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HMS Ajax |
Name :
HMS Ajax Laid Down : 7th February 1933 Launched : 1st March 1934 Completed : 12th April 1935 Type : Cruiser Class : Leander Builder : Vickers Armstrong Country : UK Pennants : 22 Fate : Scrapped 1949 |
HMS Ajax, was built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow and launched 1st March 1934 and completed 12th April 1935. HMS Ajax served in the South Atlantic 1939, taking a major role in the battle of the River Plate against the Graf Spee, going to the Mediterranean fleet 1940 - 1942, became part of Force H before going for refit in the United States in 1943, returning to the Mediterranean Fleet 1943 till the end of the war. HMS Ajax was finally scrapped at Newport November 1949. Specifications for HMS Ajax : Displacement: 6,985 tons Speed: 32.5kt Complement: 550 Armament: eight 6 inch guns in twin turrets, four 4 inch anti-aircraft guns in single mountings and twelve 0.5 inch machine guns in fours. Eight 21 inch torpedo tubes in quadruple mountings and 1 aircraft. Single 4 inch guns later replaced by four twin mountings. |
Vickers Armstrong launched this Leander class light cruiser at Barrow on 1 March 1934 and she entered service in the Royal Navy on 12 April 1935. AJAX served on the America and West Indies Station from completion, then joined the South American Division on the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. As the flagship of Commodore Henry Harwood's Force G she took part in the hunt for the German raider ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE and The Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939. The Germans hit Ajax seven times by but she inflicted more damage on the Spee. |
Under repair until July 1940, she then moved to the Mediterranean. On October 11-12 she engaged Italian forces, sinking the torpedo boats AIRONE and ARIEL, and badly damaging the destroyer ARTIGLIERE, which HMS YORK later sank. She took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan, the evacuation of British and Allied troops from Crete and then Syrian operations, and joined Force K at Malta in November 1941. |
She refitted in England from May to October 1942, then returned to the Mediterranean where she was again damaged by bombs. After repairs in New York between March and October 1943, AJAX went back to the Mediterranean. As part of Force K, she bombarded Gold Beach during the D-Day invasion, and later supported the landings in southern France. AJAX operated in the Aegean during the reoccupation of Athens and the communist uprising in Greece. She decommissioned in February 1948 and went for scrap to Newport in November 1949. |
HMS Ajax Photos for Sale |
HMS Ajax and BYMS2055 | HMS Ajax | HMS Ajax, 1935. | HMS Ajax, July 1944. | HMS Ajax, laid up, August 1948. |
HMS Ajax, at breakers, January 1950. | HMS Ajax, at breakers, January 1950. | HMS Ajax, at breakers, January 1950. | HMS Ajax, at breakers, January 1950. | HMS Ajax. |
Timeline Entries : | |||
7th February 1933 - Laid down at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness 1st February 1934 - Pennant Number 22 1st February 1934 - Launched 5th April 1935 - Sailed Barrow for Portsmouth 7th April 1935 - Arrived Portsmouth 8th April 1935 - Commissioned for the South American Division 12th April 1935 - Completed 12th April 1935 - Completed 24th May 1935 - Sailed Portsmouth the South American Station 3rd June 1935 - Commissioned 20th June 1935 - Arrived Malta for workup 20th June 1935 - Capt. C.S. Thomson in Command 22nd July 1935 - Sailed Gibraltar for Trinidad 13th August 1935 - Arrived La Guaira 13th April 1936 - Arrived Malta 13th April 1936 - Arrived Malta 28th July 1936 - Sailed Malta for Chatham 31st August 1936 - Sailed Buenaventura for Guayaquil 9th September 1936 - Sailed Guavaquil for Talara 10th September 1936 - Arrived Talara 25th September 1936 - Arrived Callao 25th September 1936 - Arried Callao 5th October 1936 - Arrived Iquique 22nd October 1936 - Arrived Coquimbo 22nd October 1936 - Arrived Coquimbo 22nd October 1936 - Arrived Coquimbo 27th October 1936 - Sailed Coquimbo for Valparaiso 27th October 1936 - Sailed Coquimbo for Valparaiso 27th March 1937 - Sailed Tortola 9th May 1937 - Capt. C.S. Thompson in Command 9th May 1937 - Arrived St. John's Newfoundland 13th May 1937 - Sailed St. John's Newfoundland 14th July 1937 - Sailed Trinidad for Portsmouth 27th July 1937 - Arrived Portsmouth January 1938 - 8th Cruiser Squadron, America/West Indies Station 12th March 1938 - Arrived Bermuda 8th June 1938 - Sailed Bermuda 8th June 1938 - Capt. C.H.L. Woodhouse in Command 8th December 1938 - Sailed Falkland Islands 10th December 1938 - Arrived Punta Arenus 10th December 1938 - Arrived Punta Arenas 12th