HMS ''Diomede'' was a of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Constructed at

Vickers Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, wi ...

, Barrow, she was constructed too late to take part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was completed at the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth. Between the wars, she served on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

, Pacific waters, East Indies Waters and from 1936 onwards, in reserve. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she performed four years of arduous war duty, during which time she captured the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

blockade runner . Between 22 July 1942 and 24 September 1943 she was converted to a training ship at

Rosyth Dockyard Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Before its privatisation in the 1990s it was ...

. In 1945 she was placed in reserve and scrapped a year later.

Background

During World War I intelligence reports suggested that the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

were building a new class of cruiser which could outgun the existing C-class light cruisers. It was believed that an improved C class with an added super-firing gun in front of the deckhouse (and the requisite increase of beam and adapting of superstructure) would maintain British naval superiority in a battle. In September 1916 the first three ships of the new class (, and ) were launched and a second group (, and ) was ordered in July 1917. ''Diomede'', was part of a third tranche ordered in March 1918. This group was to have comprised six vessels, but the end of the war saw this reduced to two, ''Diomede'' and . ''Diomede'' had been laid down

of Barrow-in-Furness in mid-1918, but after launching in 1919 work was suspended. However, in 1922 she was towed to the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth and completed on 22 February. Like the second group of ''Danae''-class vessels, ''Diomede'' was fitted with a trawler bow. ''Diomede'' was unique in her class in having an experimental fully enclosed 6-inch mounting in the "A" position. Before completion, the suitability of her conversion to a royal yacht had been discussed, but nothing came of the idea.

Early career

Upon commissioning ''Diomede'' joined the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron on the China Station in 1922. In 1925 she was transferred to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy at Devonport where she served until 1935, apart from a refit in 1929–1930. In 1931 she rendered assistance to the town of Napier, New Zealand after the devastating Hawkes Bay earthquake, supplying medical personnel, equipment, guards and firemen, along with her sister ship ''Dunedin''. Afterwards ''Diomede'' escorted the beach-damaged sloop to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. The Executive officer at the time (1930-1933) was Commander, later Admiral

Victor Crutchley Admiral Sir Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley (2 November 1893 – 24 January 1986) was a British naval officer. He was a First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...

, who was to later become entwined with the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Upon the notification that the two cruisers of the New Zealand Division were to be replaced by cruisers, in 1935 ''Diomede'' started her voyage home to Britain to be paid off into the reserve. ''En route'' the

Abyssinian Crisis The Abyssinia Crisis (; ) was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in what was called the Walwal incident during the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia (then commonly known as "Abyssinia"). The Lea ...

broke out and she was diverted to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, part of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

based at Aden for possible action against the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

. Upon relief by the cruiser on 31 March 1936 she was paid off and spent the next three years in the reserve fleet or as a troop ship.

World War II

With the growing likelihood of war, ''Diomede'' was reactivated. 3 September 1939 found her with the 7th Cruiser Squadron serving as part of the Home Fleet on Northern Patrol duties. Before the despatch of the 7th Cruiser Squadron to the Mediterranean in 1940 in light of the Italian threat, ''Diomede'' was attached to the 8th Cruiser Squadron on the America and West Indies Station on shipping protection and patrolling duty. On 8 December 1940 she chased the German blockade runner ''

Idarwald The Idar Forest (German: ''Idarwald'', Celtic: ''"id ar"'' - hill forest above the land) is part of the Hunsrück low mountain range in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The Idar Forest lies in the distric ...

'' from

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Before a capture could be effected the crew of the German freighter set it afire and scuttled it off Cabo Corrientes,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The US destroyer observed the proceedings. In early 1942 ''Diomede'' joined the 9th Cruiser Squadron as part of the South Atlantic and West African Squadron. After more than a decade of steaming it was decided to retire her from front-line service and from 22 July 1942 to 24 September 1943 at

she converted into a training ship. With the end of the war she was reduced to reserve. On 5 April 1946 she was sold for scrap to Arnott Young of

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ori ...

and arrived there for breaking up on 5 May.

References

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External links

Ships of the Danae class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diomede (D92) Danae-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1919 ships World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1946