HMS Belfast

The greatest warships reveal their character through the missions they were asked to perform. From frozen convoy routes to coastal bombardments, the history of a single cruiser opens a remarkable window onto the Royal Navy at war.

HMS Belfast follows the Town-class cruiser from her design and commissioning to her final transformation into a museum ship on the Thames. Through decisive operations, demanding crew routines and successive reconstructions, Arthur Blackwell explains how one warship adapted to changing technology and strategy across more than two decades of service.

Inside this volume, discover:

• Design and survival: The cruiser’s armament, protection and the magnetic mine that nearly ended her career in 1939.
• Arctic warfare: Convoy escorts, extreme conditions and Belfast’s part in the pursuit of Scharnhorst at North Cape.
• Normandy and Korea: How her six-inch guns supported troops ashore, and what that work demanded of her crews.
• Reconstruction and preservation: Radar, changing equipment, postwar service and the details that distinguish her different configurations.

Written for naval-history readers, warship enthusiasts and modellers, this illustrated guide brings together operational history, technical context and the people who served aboard. You will come away able to recognise Belfast’s changing appearance and understand the decisions behind her long service.