First of her Name.
Originally built as an East Indiaman and named BOMBAY, she was made into a 5th Rate frigate of 32 guns when she was bought by the Royal Navy in 1806. She changed her name to CEYLON in 1808 and on 18 September 1810 she was captured by the French ships VENUS,40, and VICTOR,16, but was recaptured the same day by HMS BOADICEA. In 1817 she was converted into a troopship and from 1832 she was used as a receiving ship at Malta, where she was sold for 900 pounds in June 1875.Second of her Name.
She was built as a private pleasure yacht in 1871 and originally named LADY INA. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty and renamed HMS CEYLON, seeing service in the Mediterranean and the Dardanelles from June 1915 to May 1916. She was returned to her owners in July 1916.Third of her Name.
CEYLON was the first of the UGANDA class of cruiser, a modified FIJI class. They were a direct result of the Second London Naval Treaty, which came into force on 26 July 1937, limiting to 8000 tons standard displacement for individual ships and raising the numbers each navy could build. She was, in effect a 9000 tons cruiser built on a 8000 tons hull, the necessary weight saving being achieved by reducing protection and limiting the size of machinery. The reduction in size also lead to very cramped accomodation.
She was built by Alex Stephens and Son at Govan on Clydeside, Scotland, and although she was the first of the class to be laid down on 27 April 1939, she was the last to complete on 13 July 1943.
History
1943........
On completion CEYLON was allocated to the Eastern Fleet then building up for the war against Japan. After commissioning, and a short period of working up at Scapa Flow and Plymouth, she left the latter port on 30 October on the first stage of her passage to the Far East. On arrival at Gibralter she was needed to relieve the cruiser GLASGOW on Bay of Biscay patrol, from which she returned to Gibraltar on the 14th. She then proceeded on her way, via the Mediterranean and Suez, arriving in Bombayon 27 November.
A few days later she continued on to Trincomalee where she joined the battleship RAMILLIS and the 4th Cruiser Squadron (NEWCASTLE, SUFFOLK, FROBISHER, KENYA, DANAE, EMERALD and HAWKINS) as part of the British Eastern Fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville.
1944........
In January the B.E.F. was reinforced with the addition of the battleships QUEEN ELIZABETH and VALIANT; the battle cruiser RENOWN; the aircraft carriers ILLUSTRIOUS and UNICORN and the cruisers SUSSEX and TROMP (Dutch).
On 21 March CEYLON was part of the fleet which left Trincomalee and Columbo for Operation "Diplomat". After replenishing from three tankers on the 24th they met up with the US Task Group 58.5 consisting of the carrier USS SARATOGA and her three attendant destroyers and returned with them to Trincomalee on 2 April. The purpose of this joint force was seen on 16 April when the fleet set out in two groups:-TASK FORCE 69 (Ad. Somerville) with QUEEN ELIZABETH, VALIANT, RICHELIEU (Fr.), the cruisers (Rear. Ad. Reid) NEWCASTLE, NIGERIA, CEYLON, GAMBIA and TROMP plus destroyers.
TASK FORCE 70 (Vice Ad. Power) with RENOWN, carriers (Rear Ad. Moody) ILLUSTRIOUS and SARATOGA, the cruiser LONDON and destroyers.
On the 18 April CEYLON and GAMBIA reinforced TF70 and the next day 46 bombers and 39 fighters flew off from the carriers to attack Sabang, NW of Sumatra, and the surrounding airfields. This was the start of Operation "Cockpit". 30 tons of bombs were unloaded, two merchantmen were hit and two Japanese destroyers and an escort vessel were left burning. In addition 24 Japanese bombers were destroyed on the ground and large oil tanks, a power station, a barracks and the dockyard all received direct hits. Afd. Somerville reported that he had caught the Japanese commander "with his kimono up". On the return passage three Japanese torpedo planes tried to attack the fleet but were shot down by the covering fighters, and the fleet returned safely to Trincomalee and Columbo.
