Nigeria served in Home waters and off the Scandinavian coast for the early part of the war. On 28 June 1941 Nigeria, in company with the destroyersBedouin, Tartar and Jupiter intercepted the German weather ship Lauenburg in thick fog north-east of Jan Mayen Island. The German ship was detected through the use of HF/DF. The crew of Lauenburg abandoned ship after they were fired upon, allowing the British to board her. Valuable codebooks and parts of the Enigma machine were found aboard and recovered. This was one of the earliest captures of Enigma material of the war, and came a few weeks after the destroyer Bulldog had captured the first complete Enigma machine from the GermansubmarineU-110 on 9 May 1941.
In July 1941, Nigeria became the flagship of Force K, commanded by Rear AdmiralPhilip Vian. During this period, Force K made two expeditions to Spitsbergen (Norwegian territory), the first to ascertain the situation and the second, in September, to escort a troopship, Empress of Australia,[2] with Canadian troops and a team of demolition experts (see Operation Gauntlet). Their task was to evacuate Norwegian and Soviet personnel from the archipelago and destroy coalmines and fuel stocks that might be of use to the enemy. Bear Island was also visited to destroy a German weather station. The two cruisers of the task force, Nigeria and Aurora diverted to intercept a German convoy. During this action, Nigeria sank the German training ship Bremse, but suffered serious damage to her bow, possibly having detonated a mine.[3] On return to Britain, she was sent to Newcastle for repairs.[4]
A distant view of Nigeria stopped and on fire after being torpedoed
The Mediterranean and Far East
Nigeria was then assigned to operate in the Mediterranean. On 12 August 1942 she was participating in Operation Pedestal, escorting a convoy bound for Malta. She was the flagship of the close escort group, commanded by Admiral Harold Burrough. Nigeria was torpedoed and damaged by the Italian submarine Axum but managed to make it back to Gibraltar escorted by three destroyers. 52 crew were killed in the attack.[5] Admiral Burrough meanwhile transferred his flag to the destroyer Ashanti whilst Nigeria returned to Gibraltar.
She was sent from there to the United States for repairs, which took nine months to complete. After these were complete, she operated off the South African coast, and on 12 March 1943 she picked up 30 survivors from the American merchant James B. Stephens that was torpedoed and sunk on 8 March 1943 by the German submarine U-160 about 150 nautical miles (280 km) north-east of Durban. Nigeria was then assigned to operate with the Eastern Fleet from February 1944 until December 1945, when she returned to the UK to be refitted. During her time in the far east, she participated in raids on Sumatra.
Nigeria survived the war and continued in service with the Royal Navy, as the only Colony-class cruiser, maintaining four triple 6-inch turrets, 'X' turret finally being removed in 1954. In 1954 she was sold to India and went under reconstruction, largely on the pattern of the rebuild of HMS Newfoundland, possibly incorporating some of the electronics and radar intended by the RAN to be used on the refit of HMAS Hobart, which was abandoned. On 29 August 1957 she was recommissioned into the Indian Navy, who renamed her Mysore. During her time with the Indian Navy, she collided with the destroyerHMS Hogue, severely damaging Hogue's bow. Mysore was in service for a further 28 years until she was decommissioned on 20 August 1985.
Notes
^Singh, Satyindra (1992). Blueprint to Bluewater, the Indian Navy, 1951–65. Lancer Publishers & Distributors. p. 72. ISBN978-81-7062-148-5.
^"HMS Nigeria at Naval History.net". Retrieved 23 June 2009.
^Mason, Geoffrey B (2004). "HMS NIGERIA – Colony-type Light Cruiser". SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
^Vian, Philip (1960). Action This Day. London: Frederick Muller. pp. 68–73.
^"Fatalities on HMS NIGERIA - September of1940 to March of 1947".
References
Brown, D. K. & Moore, George (2003). Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design Since 1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-705-0.
Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN0-8317-0303-2.
Colledge, J. J.; Wardlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-5267-9327-0.
Crabb, Brian James (2014). Operation Pedestal. The Story of Convoy WS21S in August 1942. Donington, Lincolnshire, UK: Shaun Tyas. ISBN978-1-907730-19-1.
Murfin, David (2010). "AA to AA: The Fijis Turn Full Circle". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2010. Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-84486-110-1.
Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-922-7.
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. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Nigeria (60).
