Difference between revisions of "HMS London"

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A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)

HMS London

HMS London

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

Heavy cruiser

Research:89 000

Purchase:300 000

Show in game

Description

The County-class, HMS London (69), 1945 is a rank IV British heavy cruiser with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Citadel25 / 89 / 35 mm

Main fire tower25 / 25 / 25 mm

Hull25 mm (steel)

Superstructure8 mm (steel)

Number of section9

Displacement13 315 t

Crew793 people

Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB70 / 29 km/h

RB60 / 25 km/h

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Forward	Reverse	Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
AB	Stock	___	___
AB	Upgraded	70	29
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
RB/SB	Upgraded	60	25

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB11 261 → 14 650

RB10 929 → 14 218

Total cost of modifications78 400

134 700

Talisman cost1 700

Crew training87 000

Experts300 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces520 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

450 / 600 / 100 %

172 / 172 / 172 %

Modifications

Seakeeping

Unsinkability

Firepower

Dry-Docking

Research:

3 100

Cost:

5 300

200

Rudder Replacement

Research:

3 500

Cost:

6 000

230

Propeller Replacement

Research:

3 300

Cost:

5 700

210

Engine Maintenance

Research:

6 400

Cost:

11 000

410

Damage Control Division Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 300 200
Fire Division Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 230	Smokescreen Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 230
Shrapnel Protection Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210	Ventilation Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210
New Pumps Research: 6 400 Cost: 11 000 410	Ammo Wetting Research: 6 400 Cost: 11 000 410

Anti-Air Armament Targeting Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 300 200	203mm_uk_mk8_mark_ib_sapc_ammo_pack Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 300 200	102mm_uk_mkxvi_navy_SAP_ammo_pack Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 300 200
Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 230		102mm_uk_mkxvi_navy_he_dist_fuse_ammo_pack Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 230
Primary Armament Targeting Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210	Improved Rangefinder Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210	102mm_uk_mkxvi_navy_he_radio_fuse_ammo_pack Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210
Torpedo Mode Research: 6 400 Cost: 11 000 410

Armament

Primary armament

4 х Turret2 x 8 inch/50 Mark VIII cannon

Ammunition300 rounds

Vertical guidance-3° / 70°

Main article: 8 inch/50 Mark VIII (203 mm)

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

Secondary armament

4 х Turret2 x 4 inch/45 Mark XVI cannon

Ammunition400 rounds

Main article: 4 inch/45 Mark XVI (102 mm)

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

Anti-aircraft armament

4 х Turret40 mm QF Mark VII gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity4 rounds

Fire rate160 shots/min

2 х Turret8 x 40 mm 2pdr QF Mk.VIII automatic cannon

Ammunition17920 rounds

Belt capacity56 rounds

Fire rate200 shots/min

8 х Turret2 x 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mark V autocannon

Ammunition3600 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Fire rate450 shots/min

4 х Turret20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II autocannon

Ammunition1800 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Fire rate450 shots/min

Main articles: 2pdr QF Mk.VIII (40 mm), QF Mark VII (40 mm), 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm), 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mark V (20 mm)

An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.

Additional armament

Setup 18 x 533 mm Mk.IX wet-heater torpedo

Main article: Mk.IX (533 mm)

Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

Very effective anti-air defences
8 inch guns are useful for sinking cruisers and destroyers
Ammunition is stored under the water line and is well protected
Carries torpedoes which are useful in close range encounters
Decent speed for a heavy cruiser

Cons:

Guns lack AP shells to deal with battlecruisers and battleships
No bridge protection, losing control is very common in this ship
Lacks deck armour against plunging shells
Armour is weak against battleship-calibre guns
Outgunned by battleships, battlecruisers, and some American heavy cruisers

History

HMS London (69) was a second-generation County-class heavy cruiser. Unlike her predecessor, HMS Kent, the London has a revised superstructure and different armour protection. Commissioned in 1929, she saw extensive service before the War including the evacuation of refugees from Barcelona, during the Spanish Civil War. She was the only County-class heavy cruiser to be reconstructed, and featured a superstructure similar to the Fiji-class cruisers. During the Second World War, she participated in the hunt for Bismarck but spent most of her time serving with the Eastern fleet. She served with the China Station after the end of the war, and was scrapped in 1950.

