Crown Colony-class cruiser
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Crown Colony class |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Dido class |
| Succeeded by: | Minotaur class |
| Subclasses: |
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| Completed: | 11 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Light cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 555 ft 6 in (169.32 m) overall |
| Beam: | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: | 10,100 nmi (18,700 km; 11,600 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 730 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | Two Supermarine Walrus aircraft (removed by 1944, never fitted in Fiji or Kenya) |
The Crown Colony-class cruisers were a class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. The first eight are known as the Fiji class, while the last three to be built are commonly referred to as the Ceylon class and were built to a slightly modified design.
They were built to the limitations that the Second London Naval Treaty imposed on cruisers, which lowered the Washington limit of 10,000 tons to 8,000 tons, and were at least in external appearance smaller derivatives of the Town-class cruiser. The Colony-class cruisers however like the following Minotaurs, essentially fit the same armament on a 1,000 ton less displacement and the Colony class and the follow on Swiftsure were very tight designs, built largely in war emergency conditions with little margin for any great updating postwar. The 62 feet (19 m) beam imposing crippling limits. The armour scheme was revised from that of the Towns in that the main belt now protected the 6 inch ammunition spaces, although the belt itself was reduced to 3.5 and 3.25 inches (89 and 83 mm) in the machinery spaces. The 6-inch (150 mm) Mk XXIII turrets and ammunition spaces were laid out as per the Edinburgh group of the Town class, except the after turrets were a deck lower as in the Southampton and Gloucester groups. The long turret version of the triple 6-inch gun fitted to the Colony class were 25 tons heavier than the 150 ton turret on the Group 1 & 2 Towns and further cramped the design. The supply of ammunition to the 4-inch (102 mm) guns was also improved, dispensing with the complicated conveyor system. The Crown Colonys were instantly recognisable as they had a transom stern and straight funnels and masts; those of the Towns being raked. Due to the size of the Crown Colony class, a number of the ships had their 'X' turret removed to allow the shipping of additional light anti-aircraft (AA) guns. Ships of the Fiji group were equipped with the HACS AA fire control system for the secondary armament while the Ceylon group used the Fuze Keeping Clock for AA fire control. Both groups used the Admiralty Fire Control Table for surface fire control of the main armament and the Admiralty Fire Control Clock for surface fire control of the secondary armament. By the late 1940s most of the Crown Colony class had the updated 274 lock and follow surface fire control radar, which massively increased the chance of hits from the opening salvoes. In the 1950s (except during the Korean War and Suez operation) no more than one of the MKXIII turrets was ever manned, with 'B' and 'Y' turrets mothballed due to the huge manning requirements of the turrets. This allowed for more liveable peacetime conditions by operating with a crew of 610-750 rather than the wartime crew 1,000-1,100.
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