Dates: 1939 -
HMS Uganda (C66), was a Second World War-era Royal Navy Crown Colony-class light cruiser.
She was one of the Ceylon sub-class (the second group of three ships built in 1939) of the Crown Colony-class cruisers, and built by Vickers-Armstrong at their Walker yard.
HMS Uganda was commissioned on 3 January 1943.
Home Fleet operations
In March 1943 after training at Scapa Flow, HMS Uganda sailed as convoy escort to protect a convoy bound for Sierra Leone from the German Narvik class destroyers operating out of the Bay of Biscay. After two such convoy duties, she was sent as escort for the RMS Queen Mary carrying Winston Churchill and his staff to Washington. The journey was made at 30 knots (56 km/h), and the ship sailed into NS Argentia, Newfoundland low on fuel. Upon return from that duty the Uganda returned to Plymouth for a refit.
Mediterranean Fleet operations
With her refit completed, she was sent to the Mediterranean as escort to one of the largest troop convoys of the war heading to Sicily.
The Uganda was part of the bombardment fleet for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943. She was then assigned to close support for major bombardments throughout Sicily. On the opening of Operation Avalanche, 9 September 1943, she was part of the fleet bombardment covering the invasion of Italy at Salerno.
While serving in the Mediterranean Sea on 13 September 1943 she took a direct hit from a new German radio controlled 1.4 tonne glider bomb. The bomb hit the starboard side aft and penetrated through seven decks and the ship’s bottom before exploding. Sixteen crew were killed and seven injured. Damage control under Lieutenant Leslie Reed managed to get the ship moving with one engine. She was towed to Malta by the USS Narragansett, where temporary repairs were made.
There being no dry dock available in the European Theatre that could handle the repairs, the Uganda was sent to the United States Navy shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina. The heavily damaged ship, with only one of her four propellers working, proceeded across the Atlantic Ocean to Charleston, arriving on 27 November 1943.
During the repairs, Uganda had two hangars designed for carrying Supermarine Walrus reconnaissance aircraft removed. These hangars were repurposed for radio and radar equipment as well as crew amenities.
Transfer to Canada
Main article: HMCS Quebec (C66)
Whilst under repair the Canadian government negotiated with Britain to obtain Uganda for the Royal Canadian Navy.
The official transfer took place on Trafalgar Day, 21 October 1944 and she was renamed HMCS Uganda (C66).
As the flagship for the RCN, Uganda served in the Pacific War with the British Pacific Fleet and the United States Third Fleet. She received battle honours for operations off Okinawa and was involved in attacking Formosa and Sakishima Gunto. Controversially, her RCN crew were polled by the Canadian government on 7 May 1945 to determine whether they would volunteer for further duties in the Pacific War; the result saw 605 of her crew of 907 refuse to volunteer and HMCS Uganda withdrew to Esquimalt, arriving back in the Canadian port on 10 August 1945, the date of Japanese surrender.
On 1 August 1947, HMCS Uganda was paid off into the RCN reserve.
She was reactivated on 14 January 1952 as a result of the Korean War and was recommissioned as HMCS Quebec (C66), serving two tours in the Korean War theatre, as well as taking part in the RCN task force attending the review of the fleet at Spithead for the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was paid off in June 1956 and scrapped in Japan in 1961.
