HMS Dragon
Wrecked
Royal Navy, then Polish Navy
| Type | Light cruiser |
|---|---|
| Class | Danae |
| War | Second World War |
| Main guns | 6 × 6″ guns |
Service
| to 1943 | Dragon | |
| from 1943 | Dragon Lent to the Polish Navy |
D-class cruiser of 1918. Lent to the Polish Navy in January 1943. Bombarded the Normandy beaches from D-Day, and on 8 July 1944 was hit by a German one-man Neger torpedo off the beachhead; 37 of her crew were killed. Too badly damaged to repair, she was sunk as part of the breakwater at Ouistreham.
Armament and specifications
Armament
1918
- 6 × BL 6 in L/45 Mark XII guns on single mountings CP Mark XIV (152 mm)
- 2 × 3-inch (76 mm) Mk II AA guns
- 2 × 40 mm QF 2 pdr "Pom-pom" AA guns
- 12 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes (4 triple launchers)
1930
- 6 × 152 mm Mk XII guns
- 3 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V AA guns
- 2 × 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA guns
- 12 × 533 mm torpedo launchers
1942
- 3 × 102 mm Mk V AA guns
- 6 × 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA
1943
- 5 × 152 mm Mk XII guns
- 2 × 102 mm Mk XVI gun
- 8 × 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA guns
- 3 × quadruple mounting Mark VII 2 pounder Mark VIII gun
- 12 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns
- depth charge launcher
Armour
- 3 inch side (amidships)
- 2, 1¾, 1½ side (bow and stern)
- 1 inch upper decks (amidships)
- 1 inch deck over rudder
| Builder | Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 24 January 1917 |
| Launched | 29 December 1917 |
| Commissioned | 16 August 1918 |
| Displacement | 4,276 long tons (4,345 t) light 5,603 long tons (5,693 t) full 4,850 long tons (4,928 t) after 1924 |
| Length | 445 ft (136 m) |
| Speed | 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) |
| Complement | 462 |
As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.
Career
Launched
29 December 1917
Battle of Dakar
Survived
23–25 September 1940
Joined the Polish Navy
January 1943 · Lent to the Polish Navy
Normandy landings
Survived
6 June 1944
Polish-manned; off Sword
Fate
Wrecked
Scuttled 20 July 1944