HMS Nigeria at naval-history.net
HMS Nigeria at Uboat.net
HMS Nigeria at hmsnigeria.com
January 20, 2023
nigeria, nigeria, pennant, number, fiji, class, light, cruiser, royal, navy, completed, early, world, served, during, that, conflict, named, after, british, colony, nigeria, nigeriahistoryunited, kingdomnamenigerianamesakenigeriaordered20, december, 1937builde. HMS Nigeria pennant number 60 was a Fiji class light cruiser of the Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served during that conflict She was named after the British colony of Nigeria NigeriaHistoryUnited KingdomNameNigeriaNamesakeNigeriaOrdered20 December 1937BuilderVickers Armstrongs Walker Newcastle upon TyneLaid down8 February 1938Launched18 July 1939Commissioned23 September 1940Out of serviceSold to Indian Navy as Mysore 29 August 1957Honours andawardsAtlantic 1941 Norway 1941 Arctic 1942 Malta Convoys 1942 Sabang 1944 Burma 1944 45BadgeOn a Field barry wavy of six White and Blue within two triangles Green the Imperial Crown ProperIndiaNameMysore 1 Acquired29 August 1957Decommissioned20 August 1985IdentificationPennant number C60FateScrapped 1986General characteristics as built Class and typeFiji class light cruiserDisplacement8 530 long tons 8 670 t standard Length555 ft 6 in 169 3 m Beam62 ft 18 9 m Draught19 ft 10 in 6 m Installed power4 Admiralty 3 drum boilers 80 000 shp 60 000 kW Propulsion4 shafts 4 geared steam turbine setsSpeed32 25 knots 59 73 km h 37 11 mph Range6 250 nmi 11 580 km 7 190 mi at 13 knots 24 km h 15 mph Complement733 peacetime 900 wartime Armament4 triple 6 in 152 mm guns 4 twin 4 in 102 mm DP guns 2 quadruple 2 pdr 40 mm 1 6 in AA guns 2 quadruple Vickers 0 5 in 12 7 mm AA machine guns 2 triple 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubesArmourEngine and boiler rooms 3 25 in 83 mm Decks 2 3 5 in 51 89 mm Magazines 2 3 5 in 51 89 mm Gun turrets 1 2 in 25 51 mm Aircraft carried2 seaplanesAviation facilities1 catapult 2 hangars Contents 1 Career 1 1 Home waters 1 2 The Mediterranean and Far East 2 Post war 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditHome waters Edit Ship s badge in the National Maritime Museum Nigeria served in Home waters and off the Scandinavian coast for the early part of the war On 28 June 1941 Nigeria in company with the destroyers Bedouin Tartar and Jupiter intercepted the German weather ship Lauenburg in thick fog north east of Jan Mayen Island The German ship was detected through the use of HF DF The crew of Lauenburg abandoned ship after they were fired upon allowing the British to board her Valuable codebooks and parts of the Enigma machine were found aboard and recovered This was one of the earliest captures of Enigma material of the war and came a few weeks after the destroyer Bulldog had captured the first complete Enigma machine from the German submarine U 110 on 9 May 1941 In July 1941 Nigeria became the flagship of Force K commanded by Rear Admiral Philip Vian During this period Force K made two expeditions to Spitsbergen Norwegian territory the first to ascertain the situation and the second in September to escort a troopship Empress of Australia 2 with Canadian troops and a team of demolition experts see Operation Gauntlet Their task was to evacuate Norwegian and Soviet personnel from the archipelago and destroy coalmines and fuel stocks that might be of use to the enemy Bear Island was also visited to destroy a German weather station The two cruisers of the task force Nigeria and Aurora diverted to intercept a German convoy During this action Nigeria sank the German training ship Bremse but suffered serious damage to her bow possibly having detonated a mine 3 On return to Britain she was sent to Newcastle for repairs 4 A distant view of Nigeria stopped and on fire after being torpedoed The Mediterranean and Far East Edit Nigeria was then assigned to operate in the Mediterranean On 12 August 1942 she was participating in Operation Pedestal escorting a convoy bound for Malta She was the flagship of the close escort group commanded by Admiral Harold Burrough Nigeria was torpedoed and damaged by the Italian submarine Axum but managed to make it back to Gibraltar escorted by three destroyers 52 crew were killed in the attack 5 Admiral Burrough meanwhile transferred his flag to the destroyer Ashanti whilst Nigeria returned to Gibraltar She was sent from there to the United States for repairs which took nine months to complete After these were complete she operated off the South African coast and on 12 March 1943 she picked up 30 survivors from the American merchant James B Stephens that was torpedoed and sunk on 8 March 1943 by the German submarine U 160 about 150 nautical miles 280 km north east of Durban Nigeria was then assigned to operate with the Eastern Fleet from February 1944 until December 1945 when she returned to the UK to be refitted During her time in the far east she participated in raids on Sumatra Post war EditMain article INS Mysore C60 Nigeria survived the war and continued in service with the Royal Navy as the only Colony class cruiser maintaining four triple 6 inch turrets X turret finally being removed in 1954 In 1954 she was sold to India and went under reconstruction largely on the pattern of the rebuild of HMS Newfoundland possibly incorporating some of the electronics and radar intended by the RAN to be used on the refit of HMAS Hobart which was abandoned On 29 August 1957 she was recommissioned into the Indian Navy who renamed her Mysore During her time with the Indian Navy she collided with the destroyer HMS Hogue severely damaging Hogue s bow Mysore was in service for a further 28 years until she was decommissioned on 20 August 1985 Notes Edit Singh Satyindra 1992 Blueprint to Bluewater the Indian Navy 1951 65 Lancer Publishers amp Distributors p 72 ISBN 978 81 7062 148 5 HMS Nigeria at Naval History net Retrieved 23 June 2009 Mason Geoffrey B 2004 HMS NIGERIA Colony type Light Cruiser SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2 Retrieved 12 May 2009 Vian Philip 1960 Action This Day London Frederick Muller pp 68 73 Fatalities on HMS NIGERIA September of1940 to March of 1947 References EditBrown D K amp Moore George 2003 Rebuilding the Royal Navy Warship Design Since 1945 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 59114 705 0 Campbell N J M 1980 Great Britain In Chesneau Roger ed Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 New York Mayflower Books pp 2 85 ISBN 0 8317 0303 2 Colledge J J Wardlow Ben amp Bush Steve 2020 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present 5th ed Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 5267 9327 0 Crabb Brian James 2014 Operation Pedestal The Story of Convoy WS21S in August 1942 Donington Lincolnshire UK Shaun Tyas ISBN 978 1 907730 19 1 Friedman Norman 2010 British Cruisers Two World Wars and After Barnsley UK Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 59114 078 8 Murfin David 2010 AA to AA The Fijis Turn Full Circle In Jordan John ed Warship 2010 Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 84486 110 1 Raven Alan amp Roberts John 1980 British Cruisers of World War Two Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 922 7 Rohwer Jurgen 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 Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Nigeria 60 HMS Nigeria at naval history net HMS Nigeria at Uboat net HMS Nigeria at hmsnigeria com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Nigeria 60 amp oldid 1086832274, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
