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HMS Nigeria (60)

HMS Nigeria.jpg
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Nigeria
Namesake: Nigeria
Ordered: 20 December 1937
Builder: Vickers Armstrongs, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne
Laid down: 8 February 1938
Launched: 18 July 1939
Commissioned: 23 September 1940
Out of service: Sold to Indian Navy as Mysore, 29 August 1957
Honours and
awards:
Atlantic 1941, Norway 1941, Arctic 1942, Malta Convoys 1942, Sabang 1944, Burma 1944–45
Badge: On a Field barry wavy of six White and Blue within two triangles Green, the Imperial Crown Proper
India
Name: INS Mysore
Acquired: 29 August 1957
Decommissioned: 20 August 1985
Identification: Pennant number: C60
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type: Crown Colony-class light cruiser
Displacement:
  • 8,530 tonnes standard
  • 10,450 tons full load
Length: 169.3 m (555 ft)
Beam: 18.9 m (62 ft)
Draught: 5 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:

Four oil fired 3-drum Admiralty-type boilers,

4-shaft geared turbines, 4 screws, 54.1 megawatts (72,500 shp)
Speed: 33 kn (61 km/h)
Range: 6,520 nmi (12,080 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement: 907
Armament:
Armour:
  • Main belt: 83 mm,
  • deck: 51 mm,
  • turrets: 51 mm,
  • Director control tower: 102 mm.
Aircraft carried: Two Supermarine Walrus aircraft, removed November 1943.

Four oil fired 3-drum Admiralty-type boilers,

HMS Nigeria (pennant number 60) was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served throughout that conflict. She was named for the British colony of Nigeria.

Nigeria served in Home waters and off the Scandinavian coast for the early part of the war. On 28 June 1941 Nigeria, in company with the destroyers Bedouin, Tartar and Jupiter intercepted the German weather ship Lauenburg in thick fog north-east of Jan Mayen Island. The German ship was detected through the use of HF/DF. The crew of Lauenburg abandoned ship after they were fired upon, allowing the British to board her. Valuable codebooks and parts of the Enigma machine were found aboard and recovered. This was one of the earliest captures of Enigma material of the war, and came a few weeks after the destroyer Bulldog had captured the first complete Enigma machine from the German submarine U-110 on 9 May 1941.

In July 1941, Nigeria became the flagship of Force K, commanded by Rear Admiral Philip Vian. During this period, Force K made two expeditions to Spitsbergen (Norwegian territory), the first to ascertain the situation and the second, in September, to escort a troopship, Empress of Australia, with Canadian troops and a team of demolition experts (see Operation Gauntlet). Their task was to evacuate Norwegian and Soviet personnel from the archipelago and destroy coalmines and fuel stocks that might be of use to the enemy. Bear Island was also visited to destroy a German weather station. The two cruisers of the task force, Nigeria and Aurora diverted to intercept a German convoy. During this action, Nigeria sank the German training ship Bremse, but suffered serious damage to her bow, possibly having detonated a mine. On return to Britain, she was sent to Newcastle for repairs.


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