hms belfast crew list 1945hms belfast crew list 1945

We have place for a photo as well if provided. 2. [72] The production of the masts, to replace corroded originals, had been supported by a number of Russian businesses at a reported cost of 500,000. [15] The launch was filmed by Path News. The fee is currently 30. By the time she arrived in Sydney on 7 August Belfast had been made flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the British Pacific Fleet. If you need help, we're glad to assist. Even $1 per month will go a long way! [11] The Admiralty rejected a design featuring five triple turrets as impractical, while an alternative design fitting four quadruple turrets was rejected as an effective quadruple turret could not be developed. The next day Belfast took charge of a silver ship's bell, a gift of the people of Belfast. C. Peter Chen of Lava Development, LLC. She was built by Harland & Wolff Ltd. in Belfast, Northern Ireland being launched on the 17th of August 1939. [5][2], Belfast was protected by a 4.5-inch (114mm) main armour belt, with deck armour of 3 inches (76mm) over her magazines, and 2 inches (51mm) over her machinery spaces. If you have hit a snag, please Some indication has been given of voyages made by the vessels. Commissioned into service in Apr 1945, carrier HMS Glory departed for Australia shortly after with No. var monthlist= ['January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September', 'October', 'November', 'December']; [15] Her expected cost was 2,141,514; of which the guns cost 75,000 and the aircraft (two Supermarine Walruses) 66,500. [2] She was propelled by four three-drum oil-fired Admiralty water-tube boilers, turning Parsons geared steam turbines, driving four propeller shafts. Crew: 748 sailors. [40], On 29 July 1944, Captain Parham handed over command of HMS Belfast to Captain R M Dick, and until April 1945 Belfast underwent a refit to prepare for service against Japan in the Far East which improved her accommodation for tropical conditions, and updated her anti-aircraft armament and fire control in order to counter expected kamikaze attacks by Japanese aircraft. We explain what indexes are available and how to use them. [4], Her radar fit now included a Type 277 radar set to replace her Type 273 for surface warning. [88] To emphasise the range of the ship's armament, the forward six-inch guns of A and B Turrets are trained on the London Gateway service area on the M1 motorway, approximately 12 miles (19km) away on the outskirts of London. Early June 1945, it was deployed to the Far East. The Russian companies included United Industrial Corporation (OPK), The reinterpretation was supported by 150,000 from DCMS and the, other 1950s cruiser reconstructions of three Town cruisers and HMS, "ALVA Association of Leading Visitor Attractions", "History of HMS Belfast: Building and Launch", "Mrs Chamberlain Opens New Airport At Belfast And Launches HMS Belfast (1938)", "History of HMS Belfast: Outbreak of War 1939", "Parham, Frederick Robertson (IWM interview)", "Burnett, Sir Robert Lindsay (18871959)", "History of HMS Belfast: Operations 1944", "Collections: Exhibits and Firearms: Frequently Asked Questions: The 15-inch guns", "History of HMS Belfast: D-Day 6 June 1944", "Obituary: Vice-Admiral Sir Hugh Martell", Secretary of State for Education and Science, "HMS Belfast Association: About the Association", "New masts for HMS Belfast made in Russian shipyard", "HMS Belfast's extraordinary war service is recognised by Russia", "Russian Federation provides major support for HMS Belfast restoration", "HMS Belfast to lose her scaffolding and gain two new masts", "HMS Belfast Masts from Russia with Love", "The new HMS Belfast, from Russia with love", "New Royal Navy warship to be named HMS Belfast", "Defence Secretary names new warship HMS Belfast in Northern Ireland", "New Interactive Operations Room Opens for Easter", "4 million grants announced for English museums under DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund", "DCMS/Wolfson Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund Round 8 (200910)", "HMS Belfast adds thrilling Gun Turret Experience to its armoury of attractions", "HMS Belfast: Two injured as gangway collapses", "Two hurt as HMS Belfast gangway collapses", "HMS Belfast reopens six months after gangway collapse", "CPMG wins planning for HMS Belfast visitor centre", List of cruiser classes of the Royal Navy, Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Belfast&oldid=1152382182, World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom, Korean