December 1938 - Sailed Punta Arenus 17th December 1938 - Arrived Ancud 19th December 1938 - Sailed Ancud 19th December 1938 - Arrived Puerto Mott. 29th December 1938 - Sailed Pueto Mott. 30th December 1938 - Arrived Coronel 30th December 1938 - Arrived Coronel 3rd January 1939 - Sailed Coronel 3rd January 1939 - Arrived Talcahuano 9th January 1939 - Sailed Talcahuano for Iquique 9th January 1939 - Sailed Talcahuano 12th January 1939 - Arrived Iquique 13th January 1939 - Arrived Iquique 17th January 1939 - Sailed Iquique 18th January 1939 - Sailed Iquique 19th January 1939 - Arrived Coquimbo 19th January 1939 - Arrived Coquimbo 19th January 1939 - Arrived Coquimbo 23rd January 1939 - Sailed Coquimbo for Valparaiso 23rd January 1939 - Sailed Coquimbo 23rd January 1939 - Sailed Coquimbo 24th January 1939 - Arrived Valparaiso 24th January 1939 - Arrived Valparaiso 24th January 1939 - Arrived Valparaiso 3rd February 1939 - Sailed Valparaiso 3rd February 1939 - Sailed Valparaiso 8th February 1939 - Arrived Callao 16th February 1939 - Sailed Callao 17th February 1939 - Arrived Huacho 20th February 1939 - Sailed Huacho 21st February 1939 - Arrived Payta 24th February 1939 - Sailed Payta 27th February 1939 - Arrived Colon 27th February 1939 - Arrived Balbao 28th February 1939 - Sailed Balbao 3rd March 1939 - Arrived Kingston 2nd June 1939 - Sailed Bermuda 5th June 1939 - Arrived Turks Islands 5th June 1939 - Sailed Turks Islands 7th June 1939 - Arrived Kingston 15th June 1939 - Sailed Kingston 17th June 1939 - Arrived Aruba 21st June 1939 - Sailed Aruba 22nd June 1939 - Arrived Curacoa 27th June 1939 - Sailed Curacoa 29th June 1939 - Arrived Martinique 3rd July 1939 - Sailed Martinique 4th July 1939 - Arrived Grenada 5th July 1939 - Arrived Trinidad 5th July 1939 - Sailed Grenada 15th July 1939 - Sailed Trinidad 17th July 1939 - Arrived Georgetown 22nd July 1939 - Sailed Georgetown 25th July 1939 - Arrived Para 1st August 1939 - Sailed Para 7th August 1939 - Arrived Bahia 14th August 1939 - Sailed Bahia for Rio de Janeiro 14th August 1939 - Arrived in Montevideo 14th August 1939 - Sailed Bahia 17th August 1939 - Arrived Rio de Janeiro 30th August 1939 - Sailed Rio de Janiero on patrol 31st August 1939 - Sailed Rio de Janeiro 31st August 1939 - Arrived Elha Grande September 1939 - Joined South American Division 2nd September 1939 - South American Division, Port Stanley in the Falklands 4th September 1939 - Intercepted the German freighter SS Olinda, outward bound from Montevideo 5th September 1939 - Sailed Elha Grande 8th September 1939 - Arrived Rio Grande Do Sul 13th September 1939 - Sailed Rio Grande Do Sul 2nd October 1939 - Covering outbound shipping from Rio de Janiero 22nd November 1939 - Searched for German merchant ships off Cape San Antonio 23rd November 1939 - Force G. Off Montevideo 1st December 1939 - Sailed Para for Bahia 1st December 1939 - Refitting a damaged propeller at Port Stanley in the Falklands 2nd December 1939 - Sailed Port Stanley for Rio de la Plata 5th December 1939 - Intercepted German steamer Ussukuma 12th December 1939 - Off the Uruguay coast near Rio de la Plata 12th December 1939 - Took up patrol in the Plate estuary 13th December 1939 - Encountered German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee off Rio de la Plata 29th December 1939 - Sailed the Falklands for patrol off Rio de la Plata 5th January 1940 - Sailed Montevideo after refuelling 6th January 1940 - Off Rio de la Plata 11th January 1940 - Arrived Rio de Janeiro 19th January 1940 - Arrived Freetown 30th January 1940 - En route to Plymouth 31st January 1940 - Arrived Plymouth 31st January 1940 - Arrived Plymouth then to Chatham for repairs July 1940 - Repairs completed at Chatham 27th March 1941 - Participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan 1st January 1943 - Makes way to New York Navy Yard for repairs 1st January 1943 - Severely damaged in Bone by Luftwaffe Ju 87 dive bomber October 1943 - Completed repairs 28th December 1943 - Arrived Scapa Flow 8th January 1944 - Sailed Scapa Flow 4th June 1944 - Sailed Greenock 4th June 1944 - 10th Cruiser Squadron 6th June 1944 - At Normandy Landings 6th June 1944 - Participated in the Normandy Landings 16th October 1944 - Flagship of Rear Admiral J.M. Mansfield 1st February 1948 - Decommissioned February 1949 - Sold for scrap |
HMS Ajax Artwork Collection |
HMS Ajax by Ivan Berryman. | The Pursuit of the Graf Spee by Ivan Berryman. | The Battle of the River Plate by Randall Wilson. |
The Pursuit of the Graf Spee by Ivan Berryman. |
Database Currently Holds : 6284 ships and 6289 crew!
Last edited : 12:17, July 21, 2011
By : tjstoneman
Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT. |
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