HMS BELFAST

HMS Belfast (C35) was a British light cruiser of the Second World War and the post-war period. The keel for this unit was laid in 1936, and the launch took place in March 1938. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 187 meters and a width of 19.3 meters. The displacement reached approx. 11,500 tons, and the maximum speed was approx. 32 knots. The armament at the time of the launch consisted of, among others, 12 152 mm guns, 12 102 mm guns, 16 40 mm anti-aircraft cannons, and two 533 mm triple torpedo tubes. HMS Belfast (C35) was one of two Edinburgh-class cruisers. Units of this type were designed and built as extensions of the Southampton and Gloucester types (sub-types). Compared to their predecessors, units of this class had, above all, stronger anti-aircraft weapons and better armor. The architecture of the superstructures and the layout of the ship's space also underwent significant changes. Service HMS Belfast in World War II started very unfortunately, because in November 1939 the cruiser entered a German sea mine, the detonation of which excluded it from operations for over 3 years! The unit returned to service only in December 1942. From the beginning of the following year, HMS Belfast operated in the cover of Arctic convoys. In the course of operations, together with two other cruisers, it resisted the German battleship Scharnhorst and was instrumental in its encirclement and subsequent sinking in December 1943. In 1944, he continued to cover the Arctic convoys, but did manage to take part in supporting the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944. In July of the same year, HMS Belfast began refurbishing, which lasted until the end of World War II in Europe. The unit successfully participated in the Korean War in the period 1950-1952. HMS Belfast was decommissioned in 1963 and has been serving as a museum ship since 1971.