HMS Devonshire
County class
General Characteristics
Displacement:	Around 10,000 tons standard (Around 8,400 to 8,600 tons in York class) / 13,300 tons to 13,700 tons (10,500 to 10,700 in York class)
Length:	630 ft (192 m), or 575 ft (175 m) York class
Beam:	Kent class 68 ft (20.7 m) York class 58 ft (17.7 m) London and Norfolk classes 66 ft (20.1 m)
Draught:	16.4 ft (5.0 m)
Propulsion:	Parsons geared or Brown Curtis steam turbines, 4 shafts, 8 boilers, 80,000 shp (60 MN)
Speed:	32.5 knots (60.2 km/h)
Range:
Protection:	sides: 76 mm decks: 50 mm turrets: 50 mm
Complement:	657 (628 York class)
Armament:	Original configuration: 8 x 8 in (203 mm) guns (6 x 8 in (203 mm) guns in York class) 4 x 4 in (102 mm) guns 8 x 2 pounder (40 mm) guns (Twelve in London class, sixteen in Norfolk class, two in York class) 8 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (Six in York class)
Aircraft:	Supermarine Walrus (number varied by ship) (Removed during World War II)

The County class were the first and last heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy. The ships were large, at 630ft (192m), though they had no side armour when built. The County class were built in four sub-classes, that became known as the Kent, London, Norfolk and York classes. The first three sub-classes were built to the constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Download high resolution version (1082x758, 75 KB)HMS Devonshire (County-class cruiser). ... HMS Devonshire was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, that served in World War II. Devonshire was laid down by HM Dockyard at Devonport in Plymouth on 16 March 1926, launched on 22 October 1927 and completed on 18 March 1929. ... Image File history File links RN-White-Ensign. ... The Supermarine Walrus was a reconnaissance amphibian designed by R. J. Mitchell and operated by the Fleet Air Arm. ... A heavy cruiser is a type of large warship which originated with the British Hawkins class during World War I. They entered service after the war. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services being the oldest of its three branches. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a meter. ... The metre, or meter, is a measure of length, approximately equal to 3. ... The Washington Naval Treaty limited the naval armaments of its five signatories: the United States, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, the French Third Republic, and Italy. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The design included a requirement for effective air defence, which led to problems in the main battery. Another requirement, for high speed, led to large boiler capacity, high freeboard and 32 knots in a high sea. The vessels had a good cruising range.

Seventeen ships were planned, but the final two were cancelled.

Sub-classes

Kent class

There were seven ships of the Kent class built for the Royal Navy (HMS Berwick, Cornwall, Cumberland, Dorsetshire, Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk) and two ships, HMAS Australia and Canberra, built for the Royal Australian Navy. All ships were commissioned in 1928. The Kents were heavily armed, having eight 8-inch (203mm) guns in four twin-turrets. Their secondary armament consisted of four 4-inch (102mm) single guns and also had eight 2-pounder "pom-poms" for anti-aircraft defence. Several ships of the British Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Berwick, after the town on the border between England and Scotland. ... HMS Cornwall (56) was a 9,750-ton County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Cumberland, the fifteenth ship of that name was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw action during the Second World War. ... HMS Dorsetshire (pennant number 40) was a heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the English county (now called Dorset). ... HMS Kent, was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... A long absence of a Norfolk in the Royal Navy was finally ended in the commissioning of County-class heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk (78), which displaced 10,035 tons. ... Five ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Suffolk, after the county of Suffolk. ... HMAS Australia, launched in 1927, was a County-class heavy cruiser in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). ... See HMAS Canberra for other ships of this name. ... The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial and U.S. customary unit of length. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... The QF 2-pounder gun was a British anti-tank gun. ... 2-pounder multiple pom-pom Mark VIII on 8-barrel mounting Mark VI. A pom-pom is a large calibre machine-gun, used mostly famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the British Royal Navy. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. ...