On 6 May TF65 left Trincomalee at the same time as TF66 left Columbo for Operation "Transom". a carrier raid on Surabaya. Because of the distances involved the joint force replenished in Exmouth Bay (NW Australia) from TF67, which consisted of six fleet tankers and a water tanker escorted by LONDON and SUFFOLK.
Early on 17 May, from a position south of Java, 45 Avenger and Dauntless dive bombers escorted by 40 Hellcat and Corsair fighters took off from ILLUSTRIOUS and SARATOGA to attack the harbour and oil refineries at Surabaya. Twelve aircraft were destroyed on the ground but reports at thetime concerning the damage inflicted on ships and harbour installations was greatly overestimated; in fact only one freighter was sunk.
The next day SARATOGA and her destroyers took their leave of the British Eastern Fleet whith which they had been associated for over seven weeks. As the American ships formed in column, so, one by one, on her port side steamed the entire array of Allied ships, and with each ship`s company manning the side, the air echoed to the sound of cheering as they bade their farewell. The British Fleet arrived back in Ceylon on 27 May.
In June CEYLON was part of the covering force (RENOWN, RICHELIEU, NIGERIA and GAMBIA) which accompanied ILLUSTRIOUS in an air attack on the harbour and airfield of Port Blair in the Andaman Is. This was successfully carried out on 19 June.
On 5 July the carrier VICTORIOUS arrived in Trincomalee and on the 22nd she sailed with ILLUSTRIOUS on Operation "Crimson", another air attack on Sabang. At the same time the battleships and cruisers of the B.E.F., including CEYLON, took part in a bombardment of Sabang. They fired 294 15", 134 8", 324 6", about 500 5" and 123 4" shells.
In November the B.E.F. was re-organised into the British East Indies Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet under Admiral Fraser. CEYLON was allocated to the latter fleet, which included many newly arrived major ships. Among these were the battleships KING GEORGE V and HOWE, the carriers INDEFATIGABLE and INDOMITABLE, the cruisers SWIFTSURE, ARGONAUT, BLACK PRINCE and ARCHILLES (NZ) and three destroyer flotillas, the 4th (Q Class), 25th (U Class) and the 27th (W Class).
1945........
The new year opened with CEYLON joining SUFFOLK, ARGONAUT and BLACK PRINCE and six destroyers to cover INDOMITABLE and INDEFATIGABLE in an attack on oil refineries at Pankalan Brandon in Sumatra. This was Operation "Lentil" on 4 January.
On 16 February the ships of TF63, made up of the ships destined to be the British Pacific Fleet, left Trincomalee to effect the transfer and make their new base at Sydney, Australia. CEYLON along with the destroyer WESSEX, after waiting to embark mail and radar spares, joined the fleet the next day. On 20 January the fleet refuelled with great difficulty because of gusting winds and a troublesome swell and the oilers complained of much gear being damaged by the destroyers. After refuelling CEYLON and the destroyer URCHIN remained with the oilers while the fleet proceeded with the next stage of Operation "Meridian One", an air strike on the oil refinary at Pladjoe, north of Palembang. This was to be the first of the two largest strikes undertaken by the Fleet Air Arm during World War II. On arrival at the flying off position, some 70 miles east of Enggano Island during the night of 21/22 January it was found that the weather was unsuitable for flying. After two postponements due to the persistent low cloud and rain, the attack was finally launched at 0600 hrs on the 24th and 43 Avenger bombers, 12 Firefly fighter-bombers with rockets and 50 Hellcat, Corsair and Seafire fighters were flown off and successfully attacked the target.
Unfortunately 7 British aircraft were lost to enemy action and a further 25 as a result of crash landings. On the 26th and 27th the fleet replenished from the oilers. Due to parted hoses, erratic station keeping and general lack of expertise in the evolution, refuelling was completed with difficulty, and showed that the British Fleet had a lot to learn if they were to play a part in the Pacific campaign, with its enormous distances from any bases being the major problem.
After refuelling Force 63 approached the Sumatran coast for the fourth time and reached the flying-off area on 29 January. Because of bad weather, heavy rain-storms, squally winds and a low cloud ceiling, flying-off was postponed by 25 minutes. Although the weather was little better, with rain squalls reducing visibility to less than half a mile, the fly-off took place and Operation "Meridian Two" began.
