HMS Ajax (22)

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Career

Ordered:
Laid down:	7 February 1933
Launched:	1 March 1934
Commissioned:	3 June 1935
Decommissioned:	February 1948
Fate:	Sold for scrap in 1949
Struck:
General characteristics
Displacement:	7,220 tons (9,140 full load)
Length:	554 ft 1 in (169 m)
Beam:	55 ft 6 in (16.9 m)
Draught:	19 ft 2 in (5.8 m)
Propulsion:	6 Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers, 4 parsons geared turbines, 4 screws
Speed:	32.5 knots (60 km/h) @ 72,000 shp (54 MW)
Range:	7,300 nautical miles (13,500 km) @ 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement:	570 officers and enlisted
Armament (1945):	8 × 6 in (152 mm), 8 × 4 in (102 mm), 16 × 40 mm, 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (quadruple mounts)
Armor:	4 in (102 mm) main belt, 2.5 in (64 mm) ends, 1.25 to 2 in (32 to 51 mm) deck, 1 in (25 mm) turrets
Radar:	type 284/286 air search, type 273/271 surface search, type 285 6 inch (152 mm) fire control, type 282 40 mm fire control
Aircraft:	1 seaplane
Motto:

The HMS Ajax was made famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta, as a supply escort in the Battle of Tobruk. She was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom during World War II.

1 Description
2 Before the War
3 The Battle of the River Plate
4 Mediterranean, Crete and North Africa
5 D-Day
6 Ajax remembered
7 See also

[edit] Description

Displacement: 7,220 tons
Dimensions: Length: 554 ft (169 m); Beam: 55.5 ft (17 m); Draught: 19 ft
Armament: 8 × 6 in (152 mm), 8 × 4 in (102 mm), 8 × 4 lb (1.8 kg), 8 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes.
Propulsion: 72,000 bhp (54 MW)
Speed: 32.5 knots (59 km/h)
Aircraft: 1 catapult-launched aircraft. Original type was a Fairey Seafox, later replaced by a Fairey Swordfish or Supermarine Walrus

[edit] Before the War

Built at Vickers shipyard, Barrow-in-Furness, England, she was laid down on 7 February 1933, launched on 1 March 1934, and completed on 12 April 1935. Ajax served on the America and West Indies Station from completion, then joined the South American Division on the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.

[edit] The Battle of the River Plate

Operating off the River Plate, she intercepted the German merchantmen Carl Fritzen, Olinda, and Ussukuma. She was the flagship of Commodore Henry Harwood's Force G during the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee. Ajax was hit seven times by the Germans but inflicted more damage on the Spee during the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939.

[edit] Mediterranean, Crete and North Africa

Under repair until July 1940, she then moved to the Mediterranean. On October 11/October 12, 1940 she engaged Italian forces, sinking the Spica class torpedo boats Airone and Ariel, and badly damaging the destroyer Italian destroyer Artigliere, which was later sunk by HMS York. According to Seaman Harry Mansfield, the Ajax intercepted retreating German and Italian warships which were cruising towards Crete and fired a variety of small arms and large guns completely destroying the enemy. The Ajax then took part in the Battle of Toranto, a night operation which was held under by RDF (radio detection finder), where it again engaged and destroyed the Italian fleet. Ajax participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan and was hit by bombs from Ju 87's on 21 May. She evacuated many troops from Crete up until 29 May 1941. [1] She then covered Syrian operations in June, and joined Force K at Malta in November 1941, but was withdrawn in February 1942.

[edit] D-Day

She was refitted in England from May to October 1942, then returned to the Mediterranean where she was again damaged by bombs. After repairs in New York between March and October 1943, Ajax went back to the Mediterranean. As part of Force K, she bombarded Gold Beach during the D-Day invasion, and later supported the landings in southern France. Ajax operated in the Aegean during the reoccupation of Athens and the communist uprising in Greece.

[edit] Ajax remembered

She was decommissioned in February 1948 and broken up in November 1949.

The Town of Ajax, in Ontario, Canada, was named after the cruiser following the Battle of the River Plate. The town has streets named after members of the ship's company. For example, Harwood Avenue is the town's main north-south street.

In addition, many street signs in the Town bear the silhouette of the ship, and the ship's anchor rests in front of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

The ship's bell is currently located at Summerhill Mansion, Kingswood School, Bath, England.