700-015 BRITISH ARMED MERCHANT CRUISER HMS CHITRAL 1942 R.

HMS Chitral was a British passenger ship, converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser, which was launched in 1925 and commissioned by the Royal Navy in October 1939. The displacement of the vessel did not exceed 15,500 tons, and the maximum speed - 17 knots. It was armed with 7 152 mm guns and 3 102 mm guns. HMS Chitral, or rather RMS Chitral, was built in a shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland for the line P. and O. Steam Navigation Company Limited, as an Atlantic seaworthy passenger ship. However, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the unit was commandeered by the Royal Navy, and rebuilt and armed. HMS Chitral went through a relatively long combat route, because from the beginning of its service (October 1939) to February 1941 it operated in the North Atlantic and its home waters, performing patrol and convoy tasks. For a short period (March-April) 1941 she was assigned to the Halifax Escort Force, and later continued to operate in the North Atlantic. In March 1942, it was transferred to the Indian Ocean, where it served until December 1943. From the turn of 1943/1944, it was used primarily as an armed transport ship. The unit survived until the end of World War II.