HMS Hermione (74)

The Dido-class were designed as small cruisers capable of being built quickly and in large numbers to allow a shortfall in numbers of cruisers against the numbers which were required to meet the Royal Navy's requirements. Rather than the mixed armament of single purpose 6-inch (152 mm) low-angle (anti -ship) and 4-inch (102 mm) high-angle (anti-aircraft) guns carried by previous light cruisers, it was decided to fit a dual purpose main armament, capable of both anti-ship and anti-aircraft fire. This used the new 5.25-inch (133 mm) gun as used in the King George V-class battleships.[1][2]

Hermione was one of two Dido-class cruisers ordered under the 1937 construction programme for the Royal Navy,[lower-alpha 1] following on from 5 ships ordered the previous year.[3] Hermione was laid down at Alexander Stephen and Sons Linthouse, Glasgow shipyard as Yard number 560 on 6 October 1937,[4][5] was launched on 18 May 1939 and completed on 25 March 1941.[4]

Hermione was 512 ft (156.06 m) long overall and 485 ft (147.83 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 50 feet 6 inches (15.39 m) and a mean draught of 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) (increasing to 17 ft 3 in (5.26 m) at full load. Displacement was 5,600 long tons (5,700 t) standard and 6,850 long tons (6,960 t) full load.[4][6] The ship's machinery was arranged in a four-shaft layout, with four Admiralty 3-drum boilers supplying steam at 400 psi (2,800 kPa) to Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, rated at 62,000 shp (46,000 kW), giving a speed of 32.2 kn (37.1 mph; 59.6 km/h).[4] 1,100 long tons (1,100 t) of fuel oil were carried, giving a range of 4,240 nmi (4,880 mi; 7,850 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h), reducing to 3,480 nmi (4,000 mi; 6,440 km) at 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) and 1,500 nmi (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) at 1,500 kn (1,700 mph; 2,800 km/h).[6]

The ship's main armament consisted of ten 5.25-inch guns in five twin turrets on the ship's centreline, with three forward and two aft. Two quadruple 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom mounts were mounted on the ship's beams to provide close-in anti-aircraft protection, backed up by two quadruple .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns on the bridge wings.[7] Two triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes provided additional anti-ship capability.[6] Fire control for this armament was provided by a single low angle director control tower (DCT) on the ship's bridge, together with two High Angle Control System (HACS) director towers, one on the ship's bridge and one aft.[3][7] A 3 in (76 mm) armour belt protected the ship's machinery and magazines with 1 in (25 mm) protecting the ship's shell rooms. Deck armour was 1 in (25 mm) thick, with 3 in (76 mm) caps over the magazines.[4] The 5.25 inch gun turrets had armour of 1 ¹⁄₂–1 in (38.10–25.40 mm) thickness.[6]

Modifications

A 20 mm Oerlikon gun on board HMS Hermione, showing a naval gunner utilising the rubber shoulder rests for high-angle firing, with the Thornycroft depth charge thrower Mark II and depth charge launching rail in the background.

While several of the Dido-class completed with reduced main armaments owing to production problems (the King George V-class battleships had priority for the new guns),[8][2] Hermione completed with the full ten-gun outfit. In October–November 1941, the ship's .50 in machine guns were replaced by five single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.[3]

Convoy, Hermione's ship's cat, sleeps in a hammock whilst members of the crew look on

After commissioning and workup, Hermione joined the 15th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet.[9][10] Hermione took part in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen when they sortied into the North Atlantic in May 1941. Hermione left Scapa Flow on 22 May as part of a force including the battleship King George V and the aircraft carrier Victorious.[11][12][lower-alpha 2] On 24 May, Victorious, escorted by Hermione, Aurora and Kenya, was detached to launch an air attack against Bismarck. The attack by Victorious's Swordfish torpedo bombers resulted in a single torpedo hit on Bismarck which did little damage to the German ship.[13] On 25 May, Hermione, short of fuel, was detached from the chase in order to refuel at Iceland.[14] Following the sinking of Bismarck, the British launched a major operation against German supply ships in the Atlantic which supported the operations of surface raiders, with Hermione taking part in searches for these supply ships and German blockade runners before joining Force H, based at Gibraltar on 22 June.[15][10]

• Barnett, Corelli (2000). Engage The Enemy More Closely. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-141-39008-5.
• Brown, David K. (2012). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923–1945. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-149-6.
• 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.
• Lenton, H. T. (1973). Navies of the Second World War: British Cruisers. London: Macdonald & Co. ISBN 0-356-04138-7.
• Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
• Whitley, M. J. (1999). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-8740.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Hermione (74).

• WWII cruisers
• HMS Hermione at Uboat.net