HMS Blake was a light cruiser of the Tiger class of the British Royal Navy, the last of the (traditional) Royal Navy gun-armed cruisers in the 20th century. She was named after Robert Blake, a 17th-century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy". She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers. They had a low construction priority due to more pressing requirements for other ship types during World War II, particularly anti-submarine craft.
In 1954, construction of Blake resumed, but to a new design. The new design was approved in 1951, but construction did not resume until 1954. She would have fully automatic 6 inch guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun capable of shooting 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of fully automatic 3 inch guns which delivered 90 rounds per minute per gun. She would have no lighter anti-aircraft armament or torpedo tubes. Air conditioning was fitted throughout the ship, and a 200-line automatic telephone exchange was installed. Each 6 inch and 3 inch mounting had its own director, linked to a dedicated radar on the director. On 18 March 1961, Blake finally commissioned into the Royal Navy, to date the last (traditional) cruiser to do so. Just two years later, she was placed in reserve.[citation needed]
ConversionEdit
From 1965 to 1969, she underwent a major conversion to become a helicopter and command cruiser. This reconstruction included replacing the aft 6 inch and 3-inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar. She also had new radars and taller funnels. She had excellent command, control, and communications facilities installed, and found use as a flagship to task groups. The refit was very expensive; during the conversion, a major fire broke out causing considerable damage and raising the costs still further. There were concerns that the money used to convert Blake and her sister shipTiger to helicopter cruisers drained much-needed resources better used elsewhere.[citation needed]
The cruiser was carried Westland Wessex HAS.3 helicopters of 820 Naval Air Squadron from June 1969; these were replaced by the Westland Sea King HAS.1 helicopter in December 1972,[2] continuing until Blake was withdrawn from service in 1979. Blake was the last ship to fire a six-inch gun in the Royal Navy.[3] Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain.[citation needed]
DecommissioningEdit
Blake was refitted in 1980, and due to a defence manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages, became part of the Standby Squadron in HMNB Chatham. The advent of the Falklands War led to a rapid ship survey in early April 1982 and work was immediately begun to recommission her and sister ship Tiger for service in the conflict, but work was stopped on both in late May when it was clear neither could be ready in time to be deployed. Chile showed some interest in acquiring both her, and Tiger in June–July, but a proposed deal did not go through for the ships, despite both being in good shape and that a good deal of reactivation work had been accomplished the past April–May. She was sold for scrap on 25 August 1982 to Shipbreaking (Queenborough) Ltd for £210,000. She was the last cruiser serving with the Royal Navy upon her decommissioning. She was sold for breaking up in August 1982[4] and on 29 October 1982, she was towed from Chatham for Cairnryan, near Stranraer in Scotland, arriving 7 November 1982.[citation needed]
The 1961-1963 ship's bell of Blake has been preserved and was on display in Saint Mary's Church, Bridgwater, until 2016. Following the reordering of the church it was transferred to Blake Museum, Bridgwater where it forms part of the display about Robert Blake.
Commanding officersEdit
A Westland Sea King HAS.2 of 820 Naval Squadron wearing the 'BL' code of HMS Blake in 1977
Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour Press.
Sturtivant, Ray; Ballance, Theo (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN0-85130-223-8.
Whitley, M J (1905). Cruisers of World War Two: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press.
HMS Blake at Uboat.net
October 20, 2023
blake, other, ships, with, same, name, blake, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, june, 2008, learn, when, remove,. For other ships with the same name see HMS Blake This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message HMS Blake was a light cruiser of the Tiger class of the British Royal Navy the last of the traditional Royal Navy gun armed cruisers in the 20th century She was named after Robert Blake a 17th century admiral who was the Father of the Royal Navy She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers They had a low construction priority due to more pressing requirements for other ship types during World War II particularly anti submarine craft Blake in 1975 with the US carrier NimitzHistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS BlakeNamesakeRobert BlakeOrdered1942 Additional Naval ProgrammeBuilderFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company GovanLaid down17 August 1942Launched20 December 1945Commissioned18 March 1961DecommissionedDecember 1979IdentificationPennant number C99Nickname s Snakey Blakey FateSold for scrap August 1982General characteristicsClass and typeTiger class light cruiserDisplacement11 560 tons as built 12 080 tons after conversionLength555 ft 6 in 169 32 m overall 538 ft 164 m between perpendicularsBeam64 ft 20 m Draught21 ft 6 4 m PropulsionFour Admiralty type three drum boilers 400 psi Four shaft Parsons steam turbines 80 000 shpSpeed31 5 knots 58 3 km h Range8 000 nautical miles 15 000 km at 16 knots 30 km h Complement716 885 after conversion ArmamentAs built Four QF 6 inch Mark N5 guns 2 2 Six 3 in 3 2 After Conversion Two 6 in 1 2 Two 3 in 1 2 Two Seacat quad missile launchersAircraft carriedAfter conversion Four helicopters originally Westland Wessex