HMS Ajax

E52191

Leander-class light cruiser Royal Navy cruiser

HMS Ajax was a British Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that gained fame for its role in early World War II naval actions, particularly in the South Atlantic.

Aliases (4)

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Leander-class light cruiser → Royal Navy cruiser →
aircraftCarried	seaplanes with catapult (early war) →
armamentPrimary	8 × 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four twin turrets →
armamentSecondary	4 × 4-inch (102 mm) guns →
armamentTorpedoes	8 × 21-inch torpedo tubes →
battleHonour	Aegean 1943–44 → Atlantic 1939–40 → Crete 1941 → Malta Convoys 1941 → Mediterranean 1940–43 → Normandy 1944 → River Plate 1939 → Salerno 1943 → Sicily 1943 →
beam	56 feet →
builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness →
class	Leander class →
commandingOfficerAtRiverPlate	Captain Charles Henry Woodhouse →
commissioned	3 June 1935 →
conflict	Second World War →
country	United Kingdom →
crewComplement	approximately 570 →
dateOfBattleOfTheRiverPlate	13 December 1939 →
decommissioned	post-Second World War →
displacementFullLoad	approximately 9,740 long tons →
displacementStandard	approximately 7,000 long tons →
draught	19 feet →
fate	sold for scrap →
laidDown	7 February 1933 →
launched	1 March 1934 →
lengthOverall	554 feet →
maximumSpeed	32.5 knots →
namedAfter	Ajax (mythological Greek hero) →
notableEngagement	Battle of the River Plate →
operator	Royal Navy →
opponentInBattleOfTheRiverPlate	German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee →
pennantNumber	22 →
powerOutput	72,000 shaft horsepower →
propulsion	4 shafts → steam turbines →
refit	underwent wartime refits including enhanced anti-aircraft armament →
roleAtNormandy	naval gunfire support for Allied landings →
scrapped	1949 →
scrappedAt	Inverkeithing, Scotland →
serviceEntryPeriod	interwar period →
squadronAtRiverPlate	South American Division of the Royal Navy →
sustainedDamage	damaged in Battle of the River Plate →
theatre	Mediterranean Sea → North Atlantic → South Atlantic →

Referenced by (12)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Battle of the River Plate → Battle of the River Plate ("HMNZS Achilles") →	combatantShip
Ajax ("Ajax (Royal Navy cruiser)") → Ajax, Ontario →	namedAfter
Battle of Cape Matapan ("British cruiser Ajax") →	AlliedShip
Henry Harwood →	commanded
Commodore Henry Harwood’s Force G →	flagship
Batalla del Río de la Plata →	hasParticipant
Commodore Henry Harwood’s Force G →	includedShip
Batalla del Río de la Plata ("crucero ligero HMS Ajax") →	mainCombatant
Admiral Graf Spee →	opponentsAtRiverPlate
Battle of the River Plate →	shipDamaged