Design and construction

The London, similar to her predecessors, was designed as a treaty cruiser of the Washington Naval Treaty. Thus, she was built within the 10-thousand ton standard-displacement limit and suffered, subsequently, from having little armour. She carried substantial armament of eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four double mounts, as well as two quadruple torpedo launchers.^[1] She was also one of the only County-class ships to receive an improved anti-aircraft armament. She could make a top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h).^[1]

The London was laid down in February of 1926, and was launched in September of 1927. She was formally commissioned on January 31st 1929.^[1]^[2]

Operational service

After her commissioning, the London became the flagship of the 1st Cruiser squadron. She served with the 1st Cruiser squadron until the outbreak of war in 1939. During the Spanish Civil War, London evacuated thousands of civilians from Barcelona with her sister ship Shropshire. From March 1939, she was given a lengthy refit; though her engines were not refitted, she was given a new superstructure giving her a similar appearance to the Fiji-class cruisers.^[2]

London's reconstruction was completed by March of 1941; she then participated in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck.^[1] During this time, it was found that her new superstructure caused significant weight stress to the upper hull, so she was repaired once again between late 1941 and early 1942.^[2] When service with the British Atlantic fleet caused cracks to appear in the hull, she was repaired once again; this time, she would not be operational until 1943. Following the completion of repairs, she served with the Eastern fleet until the end of the war.^[2]

As the only modernised County-class heavy cruiser, the London was selected to serve after the war. She sailed to the Far East in 1946 to serve with the China Station. She remained in Chinese waters until 1949, when she was relieved by the cruiser HMS Kenya.^[2] It was determined that London's ageing equipment and large crew complement made an additional refit unfeasible; as a result, she was sold for scrapping in 1950.^[2]

Devblog

The County-class cruisers, also known as the A-Type cruisers, were the first British cruiser vessels to be developed in the interwar period of the 1920s. Their design being heavily influenced by the restrictions imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty, meant that British shipbuilders had to find compromises during development in order to comply with the treaty as well as to meet the requirements of the Royal Navy for a ship capable of trade route protection.

This resulted in the creation of a ship design with good cruising range and adequate firepower, but very light armour protection in order to stay within treaty restrictions. The orders for the first ships were placed in the mid 1920’s and construction began in 1924.

HMS London (C69) was laid down in February 1926 and commissioned into service in January 1929 as the lead ship of the second batch of County-class cruisers to be built, known as the London subclass. During the 1930’s, HMS London took part in a goodwill visit to Venice and assisted in the evacuation of civilians from Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, before being sent to drydock for refit in 1939.

In 1941, HMS London took part in the hunt for the battleship Bismarck, after which the ship was once again dry-docked for repairs. The following year, HMS London assisted in escorting several convoys in the Atlantic, after which she was assigned to South African waters in 1943, before joining the Eastern Fleet. HMS London continued serving in the postwar years, during which the ship got involved in an incident in Chinese waters in 1949 which left it heavily damaged. Being deemed uneconomical for repairs, HMS London was sold for scrap in January 1950.

Media

External links

[Devblog] HMS London: Anticipated Calibre

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Chen, C. (2007)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Helgason, G. (1995)

Works Cited

Chen, C. (2007, May). Heavy Cruiser London. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=326
Helgason, G. (1995). HMS London (69). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1178.html

Britain heavy cruisers
Hawkins-class	HMS Hawkins
York-class	HMS York
County-class	HMS Kent · HMS London · HMS Norfolk

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Chen, C. (2007)

