HMS Kenya (14)

HMS ''Kenya'' was a cruiser of the Royal Navy. The ship was named after Kenya, a British possession at the time of the ship's construction.

Service history

Construction and early service

''Kenya'' was launched on 18 August 1939 from the yards of Alexander Stephen and Sons, Glasgow, Scotland and after working up was commissioned on 27 September 1940. She took part in the hunt for the in May 1941 whilst part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, Home Fleet, based at Scapa Flow. On 3 June ''Kenya'' and the cruiser surprised and sank the German tanker ''Belchen'' which was supplying in the Davis Straits.

Operation Stonewall

During September and October 1941, the Royal Navy devised Operation Stonewall, to intercept U-boats which were escorting outbound blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic. After providing escort to the Malta convoy Operation Halberd on 24 September on 1 October, ''Kenya'' and the cruiser made to intercept the blockade runner ''Rio Grande'', destined for Japan and escorted by . ''Rio Grande'' escaped but another blockade runner, , was sunk on 3 October west of Cape Finisterre.

Arctic operations

New research into declassified State Department records on the Soviet Union has revealed that on 19 March 1942, ''Kenya'' transported 10 tons of gold from the Soviet Union to the United States as payment for loans and war materials.

''Kenya'' also avoided damage in air attacks by the Germans on 27–28 March. She had by now received the nickname "The Pink Lady", due to her Mountbatten Pink camouflage paint, during the commando raid against installations on Vågsøy Island off the Norwegian coast. This was attributed to her Mountbatten Pink camouflage blending in with the pink marker dye the Germans were using in their shells, preventing German spotters from distinguishing between shell splashes and the ship. The force returned to Scapa Flow in early January 1942. ''Kenya'' returned to escorting Arctic convoys between March and May 1942. On 22 March after escorting PQ12 to Murmansk ''Kenya'' was loaded with 10 tonnes of Russian bullion and took it back to Britain for safe keeping.

Operation Pedestal

''Kenya'' played a prominent role in Operation Pedestal during August 1942. Pedestal was a Royal Navy operation to escort a convoy of 14 merchant ships through the western Mediterranean to relieve and resupply the besieged island of Malta. The convoy escort was the largest ever assembled in World War II, comprising 2 battleships, 3 aircraft carriers (Eagle, Victorious and Indomitable), 7 light cruisers (including ''Kenya'') and 26 destroyers. Through 11 and 12 August, it successfully fought off massed air attacks by the German Luftwaffe and the Italian Regia Aeronautica, with the loss of only 1 merchant ship and 1 destroyer. The aircraft carrier HMS ''Eagle'' was also lost to a lone submarine attack on 11 August.

The heavily mined waters between Sicily and Tunisia (the Narrows) made it too dangerous for the battleships and surviving aircraft carriers to escort the convoy all the way to Malta, and for the last , the escort comprised a smaller force (Force X) of cruisers and destroyers, including ''Kenya''. During the night of 12 August and during the following day, the convoy was heavily attacked by Axis air forces, submarines and motor torpedo boats. During these actions, ''Kenya's'' bow was blown off by a torpedo fired by the Italian submarine ''Alagi''. This necessitated emergency shoring of the forward bulkhead and a reduced maximum speed of .

In all, a further two cruisers and eight merchant ships were lost in the night action of 12/13 August; Only ''Rochester Castle'', ''Port Chalmers'', ''Melbourne Star'', ''Brisbane Star'' and the oil tanker ''Ohio'' made it to Grand Harbour Valletta, and ''Kenya'' was left as the most powerful surviving ship in Force X. After leading the surviving ships of the convoy to the safety of Malta's fighter screen. ''Kenya'' then led Force X safely back to Gibraltar, despite further air attacks.

End of war

''Kenya'' joined the America and West Indies Station with the 8th Cruiser Squadron, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, in October 1946, but in December of the following year, she returned to the UK and was placed in the reserve. The cruiser had a comprehensive modernisation in 1945–1946 with new standardised, twin 40 mm light anti aircraft guns and updated surface and long-range early-warning radar and fire control for the anti-aircraft armament. She was reactivated to replace the cruiser on the Far East station, in 1949 after another extensive refit.

Korean War

''Kenya'' took part in naval operations in the Korean War. In March she bombarded Choda Island in preparation for landing 200 Republic of Korea troops there. Unfortunately the troops never showed up.

After further patrols off Inchon her next action came on 11 April when she was ordered to leave Sasebo to search for a communist aircraft that had been shot down. She was called off the operation early to sail to Kure, Japan where Captain Podger took command of the ship on 22 April. In May she took position off Inchon and spent about 10 days there bombarding the land on several occasions. The patrols and bombardments continued throughout the summer – with a trip to Hong Kong that broke the monotony – until 25 August when she left Sasebo, via Hong Kong, for a refit at Singapore. She slipped the refit jetty on 12 November and rearmed before leaving the Far East Station on 17 November. Kenya docked in Malta on 10 December and at Gibraltar three days later before entering the English Channel on 16 December.

Following the war, ''Kenya'' had an extensive year long refit in 1945–1946 at Chatham with new radars and standarisation of the light anti-aircraft armament on 5 twin Mk5 Bofors and 8 single 40mm. ''Kenya'' saw service in the Korean War on shore bombardment duties. In 1953–1955 the vessel refitted and spent a long period in reserve until August 1955Crabb, 1998, p. 181 when she reentered service as a replacement for the cruiser on the West Indian station. She paid off into reserve in August 1958, the ship was declared for disposal in February 1959 and was scrapped in 1962.

Notes

References

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* Smith, Peter C (1970). ''Pedestal: The convoy that saved Malta William Kimber, London, ISBN 0-947554-77-7''
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External links

WWII cruisers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenya

Ships built on the River Clyde
1939 ships
World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom
Cold War cruisers of the United Kingdom
Korean War cruisers of the United Kingdom