HMS Belfast, London

The Cruiser, HMS Belfast, was launched by Mrs. Neville Chamberlain on 17th March 1938 (St Patrick's Day), at the famous Harland & Wolffe shipyard. The Navy commissioned her on the 5th August 1939 and, at the outbreak of the Second World War, HMS Belfast formed part of the 18th Cruiser Squadron based at Scarpa Flow, north of Scotland. On the 21st November 1939 HMD Belfast struck a magnetic mine in the Firth of Forth, and the damage she suffered was serious enough to lay her up in Devonport for over two years whilst undergoing repairs. HME Belfast was re-commissioned on the 3rd November 1942 and rejoined the fleet as the flagship of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, wearing the flag of Rear Admiral Burnett.

HMS Belfast's most famous hour came, whilst escorting merchant convoy ships, when she engaged and assisted in the sinking of the German Battlecruiser 'Scharnhorst' aided by the Sheffield, Norfolk, Jamaica, and Duke of York, on Boxing Day 1943. HMS Belfast also saw action during the D-Day landings in Normandy, France on the 6th June 1944, when she fired the first shots of the campaign at a German gun battery in Van Sur Mar. HMS Belfast continued in an off-shore bombardment role from the English Channel, until mid July.

The Japanese surrender then took HMS Belfast to Sydney where she assisted in the transportation of the many Japanese POW's in the Far East, making regular trips between Shanghai and Hong Kong. She eventually returned to Britain on the 15th October 1947, when she was paid off into reserve. HMS Belfast was re-commissioned on the 22nd September 1948 and, after calling into Belfast to receive a silver ship's bell as a gift from the city (this can still be seen on the Quarterdeck today), she sailed again for the Far East to protect British interests in the area, as Mao Tse Tung's forces were poised to take control of China.

At the outbreak of the Korean War, HMS Belfast was called to action on 6th July 1950 to assist with shore bombardments. In October of that year she returned to Chatham, sailing several days later with a full war complement back to the Far East, arriving in February 1951. As the Korean War came to an end, HMS Belfast returned to Devonport for her second major re-fit. Once completed she sailed again for the Far East where she remained until 1962.

Having returned to the UK, HMS Belfast was finally paid off on the 24th August 1963. Normally, her next stop would have been the breakers yard but moves were afoot to preserve her. HMS Belfast was then brought to London on Trafalgar Day - 21st October 1971 - and opened to the public, soon to become part of the Imperial War Museum, where she still lies berthed today.

On one visit to HMS Belfast, the weather had been heavy and overcast, but this somehow enhanced the experience for me. Her vivid colours set against the moody sky, and the threatening darkness of the River Thames, really brought a clear image of how she might have appeared in her former North Atlantic role.