War cruisers of the United Kingdom, Museums sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Museums in the London Borough of Southwark, Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet, Articles with dead external links from March 2023, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2019, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 22:30. These records consist of the Crew Lists and Ships' Agreements, with some Official (Crew) Log Books, which were required by law to be sent to the Registrar of Shipping and Seamen for ships registered in the United Kingdom. site is two fold. This was objected to by some, due to the anachronistic conflict between her camouflage, which reflects the majority of her active Second World War service, and her present configuration, which was the result of the ship's extended refit from January 1956 to May 1959. document.write("This page was last modified on " + lastmod.getDate()+" " + monthlist[lastmod.getMonth()] +" " + lastmod.getFullYear()+""); Transcribed and checked nearly 1,000,000 (one million) entries from crew lists. 1831 Naval Air Squadron (flying Corsair aircraft) on board to join British Pacific Fleet 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron. As flagship of the 5th Cruiser Squadron, Belfast was the Far Eastern Station's headquarters ship during the April 1949 Amethyst Incident, in which a British sloop, HMSAmethyst, was trapped in the Yangtze River by the communist People's Liberation Army. Speaking for the government, the Under-secretary for the Navy, Peter Kirk, said that Belfast was "one of the most historic ships which the Navy has had in the last 20 years",[59] but that he could not prevent the stripping of the ship's removable equipment, as this was already too far advanced to be halted. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. [60] She was towed to her berth above Tower Bridge on 15 October 1971 and settled in a huge hole that had been dredged in the river bed; then she was attached to two dolphins which guide her during the rise and fall of the tide. British seamen who served under the T124X agreement; British seamen who served under the T124T agreement; Non-British seamen who served under the T124X agreement. [34] Moored in Altafjord in northern Norway, Tirpitz was the German navy's last surviving capital ship. Thank you. By creating an account you agree to us emailing you with newsletters and discounts, which you can switch off in your account at any time. Belfast had been expected to join in Operation Downfall, but this was forestalled by the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945. While in Sydney Belfast underwent another short refit, supplementing her close-range armament with five 40mm Bofors guns. British seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century are the best documented workers that there have ever been - millions of documents survive, recording [50] Belfast recommissioned at Devonport on 12 May 1959. [96] Belfast re-opened on 18 May 2012. The arm of the navy that an individual served with, their rank, ship or shore establishment and dates of service determine which set of records you need. The date was significant, as Belfast was the first naval vessel to be saved for the nation since HMSVictory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. The Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence established a joint committee, which reported in June 1968 that the scheme was practical and economic. There she underwent a minor refit between January to March 1950 and in June she joined the Far East Fleet's summer cruise. Catalogue entries for this series have been enhanced as part of a project supported by volunteers. Vessels engaged in coastal or cross-Channel trade made a return half-yearly, while ships going to more distant ports completed an agreement for each voyage. Crew List With Additional Information. Her tripod masts were replaced with lattice masts and timber decking replaced with steel everywhere except the quarterdeck. [56], Following the government's refusal, a private trust was formed to campaign for the ship's preservation. Denomination: H.M.S. From the Chairman Compiled a further 470,000 records of ships from the Mercantile Navy List, making the largest database of British registered ships of the era. At the same time, the IWM stated that the museum would be renamed as "HMS Belfast (1938)" as a means of avoiding confusion. By navigating the hazardous Pentland Firth, Belfast successfully evaded the Home Fleet. However, we know that the records of ships and seafarers