HMS Newcastle was a member of the Southampton subclass of the light cruiser of the Royal Navy.

Construction

The first two were ordered from Vickers Armstrong and John Brown & Company on 1 June 1934 as part of the 1933 Construction Programme for the Royal Navy. Vickers laid down its ship, originally to be called Minotaur, at their High Walker shipyard on the River Tyne on 4 October 1934. The ship was renamed Newcastle later that year. Newcastle was launched, in a low-key ceremony owing to the death of King George V three days earlier, on 23 January 1936 by the Duchess of Northumberland. Sea trials, which were disrupted by bad weather, began on 30 November 1936 and continued until 11 December, with a speed of being reached during the eight-hour full power trial. Newcastle was accepted by the Royal Navy and commissioned on 5 March 1937.

Interwar period

After commissioning, Newcastle joined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, part of the Home Fleet. She took part in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead in 1937.

Second World War

thumb|HMS Newcastle

Newcastle was under refit on the outbreak of war of the Second World War, joining the newly established 18th Cruiser Squadron on the refit's completion. Duties included trade protection duties in the Western Approaches and operation with the Northern Patrol in the waters between Scotland, Iceland and Greenland, enforcing the blockade of Germany by intercepting merchant ships suspected of carrying contraband to Germany.

On 25–26 September 1939, Newcastle sailed with the Home Fleet as it sortied to cover the 2nd Cruiser Squadron which was escorting the submarine , which had been damaged by German trawlers, back to Britain. The covering force came under attack by German bombers, with the battleship hit by a bomb that failed to explode, while air attack against the cruisers of the 18th Cruiser Squadron proving ineffective. On 12 November 1939, Newcastle intercepted the German blockade runner in the Denmark Strait. Paranas crew set the German merchant ship on fire before abandoning ship, and Newcastle scuttled Parana with gunfire the next day. On 23 November 1939, the German battleships and , on a sortie into the North Atlantic, encountered and quickly sank the British armed merchant cruiser of the Northern Patrol. Newcastle, the next ship to the west in the British patrol line, responded to Rawalpindis contact report and attempted to come to Rawalpindis aid, but when Newcastle was spotted by the two German battleships, they broke off attempts to rescue Rawalpindis crew, and made off at high speed, behind a smoke screen, with Newcastle, not yet fitted with radar, soon losing sight of the German ships in a rain squall.

On 23 March 1940, Newcastle began a refit on the Tyne which continued until 3 June that year, thus missing the majority of the Norwegian campaign.

On 13 November 1940, Newcastle set out for the Mediterranean, carrying 200 RAF personnel and a cargo of aircraft spare parts for Malta, where she arrived on 19 November. Newcastles next mission was Operation Collar, in which a convoy of merchant ships would be escorted westwards from Alexandria in Egypt to Malta, while more merchant ships would be escorted eastwards from Gibraltar to Malta and Egypt, with the opportunity taken to transfer warships, including Newcastle from the Mediterranean to the North Atlantic. On 27 November, the Italian Fleet attempted to intercept the British convoy, resulting in the inconclusive Battle of Cape Spartivento.

Newcastle was then ordered to the South Atlantic, taking part in an unsuccessful search for the that month. Newcastle remained continually at sea from 10 December 1940 to 21 April 1941, a total of 133 days, with 109 days out of sight of land, a record for Royal Navy warships during the Second World War, before a brief refit at Simonstown, South Africa. On 25 July, Newcastle intercepted the German blockade runner off the mouth of the River Plate estuary, with Erlangen being scuttled by her crew. In February 1942, Newcastle left to join the Eastern Fleet, becoming the flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron. The torpedo blew a hole on the starboard side of Newcastles bow. While the cruiser's speed was temporarily reduced to , damage control was successful, and Newcastle soon was able to increase speed to , allowing her to keep up with the convoy, while she reached later that day when avoiding the torpedo attack that sank the destroyer . Newcastles armament was undamaged, and she claimed a share in shooting down four enemy aircraft before the convoy returned to Alexandria on 16 June. Permanent repairs were carried out at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York in October–November 1942, followed by further modifications at Devonport until March 1943. In late June 1943, Newcastle, together with the cruiser and the destroyers and , was deployed on Operation Player, a search for a U-boat supply ship believed to be operating in the Indian Ocean, but the search proved unsuccessful and was called off on 30 June. Newcastle was refitted at Simonstown from 26 August to 17 September 1943, with her anti-aircraft armament being strengthened. In February 1944, Newcastle, together with Relentless and Catalina flying boats, were deployed in a search for the U-boat supply ship based on intelligence from decrypted radio messages. The British ships found Charlotte Schliemann on the night of 11/12 February, and when Relentless opened fire, the supply ship's crew scuttled her. On 12 March 1944, Newcastle together with the escort carrier, , the cruiser and the destroyers and , were sent to intercept the U-boat supply ship Brake, again in response to signals intelligence. Brake was spotted by aircraft from Battler, and Roebuck rushed to intercept, with Brakes crew scuttling the tanker. and on 17 May, Newcastle took part in Operation Transom, another carrier strike by Illustrious and Saratoga, this time against Surabaya, Java. On 17 December 1944, Newcastle left Ceylon as part of the escort force for Operation Robson, a carrier strike by Illustrious and against targets in Sumatra on 20 December, with the fleet returning to Ceylon on 22 December.

From early 1945, Newcastle began to be involved in direct support for the British Fourteenth Army in their campaigns in Burma. On 2 January 1945, Newcastle was deployed in support of landings on the north tip of Akyab Island, but the landings were unopposed as the Japanese had already evacuated Akyab. On 26 January, Newcastle, together with the cruisers and and the destroyers and , landed Royal Marines on Cheduba Island. She also carried out shore bombardment duties during the Battle of Ramree Island. The ship was recommissioned late in 1947 to join the Mediterranean Fleet, with duties including acting as flagship, and supporting the interception of ships carrying Jewish refugees attempting to enter Palestine illegally. Newcastle returned to Britain at the end of 1949 and was decommissioned. Changes included a new bridge, revised sensors and fire control systems, and a new close-in anti-aircraft outfit of 18 40mm Bofors guns. In May 1952, Newcastle left British waters to serve in the Korean War, Duties included patrols, carrier escort and providing naval gunfire support to UN forces.

Decommissioning and disposal

Newcastle was decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1959, and subsequently broken up at Faslane.

References

Bibliography

  • HMS Newcastle at naval-history.net