The British Kents were reconstructed in the 1930s, with increases in armour and the number of 2-pounder guns increased from eight to sixteen in two octuple mounts. Their eight 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes were also removed, except for HMS Kent who retained them. Their secondary armament was increased with the addition of two twin 4-inch (102 mm) guns. One twin 8-inch (203 mm) turret was removed in 1941. Their aircraft hangar, which had been added before the war was removed during World War II. This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Torpedo tubes of the French SNLE Redoutable A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes in a horizontal direction. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

London class

The second sub-class, the London class, also known as the Devonshire class, consisted of four ships (HMS Devonshire, London, Shropshire and Sussex) and were modified from the Kents. The Londons were virtually identical to the Kents, but differed in that their superstructure was altered slightly and internal bulges were added to give protection from torpedoes. Additionally the number of 2-pounder guns was increased from eight to twelve. Eight ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Devonshire, originally in honor of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, and later after the county of Devonshire (now called Devon). ... Twelve ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS London, after the city of London. ... HMS Shropshire (83) was a County class heavy cruiser laid down by William Beardmore and Company, Limited, at Dalmuir in Scotland on 24 February 1926, launched on 5 July 1928 by the Countess of Powis, Baroness D?Arcy de Knayth and completed on 12 September 1929. ... HMS Sussex was a British warship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea in 1694. ...

In the 1930s, the Londons underwent similar alterations as the Kents did, having their eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes removed, and one twin 8-inch (203 mm) turret removed, although London retained it. One ship, Shropshire, was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in 1943 to replace Canberra. London was completely rebuilt just before, and during, World War II, giving her the appearance of a Crown Colony-class cruiser. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The Crown Colony-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy were named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. ...

Norfolk class

The third sub-class, the Norfolk class, also known as the Dorsetshire class consisted of the two ships Norfolk and Dorsetshire. There would have been four ships but Northumberland and Surrey were cancelled. They were again similar to their predecessors, having only very slight differences, such as carrying the new lighter MkII turret for their 8-inch guns, small differences to the superstructure, and an increase in the number of 2-pounder guns from eight to sixteen. Like the previous two sub-classes, the Norfolks underwent a number of alterations in the 1930s, having their four 4-inch (102 mm) single guns replaced by twin-turrets. Their 2-pounder pom-pom armament was increased to twenty-four barrels during World War II.

York class

The York class consisted of two ships (HMS York and Exeter) of five planned (three were cancelled), built to reduced and cheaper designs. Consequently, they differed significantly from the previous three sub-classes. Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS York for the county seat of Yorkshire, on the River Ouse. ... Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Exeter after the city of Exeter in Devon. ...

They had two fewer 8-inch (203 mm) guns, with six guns in three twin-turrets, only two 2-pounder guns, and increased armour. Their length was considerably shorter, at 575 ft (175 m) and they had two funnels rather than the three in the previous sub-classes, the fore-funnel effectively acting as two. Despite their common design, these two ships had noticeably different profiles, from their funnel and bridge layouts.

The Yorks underwent modifications similar to the three previous sub-classes during the 1930s, having their four single 4-in (102 mm) guns replaced with four 4-inch twin-turrets, and their six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were also removed. During World War II, their 2-pounder guns were given a substantial increase from two to twenty-four. The Yorks had the distinction of being the last warships of the RN to be armed with 8-inch (203 mm) guns.

Comparison of classes

As built or planned - not taking into account wartime modifications

World War II

The County class saw much service during the Second World War including the first major naval battle, the Battle of the River Plate, where Exeter performed with distinction against the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, suffering heavy damage in the process. HMS Norfolk and Suffolk were equipped with radar which was used to good advantage when they shadowed the Bismarck during the RN's attempts to hunt her down after the sinking of HMS Hood. Combatants Nazi Germany United Kingdom New Zealand Commanders Hans Langsdorff Henry Harwood Strength 1 pocket battleship (Panzerschiffe) Admiral Graf Spee 1 heavy cruiser 2 light cruisers Casualties 1 pocket battleship scuttled 36 killed 1 heavy cruiser Exeter heavily damaged 72 killed The Battle of the River Plate (December 13, 1939... Pocket battleship is an English language term for a class of warships built by German Reichsmarine in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. ... Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Germany during World War II. Originally classified as an armored ship (Panzerschiff), she was later reclassified as a heavy cruiser, and was referred to as a pocket battleship by the British. ... This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the distance of, and map, objects such... The German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. ... Three ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Hood after members of the Hood family, which produced several notable Navy officers: The first Hood, launched in 1859 as Edgar, was a second-rate ship of the line of 91 guns. ...

The class saw service in nearly every other theatre of the war. A number of losses were suffered by the class, with Canberra, Cornwall, Dorsetshire, Exeter and York all being destroyed.

The survivors were all decommissioned by the 1950s. The 1950s were a decade that spanned the years 1951 through 1960. ...