HMS Belfast (C35)

HMS Belfast at her London berth, painted in Admiralty pattern Disruptive Camouflage
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Belfast
Ordered:	21 September 1936
Builder:	Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast, UK
Yard number:	1000
Laid down:	10 December 1936
Launched:	17 March 1938
Completed:	3 August 1939
Commissioned:	5 August 1939
Decommissioned:	24 August 1963
Identification:	Pennant number C35
Motto:	Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus (Latin: For so much, how shall we repay?)
Honours and awards:	Arctic 1943 North Cape 1943 Normandy 1944 Korea 1950–52
Status:	Museum ship since 21 October 1971
General characteristics
Class and type:	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement:	11,550 tons
Length:	613 ft 6 in (186.99 m) overall
Beam:	63 ft 4 in (19.3 m)
Draught:	18 ft 3 in (5.56 m) forward 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) aft
Installed power:	80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × Admiralty oil-fired 3-drum boilers 4 × Parsons single reduction geared steam turbines
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement:	781–881 (as flagship, 1939)
Armament:	1939: 12 × 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XXIII guns (4×3) 12 × 4-inch (102 mm) Mk XVI dual purpose guns (6×2) 16 × 2-pounder (40 mm) anti-aircraft guns (2×8) 8 × 0.5-inch (13 mm) AA machine guns (2×4) 6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×3)
Armour:	Main belt: 4.5 inches (114 mm) Main turrets: Up to 4 inches (102 mm) Decks over magazines: 3 inches (76 mm) Decks over machinery: 2 inches (51 mm) Bulkheads: 2.5 inches (63.5 mm)
Aircraft carried:	2 × Supermarine Walrus (disembarked June 1943)
Aviation facilities:	2 × hangars 1 × catapult (removed 1945)

HMS Belfast
(Museum ship)

HMS Belfast berthed in the Pool of London; Tower Bridge can be seen behind.
Established	1971
Location	The Queen's Walk, London, SE1 2JH
Visitors	346,331 (2014)
Director	Phil Reed
Public transit access	London Bridge station Tower Hill station
Website	iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-belfast
Imperial War Museums
Churchill War Rooms HMS Belfast IWM Duxford IWM London IWM North

HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum.

Construction of Belfast, the first Royal Navy ship to be named after the capital city of Northern Ireland and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939, Belfast struck a German mine and spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Belfast returned to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment, and armour. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943 and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944, Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945, Belfast was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950–52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before Belfast entered reserve in 1963.