine broke down, canceling her Waitangi Day tour of the country and ending her career five months early.[citation needed]

Decommissioning and fate[edit]

Royalist was paid off on 4 June 1966 and, after eleven years in the RNZN, reverted to Royal Navy control in 1967. She was sold for scrap to the Nissho Company of Japan in November 1967. She was towed from Auckland to Osaka on 31 December 1967 and scrapped upon arrival.[citation needed]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ As part of Mitre, in the Battle of the Malacca Strait a force of five Royal Navy destroyers intercepted the Japanese cruiser Haguro and the destroyer Kamikaze evacuating troops from Port Blair in the Andaman Islands
  2. ^ the other three were HMS Diadem, Sirius and Cleopatra

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Raven & Roberts 1980, pp. 294, 324.
  2. ^ a b c Mason 2004
  3. ^ Mason, 2011
  4. ^ ADM 116/5632. p 124-9 & 175-93, Friedman 2010 p 284, Walters, 2019 p.233
  5. ^ a b McDougal, R. J. (1989). NZ Naval Vessels. GP Books. p. 32.
  6. ^ Friedman 2010, p. 284
  7. ^ M. Wright. Blue Water Kiwis. NZ Naval Story (2001) Reed. Auckland, p146-8.
  8. ^ Friedman, N (2015). British Battleships 1906-1946. Barnsley: Seaforth. pp. 338–9.
  9. ^ Walters 2019, pp. 231–3
  10. ^ Seldon, 1981. pp 314–20
  11. ^ Hodges, Peter; Friedman, Norman (2003) [1979], Destroyer Weapons of World War 2, London: Conway, pp. 101–03
  12. ^ Marland, P (2014), "Post War Fire Control in the RN", Warship 2014, London: Conway, p. 14
  13. ^ Seldon, 1981, p. 315
  14. ^ T. Benbow. The RN & Sea Power British Strategy 1945-55. Inst Historical Research. University of London (2018)
  15. ^ McIntosh papers, A36 folder, letter 5/7/1956, NZ London HC diplomat Frank Corner letter to NZ Foreign Affairs, CE McIntosh in Tempelton, Malcolm (1994). Ties of Blood and Empire: New Zealand's Involvement in Middle East Defence and the Suez Crisis. Auckland: AUP. pp. 124, p253, footnote 8/(5).
  16. ^ New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Hansard, 24 March 1955, pp. 21–22
  17. ^ Holland. New Zealand Parliamentary Debates 24 March 1955, pp. 12-21
  18. ^ Pugsley. 2003 p. 46
  19. ^ Pugsley 2003, p. 422, note 41
  20. ^ a b P. Dennerly. First to the Flag. Biography of Vice Admiral Peter Phipps in Maritime Dimensions in the Asian Pacific Region. RNZN Museum. 2004. Auckland, pp. 122-3
  21. ^ a b RY257/182 9 April 1956
  22. ^ Clarke, Alex (12 May 2014), "Sverdlov Class Cruisers and the Royal Navy Response", GlobalMaritimeHistory.com, retrieved 3 November 2015
  23. ^ "Royalist home for Christmas", NZ Weekly News, Auckland: Wilson & Hooton, p. 31, 26 December 1956
  24. ^ G. M. Stephens. British Warship Design. Ian Allan. London (1986) p. 84
  25. ^ PRO:CAB 134//216.E(56) 12/8/56
  26. ^ Pearson, J (2005). Antony Eden and the Suez Crisis. Reluctant Gamble. Palgrave MacMillan. pp. 49–56.
  27. ^ AP 20/25/7 PMPT T331/56/ no353 Eden to Holland 4 Aug 1956
  28. ^ P. Lyons. "The old Commonwealth. The first four Dominions" in M. Howard & R. Louis. The Oxford History of the 20c, OUP (1998) Oxford, p300
  29. ^ a b c Kyle 1991, pp. 394–395
  30. ^ Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 70. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  31. ^ Gustafson (1998). History of the NZ National Party. Wellington. p. 70.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  32. ^ Hobbs 2015, pp. 173–4 & 187
  33. ^ Pugsley, 2003, p. 49
  34. ^ "HMAS Melbourne (II)". Sea Power Centre. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  35. ^ Pugsley. 2003, p. 50
  36. ^ HMAS Duchess. Australian Seapower History. RAN. Retrieved 6-5-2020. Canberra.
  37. ^ D. Fairfax. "Frigates" & G. McLean "RNZN History" in I. McGibbon. Companion to NZ Military History. OUP.(2000) Auckland, pp. 186-7 & 467
  38. ^ Bradley, I. (2004). Don't Rock the Boat. Auckland. pp. 122–3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  39. ^ Roberts, 2009, p. 51
  40. ^ Twiss & Bailey, 1996
  41. ^ Reports and Returns. Mod Pre & Post refit trials ;(1) 1955–64 & (2) 1965 Rc 72/1/10,
  42. ^ a b Pugsley 2003, p. 245
  43. ^ HMNZS Royalist 1965 Log & Pugsley. 2003. notes 121 &122. HMS Royalist Proceedings 1965. RNZN Museum, Devonport, Auckland

Bibliography[edit]

  • Brown, D.K. (1995). Major Surface Vessels. The Design and Construction of British Warships, 1939–1945. The official record. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 9780851776736.
  • Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
  • Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After.
  • Grove, Eric (2006) [2004]. Royal Navy since 1815. A Short History. London: Palgrave-MacMillan. ISBN 9780333721254.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur (2018). "HMS Royalist (89)". uboat.net. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  • Hobbs, D (2015). The British Carrier Strike Fleet after 1945. Barnsley: Seaforth.
  • Hodges, Peter; Friedman, Norman (2003) [1979], Destroyer Weapons of World War 2, London: Conway
  • Kyle, Keith (1991). Suez. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 9780297812746 – via archive.org.
  • Mason, Lt Cdr Geoffrey B RN (Rtd) (2004). Smith, Gordon (ed.). "HMS Royalist – Bellona-class AA Cruiser". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2. naval-history.net.
  • McGibbon, Ian, ed. (1999). Unofficial Channels: Letters between Alister McIntosh and Foss Shanahan, George Laking and Frank Corner 1946–1966. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 978-0-86473-365-8.
  • Mountbatten, Louis (1979). Zeigler, Philip (ed.). Shore to Shore. The Diaries of Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1953–1979. London: Collins. ISBN 9780002176064 – via Archive.org.
  • Pugsley, Christopher (2003). From Emergency to Confrontation. New Zealand Armed Forces 1949–66. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195584530.
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  • Roberts, John (2009). Safeguarding the Nation: the Story of the Royal Navy. Havertown: Seaforth. ISBN 9781783830305.
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  • Russell, Mike. "HMS Royalist (C89)". WWII cruisers. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  • Seldon, A. (1981). Churchill's Indian Summer. The Conservative Government 1951-55. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
  • Templeton, Malcolm (1994). Ties of Blood and Empire: New Zealand's Involvement in Middle East Defence and the Suez Crisis 1947–57. Auckland NZ: Auckland University Press. ISBN 978-1-86940-097-2.
  • Twiss, Frank; Bailey, Chris Howard (1996). Social Change in the Royal Navy 1924–1970. The Life and Times of Admiral Frank Twiss. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 9780750906104.
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  • Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
  • Mason, Lt Cdr Geoffrey B (5 June 2011). "HMS Royalist - Bellona-class AA Cruiser including Convoy Escort Movements". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 – via navalhistory.net.

External links[edit]

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