HMS ''Mauritius'', pennant C80, was a
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
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 F ...
. The ship was built by
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England.
At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. She was named after
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
, which was a
British colony
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
when she was built and entered service in 1941.
Service
![HMS Mauritius firing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/HMS_Mauritius_firing.jpg)
''Mauritius'' was completed with an internal degaussing system which induced severe corrosion to the ship's fire main (made of copper); this major defect, which rendered her unfit for action, required refits, first at
Simonstown, later at
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, and finally at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
.
The future Admiral of the Fleet
Henry Leach
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instru ...
served as a midshipman aboard ''Mauritius'' during this time.
She joined the
Eastern Fleet
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
in 1942, but was withdrawn in April 1943 to reinforce the
Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
. After repairs following grounding, she was operational in June 1943 and thereafter participated in the landings in Sicily, (
Operation Husky
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
), in July as a unit of Support Force East, when she carried out shore bombardment duties.
In September she was part of the covering force for the
Salerno landings
Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, b ...
, but by the end of the year had been transferred to the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
to carry out anti-blockade-runner patrols, as part of
Operation Stonewall
Operation Stonewall was a World War II operation to intercept blockade runners off the west coast of German-occupied France. It was an effective example of inter-service and international co-operation.
Background
From the start of the war, the ...
. However, she soon returned to the Mediterranean, this time for
Operation Shingle
The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The ope ...
, the Anzio landings, in January 1944. In June 1944 she covered the
landings in Normandy
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
as part of Force D off
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...
, then carried out offensive patrols of the
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
coast in August to mop up the remnants of the German shipping in the area. Operating with destroyers, she sank ''
Sperrbrecher
A ''Sperrbrecher'' (German; informally translated as "pathfinder" but literally meaning "mine barrage breaker"), was a German auxiliary ship of the First World War and the Second World War that served as a type of minesweeper, steaming ahead of ot ...
'' ''157'' on 14/15 August and during the battle of
Battle of Audierne Bay
The Battle of the Audierne Bay was an engagement between German and Allied naval flotillas that took place on 23 August 1944, during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a worl ...
sank five ''
Vorpostenboot
''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...
e'' on 22/23 August. After this she returned to the Home Fleet, covering the carrier raids along the Norwegian coast and making anti-shipping strikes. On the night of 27/28 January 1945, in company with the cruiser , she fought the
action of 28 January 1945
The action of 28 January 1945 was an inconclusive naval battle of the Second World War fought between two British Royal Navy light cruisers and three ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) destroyers near Bergen, Norway. The battle was the last of many ...
with German destroyers in which was badly damaged. Following this action she was refitted at
Cammell-Laird's between February 1945 and March 1946.
She then served in the Mediterranean, including passing through the Corfu Channel during the
Corfu Channel Incident
The Corfu Channel Incident consists of three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. in 1946, with the 15th (later lst) Cruiser Squadron, returning to the UK in 1948. After a spell in
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
and in refit, she recommissioned in 1949 for the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, sailing on 6 May 1949. The years 1949 to 1951 were spent on the East Indies Station with the 4th Cruiser Squadron until she returned to
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
on 18 December 1951.
Decommissioning and disposal
![Ship bell of HMS Mauritius in Robinson College, College](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Ship_bell_of_HMS_Mauritius_in_Robinson_College%2C_College.jpg)
''Mauritius'' was placed in reserve in 1952 and remained there until 1965, when she was sold for scrapping to
Thos. W. Ward
Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery.
I ...
. She arrived at their yard at Inverkeithing, on 27 March 1965.
Shore establishment
HMS ''Mauritius'' was also the name of a
Royal Navy shore establishment in Mauritius.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
WWII cruisers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauritius (C80)
Ships built by Swan Hunter
Ships built on the River Tyne
1939 ships
World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in 1946
Corfu Channel incident