HMS ''Cairo'' (D87) was a C-class

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, named after the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian capital,

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was part of the ''Carlisle'' group of the C-class of cruisers.

History

left, Gun position on HMS ''Cairo'', smoke above Narvik in the back on 8 June 1940. She was laid down by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

on 28 November 1917, launched on 19 November 1918 and commissioned on 24 September 1919. ''Cairo'' was not ready for service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and her first posting was to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

in 1920, followed by the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...

from 1921 to 1925. On 23 April 1926 ''Cairo'' visited

Kismayu Kismayo (, , ; ) is a port city in the southern Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The city is situated southwest of the capital Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jub ...

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

, during the

Jubaland Jubaland (; ; ), or the Juba Valley (), is a States and regions of Somalia, Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies no more than east of the Jubba River, stretching from Dolow to the Indian Ocean, while its western si ...

Boundary Commission. After a further temporary attachment to the China Station until 1927, she joined the

8th Cruiser Squadron The 8th Cruiser Squadron was a temporary formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their c ...

on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...

, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard on

Ireland Island Ireland Island is the north-westernmost island in the chain which comprises Bermuda. It forms a long finger of land pointing northeastwards from the main island, the last link in a chain which also includes Boaz Island and Somerset Island. ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. From 1928 to 1930, ''Cairo'' was in the Mediterranean as flagship for the Rear-Admiral (D). After a refit from 1931–1932, she was with the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

as Commodore (D). She was converted to an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

cruiser in 1939. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she took part in the Norwegian Campaign, where she was damaged by German aircraft off Narvik on 28 May 1940. 10 sailors were killed and the ship was out of action for two months. In the Mediterranean she led the escort of a six cargo-ship convoy from

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, code named Operation Harpoon, which endured intense air strikes. The British squadron also faced the attack of an Italian light cruiser division in the Sicilia channel. Four merchantmen and two destroyers were sunk, while ''Cairo'' was hit by two 6-inch rounds from the Italian cruiser ''Eugenio di Savoia'', killing two members of her crew. In August 1942, ''Cairo'' took part in

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal (, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. British ships, submarines and aircraft from Malta attacked Axis p ...

, the escort of a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

. During the operation she was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine ''Axum'' north of

Bizerta Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under French control after the re ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, on 12 August 1942. One torpedo blew off part of the stern, the port propeller was gone, the engine room flooded and gun mount Y fell off in the sea. As during the battle it was impossible to tow her to safety, it was decided to scuttle her. The destroyer fired four torpedoes but only one hit. A series of depth charges did not finish her off, so finally the

escort destroyer An escort destroyer was a small warship built to full naval standards which was optimised for air-defence and anti-submarine duties in wartime, but which retained many of the capabilities of a traditional fleet destroyer, enabling it to conduct ...

received orders to sink her with gunfire. Twenty-four seamen went down with the ship.

Notes

References

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External links

IWM Interview with survivor Clifford Richardson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo (D87) C-class cruisers Ships built on the River Mersey 1918 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by Italian submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in August 1942