This time the air strike was against the oil refinary at Soengei Gerong. 30 Japanese planes were shot down in air engagements and 38 destroyedf on the ground, for the loss of 16 British planes. A few Japanese planes attempted to attack the fleet but were repulsed by fighter cover and anti-aircraft fire.
After again refuelling from the tankers on 30 January, TF 63 proceeded to Fremantle in Australia, arriving there on 4 February to become the main part of the British Pacific Fleet. Ceylon stayed with the oilers and returned to Trincomalee, to become part, once again, of the East Indies Fleet.
At the end of April all the available units of the East Indies Fleet not involved in the invasion of Rangoon (Operation Dracula) took part in a covering operation (Operation Bishop) which was designed to confuse the enemy and prevent sea or air interference with the landings..
Leaving Trincomalee on 27 April, Task Force 63 (QUEEN ELIZABETH, RICHELIEU, CUMBERLAND, SUFFOLK, CEYLON and TROMP with the cariers SHAH and EMPRESS and destroyers) sailed for its part in the covering operation. On 30 April the main force carried out a dawn bonbardment and aircraft attacked the air fields at Nicobar. That evening Port Blair was also bombarded. For the next few days the force shauttled betwee the Andaman and Nicobar islands, bombarding Malacca on 1 May and Port Blair on the 2nd.
The next day the force separated, CEYLON going with RICHELIEU, CUMBERLAND and and the carriers to make an armed reconnaissance of the coastal shipping between Mergui and Victoria Point. On 7 May the operation concluded with a final strike on Car Nicobar airfield. During the 12 days of the operation only one aircraft was lost and there was no enemy opposition from the air.
On 8 May all the ships in the force celebrated Victory in Europe Day by "Splicing the Mainbrace", the issue of an extra tot of rum, and holding services of thanksgiving. They returned to Trincomalee the next day to continue the war against Japan. Although the ships of the East Indies fleet were not as active as those in the B.P.F. they still suffered further losse, particularly the minesweeping force. Two Algerines of the 7th MSF were sunk; SQUIRREL by mine and VESTAL by kamikaze bomber.On 1 June Ceylon relieved the cruiser PHOEBE patrolling with a number of Indian sloops between the Mergui Achipelago and Port Blair in the Andaman Sea to prevent the evacuation of Japanese troops and supplies. The patrol ended on 15 June with no enemy activity.
After the war in the Far East was officially over on 15 August the main activity for both British fleets was to accept the Japanese surrender in the numerous islands and areas of coast were they had been in control. In many cases there was still the risk of continued resistance, particularly in Malaya. On 27 August a British Task Group under Vice Ad. Walker in NELSON, with CEYLON, the escort carriers HUNTER and ATTACKER, three destroyers and two LSI`s left Rangoon for Penang, arriving there the next day. On 2 September the Japanese surrendered the Penang area forces on board NELSON.
On 9 September Operation Zipper, the recapture of Malaya, was put into effect, but with out the previously arranged air and sea bombardment. Over 100,000 troops landed at various points escorted by NELSON, RICHELIEU, NIGERIA, CLEOPATRA, ROYALIST and CEYLON, with the escort carriers HUNTER, STALKER, ARCHER, KHEDIVE, EMPEROR, PURSUER and TRUMPETER with 15 destroyers. It was as well that no enemy resistance had to be coped with because conditions on the beaches were described as "chaotic".
So ended Ceylon`s war. In the two years of her life she had steamed many thousands of miles but had always been based on her namesake island. In October she left the Far East to return to Portsmouth on the 25th and paid off into the Reserve Fleet.The Post War Years.
CEYLON lay in reserve until 1950 when she was recommissioned in order to relieve the cruiser BIRMINGHAM on the East Indies Station. She left Britain at the end of May and arrived in Columbo on 15 June. After a short stay she went north to her old base of Trincomalee on the 26th.
