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HMS ''Cleopatra'' was a ''Dido''-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited (Hebburn-on-Tyne, UK), with the keel being laid down on 5 January 1939. She was launched on 27 March 1940, and commissioned on 5 December 1941. ==Second World War service== ''Cleopatra'' went out to Gibraltar early in 1942, and on 9 February she sailed for Malta, where she was immediately damaged by a bomb. After repair, she was transferred to Alexandria in early March for the 15th Cruiser Squadron. She was Admiral Philip Vian's flagship during the Second Battle of Sirte, when his group of four light cruisers and 17 destroyers held off an Italian force which included the battleship , two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and 10 destroyers, which had all been sent to intercept their convoy to Malta. During the engagement, ''Cleopatra''´s radar and wireless stations were wrecked by a 6" round fired by the Italian light cruiser .〔Woodman, Richard (2000). ''Malta Convoys, 1940–1943'', Jack Murray Ltd., p. 301. ISBN 978-0-7195-5753-8〕 Other reports state that ''Cleopatra's'' after turrets were also damaged. In June 1942, she covered Operation Harpoon and Vigorous, and in August bombarded Rhodes as a diversion for the Operation Pedestal convoy. ''Cleopatra'' was drydocked in Massawa on 19 September 1942 for minor repairs and cleaning and was undocked five days later. During the refloating, she slipped on the angled drydock, crushing every wooden keel block on the dock but sustaining little hull damage to herself. Captain G. Grantham considered the resulting leak a minor nuisance and ordered ''Cleopatra'' to return to service.〔Commander Edward Ellsberg, O.B.E. ''Under the Red Sea Sun'', (1946). Dodd, Mead and Co., New York〕 By January 1943, ''Cleopatra'' was part of Force "K", later Force "Q" at Bône, from where the Axis traffic to and from Tunisia was attacked. Later, she was a unit of the 12th Cruiser Squadron, and was present at the landings in Sicily, Operation Husky, in June, followed by supporting the army ashore. However, on 16 July 1943, ''Cleopatra'' was torpedoed by the Italian submarine ''Dandolo'' and again badly damaged. Temporary repairs were made at Malta which lasted until October 1943, after which she sailed to Philadelphia, US, for full repairs. These were completed in November 1944, and in 1945 she went out to the East Indies, where she was the first ship into the newly recaptured base at Singapore in September. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Cleopatra (33)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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