Career
Class and type:	County-class heavy cruiser
Name:	HMS Cumberland
Builder:	Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow in Furness
Laid down:	18 October 1924
Launched:	16 March 1926
Commissioned:	23 February 1928
Recommissioned:	1951
Decommissioned:	1946
Fate:	Sold for scrap 1959
General characteristics
Displacement:	9,750 tons (9,010 t) standard 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length:	630 ft (190 m)
Beam:	68 ft 3 in (20. Design & development The 10000 ton treaty cruisers were the first type of warships built to internationally-agreed restrictions by the original requirement that they should be capable The heavy cruiser was a type of Cruiser, a naval Warship designed for long range high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 8in in calibre Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and Seaport in Cumbria, England. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 8 m)
Draught:	16 ft 3 in (5. 0 m)
Propulsion:	Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers Four shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines 80,000 shp
Speed:	31. 5 knots (58. 3 km/h)
Range:	3,100 miles at 31. 5 knots (5,740 km at 58 km/h), 13,300 miles at 12 knots (24,600 km at 22 km/h); 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement:	679 (710 as flagship)
Armament:	Original configuration: 8 × 8 in (203 mm) dual guns 4 × 4 in (102 mm) single AA guns 2 x 2 pdr (40 mm) quadruple pom-pom mounts 2 × 0. 5 in MG quadruple guns 2 × 21 in (533 mm) quad Torpedo Tubes
Armour:	Original configuration: 1 to 4 in magazine box protection 1. 375 in deck 1 in side-plating,turrets and bulkheads 4. 5 in belt 4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936-1940)
Aircraft carried:	Three aircraft with one catapult, removed in 1942
Notes:	Pennant number 57

HMS Cumberland was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw action during the Second World War. Design & development The 10000 ton treaty cruisers were the first type of warships built to internationally-agreed restrictions by the original requirement that they should be capable The heavy cruiser was a type of Cruiser, a naval Warship designed for long range high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 8in in calibre The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Career

Cumberland served on the China Station with the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1928 until 1938, returning to the UK in March 1935 for a refit. In 1938, she joined the 2nd cruiser squadron on the South American station.

In the South Atlantic

At the start of the Second World War in 1939, Cumberland was assigned to Force G, the South American Division. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including At the start of December she was forced to self-refit in the Falkland Islands, thus depriving the force of their strongest unit. Without her, HMS Exeter, Ajax and Achilles engaged the German raider Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December. Description Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland class cruiser. The Battle of the River Plate ( December 13, 1939) was the first major naval battle in World War II. Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Cumberland received a garbled indication that a contact was being made and moved north to reinforce, arriving at the River Plate at 22:00 14 December, after steaming for 34 hours. The Río de la Plata ( Spanish: " Silver River" &mdash which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people The Graf Spee had put into neutral Montevideo and was trapped there, as Cumberland along with Ajax and Achilles (Exeter having been heavily damaged) patrolled the estuary, resulting in the Graf Spee being scuttled by her crew on 17 December. Montevideo (monteβi'ðeo is the largest city the capital and chief port of Uruguay. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila

In the distance HMS Obdurate (centre) leaving a Russian bay, with HMS Cumberland (left) and HMS Belfast (right) with HMS Faulknor alongside. Early history The Town class cruisers were constrained to less than 10000 tons by the Washington Naval Treaty. Photograph taken at Vaenga after the arrival of convoy JW 53.

South African service

After this she sailed to Simonstown, South Africa, spending between January and February undergoing a refit. Simon's Town (also widely but incorrectly referred to as Simonstown) and in Afrikaans Simonstad) is a village and a naval base in South Africa, The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa She then escorted convoys along the African coast, bound for the Middle East. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. In July she was tasked, along with her sister, HMS Cornwall, with hunting down the German commerce raider Thor. History Upon completion in 1928 Cornwall joined the China Station. Commerce raiding is to destroy the logistics (supplies of an enemy on the open sea rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a Blockade against them Early history Formerly a Freighter named Santa Cruz, she was built by Deutsche Werft Hamburg (DWH in 1938 and was owned and operated by the Oldenburg Portuguese Whilst on patrol, she intercepted and sank the Vichy French merchant Poitiers, which had been carrying ammunition to the Ivory Coast. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Côte d'Ivoire (ˌkoʊt divˈwɑː(r ' in English, kot diˈvwaʀ in French) or Ivory Coast, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a Later that month she attacked Dakar, suffering damage from a French coastal battery. The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar A single 9. 4 inch shell penetrated the hull just above the armour belt. Her main machinery was put out of action due to the loss of feed water to the boilers and she had to return to the Simonstown dock yard for repairs which lasted until November. In December, Cumberland was again hunting for the merchant raider Thor, but the search proved unsuccessful.

