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 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 ...

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

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and British colony of

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(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 (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 ...

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

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In 1960 she transferred to the navy of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

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 *Alison Stephens (1970–2010), British mandoli ...

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

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 First ...

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

Eastern Fleet Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *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 192 ...

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 ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. 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. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...

and sailed from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

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 approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, shelling the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...

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

Postwar

Post-war, she served in the Portsmouth Command 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 40-mm guns 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

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

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

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 ...

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 (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

and renamed . The sale of her and while the older Colony and Town cruisers – , , and – remained in service or 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 that ''Newfoundland'' and ''Ceylon'' 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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in August 1985 to be scrapped.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

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