This was the month that war broke out in Korea and on 27 July she and BELFAST left for the Pacific and the war. Off Korea she was employed for the next two years in patrols and bombardments. In July 1952, accompanied by the sloop AMETHYST and the Canadian destroyer IROQUOIS, she shelled the southern tip of the Onggin Peninsular. The bombardment was controlled from the air and her shells hit coastal defences on the approaches to Haeju, as well as enemy troops digging in behind the coast. Return gunfire was silenced.
At the end of the month Ceylon was relieved by the cruiser NEWCASTLE and, while her crew returned home in the carrier VENGEANCE, she was refitted at Singapore before being recommissioned for further service on the station.
On 1 January 1953 Ceylon was present at the inauguration of the Maldive Islands Republic and on 13 February 1954 she arrived in Hobart to take part in the celebrations for 150th anniversary of the founding of the first settlement in Tasmania and the visit of the Queen in the SS GOTHIC during her Ausralasian tour. Ceylon escorted the GOTHIC from the Cocos Islands.
Ceylon returned to Portsmouth on 1 October 1954 for a refit which lasted until 31 August 1956. Eleven days later she was recommissioned for service with the Home Fleet but late in October she left Portland for the Eastern Mediterranean, arriving at Malta on the 28th. She was to be part of a cruiser squadron consisting of Jamaica, Newfoundland, Ceylon and Orion, escorting the Carrier Force Bulwark, Albion, Theseus and Ocean carrying troops taking part in Operation Musketeer Revise, the response of Britain and France to the nationalisation of the Suez canal by Egypt.
HMS Ceylon at Malta during the Nov. 1956 crisisOn 29 October the Anglo/French fleet left Malta to land the troops. The following day Newfoundland sank the Egyptian frigate Domiat, formerly the British frigate Nith. After the landings Ceylon returned home.
In January 1957 she went to the South Atlantic and, on 6 March, she was present at the celebrations for the independence of Ghana. On 2 April she took part in the handing over of the Simonstown Base in South Africa. By the end of the year she was back in the East Indies and on 15 October was at Trincomalee for the handing over the Naval base to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. She returned to Portsmouth on 5 December 1957 and, in February 1958 visited the West Indies, Cuba, Bermuda and Canada, returning to Portsmouth to decommission on 14 April 1958.
In October 1958 she passed through the Suez Canal to Aqaba and, on 2 November, took part in the evacuation of British troops who had been sent to Jordan to meet a threatened invasion by Iraq. She took officers and men of the 1st. Battalion Cameronians to Mombassa before returning once more to the Far East. Early in 1959 she flew the flag of the Second in Command, Far East Station, Rear Ad. V.C. Begg, in a cruise to New Zealand and back. Between July and September she was again his flagship in a cruise to Columbo and to take part in Exercise "Jet" with Commonwealth forces.
HMS Ceylon, the 1956-58 commission
On 18 December CEYLON returned to Portsmouth where it was announced that she had been sold to Peru. On 9 February she was formally handed over by the C-in-C, Portsmouth, and renamed CORONEL BOLOGNESI.
A letter to the author in March 1984 from Vice Ad. Javier LLerena, Head of the Peruvian Naval Commission in Europe and Naval Attache in Great Britain, said that the B.A.P. BOLOGNESI served efficiently in the Peruvian Navy until she was decommissioned in 1982. He had pleasant memories of her as he had served in her as Damage Control Officer, then Executive Officer and later as Captain.© Jack Williams 1984
Patrick Dolby tells me that he was a Tel(S) Electronic Warfare rating in CEYLON when she recommissioned in 1956. In 1957 they crossed the line at 00 lat. and 00 long. just off the coast of Nigeria to be greeted by His Majesty King Neptune.
Peter Toms, who served in Ceylon between 1956 and 1958, has sent me some additional information about this commission.
David Butler tells me that he was a telegraphist in CEYLON during the 1956-58 commission. The C.O. was Capt. Butler-Bowden and the Signals Officer was Sub. Lt. Ted Briggs, David and Ted both live in Fareham, Hants. He continues- "Whilst at Suez, the ship was in company with The Jean Bart who was bombarding the shore installations, we also used our 6inch turrets for the same reason, and I remember "X" turret (RM) centre barrel splitting."
- Mike.