[:1-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Helgason, G. (1995)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 70: / Line 70: @@
 * Outgunned by battleships, battlecruisers, and some American heavy cruisers
-== History ==<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
+== History ==
+<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
+HMS ''London'' (69) was a second-generation County-class heavy cruiser. Unlike her predecessor, ''[[HMS Kent (54)|HMS Kent]]'', the ''London'' has a revised superstructure and different armour protection. Commissioned in 1929, she saw extensive service before the War including the evacuation of refugees from Barcelona, during the Spanish Civil War. She was the only County-class heavy cruiser to be reconstructed, and featured a superstructure similar to the ''Fiji''-class cruisers. During the Second World War, she participated in the hunt for ''Bismarck'' but spent most of her time serving with the Eastern fleet. She served with the China Station after the end of the war, and was scrapped in 1950.
-=== '''The Treaty Cruiser''' ===
+'''Design and construction'''
-The 1921 Washington Treaty conference aimed to prevent war between the major naval powers by restricting warship construction. It decided that cruiser displacement should be limited to a maximum of 10,000 tons per ship. Britain had set the pace by constructing the Hawkins Class – the most modern and capable cruisers of their time – which displaced close to 10,000 tons. It was known that the USA and Japan would soon match, and probably exceed, them, building 10,000-ton cruisers with 8-inch guns (the Hawkins Class ships carried 7.5-inch main guns). The British answer was heavy cruisers of the County Class, constructed in three batches that were to be armed with 8-inch guns and would be fast with long-range. At the end of 1923, the British administration gave the building of eight County Class cruisers known as Kent class (''Kent, Suffolk, Cumberland, Berwick,'' and ''Cornwall'') with two extras (''Australia'' and ''Canberra'') for the Royal Australian Navy. They were laid down between July 1924 and September 1925 and completed between July 1927 and July 1928. Next came the London Class (''London'', ''Devonshire, Shropshire,'' and ''Sussex''), laid down between March 1926 and February 1927 and completed between January and September 1929.
-The most obvious difference between the London Class and the ''Kent'' was removing a protective bulge on the waterline, which forced a modified hull design that increased length by two feet eight inches and incorporated internal bulges. Their high freeboard meant they were, in most weather, dry ships and could keep up a good rate of knots even in heavy seas. The beam of the ''Kent'' was two feet five inches wider than the ''London''. HMS ''London''<nowiki/>'s displacement was 9,850 tons (standard) and 13,315 tons (full load). She was 632 feet 8 inches in length, with a sixty-six-foot beam and a draught of twenty feet nine inches. Propulsion was provided by Parsons geared turbines and eight Admiralty three-drum boilers. HMS ''London'' could carry 3,190 tons of oil and achieve more than thirty-two knots. In addition to eight 8-inch main guns and four 4-inch-high angles, secondary London had four 2-pounder guns and eight 21-inch torpedo tubes. The bridge and the foremast of the London Class cruisers were set further aft to allow B turret to fire 'abaft the beam without blasting the bridge.
+The ''London'', similar to her predecessors, was designed as a treaty cruiser of the Washington Naval Treaty. Thus, she was built within the 10-thousand ton standard-displacement limit and suffered, subsequently, from having little armour. She carried substantial armament of eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns in four double mounts, as well as two quadruple torpedo launchers.<ref name=":0">Chen, C. (2007)</ref> She was also one of the only County-class ships to receive an improved anti-aircraft armament. She could make a top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h).<ref name=":0" />
-=== '''HMS ''London'' in the 1930s''' ===
+The ''London'' was laid down in February of 1926, and was launched in September of 1927. She was formally commissioned on January 31st 1929.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Helgason, G. (1995)</ref>
-For her first overseas deployment, HMS ''London'' was sent to the Mediterranean, where she became the flagship of the First Cruiser Squadron and activated in the following years. Trouble was brewing on the island of Cyprus in the early 1930s and soon boiled over into insurrection. It had been granted Crown Colony status in 1925, after being taken from the Turks and occupied by British forces in the First World War. Its position in the eastern Mediterranean made it an ideal base from which to provide additional security for British interests in the Middle East, such as the Suez Canal and Palestine. A strategically vital oil pipeline terminated at Haifa, and the island was also an important staging post for travelers heading to Britain's empire in Asia. Having cast off the hated Turks, Greek Cypriots were angry and frustrated at being prevented by British rule from uniting with their ethnic homeland of Greece. A decision by the Crown Colony administrators to raise taxes stoked the fires of resentment. On 21 October 1931, a mob gathered and marched on the Governor's residence. They burned it to the ground and then went on the rampage when the police belatedly intervened.
-The Royal Navy was asked to aid the civil powers, with HMS ''London'' and her sister ship HMS ''Shropshire'' sent to suppress the uprising in company with the destroyers HMS ''Acasta'' and HMS ''Achates''. At Larnaca, HMS ''London'' landed armed shore parties of Royal Marines and sailors to protect government offices. They found the local population still defiant and capable of violence. The protestors hurled verbal abuse at London's marines and matelots, waving the Greek flag in their faces. Stones rained down on the helmets of the British, but they held firm. The rioters were trying to make the marines and sailors lose their cool and open fire in the hope that Greece might protest and even intervene militarily. In the early hours of 25 October, the revolt leaders were arrested by troops and police. They were taken by boat to ''London'' and ''Shropshire'', where they were held in the cruisers' wardrooms' convivial surroundings. The detainees were given every hospitality, including good food and drink. A few stiff whiskies helped steady the nerves of those still a little shocked at being hauled from their beds in the wee small hours. The seizing of the leaders took the steam out of the revolt, and the British warships were soon able to quit the island's harbors, leaving a job well done behind them.
