A day on and by the River Thames 06-04-07

Hi.
I’ve been delving.
HMS Belfast.
Southampton Class battle cruiser.
Launched 1938.
11,500 tons.
Armament, 12X6″
8 4″
12 Bofors LAA.
Max speed 32 Kts.
Complement 850 (Flagship)

Canberra man

Not Battlecruiser, they were big b@gg@rs aka Hood, Repulse, Renown, Belfast just a normal fleet cruiser I’m afraid. Wouldn’t fancy it’s chances against any of those three with their massive 15 inch? firepower. Just don’t
tell Bismark or the Japanese airforce about this.
Battlecruisers were a disaster in my opinion, Beatties brainchilds were lost at Jutland and the Hood and Repulse couldn’t cope with modern WW2 conditions, either from a heavily armoured German Battleship or Japanese air attack, pity the countless poor brave souls that went down with these disasters of naval design, their numbers were very large.
Fleet cruisers like the Belfast were designed to range far and wide as general dogsbodies or operate in flotillas with the main Battleship group. Their action with the Graf Spee could in the end have been a disaster if it hadn’t been for the actions of British intelligence and the humanity and confusion of Capt Langsdorff.
Graf Spee, though called a pocket battleship, was the ultimate design of this creed of cruiser. Heavily armoured with 12 inch guns, and as fast as a cruiser, it could sort out almost anything but the big boys. I would have rated it’s chances against the Hood with its almost non existant armour, 45,000 tons or not.

HMS Belfast? Again!

Hi.
I’ve been delving.
HMS Belfast.
Southampton Class battle cruiser.
Launched 1938.
11,500 tons.
Armament, 12X6″
8 4″
12 Bofors LAA.
Max speed 32 Kts.
Complement 850 (Flagship)

Canberra man

HMS Belfast?

Has HMS Belfast been altered since I saw it last. It was a WWII Cruiser with eight six inch guns, not was one of those modern “Sink at a touch” types?

Canberra Man.