HMS Berwick (65)

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History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Berwick
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down	15 September 1924
Launched	30 March 1926
Commissioned	12 July 1927
Decommissioned	1946
Identification	Pennant number 65
Fate	Allocated to British Iron & Steel Corporation for scrapping on 15 June 1948 and arrived at Hughes Bolckow, Blyth, on 12 July for breaking up.
General characteristics
Class and type	County-class heavy cruiser
Displacement	9,750 tons (9,924 t) standard 13,450 tons (13,670 t) full load
Length	630 ft (190 m)
Beam	68 ft 3 in (20.80 m)
Draught	16 ft 3 in (4.95 m)
Propulsion	Eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers Four shaft Brown Curtis geared turbines 80,000 shp
Speed	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range	3,100 nautical miles at 31.5 knots (5,740 km at 58 km/h), 13,300 nautical miles at 12 knots (24,600 km at 22 km/h); 3,400 tons (3,450 t) fuel oil
Complement	700
Armament	Original configuration: 8 × 8-inch (203 mm) guns (4 × 2) 4 × 4-inch (102 mm) ant-aircraft guns (4 × 1) 8 × 2-pounder (40 mm) AA pom-poms (2 × 4) 8 × 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns (2 × 4) 8 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2 × 4) 1938–1941: 8 × 8-inch (203 mm) guns (4 × 2) 8 × 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2) 16 × 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-poms (2 × 8) 8 × 0.5-inch machine guns (2 × 4) 1941–1945: 8 × 8-inch (203 mm) guns (4 × 2) 8 × 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns (4 × 2) 16 × 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-poms (2 × 8) 2 × single 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns (2 × 1) 14 × 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns (7 × 2)
Armour	Original configuration: 1 to 4 in magazine box protection 1.375 in deck 1 in side-plating, turrets and bulkheads 4.5 in belt 4 internal boiler room sides (added 1936–1940)
Aircraft carried	Three aircraft with one catapult, removed in 1942

HMS Berwick, pennant number 65, was a County-class heavy cruiser of the British Royal Navy, part of the Kent subclass. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, Scotland, with the keel being laid down on 15 September 1924. She was launched on 30 March 1926 and commissioned 12 July 1927. When completed, Berwick was sent to the China Station, where she remained until a temporary detachment to the Mediterranean in 1936. Along with the rest of her Kent class sub-group of County-class ships, Berwick underwent reconstruction between 1937 and 1938, where her single 4-inch guns were replaced with double mounts, numerous light machine guns were added, along with a significant addition of note; a cemented 4-inch (100 mm) thick and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep armoured belt was added to both sides of her hull beginning at the armoured deck down past her water line.