HMS Cleopatra

Cruiser

The Ship


Broken up. 15 December 1958


HMS Cleopatra,built by Hawthorn Leslie,launched 27/3/1940.Arrived at Newport for breaking up,12/12/1958.

HMS Cleopatra, commissioned 5/12/1941, went out to Gibraltar early in 1942, and on 9 February she sailed for Malta, where she was immediately damaged by a bomb. After repair she was transferred to Alexandria early in March for the 15th Cruiser Squadron, and took part in the Second Battle of Sirte. In June 1942 she covered Operation Harpoon and Vigorous, and in August bombarded Rhodes as a diversion for the Operation Pedestal convoy.

By January 1943 Cleopatra was part of Force "K", later Force "Q" at Bône, from where the Axis traffic to and from Tunisia was attacked. Later she was a unit of the 12th Cruiser Squadron, and was present at the landings in Sicily, Operation Husky, in June, followed by supporting the army ashore. However, on 16 July 1943 Cleopatra was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Dandolo and again badly damaged. Temporary repairs were made at Malta which lasted until October 1943, after which she sailed to Philadelphia, USA for full repairs.

These were completed in November 1944, and in 1945 she went out to the East Indies, where she was the first ship into the newly recaptured base at Singapore in September. Cleopatra served postwar with the 5th Cruiser Squadron in the East Indies until returning to Portsmouth on 7 February 1946 to refit.

Thereafter she joined the Home Fleet, 2nd Cruiser Squadron, from 1946 to early 1951 and later served in the Mediterranean from late 1951 to early 1953, but returned to Chatham on 12 February 1953 to be paid off. On 15 December 1958 she arrived at the Newport yard of J Cashmore for breaking up.

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