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HMS Aurora (12)
*** Shopping-Tip: HMS Aurora (12)
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left:1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" width="300"
| colspan="2" align="center"|
Image:HMS_Aurora.png 300px|HMS AuroraHMS ''Aurora'' just completed, November 1937
|-
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: #000080;"| Career
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: #000080;"|
Image:RN-White-Ensign.svg 60px|The White Ensign of the [[Royal Navy.]]
|-
| Built By:
| Portsmouth Dockyard (
Portsmouth,
United Kingdom UK)
|-
| Laid down:
|
27 July 1935
|-
| Launched:
|
20 August 1936
|-
| Commissioned:
|
12 November 1937
|-
| Decommissioned:
| April
1946
|-
| Fate:
| Transferred, Sold on
19 May 1948 to the Chinese Navy and renamed ''Chung King''. Later she defected to the Communists and was renamed ''Tchoung King''. In March
1949 she was sunk in
Taku harbour by Nationalist aircraft. She was raised and seems to have remained in service until the mid 1950s.
|-
| Penant:
| 12
|-
!colspan="2" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: #000080;"|General Characteristics
|-
| Displacement:
| 5,270 tons '''standard''';
6,715 tons '''full load'''.
|-
| Length:
| 506 ft (154.2 m)
|-
| Beam:
| 51 ft (15.5 m)
|-
| Draught:
| 14 ft (4.3 m)
|-
| Propulsion:
| 4 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 64,000 shp.
|-
| Speed:
| 32.25 knots
|-
| Range:
| Unknown; 1,325 tons fuel oil
|-
| Complement:
| 500
|-
| Armament:
| '''Original configuration:'''
'''3''' x 6 in (152 mm) dual guns,
'''4''' x 4 in (102 mm) dual AA guns,
'''2''' x 0.5 in MG quadruple guns,
'''2''' x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes.
'''1940 - August 1941 configuration:'''
'''3''' x 6 in (152 mm) dual guns,
'''4''' x 4 in (102 mm) dual AA guns,
'''2''' x 0.5 in MG quadruple guns,
'''6''' x 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns,
'''2''' x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-poms quad guns,
'''2''' x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes.
|-
| Armour:
| '''Original configuration:'''
'''1''' to '''3''' in magazine box protection,
'''2.25''' in belt,
'''1''' in deck, turrets and bulkheads.
|-
|}
'''HMS ''Aurora'' (12)''' was the Arethusa class cruiser for the
Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard (
Portsmouth,
United Kingdom UK), with the keel being laid down on the
27 July 1935. She was launched on the
20 August 1936, and commissioned
12 November 1937.
History
''Aurora'' served with the
British Home Fleet Home Fleet from completion as Rear Admiral (D). In September
1939 she was with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, escorting convoys to
Scandinavia and engaged on the hunt for ''
German battlecruiser Scharnhorst Scharnhorst'' and ''
German battlecruiser Gneisenau Gneisenau''. After the Norwegian campaign she participated in the operations hunting ''
German battleship Bismarck Bismarck'' and, with
HMS Kenya (C14) Kenya, intercepted one of the German supply ships, ''Belchen'', on
3 June 1941.
Between July and August
1941, as part of Force "K" with the
British Home Fleet Home Fleet, she was involved in operations to
Spitzbergen and
Bear Island. After one of these sorties, in company with
HMS Nigeria (C60) Nigeria, she intercepted a German troop convoy off north
Norway, and the German ''Bremse'' was sunk. In the autumn she was transferred to the
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II Mediterranean and arrived in
Malta on
21 October 1941 to join a new Force "K". On
9 November 1941, Force "K", made up of ''Aurora'' and
HMS Penelope (97) ''Penelope'' and destroyers
HMS Lance (G87) ''Lance'' and
HMS Lively (G40) ''Lively'', intercept an Italian convoy some 130 south-west off
Calabria in approximate position 37.08N, 18.09E. The Italian convoy was bound from
Naples to
Tripoli.
In the resulting battle the Italian destroyer ''Fulmine'' was sunk as well as the German transports ''Duisburg'' and ''San Marco'', the Italian transports ''Maria'', ''Sagitta'' and ''Rina Corrado'', and the Italian ''Conte di Misurata'' and ''Minatitlan''. The Italian destroyers ''Grecale'' and ''Euro'' were damaged.
On
19 December 1941, While on their way to intercept an Italian convoy bound for
Tripoli the British Force "K", ''Aurora'',
HMS Neptune (20) Neptune,
HMS Penelope (97) ''Penelope'' and the destroyers
HMS Kandahar (F28) Kandahar,
HMS Lance (G87) ''Lance'',
HMS Lively (G40) ''Lively'' and
HMS Havock (H43) Havock ran into a newly laid Italian minefield. ''Neptune'' and ''Kandahar'' sank while ''Aurora'' was badly damaged, while ''Penelope'' was only lightly damaged. ''Aurora'' was patched up at
Malta before she sailed home on
29 March 1942 for full repair at
Liverpool, which took until the end of June
1942.
After her return to the
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II Mediterranean she joined Force "H", and in November was part of the Centre Task Force for the Landings in
North Africa,
Operation Torch. Off
Oran, she engaged the Vichy French torpilleurs ''Tramontane'' and ''Tornade'' on
8 November 1942, sinking the latter and damaging the former so badly that she had to be beached. The following day she badly damaged the contre-torpilleur ''Epervier'' and drove her ashore. By December she was operating as part of Force "Q" at
Bône against the
Axis evacuation and supply convoys between
Trapani and
Tunis.
Then, as a unit of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, she participated in the
Allied invasion of Sicily invasion of Sicily and the
Salerno landings (Operation Avalanche) before moving into the
Aegean in October
1943. During operations in that area she was damaged by bombs off
Castelorizo on
30 October, and withdrew to
Taranto for repairs which lasted until April
1944. In August
1944 she was at the
Battle of Normandy landings in the south of France, then returned to the
Aegean, where she assisted in the liberation of
Athens.
After the war ''Aurora'' was sold on
19 May 1948 to the Chinese Navy and renamed ''Chung King''. Later she defected to the Communists and was renamed ''Tchoung King''. In March
1949 she was sunk in Taku harbour by Nationalist aircraft. She was later salvaged, but is not believed to have become operational again, although she was subsequently renamed ''Hsuang Ho'' (1951), ''Pei Ching'' (1951) and ''Kuang Chou''.
See
HMS Aurora HMS ''Aurora'' for other ships of the name.
{{Arethusa class cruiser (1934)}}
*** Shopping-Tip: HMS Aurora (12)
