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Allied Warships

HMS Arethusa (26)

Light cruiser of the Arethusa class


HMS Arethusa in 1945

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeLight cruiser
ClassArethusa 
Pennant26 
Built byChatham Dockyard (Chatham, U.K.) : Parsons 
Ordered 
Laid down25 Jan, 1933 
Launched6 Mar, 1934 
Commissioned23 May, 1935 
End service 
Loss position
 
HistorySold to J. Cashmore in 1950, arrived at Newport on 9 May 1950 for scrapping.

Commanding Officers:
Capt. Quintin Dick Graham, RN
30 June 1939 – 14 May 1941

Capt. Alex Colin Chapman, RN
14 May 1941 - ???

Cdr. H.F. Robertson-Aikman, RN
??? – 1 December 1943

Capt. Hugh Dalrymple Smith, RN
1 December 1943 – June 1945

Capt. Casper Silas Balfour Swinley, DSO, DSC, RN
June 1945 – still in command in October 1945 according to the Navy List 


Noteable events involving Arethusa include:

4 Apr, 1940
The Polish destroyers Burza, Grom and Blyskawica reached their new homebase Rosyth. In the afternoon they left the harbor with the British light cruisers HMS Arethusa, HMS Galatea and three British destroyers. These ships were ordered to conduct a patrol at North Sea and were later ordered to intercept German invasion groups heading for Norway.

17 Nov, 1942
17 November 1942 / 20 November 1942;
Operation Stone Age;

On 17 November 1942 a convoy of 4 merchants (MW-13) left Alexandria for Malta. This convoy was escorted by the British light cruisers HMS Arethusa, HMS Euryalus, HMS Dido and 10 destroyers.

On the 18th HMS Arethusa (Capt. A.C. Chapman, RN) was hit by a airial torpedo. She was heavily damaged and towed back to Alexandria. 156 men lost their lives during this attack. She was patched up and later went to the Charleston Navy Yard in the USA for full repairs. These repairs were not completed until December 1943.

The convoy arrived safe at Malta on the 20th. This meant the end of the Malta seige.


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