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The Edinburgh class of Light Cruisers was a subset of the Town class. There were a total of ten ships in the Town class, but as newer ships were constructed to the same basic design, additional weaponry was added which effectively changed the nature of these mighty vessels, hence later ships, although based on the same central design, were referred to as new classes of vessel. To make matters more confusing, the term "Light Cruiser" is meaningless when referring to ships such as HMS Belfast. You will recall that at the top of this article I made mention of the fact that HMS Belfast was the heaviest Cruiser ever fielded by the Royal Navy. The terminology of "Light Cruiser" stems from the London Naval Treaty of 1930 which sought to impose limits on military shipbuilding. The treaty defined a Light Cruiser as being a vessel with guns no larger than 6.1 inches (155 mm calibre) in size. However the treaty did not specify how many such guns a Light Cruiser could mount, and so it was effectively bypassed with ships mounting more such guns. As a result, ships of the Town class became equal in power and armament to so-called Heavy Cruisers.

One of two Edinburgh class vessels and launched in March 1938, HMS Belfast’s early days were marred after she struck a mine in the early days of World War II. This put the ship out of action for three years whilst repairs were undertaken.

As you’ll see from this picture, HMS Belfast is painted in a "dazzle" camouflage scheme. This type of paint scheme was first used during World War I and was designed to make it harder for enemy gunners using visual rangefinders to accurately calculate the speed, distance and heading of a ship in their sights.

In this first picture, the tower of London rises majestically behind HMS Belfast. In the second, parts of the financial district of London can be seen. You will note that the forward guns are raised, and it is said that they are allegedly aimed at a Motorway service station some twelve miles to the Northwest – whether or not this improves the flavour of the food by the staff has yet to be determined.

The ship is boarded from aft via a permanent pontoon from the embankment. With the rear deck covered by an awning, one is instantly drawn to the battle honours and plaques adorning the rear of the superstructure.

The ship’s bell is preserved in all its immaculate shining glory.

As mentioned at the top of the article, HMS Belfast served during World War II and Korea. Her mighty guns were used to assist with the sinking of the German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst in the Battle of North Cape in December 1943, and six months later she shelled enemy fortifications to assist with the D-Day landings. During the Korean War she was again used for shore bombardment in support of United Nations forces. In July 1952, return fire from Communist positions hit the ship, killing one member of the crew.

Below decks, areas of the ship are set aside for displays detailing operations during World War II. Here we see two types of uniform as might have been worn by the crew of the period – a standard rating’s uniform, and one as worn by a member of the crew during the icy conditions of an Arctic convoy mission.

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