HMS Diomede was a Danae class cruiser

Danae class cruiser

The Danae or D-class was a class of light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of World War I and that survived to see service in World War II.-Design:...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Constructed at Vickers Armstrong

Vickers Armstrong

Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927...

, Barrow, she was constructed too late to take part in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and was consequently completed at the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

. Between the wars, she served on the China Station

China Station

The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....

, Pacific waters, East Indies Waters and from 1936 onwards, in reserve. In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 she performed four years of arduous war duty, during which time she captured the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 blockade runner

Blockade runner

A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...

 Idarwald. Between 22 July 1942 and 24 September 1943 she was converted to a training ship at Rosyth Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...

. In 1945 she was placed in reserve and scrapped a year later.

Background

During World War I intelligence reports suggested that the Germans were building a new class of cruiser which could outgun the existing C class light cruisers

C class cruiser

The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven classes known as the Caroline , Calliope , Cambrian , Centaur , Caledon , Ceres and Carlisle classes...

. It was believed that an improved C class with an added super-firing 6 inches (152 mm) gun in front of the deckhouse (and the requisite increase of beam and adapting of superstructure) would maintain British naval superiority in a battle. In September 1916 the first three ships of the new class (HMS Danae, HMS Dauntless

HMS Dauntless (D45)

HMS Dauntless was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company on 10 April 1918 and commissioned on 22 November, 1918.-Design:...

 and HMS Dragon

HMS Dragon (D46)

HMS Dragon, also known in Polish service as ORP Dragon , was a D- or Danae-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in Glasgow, in December 1917, and scuttled in July 1944 off the Normandy beaches as part of the Arromanches Breakwater.-Pre World War II:One of the fastest-built ships...

) were launched and a second group (HMS Delhi

HMS Delhi (D47)

HMS Delhi was a Danae class cruiser that served with the Royal Navy in the Baltic and in World War II. She was laid down in 1917 and scrapped in 1948 after war service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean....

, HMS Dunedin and HMS Durban

HMS Durban (D99)

HMS Durban was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company on 29 May 1919 and commissioned on 1 November 1921.-Early career:...

) was ordered in July 1917.

Diomede, was part of a third tranche ordered in March 1918. This group was to have composed of six vessels but the end of the war saw this reduced to two, Diomede and HMS Despatch

HMS Despatch (D30)

HMS Despatch was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company on 24 September 1919 and commissioned on 2 June 1922....

. Diomede had been laid down Vickers Armstrong

Vickers Armstrong

Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927...

 of Barrow-in-Furness in mid-1918, but after launching in 1919 work was suspended. However, in 1922 she was towed to the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

 and completed on 22 February. Like the second group of Danae class vessels, Diomede was fitted with a trawler bow. Before completion, the suitability of her conversion to a Royal Yacht had been discussed, but nothing came of the idea.

Early career

Upon commissioning Diomede joined the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron on the China Station in 1922. In 1925 she was transferred to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy

New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy

The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy .Originally the British Royal Navy provided total security for the colony of New Zealand...

 at Devonport

Devonport Naval Base

Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and was a navy base from as far back as 1841...

 where she served until 1935, apart from a refit in 1929-1930. In 1931 she rendered assistance to the town of Napier, New Zealand

Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

 after the devastating Hawkes Bay earthquake

1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake

The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on Tuesday 3 February 1931, killing 256 and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster...

, supplying medical personnel, equipment, guards and firemen, along with her sister ship Dunedin. Afterwards Diomede escorted the beach-damaged HMS Veronica

HMS Veronica

HMS Veronica was an Acacia-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Dunlop Bremner & Company, Port Glasgow. She was laid down in January 1915, launched on 27 May 1915 and completed in August 1915...

 to Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

. The Executive officer at the time (1930-1933) was Commander, later Admiral Victor Crutchley, who was to later become entwined with the Pacific Campaign

Pacific Campaign

Pacific Campaign may refer to:* Pacific Campaign , fighting between the United States and Spain during the Spanish-American War...

 of World War II.

Upon the notification that the two cruisers of the New Zealand Division were to be replaced by Leander class cruisers

Leander class cruiser (1931)

The Leander class was a class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936...

, in 1935 Diomede started her voyage home to Britain to be paid off into the reserve. En route the Abyssinian Crisis

Abyssinia Crisis

The Abyssinia Crisis was a diplomatic crisis during the interwar period originating in the "Walwal incident." This incident resulted from the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia...

 broke out and she was diverted to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, part of the East Indies Fleet based at Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

 for possible action against the Italians

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

. Upon relief by HMS Achilles

HMNZS Achilles (70)

HMNZS Achilles was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, alongside HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter....

 on 31 March 1936 she was paid off and spent the next three years in the reserve fleet or as a troop ship.

World War II

With the growing likelihood of war, Diomede was reactivated. 3 September 1939 found her with the 7th Cruiser Squadron serving as part of the Home Fleet

British Home Fleet

The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...

 on Northern Patrol duties. Before the despatch of the 7th Cruiser Squadron to the Mediterranean in 1940 in light of the Italian threat, Diomede was attached to the 8th Cruiser Squadron on the America and West Indies Station on shipping protection and patrolling duty. On 08 December 1940 she chased the German blockade runner Idarwald from Tampico

Tampico

Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the third largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 309,003. The Metropolitan area of...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Before a capture could be effected the crew of the German freighter set it afire and scuttled it off Cabo Corrientes

Cabo Corrientes

Cabo Corrientes is a cape on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It marks the southernmost point of the Bahía de Banderas, upon which the port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta stands. The municipality in which the cape lies is also called Cabo Corrientes.Cabo Corrientes is a...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. The US

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 destroyer USS Sturtevant

USS Sturtevant (DD-240)

USS Sturtevant was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Albert D. Sturtevant....

 observed the proceedings.

In early 1942 Diomede joined the 9th Cruiser Squadron as part of the South Atlantic and West African Squadron. After more than a decade of steaming it was decided to retire her from front-line service and from 22 July 1942 to 24 September 1943 at Rosyth Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard

Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...

 she converted into a training ship. With the end of the war she was reduced to reserve. On 5 April 1946 she was sold for scrap to Arnott Young of Dalmuir

Dalmuir

Dalmuir is an area on the western side of Clydebank, in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.-Location:It is neighboured by the village of Old Kilpatrick, the Mountblow and Parkhall areas of Clydebank, as well as the town centre...

and arrived there for breaking up on 5 May.