HMS Liverpool (C11)
| HMS Liverpool | |
| Career | RN Ensign |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid Down: | 17 February 1936 |
| Launched: | 24 March 1937 |
| Commissioned: | 2 November 1938 |
| Decommissioned: | November 1952 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap July 1958 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 11,930 tons |
| Length: | 591.6 ft (180.3 m) |
| Beam: | 64.9 ft (19.8 m) |
| Draught: | 20.6 ft (6.28 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 4 shafts, 4 boilers, 82,500 hp (61.5 MW) |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 750 |
| Armament: | Original Configuration: Twelve 6 inch (200 mm) guns in triple turrets (one aft turret later removed) Eight 4 in (102 mm) guns Eight 40.5 mm guns Eight 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine-guns Six 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes (later removed) |
| Aircraft: | Two Supermarine Walrus aircraft (Removed in the latter part of WWII) |
The sixth HMS Liverpool (C11) was an 11,930 ton light cruiser of the Gloucester class, a sub-class of the Town class. She was launched in 1937, being commissioned in November 1938, a year before the start of World War II. On 21 January 1940 while in the China station, she intercepted the Japanese liner Asama Maru, 35 miles (56 km) from the coast of Japan, removing 21 German officers and men, survivors from Columbus who were on their way to Germany. Shortly afterwards, Liverpool was transferred to the 7th Cruiser Squadron. On 12 June 1940, she and her sister-ship Gloucester, engaged three small Italian craft off the Libyan city of Tobruk. The following day, the Italians' admitted the loss of one ship.
Later that month, on the 28th, the 7th Cruiser Squadron, comprising Gloucester, Neptune, Orion, Sydney and Liverpool, sighted and engaged three Italian destroyers south-west of Cape Matapan. The action was at long range and resulted in the desruction of one Italian destroyer, Espero.
On 14 October 1940, Liverpool was torpedoed by enemy aircraft in an action south-east of Crete, seriously damaging her. She was towed to the Egyptian city of Alexandria for repairs and did not reach sea worthiness until April 1941. She then headed for the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo for permanent repairs. She returned home in Spring 1942 and covered the chilly and unforgiving Arctic convoys during April and May that year.
The Liverpool joined the famous Malta Convoys in June 1942, but was again torpedoed, again by aircraft, which seriously damaged her. She had to be towed to the British territory of Gibraltar, where temporary repairs were carried out before she proceeded to Rosyth for permanent repair. She was knocked out for the rest of the war. She spent three years at Rosyth, before returning to service. Liverpool was then deployed to the Mediterranean for service there. Query: according to my father (Norman Gomersall, who was on board from 1939) Liverpool was used to transfer major gold reserves to America (Mare Island Navy Yard) and the ship was repaired there, not in Rosyth. The crew did not remain while repairs happened; it was sent to New York by train (before America entered the war - the crew were transported across country in secret) and from there were repatriated to England. My father is now dead - anyone around who knows any more about this?
In 1951 Lord Mountbatten embarked aboard Liverpool, his destination was the city of Split, in what was then Yugoslavia, to meet with Marshall Tito. In 1952, she was placed into Reserve at Portsmouth. She was finally broken up in 1958.
See HMS Liverpool for other ships of this name.