Edinburgh

HMS Edinburgh at sea, 6 July 1939.

History

Design

Edinburgh and her sister Belfast were designed as modified Town class cruisers, being the third (or Edinburgh) sub-class. This sub-class was significantly larger than the previous Southampton and Gloucester sub-classes, coming in approximately 1,200 tons heavier than the preceding Gloucester sub-class.

The ships of the Town class were constructed in response to the Japanese Mogami and American Brooklyn class cruisers, which were both armed with fifteen 6-inch (152mm or 155mm) guns. British ship designers sought to match the other cruisers’ number of guns, but due to length restrictions, were unable to properly fit five turrets onto the ships. Another plan that was developed called for the Edinburgh class to be mounted with quadruple 6-inch turrets; however, this idea was abandoned due to the difficulties in manufacturing such a turret that performed adequately. Ultimately, the new cruisers were mounted with twelve 6-inch (152mm) guns in four triple turrets, arranged in an A-B-X-Y position. However, a new turret, designated the Mk.XXIII was used, which used more powerful motors and a more efficient 'long trunk' ammunition supply, which could provide between 10 to 12 shells to the gun per minute. The effective maximum rate of fire stayed the same as earlier cruisers however, at 8 rounds per minute. The new Mk.XXIII triple turret is easily distinguishable from the earlier Mk.XXII used on the previous Town class cruisers by the flattened edge between the turret roof and face, as opposed to a curved edge.

Edinburgh, like preceding cruisers, was designed to have armor capable of protecting the ship against 152mm caliber gunfire. The ship featured a smaller magazine and citadel space compared to previous cruisers. This shortened length allowed for more armor to be mounted around the machinery and weaponry spaces. Additionally, the Edinburgh class carried more powerful machinery than previous Southampton sub-class, which allowed her to maintain the designed speed of 32 knots, despite her increased displacement. Her increased fuel capacity, granted the ship an extended range over the older Town class ships. Both Edinburgh and Belfast would receive upgraded radar systems and increased anti-aircraft capabilities at the beginning of World War II.

Other differences from the other Town class cruisers included the aircraft catapult being in front of the forward funnel instead of behind it, and the addition of 2 more twin 4-inch (102mm) dual-purpose mounts bringing the total to 3 dual mounts per broadside. The larger size of the ship also allowed the octuple 40mm 'pompom' mounts to be fitted, as opposed to the earlier Town class receiving quadruple 40mm 'pompom' mounts.

Service

Edinburgh was laid down at the Swan Hunter Shipyard in Tyne and Wear, England on 30 December 1936, twenty days after her only sister ship Belfast was laid down. She was launched on 31 March 1938 and spent the following year fitting out and beginning her sea trials.

Edinburgh was commissioned on 6 July 1939 and was assigned at Scapa Flow with the Home Fleet at the outbreak of World War II. Her early war service consisted of standard anti-shipping patrol in the North Atlantic. In October 1939, Edinburgh was attacked by air and sustained light damage, although not directly hit. She was then assigned to escort convoys to Norway, but was ordered to join the hunt for the German Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on the 23rd October. She returned to port for refit in March 1940, which strengthened her anti-aircraft loadout and corrected design weaknesses. Edinburgh returned to convoy duty in October 1940, this time in the South Atlantic, but returned north to patrol for German raiders around Iceland with HMS Hood, HMS Cossack and the E-class destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Escapade and HMS Echo.

In early 1941, Edinburgh escorted North Atlantic Convoys such as TC9 and WS7, as well as covering the successful commando raid on the Lofoten Islands. In May 1941, Edinburgh intercepted a German weather ship off Norway, and was briefly detached from convoy duty and ordered to attempt an intercept of Bismarck, but Bismarck was sunk before Edinburgh could find her. She did however, find the German supply ship Lech, taking it as a prize.

