View source for HMS Orion (85)

{{Short description|Leander-class cruiser}}
{{Other ships|HMS Orion}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Orion (85).jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Orion''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Orion''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] / [[Vickers Armstrong]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
|Ship laid down=26 September 1931
|Ship launched=24 November 1932
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=18 January 1934
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=1947
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
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|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship captured=
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|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: 85
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap 19 July 1949
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Leander|cruiser|0||1931}} [[light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=*7,270 tons standard
*9,740 tons full load
|Ship length={{convert|554.9|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|56|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|19.1|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship power={{convert|72000|shp|kW}}
|Ship propulsion=*Four Parsons geared steam turbines
*Six Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers
*Four shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|32.5|kn|km/h|0}}
|Ship range=5,730 nm at 13 knots
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement=*Peacetime 550
*Wartime 680
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=*type 284/286 air search radar
*type 273/271 surface search
*type 285 6&nbsp;inch (152&nbsp;mm) fire control
*type 282 40&nbsp;mm fire control
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*Original configuration:
*8<ref name="L&C">Lenton & Colledge 1968 p.39</ref> × [[BL 6 inch Mk XXIII naval gun]]s<ref name="Campbell">Campbell 1985 p.34</ref>
*4 × [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}}]] guns
*12 × [[Vickers .50 machine gun|0.5&nbsp;in]] machine guns
*8 × 21&nbsp;in [[torpedo tube]]s
*In 1945:
*8 × 6&nbsp;in (152&nbsp;mm)
*8 × 4&nbsp;in (102&nbsp;mm)
*16 × 40&nbsp;mm
*8 × [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] torpedo tubes (quadruple mounts)
|Ship armour=*4&nbsp;in (102&nbsp;mm) main [[Belt armor|belt]]
*2.5&nbsp;in (64&nbsp;mm) ends
*1.25 to 2&nbsp;in (32 to 51&nbsp;mm) [[Deck (ship)|deck]]
*1&nbsp;in (25&nbsp;mm) [[gun turret|turret]]s
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=* One [[Aircraft catapult#Interwar and World War II|catapult]]-launched aircraft
*Original type was a [[Fairey Seafox]] (K8571 shown in a 1937 photograph,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.airhistory.net/photo/195469/K8571 |title=Untitled |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2019-12-17 |website=airhistory.net |publisher=airhistory.net |access-date=2022-06-15 |quote=The Fairey Seafox floatplane equipped a number of British warships in the early phase of WWII and saw action in the Battle of the River Plate. K8571 is seen on the catapult of the light cruiser HMS Orion during a visit to an American port. Photo from: Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> and K8573 in a 1938 photograph)
*Catapult and aircraft later replaced with [[Supermarine Walrus]]
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|}
'''HMS ''Orion''''' was a {{sclass|Leander|cruiser|0||1931}} [[light cruiser]] which served with distinction in the [[Royal Navy]] during [[World War II]]. She received 13 battle honours, a record only exceeded by {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} and matched by two others.

==History==
''Orion'' was built by [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] (Plymouth, U.K), [[Vickers-Armstrong]] (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK).
[[File:HMS Orion bombardment.jpg|thumb|left|Flashes from the 6-inch guns of ''Orion'' can be seen against the darkness during a nighttime bombardment of enemy positions on the [[Garigliano River]].]]

''Orion'' was commissioned on 18 January 1934, for service with the [[Home Fleet]] but she was transferred to the [[North America and West Indies Station|America and West Indies Station]], based at the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard]] on [[Ireland Island, Bermuda|Ireland Island]], in the [[Imperial fortress]] [[British Overseas Territory|colony]] of [[Bermuda]], in 1937 where she was with the 8th Cruiser Squadron. She arrived at Bermuda on the 3rd of September, 1937. Around 19:15 on the 21st of September, while exercising off Bermuda, ''Orion'' was ordered, in response to a request from the United States Consul for assistance, to make its way towards the position of the sail training ship [[USS Annapolis (PG-10)|USS ''Annapolis'']], four hundred miles from Bermuda at  35 degrees North and 54 degrees West. Cadet Robert Hugh Quinn, aboard ''Annapolis'', required an immediate operation for appendicitis and the 7 knot speed of ''Annapolis'' would not enable it to reach Bermuda in time. The two ships were in sight of each other by 0858 on the 22nd of September. After Captain Hines of the ''Annapolis'' came aboard to meet with the captain of ''Orion'', HRG Kinahan, ''Orion'' set off for Bermuda by 1038 with the American cadet, entering through the Narrows channel at night and arriving at the dockyard at 0246 on the 23rd of September, from where Quinn was delivered to the Royal Naval Hospital. On the 27th of October, 1937, the Flag of the America and West Indies Station was transferred to ''Orion'' when [[HMS York (90)|HMS ''York'']] was sent to [[Trinidad]] due to civil unrest there, leaving the [[North America and West Indies Station#Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station|Commander-in-Chief]] at [[Admiralty House, Bermuda]]. ''Orion'' remained temporary flagship until HMS ''York'' returned on the 21st of November, 1937. On the 15th of November, the ocean liner [[MV Reina del Pacifico|MV ''Reina del Pacifico'']], which operated between [[Liverpool]] and [[Valparaíso]], [[Chile]], via Bermuda, the West Indies and the [[Panama Canal]], stopped at Bermuda on its way to Chile with the body of former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Ramsay MacDonald]] who had died aboard on the 9 November. MacDonald's body was transferred to the navy for return to [[Plymouth]]. All of the cruisers of the station were away from Bermuda at that moment except for ''Orion'' and [[HMAS Hobart (D63)|HMS ''Apollo'']]. As ''Apollo'' was undergoing a refit at the dockyard, it would have fallen to ''Orion'' to deliver MacDonald's body, but as flagship she could not leave the station. ''Apollo'' was consequently hurried through her refit instead. ''Orion'' was tasked with the memorial service for MacDonald, whose body was taken aboard the Royal Navy tug ''Sandboy'' once the ''Reina del Pacifico'' was in Bermudian waters and landed on Front Street in the [[Hamilton, Bermuda|City of Hamilton]] along with the dockyard Chaplain, the Orion's Chaplain, an Honour Guard, sentries and coffin bearers. MacDonald's coffin was borne on a gun carriage to the [[Church of England]]'s [[Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Bermuda|Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity]], in a procession that included the ship's company of ''Orion'' and a detachment of the [[Sherwood Foresters|Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)]], serving in the [[Bermuda Garrison]] and based at [[Prospect Camp, Bermuda|Prospect Camp]]. At the cathedral, [[Arthur Browne (bishop)|Arthur Browne]], the [[Bishop of Bermuda]], conducted the memorial service, which was followed by a [[lying in state]]. The following day, the procession was repeated back to the ''Sandboy'' which bore MacDonald's body to ''Apollo'' at the dockyard, which departed Bermuda for Plymouth at 1100, also carrying MacDonald's daughter, Miss Sheila MacDonald.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=1937-12-04 |title=RAMSAY MACDONALD'S LAST HOMECOMING: BERMUDA TO LOSSIEMOUTH |work=The Illustrated London News |location=lONDON}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1939 |title=H.M.S. ORION 1937-1939. |publication-place=Flood & Son, Ltd, The Borough Press, Lowestoft, England |publisher=Royal Navy (HMS Orion) |page=26}}</ref> ''Orion'' conveyed the ashes of [[John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir|Lord Tweedsmuir]], [[Governor-General of Canada]], back to England in February 1940.

In June 1940 she was transferred to the Mediterranean, where she was with the 7th Cruiser Squadron as [[John Tovey]]'s [[flagship]]. She took part in the bombardment of [[Bardia]], and the [[Battle of Calabria]] in July 1940. Late in that month, she sank the small Greek freighter ''Ermioni'' which was ferrying supplies to the Italian-held [[Dodecanese|Dodecanese islands]].<ref>Greene, J.; Massignani, A. (2002) [1998]. The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940–1943 (pbk. ed.). Rochester: Chatham, p. 86. {{ISBN|978-1-86176-190-3}}.</ref> During the rest of 1940 she escorted Malta convoys and transported troops to Greece. In the early part of 1941 she was in the [[Crete]] and [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] areas and was also at the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in March 1941.

In the course of an attack on a German convoy headed for Crete on 22 May, she was damaged in a duel with its escort, the Italian torpedo boat {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lupo||2}}. On 29 May 1941, during the evacuation of Crete, she was bombed and badly damaged while transporting 1900 evacuated troops.{{sfn|Rippon|1994|pp=12–15}} Around 360 people died, of whom 100 were soldiers. After extensive damage control had been undertaken she limped to Alexandria at {{convert|12|kn}}, providing a spectacular sight in the harbour with the mast wedged into the ship’s funnel and significant battle damage. On 29 June ''Orion'' sailed for passage to Simonstown, South Africa via Aden for temporary repairs and then sent to the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] in [[Vallejo, California]] for major repairs.<ref name=mason>{{cite web
 | last = Mason
 | first = Lt Cdr Geoffrey B
 | title = HMS Orion – Leander-class Light Cruiser
 | work = Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2
 | date = 2005
 | url = http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Orion.htm
 | access-date = 13 July 2010 }}</ref>

''Orion'''s repairs were completed in March 1942 and she returned initially to [[Plymouth]] where new [[radar]] was installed. During mid 1942, she was widely employed, in home waters and on convoy escort duties to Africa and the Indian Ocean.<ref name=mason />

''Orion'' returned to the Mediterranean in October 1942. This time she was with the 15th Cruiser Squadron. She was involved in convoy escort duties and supported the army in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]]. She spent most of the rest of the war around the Mediterranean. [[James Gornall (Royal Navy officer)|James Gornall]] the former English first-class cricketer, promoted to Captain in 1941 was placed in command of her in 1943. She also took part in the [[Operation Neptune|Normandy Landings]] in June 1944, where she fired the first shell.

===Corfu Channel Incident===
''Orion'' was involved in the [[Corfu Channel Incident]] in 1946, a conflict between Britain and [[Albania]] involving the navigation of British ships in the channel between the Greek island of [[Corfu]] and the Albanian coast.

===Fate===
''Orion'' ended service in 1947, was sold for scrap to Arnott Young ([[Dalmuir]], Scotland) on 19 July 1949 and was scrapped in August 1949.

==Battle honours==

* Atlantic 1939;
* Calabria 1940, Mediterranean 1940-43-44;
* Malta Convoys 1941, Matapan 1941, Greece 1941, Crete 1941;
* Sicily 1943, Salerno 1943;
* Aegean 1944, Anzio 1944, Normandy 1944, South France 1944.

Only {{HMS|Jervis|F00|2}} and {{HMS|Nubian|F36|2}}, which served in the Mediterranean with ''Orion'', matched this record; it was exceeded by ''Warspite'', the Mediterranean Fleet flagship, which saw service in both World Wars.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Commons category|HMS Orion (85)}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=David K. |editor1-last=Lambert |editor1-first=Andrew |title=Ship Trials: Tests Against Cruisers |journal=Warship |date=1987 |issue=42 |pages=106–108 |issn=0142-6222}}
* {{cite book| title=Naval Weapons of World War Two |author=Campbell, John |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |isbn=0-87021-459-4}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book| title=British and Dominion Warships of World War Two |author1=Lenton, H.T. |author2=Colledge, J.J. |publisher=Doubleday and Company |year=1968}}
* {{cite book|last1=Raven|first1=Alan|last2=Roberts|first2=John|title=British Cruisers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1980|isbn=0-87021-922-7|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{Cite book
  |title=Evolution of Engineering in the Royal Navy: 1939–1992
  |volume=II
  |last=Rippon
  |first=P. M., Cdr RN
  |year=1994
  |publisher=Institute of Marine Engineers
  |chapter=2: Ship Construction
  |pages=12–15
  |isbn=0-907206-47-6
  }}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Cassell |location=London|year=1995|isbn=1-86019-874-0|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}
{{Leander class cruiser 1931}}
{{1946 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orion (85)}}
[[Category:Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Plymouth, Devon]]
[[Category:1932 ships]]
[[Category:World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1946]]
[[Category:Corfu Channel incident]]