Built as cruiser by the Devonport Dockyard for the Royal Navy.
01 March 1935 ordered. 18 July 1935 laid down.
01 September 1936 launched under the name HMS BIRMINGHAM (C19), one of the Southampton class light cruisers of 5 ships.
Displacement 9.100 tons, full load 11.380 tons. Dim.180.29 x 18.97 x 5.18m. (draught), length bpp 170.08m.
Powered by Parsons geared turbines, 75.000 shp, speed 32 knots, four screws.
Armament 16 - 6.0 inch, 8 - 4.0 inch A.A., 8 - 2 lps. pom poms, 8 - 0.50 inch MG and 6 - 21 inch torpedo tubes.
Crew 750 during peace time, 930 during war.
16 November 1937 commissioned.
Flagship after commission of the Fifth Cruiser Squadron in China.
1939 Ordered home soon after outbreak of World War II, to join the Home Fleet.
31 March 1940 sailed out from Scapa Flow for Operation "Wilfred", laying mines in Norwegian territorial waters.
During April escorted First Expeditionary Force to Norway, when the troops were later evacuated she helped in the transport of the troops to the U.K.
1941Escorted troop re-enforcements going to Egypt.
1942 Ordered to proceed to the Falkland Islands.
June 1942 while escorting a convoy in Operation "Vigorous" from Alexandra, Egypt to Malta a bomb explosion damaged her.
September 1942 she escorted the expeditionary forces making a landing in Madagascar.
When the British India steamer TILAWA underway from Bombay to South Africa was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-29 north west of the Maldives Islands on 23 November 1942, the BIRMINGHAM was near, she rescued 194 crew, 4 gunners and 480 passengers, but 28 crew and 252 passengers lost there life.
1943 During convoy duties in the Mediterranean she was torpedoed off Derna, in a badly damaged state she reached Alexandria, after temporary repairs she sailed to the USA for repair.
09 May 1945 at Copenhagen for the surrender of the German forces.
Between 1948 and 1949 she was the flagship of the C. in C., East Indies.
1950 at Portsmouth for extensive reconstruction.
1952-1953 Took part in the later part of the Korean War.
1955 Flagship of the Second in Command, Far East Station and of Flag Officer Commanding 5th Cruiser Squadron.
1956 Stationed in the Mediterranean.
1957-1958 Her last commission as Flag Officer Flotillas, Home Fleet.
03 December 1959 arrived Devonport, and placed in reserve.
1960 Sold to T.W.Ward Ltd. for scrap.
02 September 1960 sailed from Devonport in tow, for the breakers yard in Inverkeithing.
Tristan da Cunha 1995 60p sg 583, scott 565
Source: some web-sites. Devonport built warships since 1860 by K.V. Burns.