AIP15002 AIP HMS Belfast 1942 Royal Navy Cruiser

HMS Belfast, an improved Southampton-class cruiser, was ordered from Harland & Wolff in 1936, laid down in December that year, and launched on St. Patrick's Day 1938. Commissioned into the Royal Navy on 5 August 1939, the ship played key roles in major conflicts and peacekeeping over 24 years of service. Shortly after joining the fleet, HMS Belfast struck a German magnetic mine in November 1939, which caused significant damage, keeping her out of service for three years.

Rejoining the fleet in 1942 as the Royal Navy's largest cruiser, HMS Belfast helped protect Arctic convoys to Russia and participated in the sinking of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in 1943. In 1944, as flagship of Bombardment Force E, she supported the D-Day landings. After World War II, HMS Belfast saw action in the Korean War from 1950 to 1952 before being decommissioned in 1963, ending her active career.

Saved from scrapping by a preservation campaign led by Rear-Admiral Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles MP, HMS Belfast was turned into a museum ship and opened to the public on 21 October 1971. Moored on the River Thames, she remains a part of the Imperial War Museum, as the last surviving vessel of its type. Since 1994 HMS Belfast has worn Admiralty Disruptive Pattern Camouflage, representing the ship’s WW2 period from late 1942 to mid 1944. Colour references are provided in the kit painting guide.