- Yes, I think this would be nice to have in some shape or form
- Maybe
- Unsure
- I don’t think we need her in-game
- As built
- 1937 Refit
- 1939 Refit
- 1940 Refit
- 1942 Modernization
- 1943 Refit
- 1945 Refit
- Any will work
- Unsure
- I said no to the first question
Background
HMS Sussex is a county class heavy cruiser of the London subclass built by the Royal Navy during 1920’s, during the Second World War she had a relatively uneventful career seeing as she never really engaged in any major surface action.
As was standard of the County class she was armed with 8 8-inch guns in 4 twin turrets thought due to war time modifications this was reduced to 3 turrets in order to compensate for the increase in her anti air armament as well as radar systems, her secondary armament consisted of 4 4-inch guns originally though this was eventually increased to 8 4-inch guns and later on was then changed to 4 twin mounts, as for the anti air armament of 4 single 2-pdr (40mm) pom pom cannons however over time this would expand over her career, she also was armed with 2 quad 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes, she also was originally armed with 4 47mm guns however these served as saluting guns and were only carried in times of peace, it also worth noting that at one point she would receive 2 UP AA rocket launchers though these were only equipped from 1940 to 1942.
History
Spoiler
HMS Sussex was laid down on February 1st, 1927, she was launched on February 22nd, 1928, and was commissioned on March 19th, 1929, her early career would see her assigned to the Mediterranean until 1934 when she operated for the Royal Australian navy up until 1936 while the HMAS Australia was operating with the British Mediterranean fleet, up on her return she would be present off the Spanish coast during the Spanish civil war in 1939 supported by the destroyers HMS Intrepid and HMS Impulsive helped to protect British shipping from Spanish nationalist forces, in this she obtained the release of at least 4 British cargo ships however she would fail to save 1 from a Spanish merchant raider in March.
With the outbreak of the Second World War Sussex would actually not have her first operation continue to take place in the Mediterranean but instead this saw her assigned to Force H in the south Atlantic during the hunt for the Graf Spee, during this she and the battlecruiser Renown would come across the German passenger ship Watussi on December 2nd however before they could capture the vessel it was scuttled by the crew of the vessel. With the hunt of the Graf Spee ending the Sussex would return home and here she would operate as a part of the home fleet and after a refit would help with search patrols and convoy duties and would take part in the Norway campaign in which she covered evacuation convoys. In August of 1940 she joined the 1st cruiser squadron however her crew found a defect with her propulsion machinery and headed off to Glasgow, during these repairs on September 18th she came under air attack and was hit by a bomb which hit one of the engine rooms and caused major damage as it started a fire and as a result they dock she was in was flooded which put out the fires and prevented any ammo detonations however she now was listing and would eventually sink the the bottom of the dock.
Due to how extensive the damage to her was it was determined that she would need major repairs and would not be completed until 1942 and as such after being re-floated she was towed to Stephens shipyard at Govan for rebuilding and repair. Since she would take some time to bring back into service she also had her Anti air armament completely reworked with all the single 4-inch guns replaced with a equal amount of 4-inch guns with them now being in 4 twin mounts, the rest of the AA battery was completely revamped with the removal of the UP AA rocket launchers as well as the quad 12.7mm gun mounts and instead the ship received 2 octuple 40mm pom pom mounts and 10 20mm Oerlikons, additionally she also had various radars installed. Once she returned to active duty she would rejoin the home fleet however the rest of 1942 would be relatively uneventful and would return to dock for refit in November for the installation of fire control radar for the main guns as well as installing an improved surface warning radar, thankfully this time she would not get bombed again.
She would finish her refit and return to service once more she initially rejoined 1st Cruiser Squadron at Scapa Flow for convoy defense and interception duties however in February she would join 4th Cruiser Squadron of the Eastern Fleet and on the 26th she would sink the German tanker Hohenfriedburg before the U-boat U-264 attempted to sink her with a salvo of 4 torpedos however she would avoid them, the remainder of her operations in 1943 would be mostly spent in the Indian Ocean though should would undergo a refit from October to November which included more AA guns, 1944 would be very uneventful year for the vessel as she would be active and deployed however she wouldn’t take part in any actions for the year and would have another refit lasting for a few months and she would once again see her AA be strengthened however due to her design limitations she had her rear super firing turret removed in order to make way for another 4 octuple 40mm pom pom mounts though her 20mm gun complement would be reduced.
