HMS ''Mauritius'', pennant C80, 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 ...

. The ship was built by

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three pow ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. She was named after

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, which was a

British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

when she was built and entered service in 1941.

Service

''Mauritius'' was completed with an internal degaussing system which induced severe corrosion to the ship's fire main (made of copper); this major defect, which rendered her unfit for action, required refits, first at Simonstown, later at

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and finally at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. The future Admiral of the Fleet

Henry Leach Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, (18 November 1923 – 26 April 2011) was a Royal Navy officer who, as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, was instrumental in convincing the British prime minister Ma ...

served as a midshipman aboard ''Mauritius'' during this time. She joined 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 ...

in 1942, but was withdrawn in April 1943 to reinforce 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 ...

. After repairs following grounding, she was operational in June 1943 and thereafter participated in the landings in Sicily, (

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

), in July as a unit of Support Force East, when she carried out shore bombardment duties. In September she was part of the covering force for the

Salerno landings Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...

, but by the end of the year had been transferred to the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

to carry out anti-blockade-runner patrols, as part of

Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall was an Allied naval and air operation in the Second World War from 26 to 27 December 1943, to intercept blockade-runners sailing to German-occupied France through the Bay of Biscay. Operations Barrier and Freecar, by the Alli ...

. However, she soon returned to the Mediterranean, this time for

Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...

, the Anzio landings, in January 1944. In June 1944 she covered the landings in Normandy as part of Force D off

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

, then carried out offensive patrols of the

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

coast in August to mop up the remnants of the German shipping in the area. Operating with destroyers, she sank ''

Sperrbrecher A ''Sperrbrecher'' (German; informally translated as "pathfinder" but literally meaning "mine barrage breaker"), was a German auxiliary ship of the First World War and the Second World War that served as a type of minesweeper, steaming ahead of o ...

'' ''157'' on 14/15 August and during the

Battle of Audierne Bay The Battle of the Audierne Bay was an engagement between Kriegsmarine, German and Allied powers of World War II, Allied naval flotillas that took place on 23 August 1944, during World War II. Three Allied warships, which had already established ...

sank five ''

Vorpostenboot ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked ...

e'' on 22/23 August. After this she returned to the Home Fleet, covering the carrier raids along the Norwegian coast and making anti-shipping strikes. On the night of 27/28 January 1945, in company with the cruiser , she fought the action of 28 January 1945 with German destroyers in which was badly damaged. Following this action she was refitted at

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, ...

's between February 1945 and March 1946. She then served in the Mediterranean, including passing through the Corfu Channel during the Corfu Channel Incident in 1946, with the 15th (later lst) Cruiser Squadron, returning to the UK in 1948. After a spell in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

and in refit, she recommissioned in 1949 for the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, sailing on 6 May 1949. The years 1949 to 1951 were spent on the East Indies Station with the 4th Cruiser Squadron until she returned to Chatham on 18 December 1951.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Mauritius'' was placed in reserve in 1952 and remained there until 1965, when she was sold for scrapping to

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, business primarily working steel, engineering and cement. It began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture ...

. She arrived at their yard at Inverkeithing, on 27 March 1965.

Shore establishment

HMS ''Mauritius'' was also the name of a Royal Navy shore establishment in Mauritius.

Notes

References

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External links

WWII cruisers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauritius (C80) Ships built by Swan Hunter Ships built on the River Tyne 1939 ships World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1946 Corfu Channel incident