Leander

HMS Leander in Gatun Lake, Panama Canal, July 1937.

History

Design

In January 1929, design work began on new light cruisers for the Royal Navy, the previous Emerald class being 3 years old by that time. The preliminary designs included aspects such as single mount 6-inch (152mm) guns, single mount 5.5-inch (140mm) guns, 6-inch guns in two-gun turrets, a catapult, and a single large funnel amidships. These preliminary designs displaced around 6,000 tons, however the design that was entered into the 1929 building program (called the Type "O" cruiser) displaced 6,500 tons, using many aspects that would become part of the Leander class.

The armament of the Leander class consisted of Eight new 6-inch /50 caliber Mk. XXIII guns, mounted in four two-gun turrets, in 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' positions. An experimental twin turret was installed upon the Emerald-class cruiser Enterprise, which proved to be very successful, and influenced the design of the Mk.XXI turret used on Leander. The secondary armament as built consisted of four single 4-inch (102mm) QF Mk.V guns, capable of dual purpose work. However, like most Royal Navy cruisers of this generation, these were subsequently replaced before the second world war by the more effective Mk.XIX twin mounting using the 4-inch QF Mk.XVI guns. However, Achilles never received the new mounts until 1943. Though some preliminary designs had used two triple torpedo tubes per side, the Leanders used two quadruple torpedo tubes per side instead. An aircraft catapult was also mounted amidships behind the single funnel.

The original anti-aircraft armament was the 4-inch secondary guns, and 3 quadruple mount 12.7mm (0.5-inch) Vickers Machine gun mounts, however during World War 2, the anti-aircraft suite was upgraded substantially, with the addition of quadruple 40mm 'pompom' mounts and single 20mm 'Oerlikon' mounts. Later on, quadruple 40mm 'Bofors' were fitted to Ajax and Leander, and twin 20mm 'Oerlikon' mounts were used. The aircraft catapult was also removed when allowed to make space for extra guns. On Leander and Achilles, the 'X' turret was removed late in the war for more guns.

The armor of the ships was a 3-inch 76mm belt protecting the machinery, with the magazines being protected a box with a maximum thickness of 3.5-inches (89mm). The turrets used 25mm armor all over, as did the deck, except for above the machinery, where it was 31mm. The ships appearance took a lot from the contemporary heavy cruisers, such as the York-class and cancelled Surrey sub-class of the County-class.

Maximum speed was rated for 32.5 knots, using six Admiralty three-drum boilers, at a shaft horsepower of 72,000. The machinery was successful and sound, with Achilles recording up to 82,000 shaft horsepower during the Battle of the River Plate. However, since the boilers were all grouped into a single funnel, the ships machinery could potentially be disabled by damage amidships.

Although original plans called for up to sixteen of these cruisers, this was reduced to eight, of which only five were built of the Leander sub-class. A further three were constructed of the Amphion sub-class, in which the machinery was spaced out more, allowing for two funnels instead of one. All eight ships were laid down and completed between 1930 and 1936.

Service

HMS Leander (75) was commissioned in 1933 and served with the Home Fleet. In 1937, she replaced the Danae class cruiser, Dunedin in the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy. Serving as a shipping escort in the Indian Ocean after the beginning of World War II, HMNZS Leander sank the Italian raider Ramb I off India in 1941 as well as two blockade runners. Leander was assigned to assist in operations in the Persian Gulf during the Iraqi rebellion but took no action. Joining the fleet in the Mediterranean in mid-1941, Leander was engaged in patrols off Syria and fought a small action with the Vichy French destroyers Guépard and Valmy in June of that year.

