HMS ''Caledon'' 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 th ...

built for 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 ...

during World War I. She was the

name ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the ''Caledon'' sub-class of the C class. She survived both world wars to be scrapped in 1948.

Design and description

The ''Caledon'' sub-class was a slightly larger and improved version of the preceding ''Centaur'' sub-class with a more powerful armament. The ships were

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

, with a beam of and a deep draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was at normal and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. ''Caledon'' was powered by two

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

steam turbines, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

, which produced a total of . The turbines used steam generated by six

Yarrow boiler Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships. The Yarrow boiler design is characteristic ...

s which gave her a speed of about . She carried tons of fuel oil. The ship had a crew of about 400 officers and ratings; this increased to 437 when serving as a flagship.Preston, p. 60 The main armament of the ''Caledon''-class ships consisted of five BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline. One gun was forward of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, two were fore and aft of the two

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

s and the last two were in the stern, with one gun superfiring over the rearmost gun. The two QF 20-cwt anti-aircraft guns were positioned abreast of the fore funnel. The torpedo armament of the ''Caledon''s was four times more powerful than that of the ''Centaur''s, with eight

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in four twin mounts, two on each broadside. ''Caledon'' was converted at the end of 1943 to an anti-aircraft cruiser, replacing the entire former armament with three QF Mk XVI twin and two Bofors Mk IV "Hazemeyer" twin mounts. By 1944 this was supplemented by six Bofors 40 mm Mk III and one Oerlikon Mk III single mounts. The ship's tonnage increased to at full load, including 200 tons of lead ballast.

Construction and career

She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

by Cammell Laird on 17 March 1916, launched on 25 November 1916 and commissioned into the Navy on 6 March 1917. ''Caledon'', commanded by Commodore

Walter Cowan Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, (11 June 1871 – 14 February 1956), known as Tich Cowan, was a Royal Navy officer who saw service in both the First and Second World Wars; in the latter he was one of the oldest British servicemen ...

, saw action in the

Second Battle of Heligoland Bight The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, also the Action in the Helgoland Bight and the , was an inconclusive naval engagement fought between British and German squadrons on 17 November 1917 during the First World War. Background British minela ...

, where the ship was the leader of the First Light Cruiser Squadron. During the battle, British light cruisers, including ''Caledon'', supported by the First Battlecruiser Squadron, attempted to cut off and destroy a force of German minesweepers escorted by light cruisers. The engagement developed into a chase with the German ships retreating behind smoke screens. The pursuit broke off when the British cruisers came under fire from the German battleships and , which were deployed as a distant covering force for the German minesweeping operation. ''Caledon'' was hit by a single shell from one of the German battleships which failed to explode, and did no damage.Bennett 2002, pp. 59, 228. Throughout the battle, five men of ''Caledon''s crew were killed, with one man,

John Henry Carless John Henry Carless (11 November 1896 – 17 November 1917) was a Great Britain, British recipient of the Victoria Cross during the World War I, First World War. Early life Carless was born in 1896 to John Thomas Carless, an iron foundry wor ...

being awarded a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for remaining at his gun after receiving a fatal wound. ''Caledon'' survived the

First World War 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 ...

. ''Caledon'' took part in the British naval intervention in the Baltic in 1919, serving as Rear Admiral Cowan's flagship for a force of two cruisers (''Caledon'' and and five destroyers that sailed for the Baltic in January 1919.Bennett 2002, pp. 52–53, 70–73. ''Caledon'' shelled Soviet forces at

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during February, helping Latvians to retake the town, before being returning to the United Kingdom later that month, with British naval forces in the Baltic being relieved every six weeks.Bennett 2002, pp. 73–76. ''Caledon'' returned to the Baltic, again as Cowan's flagship, in April 1919, but was relieved by in May.Bennett 2002, pp. 87–88, 109. ''Caledon'' returned again in July.Bennett 2002, pp. 43–44. The ship spent the early part of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

with the Home Fleet, where she escorted convoys and was involved in the pursuit of the German battleships and after the sinking of . She was reassigned to 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 ...

between August 1940 and September 1942. ''Caledon'' then rejoined the Home Fleet. Upon her arrival in the UK, she underwent conversion into an anti-aircraft cruiser at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

between 14 September 1942 and 7 December 1943, replacing the entire armament with modern AA weaponry. Obsolete by the end of the war, she was disarmed in April 1945, and subsequently sold for scrap on 22 January 1948. ''Caledon'' arrived at the yards of Dover Industries, Dover, on 14 February 1948 to be broken up.Whitley, pp. 66–68

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

HMS ''Caledon'' at Uboat.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caledon C-class cruisers Ships built on the River Mersey 1916 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom