The Minotaur class of 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...

s 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...

, also known as the Swiftsure class, was designed as a modified version of the 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...

 incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941, but, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the building of this new class had a relatively low priority and only three were completed by the war's end. They played no significant part in the Second World War, though HMS Swiftsure, as flagship of the British Pacific Cruiser Squadron, was selected by Admiral Cecil Harcourt to hoist his flag for the Japanese surrender at Hong Kong. HMS Superb was completed to a slightly different design.

The class was originally to have consisted of eight ships, laid down in 1943, but by the end of the Second World War only Minotaur

HMCS Ontario

HMCS Ontario can refer to several ships:* HMS Ontario ,a British warship* HMCS Ontario , a Royal Canadian Navy Minotaur class light cruiser* HMCS Ontario, a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet summer training centre-See also:...

, Swiftsure

HMS Swiftsure (08)

HMS Swiftsure was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 22 September 1941, launched on 4 February 1943 by Lady Wake-Walker and commissioned on 22 June 1944....

, and Superb

HMS Superb (25)

HMS Superb was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear on 23 June 1942, launched on 31 August 1943 and commissioned on 16 November 1945....

 were complete, whilst the others were laid up. Minotaur was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 and renamed Ontario.

Three of the laid-up vessels were completed in the 1960s as Tiger class cruisers

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...

. Two went on to be further converted into Helicopter and Command Cruisers

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...

 during the 1970s.

Modifications

Swiftsure was completed with sixteen twin and six single 20mm guns, but had all the singles and eight of the twin removed in the summer of 1945, when she received, in lieu, eight 40mm Boffins and five single 40mm Bofors

Bofors 40 mm gun

The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...

 Mk III. HMCS Ontario (ex-Minotaur) was completed with the same close-range outfit as Swiftsure, and is reported to have had an outfit of six 40mm and six 20mm guns at the end of the war, all in single mountings. Superb was not completed until after the end of hostilities, and had a close-range outfit consisting of eight single 40mm Mk III, two single 2 pounders, four twin hand-operated 20mm and two single 20mm guns.

Ships

• HMS Minotaur was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
  Royal Canadian Navy
  The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
  
   on completion in 1944 and renamed HMCS Ontario
  HMCS Ontario (C53)
  HMCS Ontario was a Minotaur class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy as HMS Minotaur , but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on completion and renamed Ontario....
  
  . She was decommissioned in 1959 and scrapped in 1960.
• HMS Swiftsure
  HMS Swiftsure (08)
  HMS Swiftsure was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 22 September 1941, launched on 4 February 1943 by Lady Wake-Walker and commissioned on 22 June 1944....
  
   was launched in 1943 and served with the Royal Navy in the Far East
  Far East
  The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
  
  . She was scrapped in 1962.
• HMS Superb
  HMS Superb (25)
  HMS Superb was a Minotaur-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear on 23 June 1942, launched on 31 August 1943 and commissioned on 16 November 1945....
  
   was built to a modified design and launched in 1943. She was scrapped in 1960.
• HMS Hawke was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 1 July 1943, but construction was cancelled on 15 October 1945 and she was broken up on the slipway.
• HMS Tiger was renamed and laid down as Bellerophon at the Tyne yards of Vickers-Armstrong in August 1944, then renamed Blake, and then finally renamed Bellerophon again. Construction was cancelled in March 1946 and she was broken up.
• 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...
  
   was renamed Tiger, and then Blake again and finally completed as a 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...
  
   cruiser
  Cruiser
  A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
  
  .
• HMS Defence
  HMS Lion (C34)
  HMS Lion was a light cruiser of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur class and laid down that same year as Defence by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Greenock on 6 June 1942....
  
   was renamed Lion and completed as a Tiger class cruiser.
• HMS Bellerophon
  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:...
  
  was renamed Tiger and completed as a Tiger class cruiser.