Leander returned to New Zealand in late 1941, then joined the ANZAC command in 1942 for operations in the Solomon Islands. Leander participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign as a convoy escort until 1943, when she joined USN CruDiv (Cruiser Division) 9. In July 1943, Leander was part of the task force which participated in the Battle of Kolombangara, where she was torpedoed and sustained heavy damage. Made fully seaworthy in late 1943, Leander sailed for Boston for full repairs, where she remained until complete just weeks after the Japanese surrender negotiations. Leander returned to the UK, and was returned to the Royal Navy, where she was involved in the Corfu Channel incident. She was paid off and sold for scrapping in 1949.

HMS Orion (85), commissioned in 1934, also served with the Home Fleet until 1937, when she was transferred to the Americas. After the beginning of World War II, she conducted patrol and convoy duties until 1940, when she was reassigned to the Mediterranean. Orion participated in engagements with the Italian fleet, shore bombardment of Italian positions, and convoy escort duties from 1940 to 1941, where she was active in the Battle of Calabria, the Battle of the Strait of Otranto, and the Battle of Cape Matapan. Orion also participated in convoy duties to Greece and Crete both assisting in the transport of army troops to the region, their subsequent evacuation, and engaging Axis forces in the area. Damaged by air attack during the Battle of Crete, Orion was withdrawn to South Africa, then on to California, and finally back to the UK for repairs until early 1942.

Rejoining the fleet in the Mediterranean in mid-1943, Orion helped to cover the invasions of Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio before returning to the UK in preparation for joining the Normandy invasion force in early 1944. Orion provided naval gunfire support in Normandy, and was then returned to the Mediterranean to assist in the invasion of southern France. Returning once again to the Aegean Sea, Orion supported Allied operations there before once again assisting land operations in the Mediterranean, this time off the northwest Italian coast. After the war, Orion was involved in the Corfu Channel incident, and assigned as a target ship before being paid off and sold for scrapping in 1949. She earned 13 battle honours during her service, joint second most for an individual ship in the Royal Navy, behind only the battleship Warspite.

HMS Neptune (20), like Leander, Orion, and Achilles, also served with the Home Fleet until 1937, when she joined the Africa Squadron and participated in operations in the South Atlantic at the beginning of World War II, Neptune took two German merchants in 1939, and participated in the pursuit of Admiral Graf Spee. Like Orion, Neptune was assigned in 1940 to the Mediterranean, engaging in shore bombardment missions as well as a sortie into Greek waters after the Italian declaration of war on that nation. She took part in the Battle of Calabria, being hit once, but striking the Italian heavy cruiser Bolzano three times in return.

Neptune was then reassigned to the Atlantic to counter the increased presence of German raiders, joining in the search for Admiral Scheer and the Bismarck group, and sinking one of Bismarck’s supply vessels. Returned again to the Mediterranean in 1941, Neptune operated out of Malta searching for Italian merchants on the supply routes to North Africa, as part of Force K. In mid-December 1941, Neptune was leading Force K and struck two mines damaging her. Although attempts were made to rescue her, the commander of Neptune ordered other ships to keep away, mindful that 2 other cruisers and a destroyer which was later scuttled were damaged by the mines. Striking a third mine destroyed her propellers, and a fourth mine finally sunk her. Of her crew of over 700, only one survived to be rescued by an Italian torpedo boat.

HMS Ajax (22) was sent to the Americas upon completion in 1935, and remained there through the beginning of World War II. Patrolling off the South American coast, Ajax managed to take three German merchants before joining Force G in the search for the German raider Admiral Graf Spee which was finally run down off Argentina. In the resulting Battle of the River Plate, Ajax was moderately damaged, with 'X' and 'Y' turrets out of action, but came out the victor when Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled 4 days later on the 17th December 1939. Ajax returned to the UK for repairs, joining the fleet in the Mediterranean in mid-1940. There she escorted convoys, and was a major part of the Battle of Cape Passero, a close range night battle where she sunk the Spica class torpedo boats Ariel and Airone and damaged the Soldati class destroyers Aviere and Artigliere, though she sustained superstructure damage and casualties too. Ajax also participated in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto, and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. When not savaging Axis warships or bombarding land targets, Ajax was engaged in convoy escort duties to Malta, the evacuation of Crete where she was damaged by air attack, and supporting Allied operations in Vichy Syria. She remained in the Mediterranean until mid-1942 when she was withdrawn to the UK for refit.

Returning to the Mediterranean again in January 1943, Ajax was again damaged by air attack, being hit by a single 1,000-lb bomb, and was withdrawn for repairs, this time to New York City, where she remained until late in the year. She returned once again to the Mediterranean, but only briefly, before being withdrawn in preparation for the Normandy invasion for which she provided naval gunfire support. Returning yet again to the Mediterranean in August 1944, Ajax supported Operation Dragoon and later Allied operations in Greece before the end of a remarkable war career. Ajax was placed on inactive status shortly after the end of the war, then sold for scrapping in 1949.

HMS Achilles was commissioned in 1933 and, like most of her sister ships, served in the Home Fleet for several years. In 1936, she was transferred to the New Zealand Division, replacing the Danae-class Diomede. After the beginning of World War II in 1939, Achilles began operations in the South Atlantic and was attached to Force G. Participating in the Battle of the River Plate alongside her sister Ajax, Achilles sustained relatively minor damage in the first major Royal Navy victory of the war. Returning to New Zealand for convoy escort duty, Achilles formed part of the force providing cover for the influx of supplies and troops to New Zealand and Australia until 1942 when she joined the ANZAC squadron.

Achilles (70) participated in operations in the South Pacific and Solomon Islands until 1943 when she was damaged by air attack necessitating a return to the UK for repairs, as a bomb had hit her 'X' turret. Leaving the UK in mid-1944, having traded her 'X' turret in for extra anti-aircraft armament, Achilles joined the Eastern Fleet, until 1945. She then joined the British Pacific Fleet, accompanying the aircraft carriers as they conducted raids to suppress bypassed Japanese garrisons in the Central Pacific as well as the Home Islands of Japan. Achilles was returned to the Royal Navy in 1946, and in 1947, she was sold to India, becoming INS Delhi. She was finally scrapped in 1978.

Historical Inaccuracies

• In game, Leander’s main belt armor is 100mm thick, while historically it was 76.2mm (3 inches) thick, with 25mm (1 inch) of backing plate, which have been combined to give the in game value of 100mm.
• Hull (A) has a fictional anti-aircraft armament, no Leander-class ship ever carried the octuple 40mm 'pompom' mount, and although Leander did carry 2x4 12.7mm and 5x1 20mm 'Oerlikons'; the latter guns were fitted after the 12.7mm were removed from the ship.
• The anti-aircraft armament for Hull (B) is accurate for sister ship HMS Ajax between late 1943 and 1944, however, the aircraft catapult was removed in 1942, and therefore shouldn't be present.
• 38mm bulkhead armor isn't observable, and may not be present.
• The permanent premium camouflage is actually the historical camouflage of HMS Ajax. It was painted in October 1943 and remained in place until 1944. The colours on this camouflage pattern in game however, appear to be inaccurate.
• Although Leander uses the same 152mm Mk.XXVIII guns as Belfast, Fiji, Edinburgh and Perth, Leander — like other tech tree Royal Navy light cruisers in game — only gets access to armor-piercing (AP) shells. Historically, ships using the Mk.XXVIII gun were outfitted with both AP/CPBC (Common Pointed Ballistic Cap) and HE shells.

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  HMS Leander in Melbourne for Australia's Sesquicentenary, February 1938.

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  HMNZS Leander underway.

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  Catapult-launched Supermarine Walrus from HMNZS Leander, circa 1938, used as a fleet spotter.

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  Leander passing through the Panama Canal.

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  Leander in Gatun Lake, Panama Canal, July 1937.

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  HMNZS Leander and USS Chicago at Fiji, 1942.

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  Crest of HMNZS Leander.

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