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HMS ''Neptune'' was a light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. ''Neptune'' was the fourth ship of its class and was the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name. Built by Portsmouth Dockyard, the vessel was laid down on 24 September 1931, launched on 31 January 1933, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 12 February 1934 with the pennant number "20". ==Operational history== During World War II, ''Neptune'' operated with a crew drawn predominantly from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. In December 1939, several months after war was declared, ''Neptune'' was patrolling in the South Atlantic in pursuit of German surface raider pocket battleship (heavy cruiser) . ''Neptune'', with other patrolling Royal Navy heavy units, was sent to Uruguay in the aftermath of the Battle of the River Plate. However, she was still in transit when the Germans scuttled ''Graf Spee'' off Montevideo on 17 December. ''Neptune'' was the first British ship to spot the Italian Fleet in the battle of Calabria, on 9 July 1940, marking also the first time since the Napoleonic wars that the Mediterranean Fleet received the signal 'Enemy Battle Fleet in Sight'.〔Thomas, David A. (1999). ''Malta Convoys''. Leo Cooper, p. 25. ISBN 0-85052-663-9〕 During the subsequent engagement, she was hit by the Italian light cruiser .〔(Action of Calabria ), by Christian D'Adamo〕〔Jordan, John (2008). ''Warship 2008''. Conway maritime press, p. 32. ISBN 1-84486-062-0〕 The 6-inch shell splinters damaged her floatplane beyond repair, its wreckage being thrown into the sea.〔Smith, Peter Charles (1980). ''Action imminent: three studies of the naval war in the Mediterranean theatre during 1940''. Kimber, p. 66. ISBN 0-7183-0197-8〕 Minutes later her main guns struck the heavy cruiser ''Bolzano'' three times, inflicting some damage on her torpedo room, below the water line and the "B" turret.〔Green, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro (1998). ''The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943'', Chatam Publishing, pp. 74–75. ISBN 1-885119-61-5〕 During 1941, she led Force K, a raiding squadron of cruisers. Their task was to intercept and destroy German and Italian convoys en route to Libya. The convoys were supplying Rommel's Afrika Korps in North Africa with troops and equipment. 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 Neptune (20)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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