Edinburgh returned again to convoy duty, this time alternating between Malta and the South Atlantic, including the successful Malta relief Operations Substance and Halberd. In December 1941, she was assigned to escort duty in the Arctic. She made two successful voyages to Murmansk, with a short period under refit in between in January and February 1942. However, on the return trip with convoy QP-11 in April 1942, Edinburgh was torpedoed twice by the German submarine U-456. The first hit her amidships on the starboard side, which caused a heavy list, which, but the crew stabilized the ship. The second torpedo destroyed her stern, including her steering gear, leaving the ship crippled. She was taken under tow back to Murmansk, escorted by 2 destroyers and 4 minesweepers and a Russian tug that arrived later, but Edinburgh was attacked two days later by three German destroyers, Z-7 Hermann Schoemann, Z-24 and Z-25. In the ensuing close range battle (minimum ranges of 2.8 km), Edinburgh managed to severely cripple Schoemann which later had to be scuttled, but a torpedo aimed at one of Edinburgh’s escorts hit Edinburgh on her port side, directly opposite the first torpedo hit from U-456. Salvage was impractical in the cold Arctic waters, she was declared a loss. Her crew was evacuated and she was scuttled by the escorting destroyer HMS Foresight on 2 May 1942, after numerous failed attempts to sink her using gunfire and depth charges. Of her given compliment of 847, 790 were rescued before she was scuttled, although other values are given.

Edinburgh was carrying 4.5 tons of gold bullion to the UK as a partial payment from USSR for the lend-lease equipment. Between 1981 and 1986, all but 5 of the 465 gold bars were recovered by divers from her wreck on behalf of the British Government, approximately 245m (800ft) below the surface of the sea. The fifth Royal Navy ship to carry the name, Edinburgh earned 4 battle honors during her service in World War II (Norway 1940, Bismarck 1941, Atlantic 1941, Arctic 1941-2).

Sister ship HMS Belfast, although laid down and launched before Edinburgh, was commissioned into the Royal Navy later. Belfast struck a mine in late 1939, keeping her under repair until November 1942, after her sister had been sunk. She would not share the same fate though, as Belfast went on to escort Arctic convoys, play a critical role in the sinking of the German Battleship Scharnhorst, provide fire support on D-Day, and serve in the British Pacific Fleet in 1945. Her career extended beyond the Second World War and into the Korean War before she was finally retired from active service in 1963. Since 1971, Belfast has served as a museum ship, moored on the River Thames in London as an iconic landmark, the last surviving major Royal Navy surface combatant from the World War II era.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Both anti-aircraft configurations are fictitious for Edinburgh. Edinburgh's original AA complement consisted of six twin 102mm (4-inch) dual-purpose guns, two octuple 40mm pom-poms and two quadruple 12.7mm machine guns. When she was sunk in May 1942, the only changes to her AA armament was the addition of six single 20mm Oerlikons. Edinburgh never received any 40mm Bofors or dual 20mm Oerlikons.
• The anti-aircraft configuration on Hull (A) however, is almost accurate for Belfast in her mid-1943 to mid-1944 condition, the exception being that neither Belfast or Edinburgh had an octuple 40mm 'pompom' mounted on the stern quarterdeck.
• Hull (B) has a fictitious AA load-out for both Belfast and Edinburgh, as neither ship ever received quadruple 40mm 'bofors' mounts, and Belfast at most had only 5 twin 20mm 'Oerlikon' mounts, in early 1943, nowhere near the 14 that the (B)-hull has in game.
• Although Edinburgh uses the same 152mm Mk.XXVIII guns as Belfast, Leander, Fiji and Perth, Edinburgh — like other regular Royal Navy light cruisers in game — only gets access to AP shells. Historically, ships using the Mk.XXVIII gun were outfitted with both AP/CPBC (Common Pointed Ballistic Cap) and HE shells.
• Both hulls for Edinburgh have the torpedo bulges fitted to Belfast from 1939-1942.
• The premium camouflage for Edinburgh is roughly accurate for her 1942 camouflage, although there are some discrepancies.

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  HMS Edinburgh soon after her commissioning, 1938.

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  Edinburgh in 1938.

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  Design scheme for HMS Edinburgh.

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  HMS Edinburgh setting sail.

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  Edinburgh at sea, 6 July 1939.

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  Edinburgh at Scapa Flow, October 1941.

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  Edinburgh with the cruisers Hermione and Euryalus on convoy duty during Operation Halberd in September 1941.

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  Edinburgh on duty, April 1942.

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  Edinburgh’s wrecked stern after being struck by a torpedo on 30 April 1942.

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  Sister ship, HMS Belfast at anchor during world war 2.