then Sea King Contents 1 Construction and commissioning 2 Conversion 3 Later career 4 Decommissioning 5 Commanding officers 6 References 7 SourcesConstruction and commissioning EditBlake was laid down in 1942 In 1944 she was renamed Tiger then back to Blake again in 1945 the year she was launched partially constructed at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan by Lady Jean Blake wife of Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake Construction was suspended in 1946 and she was laid up at Gareloch In 1954 construction of Blake resumed but to a new design The new design was approved in 1951 but construction did not resume until 1954 She would have fully automatic 6 inch guns in twin high angle mounts with each gun capable of shooting 20 rounds per minute and a secondary battery of fully automatic 3 inch guns which delivered 90 rounds per minute per gun She would have no lighter anti aircraft armament or torpedo tubes Air conditioning was fitted throughout the ship and a 200 line automatic telephone exchange was installed Each 6 inch and 3 inch mounting had its own director linked to a dedicated radar on the director On 18 March 1961 Blake finally commissioned into the Royal Navy to date the last traditional cruiser to do so Just two years later she was placed in reserve citation needed Conversion EditFrom 1965 to 1969 she underwent a major conversion to become a helicopter and command cruiser This reconstruction included replacing the aft 6 inch and 3 inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar She also had new radars and taller funnels She had excellent command control and communications facilities installed and found use as a flagship to task groups The refit was very expensive during the conversion a major fire broke out causing considerable damage and raising the costs still further There were concerns that the money used to convert Blake and her sister ship Tiger to helicopter cruisers drained much needed resources better used elsewhere citation needed Later career Edit nbsp Blake off Key West in November 1978 In 1969 Blake deployed to Gibraltar along with other Royal Navy units in order to fly the flag in response to Spanish hostility following the closure of the Gibraltar Spain border by General Franco Also in 1969 a Royal Air Force RAF Harrier jet landed on Blake In 1971 she was present during the emotional withdrawal from Malta supporting the commando carrier Bulwark In 1977 she took part in the Fleet Review of the Royal Navy during the Silver Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II which took place off Spithead site of many Fleet Reviews 1 The cruiser was carried Westland Wessex HAS 3 helicopters of 820 Naval Air Squadron from June 1969 these were replaced by the Westland Sea King HAS 1 helicopter in December 1972 2 continuing until Blake was withdrawn from service in 1979 Blake was the last ship to fire a six inch gun in the Royal Navy 3 Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain citation needed Decommissioning EditBlake was refitted in 1980 and due to a defence manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages became part of the Standby Squadron in HMNB Chatham The advent of the Falklands War led to a rapid ship survey in early April 1982 and work was immediately begun to recommission her and sister ship Tiger for service in the conflict but work was stopped on both in late May when it was clear neither could be ready in time to be deployed Chile showed some interest in acquiring both her and Tiger in June July but a proposed deal did not go through for the ships despite both being in good shape and that a good deal of reactivation work had been accomplished the past April May She was sold for scrap on 25 August 1982 to Shipbreaking Queenborough Ltd for 210 000 She was the last cruiser serving with the Royal Navy upon her decommissioning She was sold for breaking up in August 1982 4 and on 29 October 1982 she was towed from Chatham for Cairnryan near Stranraer in Scotland arriving 7 November 1982 citation needed The 1961 1963 ship s bell of Blake has been preserved and was on display in Saint Mary s Church Bridgwater until 2016 Following the reordering of the church it was transferred to Blake Museum Bridgwater where it forms part of the display about Robert Blake Commanding officers Edit nbsp A Westland Sea King HAS 2 of 820 Naval Squadron wearing the BL code of HMS Blake in 1977From To Captain1961 1962 Captain David Clutterbuck RN1962 1969 In reserve and conversion1968 1970 Captain Roland F Plugge RN1970 1972 Captain Ronald D Butt RN1972 1974 Captain Bruce M Tobey RN1974 1975 Captain Peter Herbert RN1975 1976 Captain David M Eckersley Maslin RN1976 1979 Captain Herbert B Parker RN1979 1979 Captain David J Mackenzie RNReferences Edit Official Souvenir Programme 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review HMSO Sturtivant and Ballance 1994 p 198 DiGiulian Tony United Kingdom Britain 6 50 15 2 cm QF Mark N5 www navweaps com Retrieved 20 October 2016 Colledge 2006 p41Sources EditColledge 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 Gardiner Robert ed 1980 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 London Conway Maritime Press Gardiner Robert ed 1983 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1947 1982 London Conway Maritime Press Jane s Fighting Ships 1950 51 London Janes Publishing 1950 Raven Alan Roberts John 1980 British Cruisers of World War Two London Arms and Armour Press Sturtivant Ray Ballance Theo 1994 The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm Tonbridge Kent Air Britain Historians Ltd ISBN 0 85130 223 8 Whitley M J 1905 Cruisers of World War Two An Illustrated Encyclopedia London Arms and Armour Press HMS Blake at Uboat net A history of the Tiger class Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Blake C99 amp oldid 1154970961, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
