Dates: 1945 - 1986
Tiger started out as Bellerophon laid down in 1941 at the John Brown Shipyard as part of the Minotaur class of light cruisers. They had a low construction priority due to more pressing requirements for other ship types during World War II, particularly anti-submarine craft. Bellerophon was renamed Tiger in 1945, and was launched, partially constructed, on 25 October 1945. She was christened by Lady Stansgate, the wife of William Benn, the Secretary of State for Air, and mother of MP Anthony Wedgewood Benn. However, work on Tiger was suspended in 1946, and she was laid up at Dalmuir.
Construction of Tiger resumed, but to a new design, with Tiger becoming the name ship of the class. The new design was approved in 1951, but construction did not resume until 1954. She would have semi-automatic 6-inch (152 mm) guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun capable of shooting 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of fully-automatic 3-inch (76 mm) guns which delivered 90 rounds per minute per gun. She would have no lighter anti-aircraft armament or torpedo tubes. Air conditioning was fitted throughout the ship, and a 200-line automatic telephone exchange was installed. Each 6 inch and 3 inch mounting had its own director, linked to a dedicated radar on the director. Tiger was finally commissioned on Clydebank in March 1959.
The early part of Tiger’s first commission was spent, under Captain RE Wasbourn, on trials trying to make her new armament actually work. After workup under Captain R Hutchins Tiger went on a round of autumn flag-showing visits to Gdynia, Stockholm, Kiel and Antwerp. At the end of 1959 she deployed to the Mediterranean for a year as Fleet Flagship, under Admiral Michael Pollock.
She took part in operations in the Far East during the Indonesian Confrontation in the early 1960s. In 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers Harold Wilson (UK) and Ian Smith of Rhodesia. The latter had unilaterally declared independence from Britain due to Britain’s insistence on the removal of white minority rule. Tiger was placed in reserve in 1966 before undergoing conversion to a "helicopter and commando cruiser" from 1968-72 in HMNB Devonport.
This reconstruction included replacing the after 6 inch mount 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; some say the many millions to convert Tiger, as-well as her sister ship Blake to helicopter cruisers drained much needed resources better used elsewhere. She was recommissioned in 1972. Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain. When the economic difficulties of the early seventies came around this led to a defense manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages, although Tiger remained in service long enough to take part in the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1978 Tiger was placed in reserve, subsequently being placed on the disposal list in 1979. She was scrapped in Spain starting in October 1986.
Fifteen ships of the British Royal Navy have carried the name HMS Tiger after the feline tiger, with a number of others provisionally bearing the name at various stages in their construction:
HMS Tiger was a 22-gun ship built in 1546, rebuilt in 1570 and in use as a floating battery after 1600. She was condemned in 1605.
HMS Tiger was a discovery vessel recorded in the Arctic in 1613.
HMS Tyger was a 32-gun ship launched in 1647, rebuilt in 1681, 1701, 1705 and 1721, and wrecked in 1742.
HMS Tiger was a 50-gun fourth rate renamed Harwich shortly before launching in 1743. She was wrecked in 1760.
HMS Tiger was a 60-gun fourth rate launched in 1747. She was hulked in 1761 and sold in Bombay in 1765.
HMS Tiger was a 74-gun third rate, previously the Spanish Tigre. She was captured in 1762 and sold in 1784.
HMS Tiger was a 64-gun third rate launched in 1764 as HMS Ardent. She was captured by the French in 1764, but was recaptured in 1782 and renamed HMS Tiger. She was sold in 1784.
HMS Tiger was to have been a 50-gun fourth rate, but she was renamed HMS Grampus before her launch in 1802.
HMS Tiger was a 4-gun hoy purchased in 1794 and sold in 1798.
HMS Tiger was an 80-gun second rate captured from the French in 1795. She was broken up by 1817.
HMS Tiger was a 12-gun brig in service from 1808 to 1812.
HMS Tiger was a wooden-hulled paddle sloop launched in 1849, reclassified as a frigate in 1852, and captured by the Russians in 1854, becoming Tigr.
HMS Tiger was a C class destroyer launched in 1900. She was sunk in 1908 in a collision with the cruiser HMS Berwick.
HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser launched in 1913 and scrapped in 1932.
HMS Tiger was to have been a Minotaur class light cruiser. She was initially ordered in 1942, but renamed HMS Bellerophon later that year and was laid down in 1944. She was renamed HMS Blake in 1944, HMS Bellerophon again in 1945 and was cancelled in 1946.
HMS Tiger was another proposed Minotaur class cruiser, initially ordered as HMS Blake. She was renamed HMS Tiger in 1944, and then HMS Blake again in 1945. After work was suspended in 1946, she was completed and launched in 1961 as HMS Blake
HMS Tiger was another Minotaur class cruiser, initially ordered as HMS Bellerophon. She was renamed HMS Tiger in 1945 and launched in 1941. She was laid up in 1946 and completed in 1959 as a Tiger class missile cruiser. She was scrapped in 1986.
Forces Reunited Forum Posts involving HMS Tiger
"Looking for anyone who knew me HMS Tiger 1959/60, HMS Protector 1962/63, I was in Communication branch. "
Click For More
" Hi Gordon, The pic in your last post is of HMS Tiger (C20). I cannot make out what the Leander Class Frigate is in your others. It is definately a Gun Leander, but then they all were in the beginning, but as time went on some were converted to Exocet Leanders, some to Ikara Leanders, and only a ..."
Click For More
" Hi all again here is a photo of one of Gordon’s old ships. HMS Tiger, I think it was Gordon. Blame the "Morph??" if I’m wrong lol anyway. It’s a pity you can’t load more photos on the same page. Hope that Sheila Patricia and Adele are all keeping well, I think the girls ..."
Click For More
"Fred, I was in Tiger before she was converted, july64 to oct66.,she was an impressive sight then. [HMS Tiger 1964-66.jpg]"
Click For More
" Quoting: Gordon Oliver Hi all, have’nt been around much this last couple of weeks due catching up on all those little jobs around the house which seem to get overlooked. Yes Sheila I think we have all missed Dougs Banter, have just sent him a message through FR so hopefully he will see it and ..."
Click For More
"Aug.1966 HMS Tiger alongside in Devonport dockyard was testing the for'd 6" gun turret systems. The gun barrels were depressed with a mat on deck under the gun muzzles.The trial involved loading @ testing firing circuits using a dummy shell with no driving band so that it would slide down the barrel @ drop onto the mat.The loading also required a dummy cordite charge to be loaded behind the shell.I was in the Engineers Office when I h
eard an almighty bang, I thought "Thats the donkey boiler gone for a burton.
Everybody rushed to the upper deck, panic,the dummy had been fired by a LIVE cordite charge.The shell passed between the lower guard rail @ the deck edge,ricocheted of the jetty @ smashed into the underside of a dockyard crane.
Fortunately no one was hurt,there was a
lot of stern tube twitching amongst the Gunnery dept.The cause was a live cordite charge mixed up with the practice ones.A full enquiry was promised I never saw the result published."