Arctic convoys

In October 1941 Cumberland joined the 1st Cruiser Squadron Home Fleet escorting the Arctic convoys until January 1944, winning the battle honour Arctic 1942-1943. The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdom 's territorial waters The Arctic Convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and the United States to the northern ports of the Soviet A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand

In the Far East

Japanese military representatives on board HMS Cumberland for a conference to discuss terms by which Allied forces would take control of Java, Indonesia

She was then transferred to the Far East, as part of 4th Cruiser Squadron Eastern Fleet. The British Eastern Fleet (also known as the East Indies Fleet and the Far East Fleet) was a fleet of the Royal Navy during World War II In July she was involved in the bombardment of Sabang, and in September she carried out raids on Northern Sumatra. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two In October the Eastern Fleet was used as a diversion force and attacked the Nicobar Islands, so that the landings on Leyte could take place, unfortunately the diversion did not succeed. The Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, and are part of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by American During this period, Cumberland won the battle honours Sabang 1944 and Burma 1945. On 7 February 1945, Cumberland was back in Simonstown to have her rudder removed, and the following month completed an inclination experiment in the wet dock before successfully completing her trials. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince During April whilst operating in the Indian Ocean Cumberland was involved in the shelling of Sabang. Sabang is a City in Aceh, Indonesia. The city is located on Weh Island, 17 km north of Banda Aceh In May she was also responsible for the shelling of Nicobar and Port Blair in theAndaman Islands group. Port Blair ( Hindi: पोर्ट ब्लेयर is the largest town and a Municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India. On 3 September, in company with the cruiser HMS London, they put ashore marine detachments at Sabang in Sumatra after the surrender of Japan the previous day. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Interwar career and rebuild London was laid down by HM Dockyard at Portsmouth on 23 February 1926 launched on 14 September 1927 and completed on 31 January Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close She arrived at Jakarta on the 15th, in company with one frigate and four Australian minesweepers. Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. For the bird see Frigatebird. A frigate /ˈfrɪgɪt/ is a warship A minesweeper is a Naval Warship designed to counter the threat posed by Naval mines The dedicated purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during Because of the disturbances ashore between the Indonesian Nationalists and the Japanese, a British Battalion was not landed on Batavia before 29 September. Timeline of the Indonesian National RevolutionThe Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Batavia is the Latin name for the land of the Batavians during Roman time Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire.

Postwar

She returned to the United Kingdom on 12 November 1945 and transported troops until June 1946, when she was placed in reserve until 1949. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar She was then refitted at Devonport (1949-1951) as a trials cruiser, with lattice masts, new directors and added accommodation. Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Devonport ( HMS ''Drake'') is one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and The original armament was entirely removed, but individual light weapons were added from time to time for trials, and the new quick firing 6" MK26 twin automatic turret was tested on B barbette, she also undertook pre wetting trials against radio-active fallout. In April 1955, glass-reinforced plastic, used today for constructing warships of as much as 700 tons made its debut, when a new 29 foot general purpose sea-boat made of this material was taken onboard Cumberland for the start of her summer season of tests in the Mediterranean. For the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate, Cumberland played herself (being partly disarmed). The Battle of the River Plate is a War film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring In August 1956, at the start of the Suez crisis, Cumberland was deployed in trooping in reinforcements to Cyprus. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía In November 1959, Cumberland left Malta for Barrow-in-Furness. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and Seaport in Cumbria, England.

Cumberland was broken up by Cashmore, Newport, arriving there on 3 November 1959. Newport (Casnewydd is a city and principal area in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

References

• British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, H T Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
• Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). James Joseph Colledge (born 1908 was a noted naval Historian, author of Ships of the Royal Navy, the standard work on the fighting ships of the British Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. For a list of ships of the Royal Navy, see List of Royal Navy ships. ed. , London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• HMS Cumberland at U-boat.net