British Large Light Cruisers - Barrow-in-Furness

During the 1930s, with the London Naval Treaty of 1930 placing limitations on heavy cruiser warship construction and characteristics, the US, Japanese and British navies attempted to circumvent the restrictions on heavy cruiser construction by building light cruisers (vessels with an armament no heavier than 6.1in / 155mm) of similar size and fighting power to conventional heavy cruisers with 8in artillery. In Britain, this resulted first in the 10 Town class vessels, and latterly the reduced Fiji (aka Crown Colony) and Minotaur classes, built to fulfill the obligations of the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936.

Though largely overlooked, other than HMS Belfast for her role in the Battle of the North Cape, and her status as an IWM museum ship, the Towns, Fijis and first-completed Minotaurs played critical roles in the naval war 1939-'45, serving as fleet workhorses in all theatres of the conflict. This talk provides a short overview of these frequently-forgotten vessels and their operations during the conflict.

Speaker: Dr. Scott M Lindgren, Naval Historian

Organised by: IET/PESC
Contact: Anne Morris, (anne.morris@ietvolunteer.org)