Yes Tim, the Tiger class were preceded by the Minotaur or Swiftsure class. A couple of the class were cancelled and the other three hulls were laid up for quite some time before their completion. It appears that several Naval Architects were in favour of scrapping the hulls but all three were eventually completed nearly twenty years after being first laid down. They were beset with mechanical problems and the high crew numbers made them a drain on fleet manpower.
An old messmate of mine from my days on Ark Royal was drafted to Blake (she had previously been an accommodation ship for us while in refit in 1964) and he hated it, but said the plus side was that they spent lots of time alongside the wall, sorting out problems
There is quite a long account on Wiki for the Tiger class, which outlines a lot of the problems.
Jim
HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
JEM, EM, OEM, LOEM, POOEL
Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
Retired since 2002
Tiger Class Light Cruiser HMS Lion pictured at Rotterdam in August 1965.
Originally ordered in 1942 as one of the Minotaur Class and laid down that same year as HMS Defence by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Greenock in Scotland on June 6th 1942.Partially complete,she was launched on September 2nd 1944, but work was suspended in 1946. The Cruiser was further advanced than the two other Tigers and its completion, as HMS Defence in 1947 was anticipated.The new Mk 24 triple six inch turrets for all three Tiger class ships were 75-80% complete.Still named Defence, she was laid up at Gareloch a Scottish Loch for 8 years in dehumidified sealed state in official RN reserve, while the other incomplete Tigers remained with their builders. By 1954 the condition of HMS Defence 'was not so good',but it was felt Defence, Blake and Tiger could still be completed, with new armament in 3 years at a cost of 6 million pounds. While construction of equivalent new Cruisers would cost, 12 million pounds and take 5 years.Construction of Defence and two other Cruisers was resumed to a revised Tiger-class design. Defence was renamed Lion in 1957 and construction continued at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson yards at Wallsend.Her final cost was 13 million pounds.She was finally commissioned in July 1960, having been rushed into service with some shortcuts in the engineering department, due to political pressure to get her to sea. Initial trials were disrupted by severe rotor, turbine and vibration problems and a further three months in Portsmouth dockyard were required before she became fully operational in February 1961.
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Tiger Class Light Cruiser HMS Blake pictured post her 1969 ASW Helicopter and Command Ship conversion refit which,IMHO turned her into something hideous!
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I remember posting the following image and asking what the significance of the fore and aft black line outboard at the 'floor' of the hanger/flight deck level was? .... not sure, but IIRC it may have been WNSF member Omanip who laid claim to introducing it to break up that slab side look.
Tiger Class Light Cruiser HMS Blake at Copenhagen post her major conversion (an abomination IMHO) pictured in 1973..From 1965 to 1969, she underwent a major conversion to become a helicopter and command cruiser. This reconstruction included replacing the aft 6 inch and 3 inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar. She also had new radars and taller funnels. She had state of the art command, control, and communications facilities installed, and found use as a flagship to task groups. The refit was very expensive; during the conversion a major fire broke out causing considerable damage and raising the costs still further. There were concerns that the money used to convert Blake and her sister ship Tiger to Helicopter Cruisers drained much needed resources better used elsewhere.
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Tiger Class Light Cruiser HMS Blake pictured departing Portsmouth in June 1979....From 1965 to 1969, she underwent a major, hugely expensive conversion to become a Helicopter and Command Cruiser. This reconstruction included replacing the aft 6 inch and 3 inch mounts with a flight deck and hangar. She also had new radars and taller funnels. She had excellent command, control, and communications facilities installed, and found use as a flagship to task groups. The refit was very expensive; during the conversion a major fire broke out causing considerable damage and raising the costs still further. There were concerns that the money used to convert Blake and her sister ship Tiger to Helicopter Cruisers drained much needed resources better used elsewhere....IMHO ruined the 'look' of the last RN all gun Cruiser..she was scrapped in August 1982.
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DFO