are a Made over 63,000 images of crew list documents. She saw action duirng the Second World War and was sunk with great loss of life on the 10th April 1940, during the First Battle of Narvik. [56] As Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester, Morgan-Giles addressed the House of Commons on 8 March 1971. Her November 1942 radar fit included one Type 284 set and four Type 283 sets to direct the main armament, three Type 285 sets for the secondary guns, and two Type 282 sets for the 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns. Information is contained in pouches and includes personal details such as name, age, rank, rating/grade and qualifications, together with details of the vessels on which the individual served. In the second and third categories, the ships had first to be identified, and these sections are by no means comprehensive; in any case, we could only have the documents if they were not required by the port of registry. [81] Since 2002, school and youth groups have been able to stay onboard Belfast overnight, sleeping in bunks on a restored 1950s mess deck. At a press conference in August the Trust announced "Operation Seahorse",[nb 4] the plan to bring Belfast to London. seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century. British shipping, at that time the largest merchant fleet in the world, is also well documented and we explain how to access those records too. 15 British carrier aircraft from HMS Illustrious attacked an Italian convoy off Kerkennah islands, Tunisia between 0515 and 0615 hours, sinking two of the three ships in the convoy. Total costs for her operation was 2,141,514 British pounds and includes 75,000 pounds for the guns and 66,500 pounds for the aircraft. In 1945 the crew gave up their chocolate ration for us and we ate the lot, so when we left HMS Belfast in 2005 we were each given a 'goody bag' containing among other things a DVD of the . Photographs. [94] The ship was closed to visitors following the accident. first read carefully through the details on this site. In November 1939, Belfast struck a German mine and, in spite of fears that she would be scrapped, spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. The Belfast Trust was established; its chairman was Rear-Admiral Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles, captain of Belfast from January 1961 to July 1962. On 27 September 1952 Belfast was relieved by two other Town-class cruisers, HMSBirmingham and HMSNewcastle, and sailed back to the UK. The goal of this The National Maritime Museum - holds 10% of surviving agreements and crew lists for the periods 1861-1938 and 1951-1976 The National Archives holds the following proportions of surviving crew. [66] The ship was transferred to the museum on 1 March 1978,[64] and became the Imperial War Museum's third branch, Duxford aerodrome having been acquired in 1976. [48], In reserve, Belfast's future was uncertain: post-war defence cuts made manpower-intensive cruisers excessively costly to operate and it was not until March 1955 that the decision was taken to modernise Belfast. a brief overview. Object details. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, About our As Scharnhorst attacked again at noon she was intercepted by Force Two and sunk by the combined formations. Bruce Fraser, C-in-C Home Fleet, expected and hoped that the German battleship Scharnhorst would sortie from its Norwegian base and attempt to attack Convoy JW 55B sailing from Scotland to Murmansk in the USSR. This was the only time Belfast was hit by enemy fire during her Korean service. On October 9, 1939, Belfast successfully seized the German liner SS Cap Norte as she attempted to return to Germany in the disguise of a neutral vessel. [10] Under the Director of Naval Construction the new design evolved during 1933. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Changes included: individual MRS8 directors for the new twin Mk 5 40mm and the twin 4-inch mount; the 4-inch guns training and elevation speed was increased to 20 degrees per second; and protecting key parts of the ship against nuclear, biological or chemical attack. Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? HMS Belfast technical sheet . HMS Mohawk (destroyer) B top Baldwin, CharlesEdward Son of Catherine M. Baldwin, of Stamshaw, Portsmouth. [33], After North Cape, Belfast refuelled at Kola Inlet before sailing for the United Kingdom, arriving at Scapa to replenish her fuel, ammunition and stores on New Year's Day 1944. She was launched on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1938. STOKER Served from 1946 - 1948 Served in HMS Belfast Bernard Spence STOKER Served from 1946 - 1948 Served in HMS Belfast Henry Carmichael CPL Served from 1941 - 1954 Served in HMS Belfast Michael Johnson SHIPWRIGHT 1ST CLASS Served from 1957 - 1969 Served in HMS Belfast Richard Pace PETTY OFFICER Served from 1952 - 1963 Served in HMS Belfast The first, and by far the largest, consists of ships registered in Southampton. when a wealth of detail about their lives is revealed. She had steamed over 80,000 miles (130,000km) in the combat zone and fired more than 8,000 rounds from her 6-inch guns during the Korean War. [3], Belfast's aviation capability was provided by two catapult-launched Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplanes. Belfast sailed for Gibraltar in company with sixteen RNR minesweepers for a two-week exercise in the Mediterranean on 10 August. [44] On 25 June 1950, while Belfast was visiting Hakodate in Japan, North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel, starting the Korean War. You are currently a guest member, registered members receive the following benefits: Please enter a password with 6 characters or more, REM, LREM, R-MECH3,2,1 AND A/L CHIEF RADIO MECHANI, POM(E) CHIEF STOKER RNR (WITH ICE CHARGE TICKET). CLIP is run by Pete and Jan Owens as a not-for-profit volunteer project. Work began on 6 January 1956. [67] The Imperial War Museum's Sound Archive also seeks to record oral history interviews with former crewmen. HMS Belfast at anchor in Sydney Harbour, August 1945. hms belfast crew list 1945. boca beacon obituaries. death spawn osrs. Seaplanes carried aboard would enable shipping lanes to be patrolled over a wide area, and the class was also to be capable of its own anti-aircraft defence. The old masts were then cut down in sections, the new masts erected, and the original fittings replaced. Restored compartments, some populated with dressed figures, illustrate the crew's living conditions and the ship's various facilities such as the sick bay, galley, laundry, chapel, mess decks and NAAFI. In September 1951 Belfast provided anti-aircraft cover for a salvage operation to recover a crashed enemy MiG-15 jet fighter. Search Discovery, our catalogue, by name of person or ship in T 335 to find what the award was, the person's rank at the time, and the ship they were serving on. Access to the ship is via a walkway which connects the quarterdeck with the pedestrianised footpath on the south bank of the River Thames. Sorry, we do not carry out privately commissioned research. [tender to HMS Caroline (RN base, Belfast)] 03.12.1940-05.02.1941: HMS President (for special and miscellaneous services: for duty outside . This last consideration meant significantly enlarging and enclosing her bridge, creating a two-tiered, five-sided superstructure which radically altered her appearance. Contributor: C. Peter Chen. [19] On 8 September Belfast put to sea from Scapa Flow with the battlecruisers Hood, Renown, her sister ship Edinburgh and four destroyers, on a patrol intended to intercept German ships returning from Norway. [16] She was launched on Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March 1938, by Anne Chamberlain, the wife of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. ww2dbaseSources: Imperial War Museum HMS Belfast, HMS Belfast article on Wikipedia. [37] Belfast fired her last round in anger in European waters on 8 July, in company with the monitor HMSRoberts and the battleship HMSRodney, as part of Operation Charnwood. In between convoy duties, she participated in offensive sweeps with British battleships and aircraft carriers. We are continuing to add to That year also saw the refurbishment of the ship's Operations Room by a team from HMSVernon, and the return of Belfast's six twin Bofors mounts, along with their fire directors. HTML tags are not allowed. Tai Yin had been listed by the Admiralty as suspicious, so a prize crew from Belfast sailed her to Kirkwall for investigation. transcribed are only a small sample of the huge volume of crew documents scattered across many archives. Recommissioned in July, she made a final visit to Belfast from 2329 November before paying off into reserve on 25 February 1963. The National Archives (TNA) holds most of the service records for men who served up to the 1920s. She paid off in Chatham on 4 November 1952 and entered reserve at Devonport on 1 December. [14] This modified design became the 10,000-ton Edinburgh subclass, named after Belfast's sister ship HMSEdinburgh. [54], In 1961 plans were drawn up for the conversion