HMS Orion (85)

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Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom, svg
HMS Orion (85) .jpg
Construction and service time
Shipyard Vickers Armstrongs Ltd ,
Barrow-in-Furness
Keel laying September 26, 1931
Launch November 24, 1932
Commissioning January 18, 1934
Whereabouts Sold for scrapping July 19, 1949
Technical specifications
Displacement Standard 7,270 ts
maximum 9,740 ts
length over everything: 169 m
width 17 m
Draft 5.8 m
Armament (original)
  • 8 × 15.2 cm guns
  • 4 × 10.2 cm anti-aircraft guns
  • 10 × 12.7 mm machine guns
  • 8 × torpedo tubes Ø 53.3 cm
Armament (1945)
  • 8 × 15.2 cm guns
  • 8 × 10.2 cm anti-aircraft guns
  • 16 × 4 cm anti-aircraft guns
  • 8 × torpedo tubes Ø 53.3 cm
Armor
  • Sides: 64 mm
  • Belt: 102 mm
  • Deck: 32 - 51 mm
  • Towers: 25 mm
Propulsion system
  • Steam turbines (Parson type)
  • 6 Admiralty steam boilers (3-drum type)
  • 74,000 HP on 4 screws
speed 32.5 kn
Driving range 5730 nm at 13 kn
crew 550 (peace) 680 (war) men

The HMS Orion was a British light cruiser of the Leander class in World War II .

The Orion was awarded 13 battle honors , only the HMS Warspite was honored more often, but also took part in both world wars.

Before the war

The Orion was built at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness . The keel was laid on September 26, 1931, the launch took place on November 24, 1932. After commissioning on January 18, 1934, she was used in the Home Fleet , in 1937 she was assigned to the 8th Cruiser Squadron for service in America and the West Indies. In 1940 she transferred the ashes of John Buchan , the late Governor General of Canada , back to the UK.

Second World War

In June 1940, the HMS Orion was relocated to the Mediterranean, where it became the flagship of the 7th Cruiser Squadron. She took part in the bombardment of Bardia and in July in the naval battle at Punta Stilo . Later in 1940 she escorted convoys to Malta and transported troops to Greece. At the beginning of 1941 the cruiser was in service near Crete and the Aegean Sea and took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 .

On May 29, 1941, during the evacuation of Crete , the ship was badly damaged in a bomb attack by German aircraft. Many crew members were killed in the process. It went to Simon's Town in South Africa, where it was temporarily repaired. It was then moved to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the United States for final repairs .

The Orion returned to the Mediterranean in 1943. This time she was part of the 15th cruiser squadron. She was involved in Operation Husky and spent the remainder of the war in the Mediterranean. She took part in all major landing operations. For Operation Neptune in June 1944, she was briefly relocated to the English Channel, but then returned to the Mediterranean.

After the war

On May 15, 1946, she became involved in the Corfu Canal incident . The service period of Orion ended in 1947. She was sold for scrapping on 19 July and scrapped in August 1949th

Battle Honors

Web links