HMS Phoebe (43)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Phoebe.

Phoebe at anchor on completion
History
United Kingdom
Name	Phoebe
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Govan, Scotland)
Laid down	2 September 1937
Launched	25 March 1939
Commissioned	27 September 1940
Decommissioned	14 March 1953
Out of service	14 March 1951
Identification	Pennant number 43
Fate	Scrapped, 1 August 1956
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Dido-class light cruiser
Displacement	5,600 tons standard 6,850 tons full load
Length	485 ft (148 m) pp 512 ft (156 m) oa
Beam	50.5 ft (15.4 m)
Draught	14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power	Four Admiralty 3-drum boilers 62,000 shp (46 MW)
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbines
Speed	32.25 knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph)
Range	2,414 km (1,500 miles) at 30 knots 6,824 km (4,240 miles) at 16 knots
Complement	480
Armament	8 (4x2) 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns, 1 x 4.0 in (102 mm) gun, 8 (2x4) 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns 12 (3x4) 2-pounder (40 mm) anti-aircraft guns 6 (2x3) 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt: 3 inch, Deck: 1 inch, Magazines: 2 inch, Bulkheads: 1 inch.

HMS Phoebe was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Govan, Scotland), her keel was laid down on 2 September 1937. She was launched on 25 March 1939, and commissioned on 30 September 1940.

History

Mediterranean

Phoebe with HM King George VI and HM Queen Elizabeth on board, coming alongside the quay at Belfast in 1942

Phoebe's first six months were spent in the Home Fleet, escorting troop convoys on the first stage of their long voyage via the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East. In April 1941 she was transferred to the 7th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, where she served for the next two-and-a-half years.

One of her first Mediterranean duties was Operation Demon, the evacuation of British and Empire troops from Greece. On 27 April 1941 Phoebe and the destroyers Defender, Hereward, and Hero rescued all the crew and all 2,600 soldiers from the Dutch troop ship Costa Rica. Phoebe then took part in the evacuation of troops from Crete, the landing troops in the Syria–Lebanon campaign, and taking troops to and from Tobruk.

On 27 August 1941, HMS Phoebe (43) was hit by a torpedo from an Italian S79 torpedo bomber while covering troop transports to the besieged Tobruk. Temporary repairs were made at Alexandria and the cruiser then left to New York for permanent repairs, which were made between 21 November and 21 April 1942 and she returned to service in May 1942.

Africa

On 23 October 1942, Phoebe was torpedoed by the German submarine U-161 off the Congo Estuary, while on passage to French Equatorial Africa. Her route was from Simonstown in South Africa to Freetown in Sierra Leone, but she had to refuel at Pointe Noire. Two U-boats (U-161 and U-126) were patrolling that area at the time.

After the hit, a corvette coming up from the harbour prevented the U-boat from finishing off the cruiser. About 60 crew members were killed. After temporary repairs, Phoebe made for New York for complete repairs, sailing 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) with a hole (60 by 30 feet (18.3 m × 9.1 m)) in her hull. The repairs were not completed until June 1943. In October 1943, she returned to the Mediterranean to take part in the Aegean operations.

Far East

In May 1944, Phoebe was transferred to the Eastern Fleet and was involved in strike operations against the Andaman Islands, Sabang in Northern Sumatra and the Nicobar Islands. In January 1945, she was switched to supporting amphibious operations in Burma and was engaged in actions against Akyab, Ramree Island off the Arakan Coast, and Cheduba Island. From April to May 1945, Phoebe was involved in the amphibious assault on Rangoon as part of the East Indies Fleet's, 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron.

Post war

After VJ-Day, Phoebe returned home for refitting and spent five years in the peacetime Mediterranean Fleet. In early 1948, the cruiser took elements of Royal Marines 40 Commando to Haifa, to assist in the British withdrawal from Mandatory Palestine. On 30 June Phoebe embarked the last GOC Palestine and rearguard troops, as the evacuation was completed. After a period in reserve she was sold for scrap in 1956.

Bibliography

• Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
• Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M.J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.

Further reading

• Whitby, Michael (2022). "The Challenges of Operation 'Tunnel', September 1943 — April 1944". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2022. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 29–46. ISBN 978-1-4728-4781-2.