Upon finishing working her systems up she headed back to the Far East and during this she would come under attack on July 26th, 1945 while with the fleet and shot down kamikaze aircraft with one of them leaving a imprint of the plane which was identified from the imprint as a Ki-51, following this she acted as flagship for the reoccupation force for Singapore and she accepted the surrender of General Seishirō Itagaki which competed Operation Tiderace, the Allied plan to recapture Singapore, she would spend the rest of the war here. After the war she took part in some minor operations around the pacific in 1945 before being used as a troop transport from 1946 to 1947, her final year of service was in 1948 as she was relieved from her duties in the pacific and would be paid off in 1949 and was decommissioned on January 3rd, 1950 and was subsequently scrapped that same year.
Specifications
Displacement:
9,750 tons standard
13,315 tons full load
Length: 633 ft (193 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:
8 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers
4 x shaft Parsons geared turbines
80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Speed: 32 knots (59.3 km/h)
Range: 4,715 km (2,930 miles) at 31.5 knots, 20,116 km (12,500 mi) at 12 knots; 3,210 tons fuel oil
Complement: 650 - 820
Sensors and systems:
1942 Modernization
type 273 radar
type 281 radar
type 282 radar
type 285 radar
1945 Refit
type 273 radar
type 281B radar
type 282 radar
type 283 radar
type 285 radar
type 293 radar
Armament:
As Built
Main Armament:
8 x BL 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
4 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark V guns (4 x 1)
Anti air armament:
4 x 2-pdr (40mm) QF Mark II guns (4 x 1)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
Other weapons:
4 x Hotchkiss 3-pdr/40 (47mm) gun (Saluting cannons)
1937 Refit
Main Armament:
8 x BL 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark V guns (8 x 1)
Anti air armament:
8 x 0.5-inch/62 (12.7mm) Vickers machine guns (2 x 4)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
Other weapons:
4 x Hotchkiss 3-pdr/40 (47mm) gun (Saluting cannons)
1939 Refit
Main Armament:
8 x 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark V guns (8 x 1)
Anti air armament:
8 x 0.5-inch/62 (12.7mm) Vickers machine guns (2 x 4)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
1940 Refit
Main Armament:
8 x 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark V guns (8 x 1)
Anti air armament:
8 x 0.5-inch/62 (12.7mm) Vickers machine guns (2 x 4)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
Other Weapons:
2 x 20 - 178 UP AA rockets projectors
1942 Modernization
Main Armament:
8 x 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark XVI guns (4 x 2)
Anti air armament:
16 x 2-pdr (40mm) QF Mark VIII pom pom cannons (2 x 8)
10 x 20mm/70 Oerlikon AA guns (10 x 1)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
1943 Refit
Main Armament:
8 x 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (4 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark XVI guns (4 x 2)
Anti air armament:
16 x 2-pdr (40mm) QF Mark VIII pom pom cannons (2 x 8)
21 x 20mm/70 Oerlikon AA guns (21 x 1)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
1945 Refit
Main Armament:
6 x 8-inch/50 (203mm) Mark VIII guns (3 x 2)
Secondary Armament:
8 x 4-inch/45 (102mm) QF Mark XVI guns (4 x 2)
Anti air armament:
48 x 2-pdr (40mm) QF Mark VIII pom pom cannons (6 x 8)
14 x 20mm/70 Oerlikon guns (4 x 2 and 6 x 1)
Torpedo tubes:
8 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 4)
Armor:
box protection to magazines: 102mm - 25mm
belt: 25mm
barbettes: 25mm
turrets: 25mm
deck: 38mm - 25mm
Sources
Image Sources