HMS Sheffield (C24)

Sheffield underway in 1944
History
United Kingdom
Name	Sheffield
Namesake	Sheffield
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, High Walker
Yard number	5[1]
Laid down	31 January 1935
Launched	23 July 1936
Commissioned	25 August 1937
Identification	Pennant number: 24, from 1948: C24[1]
Motto	"Deo adjuvante proficio" Latin: "With God's help I advance"[2]
Nickname(s)	Shiny Sheff
Honours and awards	Norway 1940 Spartivento 1940 Atlantic 1941–43 Bismarck Action 1941 Mediterranean 1941 Malta convoys 1941 Arctic 1941–43 North Africa 1942 Barents Sea 1942 Biscay 1943 Salerno 1943 North Cape 1943
Fate	Scrapped at Faslane, 1967
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement	9,100 long tons (9,200 t) (standard) 11,350 long tons (11,530 t) (full load)
Length	591 ft (180.1 m) (overall)
Beam	62 ft 3 in (19 m)
Draught	17 ft (5.2 m)
Installed power	4 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 75,000 shp (56,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 screws; 4 geared steam turbines
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	748
Sensors and processing systems	1938: Type 79Y radar 1940: Type 279 radar 1942: Type 273, 281, 282, 283, 284 and 285 radars
Armament	4 × triple 6 in (152 mm) guns 4 × twin QF 4 in (102 mm) DP guns 2 × quadruple QF 2 pdr (1.6 in (40 mm)) AA guns 2 × quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) AA machine guns 2 × triple 21 in (533 mm) Torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 4.5 in (114 mm) Turrets: 1–2 in (25–51 mm) Deck: 1.25–2 in (32–51 mm)
Aircraft carried	3
Aviation facilities	1 fixed catapult

HMS Sheffield was the third of ten Town-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down in January 1936, launched in July 1936, and commissioned in August 1937. She was active in all major naval European theatres of the Second World War, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Her career started with service in the Home Fleet, which took her on patrols against German blockade runners and on actions during the Norwegian Campaign. In August 1940 Sheffield was transferred to Force H stationed in Gibraltar. During her service with Force H, most of the operations involved either ferrying aircraft or escorting convoys to Malta. Sheffield also operated against German surface raiders in the Atlantic, taking part in the chase for the German battleship Bismarck. On 26 May 1941, she directed torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal to Bismarck, but took no part in the actual sinking of Bismarck one day later.

In January 1942, Sheffield was assigned to the escort of Arctic convoys to Northern Russia. But in March she was damaged by a mine and needed four months repair. In September Sheffield went back to the Arctic, but in October Arctic convoys were suspended in preparation for Operation Torch. Sheffield participated in Operation Torch as part of the Eastern Task Force, which covered the landings at Algiers. Arctic convoys resumed in December 1942 and Sheffield went back to the Arctic. In that same month, she was part of a cruiser force that repelled a German attack on Convoy JW 51B in the Battle of the Barents Sea. During the battle, Sheffield damaged the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and sank the destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt. In March 1943 Arctic convoys were suspended once more, this time because of the threat of the German surface fleet stationed in Norway. Sheffield moved again to the Mediterranean and took part in Operation Avalanche. When the threat of the German surface fleet was much reduced by the disabling of the German battleship Tirpitz in September, Arctic convoys were resumed in November. In December 1943 during the Battle of the North Cape, Sheffield assisted in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst whilst escorting convoy Convoy JW 55B.

Sheffield went in for an extended refit in 1944 and saw no more service during the war. She was placed in reserve for a first time in 1959, and after a short reactivation Sheffield was decommissioned in 1964 and finally scrapped in 1967.