of Belfast to a hybrid helicopter cruiser for amphibious operations. The ship was laid down on 10th November that year and launched on 26th March 1940 as the 3rd RN Warship to carry the name. This was the first time she had been to sea in 28 years and thus required a Certificate of Seaworthiness from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. [8] A popular tourist attraction, Belfast received over 327,000 visitors in 2019. This site uses cookies. A number of further overseas commissions followed before she entered reserve in 1963. Most of these men were not born in Asia; many were Egyptian. [5] She was capable of 32.5 knots (60.2km/h; 37.4mph) and carried 2,400 long tons (2,400t) of fuel oil. To access the records in this section you will either need to visit us or, where you can identify a specific document reference, order a copy ().. She began providing gunfire starting eleven days after the invasion began and would be doing so for a total of 404 days. For long distance voyages, the authorised destination is often given in the most general terms and the only clues lie in entries made at various ports of call. On 1 June she arrived at Singapore for refitting, arriving back on patrol on 31 August. [68] She was not expected to require further drydocking until 2020. Made the first complete record of British registered ships, from 1855 to the 1950s, with 200,000 entries from the Appropriation Books at RSS in Cardiff. It is planned to make at a later date an index of Owners and Masters. [42][31] On 17 June 1945, with the war in Europe at an end, Belfast sailed for the Far East via Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Port Said, Aden, Colombo and Sydney. resources which are widely used by maritime researchers. [85] [nb 7], In July 2011, the interior of Y Turret, the aftmost 6-inch turret, was redisplayed using audio-visual and atmospheric effects, seeking to evoke the experience of a gunner at the Battle of North Cape. [61], She was opened to the public on Trafalgar Day, 21 October 1971. In July 1963 Belfast was recommissioned for the last time, with a crew of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) and a number of Sea Cadets flying the flag of the Admiral Commanding Reserves, Rear Admiral Hugh Martell. The National Archives guide to Royal Naval Division service records Service records (ADM 339) on TNA , Lives of the First World War and FindMyPast () An index with links to TNA records on Ancestry () Approximately 50,000 original service records at NMRN and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. Armament (1944): 12x 152 mm guns, 8x . Merchant Navy gallantry awards for the Second World War, 1939-1947. [6] Due to her increased topweight, a bulge was introduced into her hull amidships to improve stability and provide extra longitudinal strength. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB. 1959: 4x3x6in, 4x2x4in QF Mk XVI, 6x2x40mm AA, Two Supermarine Walrus Aircraft (removed in the later part of WW2). ww2dbaseAfter refits that lasted from January 1956 to January 1959, HMS Belfast would participate mainly in naval exercises for three more years before the Royal Navy removed her from active service in 1962. ww2dbaseDue to efforts of the Imperial War Museum, which began in 1967, HMS Belfast did not end up in the scrap heap and ended up as a museum ship in October 1971. One man, Painter 2nd Class Henry Stanton, was hospitalised but later died of a head injury, having been thrown against the deckhead by the blast. Transcribed 57,000 entries of foreign-going masters and mates from the records in BT 124 at TNA. The National Museum of the Royal Navy holds some additional records at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Two infantry companies, 30 officers and 230 other ranks, would be carried. He described Belfast as being in "a really wonderful state of preservation" and that saving her for the nation represented a "case of grasping the last opportunity". The ship left Singapore on 26 March 1962 for the UK, sailing east via Hong Kong, Guam and Pearl Harbor, San Francisco, Seattle, British Columbia, Panama and Trinidad. The covering dates relate to the dates of opening the registers. We are glad to list them on our acknowledgements page: NB! Opened to the public in October 1971, Belfast became a branch of the Imperial War Museum in 1978. ILLUSTRIOUS-Class Fleet Aircraft Carrier ordered on 19th March 1937 from Harland and Wolff Ltd. at Belfast under the 1937 Programme. Her commander was Captain G A Scott DSO RN. We have added some case studies to illustrate research into records of seafarers and ships. Following the visit the possibility was raised[by whom?] She also received two more single Bofors guns, in place of two of her single 2-pounder mountings. Below are just some of our members who have served at HMS Belfast. Italian merchant ships Gloria Stella and Maria Eugenia were also sunk. [64] By December 1975 Belfast had received 1,500,000 visitors. We explain how the systems worked and how to go about research. The plan was rejected in December 1961 as the time required to carry out the conversions was too great.