Minotaur-class cruiser (1943)

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HMS Swiftsure
Class overview
Name	Minotaur class
Operators	Royal Navy  Royal Canadian Navy
Preceded by	Fiji class
Succeeded by	Neptune class (planned) Tiger class (actual)
Built	1941–1945
In commission	1944–1958
Planned	9
Completed	3
Cancelled	6
Scrapped	3 (3 other early-stage Minotaur hulls became the Tiger class)
General characteristics
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	8,800 tons standard 11,130 tons full (Superb: 8,885 tons standard 11,560 tons full)
Length	555.5 ft (169.3 m)
Beam	63 ft (19 m) (Superb: 64 ft (20 m))
Draught	17.25 ft (5.26 m)
Installed power	72,500 shp (54.1 MW)
Propulsion	Four Admiralty-type three drum boilers Four shaft Parsons steam turbines
Speed	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h)
Range	2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) at 30 knots (60 km/h) 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h); 1,850 tons fuel oil
Complement	867
Armament	3 × triple BL 6-inch Mk XXIII guns (152.4 mm) 5 × dual 4-inch/45 QF Mk 16 HA guns 4 × quad QF 2 pdr guns 6 × single 40 mm anti-aircraft guns 2 × triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.
Armour	3.25–3.5-inch (83–89 mm) belt 2-inch (51 mm) deck 1–2-inch (25–51 mm) turrets 1.5–2-inch (38–51 mm) bulkheads

The Minotaur class, also known as the Swiftsure class after the lead ship was sold to Canada and renamed, were a group of light cruisers of the British Royal Navy built during the Second World War. They were designed as a modified version of the Fiji class incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941. However, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the building of this new class had a relatively low priority and only three of the planned twelve were completed by end of World War II. They played no significant part in the Second World War, though Swiftsure, as flagship of the British Pacific Cruiser Squadron, was selected by Admiral Cecil Harcourt to hoist his flag for the Japanese surrender at Hong Kong.

Superb was completed to a slightly different design than the first two ships, work on another three was cancelled and the last three were eventually built to a different design as the Tiger class.