HMS Southampton (83)

HMS Southampton in 1937
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Southampton
Builder:	John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland
Laid down:	21 November 1934
Launched:	10 March 1936
Commissioned:	6 March 1937
Identification:	Pennant number: C83
Fate:	Sunk off Malta, 11 January 1941
General characteristics
Class and type:	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement:	9,100 tons standard 11,350 tons full load
Length:	558 ft (170 m)
Beam:	61 ft 8 in (18.80 m)
Draught:	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Propulsion:	Four-shaft Parsons geared turbines Four Admiralty 3-drum boilers 75,000 shp
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement:	748
Armament:	12 × BL 6-inch (152 mm) guns [triple mounts] 8 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) guns [double mounts] 4 × 3 pdr 8 x QF 2-pounder (40 mm) AA guns [quadruple mounts] 6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

HMS Southampton was a member of the first group of five ships of the Town class of light cruisers. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland and launched on 10 March 1936.

Southampton saw service in World War II, and initially served as the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron with the Home Fleet. On 5 September 1939 she intercepted the German merchant Johannes Molkenbuhr off Stadtlandet, Norway, but her crew scuttled the ship before she could be captured. The crew was taken off by the destroyer Jervis, and Johannes Molkenbuhr was then finished off by destroyer Jersey.

Southampton was later damaged on 16 October 1939 whilst lying at anchor off Rosyth, Scotland, when she was struck by a 500 kg bomb in a German air raid. The bomb was released from only 150 metres (490 ft) height by a Ju-88 of I/KG.30, and hit the corner of the pom-pom magazine, passed through three decks at an angle and exited the hull, detonating in the water. There was minor structural damage and temporary failure of electrical systems. She was repaired and at the end of the year she was one of the ships involved in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau after the sinking of the armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi. She then served with the Humber Force until February 1940, and then went to the 18th Cruiser squadron at Scapa Flow. On 9 April 1940, Southampton was operating off the Norwegian coast when she sustained splinter damage in a German air attack. The main battery director was temporarily knocked out. After being repaired, she had anti-invasion duties on the south-coast of England until she returned to Scapa Flow in October.

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