HMS ''Ceylon'' was a

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 United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. She was of the ''Ceylon'' sub class, named after the

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

and British colony of

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(now Sri Lanka). The cruiser saw service in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In the postwar era, she participated in actions in Egypt and the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. In 1960 she transferred to the navy of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and renamed . The cruiser was scrapped in 1985.

Service history

Wartime career

Built by

Stephens Stephens is a surname. It is a patronymic and is recorded in England from 1086. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883), Vice President of the Confederate States of America * Alison Stephens (1970–2010), Bri ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south b ...

and launched on 30 July 1942, she was completed on 13 July 1943. After two months in 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 Fi ...

she was transferred to the 4th Cruiser Squadron, with the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

and took part in many carrier raids, bombardments and patrols against Japanese-held territory, including Operations Cockpit,

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

and

Diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. In November 1944 she joined the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

and sailed from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

on 16 January, taking part in a raid on Pankalan Bradan en route. By May 1945, however, she was back in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, shelling the Nicobar Islands, and remained in that theatre until the end of the war. In October 1945 she returned to England for refit and lay-up.

Postwar

Postwar, she served in the

Portsmouth Command The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

during 1946/50, followed by the 5th and 4th Cruiser Squadrons on the Far East and East Indies stations. She was actively engaged in the

, carrying out a number of bombardments. HMS Ceylon MOD 45140251

''Ceylon'', in poor condition, was given a major refit from March 1955 to July 1956 to suit her for further service until the s could enter service. A Type 960 long range air warning radar replaced the existing Type 281B, while the Type 277 height finder radar was upgraded to 277Q standard and the UA-1 ESM system was fitted. Fire control for the ship's 4-inch guns was provided by US-supplied Mark 63 systems, with radar mounted on the gun mounts, while short range anti-aircraft defence was provided by an outfit of 18

Bofors 40mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

s in five twin Mark 5 mounts and eight single Mark 7 mounts, with the Mark 5 mounts provided with Simple Tachymetric directors (STD). After trials with the new equipment, in late 1956, ''Ceylon'' was deployed to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

where she provided long range gunfire support to suppress Egyptian shore battery emplacements at

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

in support of the British Army and Royal Marine landings. A Communication Officer on the cruiser describes ''Ceylon''s bombardment as relatively brief, as the Egyptian batteries did not return fire. Later in the operation ''Ceylon'' served as an air direction picket, having been withdrawn for political reasons and the cruiser ''Jamaica'' lacking modern air warning and aircraft direction equipment. Between 1956 and 1959 she served in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

and East of Suez.

Peruvian service

On 18 December 1959, she returned to Portsmouth and was sold to Peru the same month. The disposal of the ''Ceylon'', only three years after its modernisation, came as a shock to its last captain, Frank Twiss. On 9 February 1960, she was transferred to the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

and renamed . The sale of her and ''Newfoundland'', while the older Colony and Town cruisers – , , and remained in service or reactivable reserve until the election of a Labour Government in 1964, probably reflected a good price on the sale to PeruJ. Wise. The Ripest Plum. Warship 2013. Conway Press. London (2013). and the need for cuts to save the ''Tiger'' class. The fact ''Newfoundland'' and ''Ceylon'' under different names remained in Peruvian service till the 1980s meant some crucial parts for the maintenance of the ''Tiger''s were obtained from Peru in the 1970s. She spent over twenty years with the Peruvians until she was finally deleted from the Navy List in May 1982, and towed to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

in August 1985 to be scrapped.

Notes

References

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External links

WWII cruisers

IWM Interview with Cromwell Lloyd-Davies, who commanded HMS Ceylon from 1950 to 1951
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceylon (C30) Crown Colony-class cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Govan 1942 ships World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Cold War cruisers of the United Kingdom Korean War cruisers of the United Kingdom