Improved Dido Class cruiser, launched 1942. Pennant No: C63 Complement: 551.
Displacement: 5900 tons. Length overall 512ft, beam 52ft. Mean draught 15ft. Armour: 2in sides and turrets.
Armament: 8 x 5.25in dual purpose, several 40mm and 20mm AA, 6 x 21in torpedo tubes.
Machinery: Parsons single reduction geared turbines, 4 Admiralty 3 drum boilers, 62,000 shp, four shafts. Performance: 32 kts
As HMS Royalist saw WWII service in Norway, France, Aegean Sea and the West Indies. She returned to England for paying off to reserve January, 1946 at Portsmouth.
Commissioned into the RNZN April 17, 1956 as HMNZS Royalist in UK, she sailed to NZ via South Africa as the Suez Canal was then closed. Royalist took part in many exercises with RNZN frigates and ships of other navies, in NZ waters, off Australia, the Far East, the Indian Ocean and in the northern Pacific-West Coast of North America. She also took part in many port visits, training voyages, royal tours, vice regal duties, ceremonial and Pacific Island visits when not on exercises, She did six tours of duty in the Far East between 1957 and 1965 .Returning home from her last tour she suffered condenseritis, requiring a tow part way to NZ. On arrival she was placed in reserve, serving as alongside training vessel. Reverted to the RN 1966 for disposal, broken up in Japan.
Report