Minotaur Class Light Cruisers

Under the 1941 and 1942 Warship Construction Programmes, eight cruisers were ordered. They were a continuation of the Colony Class design, although as a result of experience gained in the early stages of the Second World War (1939-1945), they featured various improvements and modifications. Firstly, the forward superstructure was redesigned in order to incorporate better fire-control, improved aircraft direction systems, a more powerful anti-aircraft battery and a revised bridge design - the bridge on preceding Uganda Class Cruisers had been criticised for being to small and cramped. This required the removal of a crane, the aircraft catapult and the hangar - meaning the Minotaur Class would not be able to operate aircraft. Secondly, a fifth twin 4-inch mounting was added in place of the ‘X’ turret and aft LA director. Finally, the beam was increased by a foot, so that additional oil could be stored and stability could be maintained.

Swiftsure and Minotaur were laid down in 1941, but before work commenced on any more units, the design was revised slightly and later units would form a second group, sometimes referred to as the ‘Superb Class’. However the end of the hostilities, coupled with the post-war economic crisis, led to the cancellation of many warships under construction or on the drawing board. In addition, the war in Asia and the Pacific had highlighted the importance of aircraft carriers so construction of light fleet carriers took priority over that of cruisers. As a result, Bellerophon and Hawke were cancelled in March 1946, Tiger, Defence and Blake were launched and then laid-up incomplete at Dalmuir and Gareloch and Minotaur was completed, but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and renamed Ontario. Hence only two vessels, Swiftsure and Superb, were completed for service in the Royal Navy.

Swiftsure and Minotaur had a standard displacement of 8,800 tons, and when fully loaded Swiftsure displaced 11,130 tons, and Minotaur 11,480 tons. They measured 169 metres in length, 19.2 metres in breadth and 5.3 metres in draught. Superb was completed to slightly different specifications and was heavier with a standard displacement of 8,885 tons and a full displacement of 11,560 tons. She also had a slightly larger beam of 19.5 metres. All three vessels were fitted four Admiralty 3-drum boilers with and four Parsons geared turbines, producing a speed of 13.5 knots. Armament consisted of three triple 6-inch gun turrets, five twin 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, sixteen 2-PDR anti-aircraft Pom-Poms, six 40 mm anti-aircraft Bofors and six 21-inch torpedo tubes. Minotaur and Swiftsure had a complement of 855 and Superb 867.

Although Swiftsure, with her Canadian sister Ontario, did see brief service in the Second World War, Superb commissioned too late to see action. Bellerophon, Tiger and Blake were destined to remain laid up until 1954 and even then they wouldn’t see service until the early 1960s. Consequently, for many years Swiftsure and Superb were the newest and most advanced cruisers in service. They spent much of their operational lives as squadron flagships or on station in the West Indies, East Indies and with the Home Fleet.

Towards the end of the 1950s there were plans to modernise both Swiftsure and Superb. Around the same time Tiger, Blake and Defence (now renamed Lion) finally commissioned into the Royal Navy, having been laid up for some fifteen years. Swiftsure started her modernisation at Chatham in 1957, but it soon proved costly and suffered many delays, and consequently it was abandoned in 1960. Lack of funds also ensured that a modernisation to bring Superb up to the standard of the Tiger Class also failed to materialise. As a result, Superb was sold for breaking up in 1960, followed by Swiftsure in 1962.

Class Details

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© Written and researched by Jeremy Olver. First uploaded 15th January 2001. Updated 15th January 2001. Disclaimer.