HMS ''Newfoundland'' 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 ...

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 ...

. Named after the Dominion of Newfoundland, she participated in 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 ...

and was later sold to the Peruvian Navy. The hospital ship was a different ship, although also torpedoed in the Mediterranean in 1943.

Early career

''Newfoundland'' 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 ...

and launched 19 December 1941 by the wife of the then British Minister of Labour,

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–194 ...

. The ship was completed in December 1942 and commissioned the next month. A British Cruiser Keeps in Fighting Trim

After commissioning ''Newfoundland'' joined the 10th Cruiser Squadron, Home Fleet. Early in 1943 the ship became flagship of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, Mediterranean. On the night of 13/14 July 1943, during

Sicily Campaign The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

, she provided effective support for 1st Parachute Brigade helping to secure the Primasole Bridge, linking Catania with Syra. On 23 July 1943, she was torpedoed by the . Some sources attribute the torpedo to the . One crewman was killed in the attack. Her rudder having been blown off, temporary repairs were carried out at

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 ...

. Later, steering by her propellers only, and with the assistance of "jury rigged" sails between her funnels, she steamed to the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

for major repairs. In 1944 the ship was re-commissioned for service in the Far East. While at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

an exploding air vessel occurred in one of the torpedoes in the port tubes which caused severe damage and one casualty. The repairs delayed her arrival in the Far East for service with the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...

(BPF). ''Newfoundland'' went to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

to support the

Australian 6th Division The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action. It was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when ...

in the Aitape-Wewak campaign. On 14 June 1945, as part of a BPF task group, ''Newfoundland'' attacked the Japanese naval base at Truk, in the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...

during Operation Inmate. On 6 July ''Newfoundland'' left the forward base of Manus in the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

with other ships of the BPF to take part in the Allied campaign against the

Japanese home islands The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East Chin ...

. On 9 August she took part in a bombardment of the Japanese city of

Kamaishi is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi ...

. ''Newfoundland'' was part of a

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

force which took control of the naval base at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

. The ship was present in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

when the Instrument of Surrender was signed aboard the US battleship , on 2 September 1945. ''Newfoundland'' was then assigned the task of repatriating

prisoners of war. She returned to Great Britain in December 1946.

Postwar

''Newfoundland'' was initially 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 was used as a training ship as part of the stokers' training establishment , before starting a 20-month reconstruction at Plymouth in 1951. Recommissioned on 5 November 1952, she became flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

. The cabinet of Sri Lanka met on board her during the Hartal of 1953. From December 1953 ''Newfoundland'' underwent a three-month 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, bor ...

before transferring to the Far East Station, shelling

Malayan National Liberation Army The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), often mistranslated as the Malayan Races Liberation Army, was a communist guerrilla army that fought for Malayan independence from the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and l ...

targets near Penang in June 1954 when on passage to the Far East. On 31 October 1956, the was cruising South of the Suez Canal in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

, when ''Newfoundland'' encountered her and ordered her to heave to. Aware of tensions between Britain and Egypt that would lead to the Suez Crisis, ''Domiat'' refused and opened fire on the cruiser, causing some damage and casualties. The cruiser, with the destroyer , then returned fire and sank her opponent, rescuing 69 survivors from the wreckage. One man from the ''Newfoundland'' was killed and five were wounded.The War at Sea
''Newfoundland'' then returned to the Far East until paid off to the reserve at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 24 June 1959. She was sold to the Peruvian Navy on 2 November 1959, and subsequently renamed ''Almirante Grau'' and then to in 1973. The cruiser was hulked in 1979 and used as a static training ship in Callao, before being decommissioned and scrapped later that year.

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References

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External links

WWII cruisers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newfoundland (C59) Ships built on the River Tyne 1941 ships World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Cold War cruisers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in July 1943 it:BAP Almirante Grau (CL-81)#HMS Newfoundland (59)