HMS Lion was a light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class

Minotaur class cruiser (1943)

The Minotaur class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy, also known as the Swiftsure class, was designed as a modified version of the Crown Colony class incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941, but, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the...

 and laid down that same year as Defence by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde.- History :...

 at Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 on 6 June 1942.

Partially complete, Lion was launched on 2 September 1944 by Lady Edelson, but work was suspended in 1946 and Defence was laid up at Gareloch. Construction of Defence and two other cruisers was later resumed to a revised Tiger class

Tiger class cruiser

The Tiger-class helicopter cruisers were the first of such a type in the Royal Navy, and the last cruisers built for the Royal Navy. They were originally designed to be Minotaur-class light cruisers...

 design. Defence was renamed Lion in 1957 and construction continued at the yards of Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson

Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...

 at Wallsend

Wallsend

Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...

. She was finally commissioned in July 1960.

In September 1964 Lion was present at the Maltese Independence celebrations, and earlier that year had been rammed under the Forth Road Bridge

Forth Road Bridge

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, opened in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...

 by HMS Lowestoft

HMS Lowestoft (F103)

HMS Lowestoft was a Rothesay or Type 12 class anti-submarine frigate of the British Royal Navy. HMS Lowestoft was sunk, as a target, on June 8, 1986 by using a Tigerfish torpedo. She was the last Royal Naval target to be sunk still displaying its pennant number....

. Emergency repairs were carried out in Rosyth Dockyard before she sailed for Malta with only hours to spare. Early in 1965, Lion was present at the Gambia Independence ceremony on Bathurst, now Banjul. In August of 1965 Lion was decommissioned into reserve at Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 until 1972, when she was placed on the disposal list - plans to convert her along the lines of her sisters HMS Tiger

HMS Tiger (C20)

HMS Tiger was a conventional cruiser of the Royal Navy, one of a three ship class known as the Tiger class.-Construction, redesign and commissioning:...

 and HMS Blake

HMS Blake (C99)

HMS Blake was a guided missile cruiser of the Tiger class of the Royal Navy, the last of the Royal Navy cruisers. She was named after Admiral Robert Blake, a 17th century admiral who was the "Father of the Royal Navy". She was ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class of light cruisers...

 having been rejected as too costly. On 15 May 1973 she arrived at Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 and was subsequently stripped of parts and equipment for use with Tiger and Blake. Lion was sold for breaking up on 12 February 1975 for £262,500. On 24 April 1975 Lion arrived at Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...

 where she was scrapped by Wards. Some equipment from her was salvaged and sold to Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 for use with their former British Crown Colony class

Crown Colony class cruiser

The Crown Colony-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy were named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. The first eight are known as the Fiji class, while the last three to be built are commonly referred to as the Ceylon class and were built to a slightly modified design.-Design:They were...

cruisers.