Hawkins Class, Heavy Cruiser, HMS Hawkins (1940)

[Shrike142 1,682]

HMS Hawkins (1940 Refit)

 

Armament:

Original Image:

Spoiler

Main Battery (Black):

7x 7.5"/45 Mk VI (single mounts)

ROF: 5-6rpm

 

Projectiles fired are 4crh (calibre radius head) and weigh 200lbs (90.7kg)

• SAPC
• HE (10.4kg explosive mass, likely TNT as it's post WW1 but could still be Lyddite)

 

Spoiler

 

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_75-45_mk6.php

 

 

HE filler guessed from a similar weapon with filler listed: http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_75-50_mk3.php

 

Secondary Battery (Red):

4x 4"/45 Mk V (single mounts)

ROF: 10-15rpm

 

• SAP 
• HE (Mechanical Time Fuzed) - Killzone of 9x16m (Length x Diameter)
• HE (Percussion Fuzed)
• Shrapnel 

 

Spoiler

 

 

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_4-45_mk5.php

 

 

The new 4" guns replaced the original four 12pdr weapons.

 

AA Battery (Blue for pom-poms, Yellow for Oerlikons):

2x Quadruple 2pdr QF Mk VIII

Spoiler

 

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_2pounder_m8.php

 

 

7x 20mm Oerlikon (single mounts)

 

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_2cm-70_mk234.php

 

Armour:

As Hawkins is an older vessel, being designed and constructed during WW1, she still uses the distributed armour scheme similar to that found on the Emerald Class (albeit without having the armour integrated). This results in the majority of the hull being armoured, but with thinner plates than you would usually find on heavy cruisers with the all-or-nothing scheme.

 

Armour scheme and original layout of the Hawkins class from; 'Brassey's Naval Annual 1923'

 

Probable Armour Layout using the drawing above:

Spoiler

 

Main Belt:

3" (76.2mm) over machinery

2.5" (63.5mm) over magazines

1.5" (38.1mm) over bow and steer-house

 

Upper Belt:

2" (50.8mm) amidships (over machinery)

1.5" (38.1mm) forward 

 

Deck:

Can't find any reference to deck thickness, but it is likely to be very similar to the Emerald class at 1" (25.4mm)

 

Spoiler

^ In this image you can see the extent of the forward armour plate

 

 

Propulsion:

• 10x Yarrow Oil-Fired Boilers
• 4x Parsons steam turbines developing 60,000 shaft horsepower, driving 4 screws
• 30 knots

 

Dimensions and Crew:

• L = 184m
• B = 18m
• D = 6.2m (full load)

Displacement:

• 9,750 tons standard

Crew:

• 690 (standard) - 800+ (wartime)

 

Other Images:

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Hawkins in 1935

 

Laid up 1946

 

https://www.worldnavalships.com/hms_hawkins.htm

https://www.worldnavalships.com/directory/shipinfo.php?ShipID=447

https://world-war.co.uk/cavendish/hawkins.php3

 

 

History:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hawkins_(D86)
 

Spoiler

HMS Hawkins was a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 1 October 1917.^[1] With the conversion of her sister, Cavendish, to become the aircraft carrier HMS Vindictive (1918), Hawkins became the name ship of her class.

Interwar career

Hawkins was commissioned on 25 July 1919 and became the flagship of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron on the China Station. She spent less than a decade in active service before being paid off at Chatham to undergo a refit.^[2] During this refit, her coal-fired boilers were removed and the remaining oil-fired boilers modified. She recommissioned in December 1929, and became the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron as part of the Atlantic Fleet.^[2]

Hawkins was decommissioned again in May 1930 and reduced to the Reserve Fleet. She was recommissioned again in 1932 to become the Flagship of the 4th Cruiser Squadron in the East Indies, before again being reduced to the reserve in April 1935. The terms of the London Naval Treaty meant that in 1937, Hawkins was demilitarised and had all her 7.5 inch guns and the deck mounted torpedo tubes removed before she was again returned to reserve status. In September 1938 plans were drawn up to utilise Hawkins as a Cadets' Training Ship.^[2]

Wartime service

Hawkins alongside the quay, probably Interwar period

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Hawkins was rearmed and recommissioned to become the flagship of Rear Admiral Henry Harwood, after the Battle of the River Plate. She patrolled off the South American coast, operating as far south as the Falklands. She left Montevideo on 5 September 1940 to sail to Simon's Town, South Africa for a refit. Before she could make use of the dry dock, it was occupied by the aircraft carrier Hermes, which was undergoing repairs after having been damaged in a collision with a merchant ship. Hawkins was diverted to Durban where she spent seven weeks waiting before she was able to dock in the Selborne dry dock at Simonstown. Hawkins also rescued nine of the crew from the tanker British Premier, which had been torpedoed off Freetown by the German submarine U-65.

During February 1941 Hawkins was active off the East coast of Africa, supporting the British reconquest of British Somaliland and subsequent pushes into Italian Somaliland from Kenya as part of Force T of the East Indies Fleet. She also captured a number of Italian and German merchant ships attempting to escape the fall of the former Italian territory, including Savoia.^[3] She later provided escorts for convoys and intercepted Vichy French and neutral shipping. Whilst off Mauritius her starboard outboard shaft fractured and she lost her screw and shafting. She spent the period between 10 October to 28 October in the Selborne dry dock, before departing on 2 November to refit and repair in the UK.

The repairs were completed by May 1942 and Hawkins left to join the Eastern Fleet,^[2] and again escorted ships around the African coast, with periods in drydock for repairs and refits. One of the ships she escorted was Khedive Ismail, later torpedoed by a Japanese submarine with heavy loss of life. In June 1944 she returned to British waters, where she was involved in Operation Neptune, as part of the Western Task Force Gunfire Support Bombardment Force A, for Utah Beach.^[2] Before this, she had been involved in Exercise Tiger, a disastrous attempt to rehearse the landings. In August she was again designated as a Training Ship.^[2]

Decommissioning and scrapping

In 1945 Hawkins was reduced to reserve for the last time. In January 1947 she was allocated for ship target trials, and was bombed by Royal Air Force Avro Lincoln bombers off Spithead. She was sold for scrap on 21 August 1947 and broken up in December that year at the yards of Arnott Young at Dalmuir.^[2]

 

 

https://world-war.co.uk/cavendish/hawkins.php3

https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Hawkins.htm

 

 

Additional Images:
https://www.worldnavalships.com/hms_hawkins.htm

Note that most of these are in her earlier configurations, either pre-war or early war.

 

 

Summary:

The Hawkins represents the first heavy cruiser available to the Royal Navy. It sits in a similar place to the Kirov, where it has performance and armour similar to that of a light cruiser, but heavy cruiser guns. 

She offers a mix of high firepower, decent armour and heavy AA while still maintaining respectable mobility.

The guns however will be very easy to take out and are positioned awkwardly, forcing you to present most of your broadside to get 6 of your 7 guns on target

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ItssLuBu 1,798]

Approved and open for discussion. 

[Shrike142 1,682]

3 hours ago, ItssLuBu said:

Approved and open for discussion. 

Cheers O7

[Milocat 4,850]

Sure, this would be a good first heavy cruiser for the RN.  +1.

[JEI2 5,766]

+1

[leroyonly 4,310]

As the HMS Hawkins has been implemented with update 1.93,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.