HMS Black Prince (81)

Black Prince at anchor on the River Tyne, July 1944
History
United Kingdom
NameBlack Prince
NamesakeEdward, the Black Prince
BuilderHarland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Yard number1049[1]
Laid down2 November 1939
Launched27 August 1942
Completed20 November 1943[1]
Commissioned30 November 1943
DecommissionedMarch 1962
Out of serviceLoaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, 25 May 1946
FateScrapped, 2 May 1962
NotesPennant number: 81
New Zealand
NameHMNZS Black Prince
Commissioned25 May 1946
Out of serviceReturned to Royal Navy control, 1 April 1961
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeDido-class light cruiser
Displacement
  • 5,950 tons (standard)
  • 7,200 tons (full load)
Length
  • 485 ft (148 m) (pp)
  • 512 ft (156 m) (oa)
Beam50.5 ft (15.4 m)
Draught14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbines
Speed32.25 knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph)
Range6,824 km (3,685 nmi; 4,240 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement530
Armament
Armour

HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, becoming HMNZS Black Prince. The cruiser was docked for modernisation in 1947, but in April, her sailors walked off the ship as part of a series of mutinies in the RNZN. The shortage of manpower resulting from these mutinies meant that the modernisation had to be cancelled, and Black Prince was placed in reserve until 1953. She returned to service after refitting with simplified secondary armament with a single quad "pom pom" in Q position and eight Mk3 40mm Bofors guns. The ship was decommissioned again two years later, and returned to the Royal Navy in 1961. Black Prince did not re-enter service, and was towed from Auckland to Osaka for scrapping in 1962.

  1. ^ a b McCluskie, Tom (2013). The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff. Stroud: The History Press. p. 147. ISBN 9780752488615.