HMS Delhi (D47)

HMS ''Delhi'' was a that served with the Royal Navy through the Second World War, from the Caribbean to eastern China. She was laid down in 1917, launched in 1918 and commissioned for service in 1919, serving until decommissioning in mid-1945 due to extensive battle damage, and was to be scrapped in 1948 after lengthy war and peacetime service around the world.

Service history

After completion, sea trials and working up as part the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron with the Atlantic Fleet, ''Delhi'' served in the Baltic as part of a wider multinational intervention in the Russian Civil War against the nascent Soviet republics. Departing the Baltic, ''Delhi'' returned to Britain and spent the next three years with the Atlantic Fleet.

She was to be chosen in 1923, along with her sisters , , and , for the Empire Cruise of the Special Service Squadron, representing the most modern and most powerful cruisers of the Royal Navy, as escorts to the battlecruisers and . Returning in December 1924, she was paid off from the Special Service Squadron and joined the 1st Cruiser Squadron with the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1925. After a brief ten-month detachment to the China Station, engaging in anti-piracy operations, she returned to the Mediterranean before being paid off to refit.

On 15 November 1925, ''Delhi'' left Malta in the company of and and cruised to "southern skies" on a goodwill cruise which, from contemporary photographic sources, included Ceylon; Fremantle, Hobart, Jervis Bay, and Sydney (Australia); Christchurch and Wellington (New Zealand).

The 1930s dawned with ''Delhi'' cruising the Caribbean as part of the 8th Cruiser Squadron on the America and West Indies Station. During the Carib War, ''Delhi''s guns were called to deter the actions of local insurgents on Dominica and landed a detachment of Royal Marines. As flagship, 8th Cruiser Squadron, she would once more operate in concert with ''Hood'' and ''Repulse'' during a visit to the West Indies, along with their escorts, the heavy cruisers and . Her West Indies service ended in 1933, and she deployed with the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, once again serving with the Mediterranean Fleet.

Based at Malta at this time, with the Spanish Civil War raging, ''Delhi'' operated off Spain, picking up refugees from Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Valencia, under the command of Captain Farquhar Smith RAN. During these operations, she was engaged by the Nationalist heavy cruiser , coming under heavy fire, as well as suffering from aerial attacks.

When World War II began, ''Delhi'' was freshly out of reserve, and joined the 11th Cruiser Squadron at Scapa Flow. On the night of the sinking of , ''Delhi'' had just departed for a periodic sweep of the North Sea to enforce the blockade of Germany. While patrolling the Iceland-Faroes Gap, ''Delhi'' captured the cargo ship '' Rheingold'', and then intercepted and assisted in the scuttling of the blockade-runner ''Mecklenburg'', whose crew scuttled the merchant ship, and abandoned ship. ''Delhi''s captain decided that boarding to attempt to salvage the ship was impractical due to the sea state, and instead sank ''Mecklenburg'' with gunfire.

Sortieing from Scapa Flow on patrol on 23 November 1939, she joined the cruisers , , and the armed merchant cruiser ''Rawalpindi''. During this patrol, ''Rawalpindi'' encountered the German battleships and , and was sunk in a furious hour-long surface action. However, with ''Newcastle'' and ''Delhi'' shadowing and the rapid approach of heavy units of the Home Fleet, Admiral Marschall withdrew his battleships into inclement weather, slipping his pursuers and retreating to Wilhelmshaven.

Deployed to the Mediterranean in March 1940, ''Delhi'' undertook extensive operations as part of Force H against Vichy and Italian forces in Italy and North Africa. After five months service in the Mediterranean, she joined Force M at Freetown, operating off West Africa and in the South Atlantic. ''Delhi'' and her sister ship ''Dragon'' participated in Operation Menace, the Battle of Dakar, and then continued in the trade protection role in the South Atlantic.

From May to December, 1941 ''Delhi'' was refitted as an anti-aircraft cruiser at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This refit included 5-inch/38 calibre guns originally intended for the US destroyer , and were hand-picked by ''Edison''s commanding officer, but were transferred to ''Delhi'' on the direct instructions President Roosevelt. With her new dual purpose main armament, she provided shore bombardment and AA support for a number of Allied landings in the Mediterranean, (Algiers, Sicily, Salerno and the Anzio Landings). On 20 November 1942 ''Delhi'' was damaged by enemy action in Algiers Bay when her stern was blown open by a bomb dropped by Italian aircraft. Two crewmen were killed in the attack. She returned to Britain and was under repair until April 1943.

On 3 September 1943, six days before the Landings at Salerno, she collided with the cruiser in the Straits of Messina whilst laying a smokescreen. She was repaired at sea and remained in service for the landings where she provided shore bombardment and AA support. Continuing to serve through the rest of the war, ''Delhi'' took part in Operation Dragoon, a follow-up to D-Day in the South of France to utilise Free French troops and to open new supply routes to Allied forces in Europe.

On 12 February 1945 she was attacked by German explosive motorboats in the harbour at Split, Croatia, where she had, three months beforehand, hosted the German surrender. The attack missed ''Delhi'' and struck ''LCF-8'', a Landing Craft Flak. The force of the resulting explosion damaged ''Delhi''s rudder and a propeller shaft bracket.

Anti-aircraft involvement

The British HACS and FKS anti-aircraft fire control systems were less than satisfactory in service during World War II. While ''Delhi'' was in refit the British asked that the U.S. Navy's MK 37 Gun Fire Control System be installed as a test bed along with the 5-inch/38 calibre guns. The results were most impressive to the service and a request was issued for 42 of the systems to be sent to the Royal Navy for installation on their ships. They would see service in , aircraft carriers, and the s. The resulting installations were carried out and a further 40 units were asked for. The war ended before the second order could be filled. ''Delhi''s contribution in this area was thus substantial.Naval Anti=Aircraft Guns and Gunnery, Norman Friedman location 6524

Disposal

''Delhi'' returned to Britain and was laid up after the war. She was assessed as uneconomic to fully repair as an aged design in a rapidly downsizing Royal Navy, and was instead sold on 22 January 1948 to be broken up. She arrived at the yards of Cashmore, of Newport, Wales in April 1948 to be scrapped.

References

Publications

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

HMS Delhi at U-boat.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delhi, Hms
Danae-class cruisers of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Tyne
1918 ships
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom
Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth