HMS Kenya

History
UK
Name	HMS Kenya
Builder	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Glasgow, Scotland
Laid down	18 June 1938
Launched	18 August 1939
Commissioned	27 September 1940
Out of service	In reserve September 1958
Fate	Sold for scrapping on 29 October 1962 and was broken up at the Faslane yards of Ship-breaking Industries.
General characteristics
Displacement	8,530 tonnes standard 10450 tons full load
Length	169.3 m (555.5 ft)
Beam	18.9 m (62 ft)
Draught	5.0 m (16.5 ft)
Propulsion	Four oil fired three-drum Admiralty-type boilers four-shaft geared turbines four screws 54.1 megawatts (72,500 shp)
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h)
Range	6520 nmi at 13 knots
Complement	730
Armament	Twelve BL 6 inch Mk XXIII naval guns (4 × 3), eight 4 inch guns (4 × 2), eight 40 mm Bofors AA (4 × 2) guns, 3 quadruple QF 2 pounder ("pom-pom") AA mounts, 12 20 mm AA (6 × 2) guns. Six 21 inch (2 × 3) torpedo tubes
Armour	83 mm, deck: 51 mm, turrets: 51 mm, Director control tower: 102 mm.
Aircraft carried	Two Supermarine Walrus aircraft (Later removed)
Notes	Pennant number 14

HMS Kenya (C14) was a Crown Colony-class cruiser of the British Royal Navy. The ship was named after Kenya, a British possession at the time of the ship's construction.

Early career

Convoy escort

Kenya was launched on 18 August 1939 from the yards of Alexander Stephen and Sons, Glasgow, Scotland, and after a work up period, was commissioned on 27 September 1940. She took part in the hunt for the Bismarck in May 1941 whilst part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, Home Fleet, based at Scapa Flow. On 3 June Kenya and HMS Aurora surprised and sank the German supply tanker Belchen which was supplying U-93 in the Davis Straits.

Operation Stonewall

During September and October 1941, the Royal Navy devised a plan, titled Operation Stonewall, to intercept U-boats which were escorting outbound blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay, and into the Atlantic. After providing escort to the Malta convoy Halberd on 24 September on 1 October, Kenya and HMS Sheffield made to intercept the blockade runner Rio Grande, destined for Japan and escorted by U-204. The Rio Grande escaped, but another blockade runner, the Kota Pinang was sunk on 3 October west of Cape Finisterre.

Arctic operations

She also avoided damage in air attacks by the Germans on the 27th and the 28th. She had by now received the nickname "The Pink Lady", due to her Mountbatten Pink camouflage paint). During the commando raid against installations on Vågsøy Island off the Norwegian coast. This was attributed to her Mountbatten Pink camouflage blending in with the pink marker dye the Germans were using in their shells, preventing German spotters from distinguishing between shell splashes and the ship. The force returned to Scapa Flow in early January 1942. Kenya returned to escorting Arctic convoys between March and May 1942. On 22 March after escorting PQ12 to Murmansk Kenya was loaded with 10 tonnes of Russian bullion and took it back to Britain for safe keeping.

Operation Pedestal, 12 August 1942: HMS Kenya under air attack on her return voyage to Gibraltar.

The Far East

Royal Marines of HMS Kenya dashing ashore as their wooden hulled assault craft touch down on the beach at Cheduba, South of Ramree, Burma. Note the small ladder hanging over the front of the boat so the men can disembark.

Post war

Kenya joined the American and West Indies Station with the 8th Cruiser Squadron in October 1946, but in December of the following year, she returned to the UK and was placed in the reserve. In May 1949 she was reactivated to replace HMS London on the Far East station. London was then paid off and scrapped.

The Korean War

In March she bombarded Choda Island in preparation for landing 200 ROK troops there. Unfortunately the troops never showed up.

After further patrols off Inchon her next action came on 11 April when she was ordered to leave Sasebo to search for a communist aircraft that had been shot down. She was called off the operation early to sail to Kure, Japan where Captain Podger took command of the ship on 22 April. In May she took position off Inchon and spent about 10 days there bombarding the land on several occasions. The patrols and bombardments continued throughout the summer – with a trip to Hong Kong that broke the monotony – until 25 August when she left Sasebo, via Hong Kong, for a refit at Singapore. She slipped the refit jetty on 12 November and rearmed before leaving the Far East Station on 17 November. Kenya docked in Malta on 10 December and at Gibraltar three days later before entering the English Channel on 16 December.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Raven, Alan (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell. ISBN 1-86019-874-0.

External links

• WWII cruisers
• HMS Kenya at Uboat.net
• Images of the Fiji class
• [1]
• [2]