HMS Tiger (C20)
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HMS Tiger pre-conversion |
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| Career |  |
|
|---|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1941 Supplementary Programme | |
| Laid down: | 1 October 1941 | |
| Launched: | 25 October 1945 | |
| Commissioned: | 18 March 1959 | |
| Decommissioned: | April 1978 | |
| Fate: | Scrapped starting October 1986 | |
| General Characteristics | ||
| Displacement: | 11,560 tons as built 12,080 tons after conversion |
|
| Length: | 555.5 ft (169.3 m) overall 538 ft (166 m) between perpendiculars |
|
| Beam: | 64 ft (19.5 m) | |
| Draught: | 21 ft (6.43 m) | |
| Propulsion: | 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 400 psi Parsons geared Steam turbines 4 shafts, 80,000 shp |
|
| Speed: | 31.5 knots | |
| Range: | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots | |
| Complement: | 716 (885 after conversion) | |
| Armament: | As built: 4 × 6 in (152 mm) guns (2 × 2) 6 × 3 in (76 mm) (3 × 2) After Conversion: |
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| Aircraft, after conversion: | 4 helicopters (originally Westland Wessex then Sea King) | |
| Motto: | ||
HMS Tiger was a conventional cruiser of the Royal Navy, one of a three ship class known as the Tiger class. Tiger was originally named Bellerophon, and laid down in 1941 at the John Brown Shipyard as part of the Minotaur-class light cruisers. They had a low construction prioity due to more pressing requirements for other ship types during World War II, particularly anti-submarine craft. Bellerophon was renamed Tiger in 1945, and was launched, partially constructed, on 25 October 1945. She was christened by Lady Stansgate, the mother of MP Anthony Wedgewood Benn. However, work on Tiger was suspended in 1946, and laid up at Dalmuir.
Construction of Tiger resumed, but to a new design, with Tiger becoming the name ship of the class. The new design was approved in 1951, but construction did not resume until 1954. She would have semi-automatic 6 inch guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun capable of shooting 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of fully-automatic 3 inch guns which delivered 90 rounds per minute per gun. She would have no lighter anti-aircraft armament or torpedo tubes. Air conditioning was fitted throughout the ship, and a 200-line automatic telephone exchange was installed. Each 6 inch and 3 inch mounting had its own director, linked to a dedicated radar on the director. Tiger was finally commissioned in 1959.
She took part in operations in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation in the early 1960s. In 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Ian Smith, the latter of which had declared the former colony of Rhodesia independent from Britain due to Britain's insistence on black majority rule there. Tiger was placed in reserve in 1966 before undergoing conversion to a helicopter and commando cruiser from 1968-72 in Devenport.
This reconstruction included replacing the after 6 inch mount and 3 inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar. She also had new radars and taller funnels. She had excellent command, control, and communications facilities installed, and found use as a flagship to task groups. The refit was very expensive; some say the many millions to convert Tiger, as-well as her sister ship Blake to helicopter cruisers drained much needed resources better used elsewhere. She was recommissioned in 1972. Tiger took part in the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II. Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain. When a pacifist political climate came around with a defense manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages, in 1978 Tiger was placed in reserve, subsequently being placed on the disposal list in 1979. She was scrapped in Spain starting in October 1986.
See HMS Tiger for other ships of the name.
[edit] References
- Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922 - 1946 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1980)
- Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947 - 1982 (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1983)
- Jane's Fighting Ships 1950-51 (Janes Publishing, London, 1950)
- Alan Raven and John Roberts, British Cruisers of World War II, (Arms and Armour Press, London, 1980)
- M. J. Whitley, Cruisers of World War Two: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (Arms and Armour Press, London, 1995)
| Tiger-class cruiser |
| Blake | Lion | Tiger |
List of cruisers of the Royal Navy |
