&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:HMS_Gloucester.jpg) Gloucester at anchor, 1939
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Gloucester |
| Namesake | Gloucester |
| Builder | Devonport Dockyard |
| Laid down | 22 September 1936 |
| Launched | 19 October 1937 |
| Sponsored by | Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester |
| Completed | 31 January 1939 |
| Identification | Pennant number: 62 |
| Nickname(s) | "The Fighting G"[1] |
| Fate | Sunk by German aircraft, 22 May 1941 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Town-class light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 588 ft (179.2 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft 4 in (19.0 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 7 in (6.3 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 4 × shafts; 4 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 32 knots (59.3 km/h; 36.8 mph) |
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 800–815 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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| Aircraft carried | 2 × Supermarine Walrus flying boats |
| Aviation facilities | 1 × catapult |
HMS Gloucester was one of the second batch of three Town-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the late 1930s. Commissioned shortly before the start of World War II in August 1939, the ship was initially assigned to the China Station and was transferred to the Indian Ocean and later to South Africa to search for German commerce raiders. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1940 and spent much of her time escorting Malta Convoys. Gloucester played minor roles in the Battle of Calabria in 1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. She was sunk by German dive bombers on 22 May 1941 during the Battle of Crete with the loss of 722 men out of a crew of 807. Gloucester acquired the nickname "The Fighting G" after earning five battle honours in less than a year.[2]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bbcwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Crew of HMS Gloucester remember her WWII loss". Gov.uk. London: Ministry of Defence. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2018.