+'''Operational service'''
-On 18 July 1936, the Fascist General Franco led an uprising by twelve military garrisons on mainland Spain and five in Spanish Morocco. Most of southern Spain fell to the Fascists, and outside forces intervened to stoke the fires of conflict – the Germans and Italians on the Fascist side and Russia on the Republican government side. Thousands of British passport holders were at the mercy of various warring factions, and the UK government responded by sending warships, including HMS London, to evacuate them from danger, using Barcelona and Valencia as points of embarkation. The ship stopped at Malta for supplies and then went on to Barcelona in company with the Devonshire. On 22 July, the cruiser was secured by her stern to the Mole in Barcelona harbor and the ship received reports from ashore saying the city was now quiet after savage fighting.
+After her commissioning, the ''London'' became the flagship of the 1st Cruiser squadron. She served with the 1st Cruiser squadron until the outbreak of war in 1939. During the Spanish Civil War, ''London'' evacuated thousands of civilians from Barcelona with her sister ship ''Shropshire''. From March 1939, she was given a lengthy refit; though her engines were not refitted, she was given a new superstructure giving her a similar appearance to the ''Fiji''-class cruisers.<ref name=":1" />
-{{Quote/Documentation}}
+''London's'' reconstruction was completed by March of 1941; she then participated in the hunt for the German battleship ''Bismarck''.<ref name=":0" /> During this time, it was found that her new superstructure caused significant weight stress to the upper hull, so she was repaired once again between late 1941 and early 1942.<ref name=":1" /> When service with the British Atlantic fleet caused cracks to appear in the hull, she was repaired once again; this time, she would not be operational until 1943. Following the completion of repairs, she served with the Eastern fleet until the end of the war.<ref name=":1" />
-As ''London'' waited for the evacuees to start arriving, the situation grew more volatile. On 23 July, a bomb from an aircraft landed near a British warship patrolling the Straits of Gibraltar. HMS ''London'' was informed that Barcelona's British Colony of 1,000 people, including many nuns, was to be evacuated. By midnight on 23 July, only 200 people had turned up, with forty of them being immediately sent to Marseilles aboard the destroyer HMS ''Douglas'', which had come alongside London to take them off.
+As the only modernised County-class heavy cruiser, the ''London'' was selected to serve after the war. She sailed to the Far East in 1946 to serve with the China Station. She remained in Chinese waters until 1949, when she was relieved by the cruiser HMS ''Kenya''.<ref name=":1" /> It was determined that London's ageing equipment and large crew complement made an additional refit unfeasible; as a result, she was sold for scrapping in 1950.<ref name=":1" />
-At the beginning of August, the Italian and Swiss governments ordered all their nationals out of Spain. ''London'' was flooded with desperate people, and Commander Wright gave up his cabin to a refugee family, ending up sleeping on the upper deck by X-turret. ''London'' was told on 7 August that she would stay another fifteen days in Barcelona. After returning to Gibraltar, she was to head back to Portsmouth for a refit that was due to commence in November, during which she was to receive four more high-angle 4-inch guns. By mid-August, it was apparent to Captain Wright that an increasing number of the 'British' refugees were bogus:
-{{Quote/Documentation}}
-On 22 August, HMS ''London'' was pleased to note that HMS ''Shropshire'' had arrived in Barcelona to relieve herself. Between 23 July and 29 July, 839 refugees were evacuated via HMS ''London'', and a further 1,000 were sent to safety between 30 July and 21 August.
-At the end of 1936, HMS ''London'' was tasked with hunting down gunrunners in Western Mediterranean. Her aircrafts located a suspicious-looking vessel that could well have been a gunrunner, but the cruiser caught up after five hours of hard steaming, only to discover that it was not the suitable quarry at all. In 1937 HMS ''London'' was called back to Britain for celebrating the coronation of King George VI and another major refit.
 === [[wt:en/news/6626-development-hms-london-anticipated-calibre-en|Devblog]] ===
@@ Line 133: / Line 125: @@
 === Works Cited ===
-* Ballantyne, I. (2002). ''HMS London: Warships of the Royal Navy''. Casemate Publishers.
+* Chen, C. (2007, May). Heavy Cruiser London. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from <nowiki>https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=326</nowiki>
-* Beesly, P. (1990). Convoy PQ 17: A study of intelligence and decision‐making. ''Intelligence and National Security'', ''5''(2), 292-322.
+* Helgason, G. (1995). HMS London (69). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from <nowiki>https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1178.html</nowiki>
-* Brown, D. K. (2012). ''Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923 1945''. Seaforth Publishing.
-* Colledge, J. J., & Warlow, B. (2010). ''Ships of the Royal Navy: The complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present''. Casemate/Greenhill.
-* Irving, D. J. C. (1968). ''The Destruction of Convoy PQ. 17''. Cassell
 {{Britain heavy cruisers}}

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Difference between revisions of "HMS London"

Revision as of 11:42, 20 May 2021

Contents

Description

General info

Survivability and armour

Mobility

Modifications and economy

Armament

Primary armament

Secondary armament

Anti-aircraft armament

Additional armament

Usage in battles

Pros and cons

History

Devblog

Media

See also

External links

References

Works Cited