[55]. The T124T records detail the sea service of merchant seamen who served on tugs. of preserving an entire ship. This site is designed to help you to find records of a merchant seafarer, either Photographs 2. [12] Three more cruisers were built to this design, with a further three ships built to a slightly larger 9,400-ton design in 193536. Category. From left to right: Bugler Volker, Marine Askew, Boy Blakely, Captain Parham, Boy Wallis, Colour Sergeant Oldfield, A B Stratt and Master at Arms Taylor. Please note that we do not do privately commissioned research, not at any price - we'd like you to have the fun. For the most of the 1930s, she served off China with the 5th Cruiser Squadron. The British fleet engaged destroyers of the German Navy . Many records are available online, sometimes on more than one site. During the First World War. [59], Following the Trust's efforts, the government agreed to hand over Belfast to the Trustees in July 1971, with Vice Admiral Sir Donald Gibson as her first director. Launched on 3 April, the bombers scored fourteen hits, immobilising Tirpitz for two months, with one Barracuda shot down. Alongside that we provide data and image sets relating to 2004. Served on indicates the ships we have listed for the person, some were stationed on multiple ships hit by U-boats. For some of the cross-Channel and Isle of Wight passenger ferries, the practice was adopted at certain dates of making one return for all the ships of the company; when this has occurred, the ship names have been cross-referenced. Please ensure the tag is appropriate for the record. [26], Initial assessments of Belfast's damage showed that, while the mine had done little direct damage to the outer hull, causing only a small hole directly below one of the boiler rooms, the shock of the explosion had caused severe warping, breaking machinery, deforming the decks and causing the keel to hog (bend upwards) by three inches. She spent much of 1940 and 1941 assigned to Force H at Gibraltar, escorting convoys and she participated in the inconclusive Battle . The two aft 6-inch turrets would be removed to accommodate a helicopter deck and two hangars capable of housing four Westland Wessex helicopters, while the 4-inch guns would be replaced by davits for four LCA landing craft. We do this by making available information about the records, and providing data drawn from crew lists and agreements. The London Gazettealso lists commissions and promotions up to the present day. michael sandel justice course syllabus. [46], During 1951 Belfast mounted a number of coastal patrols and bombarded a variety of targets. In September World War II, HMS Belfast saw action as part of the maritime blockade Britain imposed on Germany. [73][nb 6] The restoration of the masts involved removing the fittings from both masts, allowing them to be individually restored. At 5:30am on 6 June, Belfast opened fire on a German artillery battery at Ver-sur-Mer, suppressing the guns until the site was overrun by British infantry of 7th Battalion, Green Howards. She was towed from Portsmouth to London via Tilbury, where she was fitted out as a museum. uihlein manitowish waters; sebastian tillinger wikipedia; harry potter fanfiction harry injured after the battle; can hemorrhoids be treated during colonoscopy [43] She sailed for Hong Kong on 23 October to join the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet, arriving in late December. She returned two days later for further bombardments. [34][35] Belfast underwent minor repairs at Rosyth from 23 April to 8 May, while her crew received a period of leave. Alongside the Germans, the Belfast had to deal with the harsh weather of the Arctic Ocean. 837 Naval Air Squadron (flying Barracuda aircraft) and No. The following day she boarded Tai Yin, a Norwegian ship. The World War II Database is founded and managed by On 4 January 1940 Belfast was decommissioned to Care and Maintenance status, becoming the responsibility of Rosyth Dockyard, and her crew dispersed to other vessels.