HMS Kenya (14)
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HMS ''Kenya'' was a
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
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 named after
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, a British possession at the time of the ship's construction.


Service history


Convoy escort

''Kenya'' was launched on 18 August 1939 from the yards of
Alexander Stephen and Sons Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland. History The comp ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and after working up was commissioned on 27 September 1940. She took part in the hunt for the in May 1941 whilst part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron,
Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...
, based at
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
. On 3 June ''Kenya'' and the cruiser surprised and sank the German tanker ''Belchen'' which was supplying in the
Davis Straits Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Atlantic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer Joh ...
.


Operation Stonewall

During September and October 1941, the Royal Navy devised
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 ...
, to intercept
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s which were escorting outbound
blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...
s through 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), ...
into the Atlantic. After providing escort to the Malta convoy Halberd on 24 September on 1 October, ''Kenya'' and the cruiser made to intercept the blockade runner ''Rio Grande'', destined for Japan and escorted by . ''Rio Grande'' escaped but another blockade runner, , was sunk on 3 October west of
Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...
.


Arctic operations

New research into declassified State Department records on the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
has revealed that on 19 March 1942, ''Kenya'' transported 10 tons of gold from the Soviet Union to the United States as payment for loans and war materials. ''Kenya'' also avoided damage in air attacks by the Germans on 27–28 March. She had by now received the nickname "The Pink Lady", due to her
Mountbatten Pink Mountbatten pink, also called Plymouth Pink, is a Ship camouflage, naval camouflage colour resembling greyish mauve. It was first used by Louis Mountbatten, Lord Mountbatten of the British Royal Navy during World War II. After noticing a Union-C ...
camouflage paint, during the commando raid against installations on Vågsøy Island off the
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
coast. This was attributed to her Mountbatten Pink camouflage blending in with the pink marker dye the Germans were using in their shells, preventing German spotters from distinguishing between shell splashes and the ship. The force returned to Scapa Flow in early January 1942. ''Kenya'' returned to escorting
Arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
between March and May 1942. On 22 March after escorting PQ12 to Murmansk ''Kenya'' was loaded with 10 tonnes of Russian bullion and took it back to Britain for safe keeping.


Operation Pedestal

''Kenya'' played a prominent role in
Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...
during August 1942.  Pedestal was a Royal Navy operation to escort a convoy of 14 merchant ships through the western Mediterranean to relieve and resupply the besieged island of Malta.  The convoy escort was the largest ever assembled in World War II, comprising 2 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 7 light cruisers (including ''Kenya'') and 26 destroyers.  Through 11 and 12 August, it successfully fought off massed air attacks by the German Luftwaffe and the Italian Regia Aeronautica, with the loss of only 1 merchant ship and 1 destroyer.  The aircraft carrier HMS ''Eagle'' was also lost to a lone submarine attack on 11 August. The heavily mined waters between Sicily and Tunisia (the Narrows) made it too dangerous for the battleships and surviving aircraft carriers to escort the convoy all the way to Malta, and for the last , the escort comprised a smaller force (Force X) of cruisers and destroyers, including ''Kenya''.  During the night of 12 August and during the following day, the convoy was heavily attacked by Axis air forces, submarines and motor torpedo boats. During these actions, ''Kenya's'' bow was blown off by a torpedo fired by the Italian submarine ''Alagi''.  This necessitated emergency shoring of the forward bulkhead and a reduced maximum speed of . In all, a further two cruisers and eight merchant ships were lost in the night action of 12/13 August; Only ''Rochester Castle'', ''Port Chalmers'', ''Melbourne Star'', ''Brisbane Star'' and the oil tanker ''Ohio'' made it to Grand Harbour Valletta, and ''Kenya'' was left as the most powerful surviving ship in Force X. After leading the surviving ships of the convoy to the safety of Malta’s fighter screen,.  ''Kenya'' then led Force X safely back to Gibraltar, despite further air attacks.


End of war

''Kenya'' joined the
America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...
with the 8th Cruiser Squadron in October 1946, but in December of the following year, she returned to the UK and was placed in the
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 ...
. The cruiser had a comprehensive modernisation in 1945–1946 with new standardised, twin 40 mm light anti aircraft guns and updated surface and long-range early-warning radar and fire control for the anti-aircraft armament. She was reactivated to replace the cruiser on the Far East station, in 1949 after another extensive refit.


Korean War

''Kenya'' took part in naval operations in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In March she bombarded Choda Island in preparation for landing 200
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...
troops there. Unfortunately the troops never showed up. After further patrols off Inchon her next action came on 11 April when she was ordered to leave Sasebo to search for a communist aircraft that had been shot down. She was called off the operation early to sail to
Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...
, Japan where Captain Podger took command of the ship on 22 April. In May she took position off Inchon and spent about 10 days there bombarding the land on several occasions. The patrols and bombardments continued throughout the summer – with a trip to Hong Kong that broke the monotony – until 25 August when she left Sasebo, via Hong Kong, for a refit 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 ...
. She slipped the refit jetty on 12 November and rearmed before leaving the Far East Station on 17 November. Kenya docked in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
on 10 December and at
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
three days later before entering the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
on 16 December. Following the war, ''Kenya'' had an extensive year long refit in 1945–1946 at Chatham with new radars and standardisation of the light anti-aircraft armament on 5 twin Mk5 Bofors and 8 single 40mm. ''Kenya'' saw service in the Korean War on shore bombardment duties. In 1953–1955 the vessel refitted and spent a long period in reserve until August 1955Crabb, 1998, p. 181 when she reentered service as a replacement for the cruiser on the
West Indian station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...
. She paid off into reserve in August 1958, the ship was declared for disposal in February 1959 and was scrapped in 1962.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *Smith, Peter C (1970). ''Pedestal: The convoy that saved Malta William Kimber, London, ISBN 0-947554-77-7'' *


External links


WWII cruisers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenya Ships built on the River Clyde 1939 ships World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Cold War cruisers of the United Kingdom Korean War cruisers of the United Kingdom