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HMS Dido was the name ship of her class of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, UK), with the keel being laid down on 26 October 1937. She was launched on 18 July 1939 and commissioned 30 September 1940.
History
After working up was completed early November 1940, Dido became a member of the 15th cruiser squadron deployed in blockading the approaches to the Bay of Biscay. This duty was designed to prevent raids by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer. In March 1941 she provided cover for the successful commando raid on the Lofoten Islands (Operation Claymore).
A 20 mm Oerlikon gunner on board HMS Dido getting a light from a pal between bombing attacks in the eastern Mediterranean
Mediterranean
In April 1941, Dido was transferred to the Mediterranean, to reinforce the fleet based at Alexandria. During May she was involved in escorting convoys from Alexandria to Malta. On the 29th of that month, Dido and the cruiser HMS Orion were both badly damaged by German bombs after embarking troops from Sphakia and Heraklian in Crete. In June, she was a member of Rear Admiral Halifax's force. Halifax was Senior Officer Red Sea Force, tasked to capture the port of Asseb, and his fleet consisted of a transport ship, an armed merchant cruiser, and two Indian sloops. On the morning of 11 June, whilst still under cover of darkness, two motor boats, each carrying 30 men of the Punjab Regiment, went into the harbour under an umbrella of air bombardment, and the broadside from Dido.
A 20 mm Oerlikon gunner on board HMS Dido getting a light from a pal between bombing attacks in the eastern Mediterranean
The troops landed without a shot being fired at them, in fact two Italian Generals were captured in their pyjamas, by 0600 the Task Force entered Asseb, this was the last Italian occupied harbour in the Red Sea. In July 1941, the cruiser entered the Simonstown dockyard in South Africa for repairs, and was docked in the Selborne dry dock. After this she retired to Durban for more extensive repairs. On 15 August 1941 she set sail for the USA, and was refitted at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. By December 1941, the cruiser was back in the Mediterranean, where she was involved in escorting convoys from Alexandria to Malta.
During January-February 1942, Dido was escorting, and also used as a covering force for the Malta bound convoys. In March, Dido and her sister HMS Euryalus and six destroyers shelled the Island of Rhodes, on the 20th, Dido was employed as convoy escort to the commissioned auxiliary supply ship HMS Breconshire loaded with 5,000 tons of precious fuel, the SS Clan Campbell, the bomb damaged ship of the previous convoy, the Pampas and the Norwegian ship Talabot, fully loaded with ammunition. Getting this convoy through to Malta was afterwards referred to as the Second Battle of Sirte. Admiral Vian was in command of the operation. Of the total of 26,000 tons of stores carried by the four ships only 5,000 tons finally reached Malta.
Photograph taken from the destroyer USS MacKenzie during the successful bombardment of enemy batteries, dumps, and roads to the west of Gaeta, Italy carried out by HMS Dido in support of the army.
On 19 July 1942, Dido along with her sister ship HMS Euryalus and the destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Javelin, HMS Pakenham and HMS Paladin shelled Mersa Matruh.
18 August 1942 Captain H. W. U. McCall brought Dido to Massawa for major repairs to a bomb-damaged stern. Because Dido was at that time one-quarter of British surface power in the Eastern Mediterranean it was critical that she be repaired as quickly as possible. The only working drydock in Massawa wasn't large enough to lift Dido entirely so she was partially floated up to clear the stern, leaving the bow low in the water. Six days later Dido was undocked to return to battle alongside her three sister ships, Euryalus, Cleopatra and Sirius. [2]
On 19 September, HMS Dido and once again the destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Javelin, HMS Pakenham and HMS Paladin bombarded the Daba area in Egypt. In November 1942, HMS Dido, HMS Arethusa, HMS Euryalus and ten destroyers, proceeded from Alexandria to Malta with a supply convoy, despite many heavy German air attacks, the convoy of four supply ships reached Malta. With this the Island was regarded as relieved.
Photograph taken from the destroyer USS MacKenzie during the successful bombardment of enemy batteries, dumps, and roads to the west of Gaeta, Italy carried out by HMS Dido in support of the army.
In April 1943, Dido was based at Algiers but she left later for the UK for a much needed refit. In July she was back in the Mediterranean where she was part of the Reserve Covering Force for the Allied invasion of Sicily. During August she carried out the shelling of bridges in the Gulf of Eufemia in Calabria, in support of the 8th Army in Sicily. In September she was involved in the landing of the 1st British Airborne Division in Taranto.
[edit] Arctic
During January-March 1944, Dido was tasked in providing the support for the troops being landed at Anzio. During May-June, she bombarded targets in the Gulf of Gaeta, in support of the army. In August 1944, she supplied the fire support to the Allied landings on the French Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Toulon. In October, she was sent up to the Arctic Ocean area to escort the convoys to Russia. During November, off Norway, Dido provided carrier escort for HMS Implacable which attacked a southbound German convoy in the Mosjoen area, north of the island of Namsos. In May 1945 Europe, Dido set sail for Copenhagen, where the German cruisers Prinz Eugen and Nürnberg lay surrendered, she escorted them to Wilhelmshaven.
During March-August 1946, Dido retained her fifth 5,25 inch turret in Q position while undergoing her refit. Although modern, this class of cruiser was regarded as being too cramped and insufficiently stable to receive new equipment. In September 1946, she joined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. In October 1947, the cruiser was placed in reserve in the Gareloch. In 1951 Dido was moved to the Portsmouth Reserve Fleet. In November 1956 Dido and her sister ship HMS Cleopatra, which formed the Reserve Fleet flagship group, were replaced by the battleship HMS Vanguard. On 16 July 1958 Dido was broken up by Thomas W. Ward Ltd. at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.
Dido’s badge can be seen displayed on the Selborne dry dock wall at Simonstown, South Africa.
Career (UK) Royal Navy Ensign
Class and type: Dido-class light cruiser
Name: HMS Dido
Builder: Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, UK)
Laid down: 26 October 1937
Launched: 18 July 1939
Commissioned: 30 September 1940
Out of service: October 1947
Reclassified: In reserve at Gareloch between 1947 to 1951) and at Portsmouth between 1951 to 1958
Fate: Scrapped, Arrived at Thomas W Ward Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness UK on 18 July 1957.
General characteristics
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)
Propulsion: Parsons geared turbines
Four shafts
Four Admiralty 3-drum boilers
62,000 shp (46 MW)
Speed: 32.25 knots (60 km/h)
Range: 2,414 km (1,500 miles) at 30 knots
6,824 km (4,240 miles) at 16 knots
1,100 tons fuel oil
Complement: 480
Sensors and
processing systems: Type 281 RADAR from September 1940[1]
Armament: Original configuration:
8x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual guns,
1x 4.0 in (102 mm) gun,
2x 0.5 in MG quadruple guns,
3x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns,
2x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes. 1941 - 1943 configuration:
10x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual guns,
5x 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns,
3x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns,
2x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes. 1943 - 1945 configuration:
10x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual guns,
2x 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns,
4x 20 mm (0.8 in) dual guns,
3x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns,
2x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes.
Armor: Original configuration:
Belt: 3inch,
Deck: 1inch,
Magazines: 2inch,
Bulkheads: 1inch.
Notes: Pennant number 37
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