Built as a cruiser on the HM Devonport Dry-dock for the Royal Navy.
16 March 1926 laid down.
22 October 1927 launched under the name HMS DEVONSHIRE, christened by Lady Elizabeth Mildmay, the wife of the Lord Lieutenant of Devon. She was one of the County Class cruisers of which 12 were built.
Displacement 9.850 tons standard, 13.315 full load. Dim. 193.3 x 20.2 x 6.6m. (draught)
Powered by four geared Parsons steam turbines, 80.000 shp, four shafts, speed 32 knots.
Armament 8 – 8 inch, 8 – 4 inch AA guns, 8 – 21 inch torpedo tubes.
Carried one aircraft, catapult fitted later.
Crew 700.
19 March 1929 commissioned.
After trials she sailed on 11 May 1929 for Gibraltar to join the First Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean.
Before sailing Lord Mildway of Flete presented to the ship a silver replica of Drake’s drum. After several accidents on board, the drum was landed in 1935 as it was thought to be a “jinx”.
After an eight week work-up period at Gibraltar she sailed to Malta her base for the next years.
26 July 1929 during manoeuvres in the Aegean Sea off the island of Skiathos at 10.00 a.m. she fired her first broadside, but at the same moment a huge explosion shook the ship. A faulty breech mechanism in the X-turret had caused a shell and some cordite bags to ignite. The explosion blown off the roof of the X-turret, and fire started in the gun house and pump room. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the crew in the turret were not so lucky. One officer and 6 men were killed, and 17 injured, of which later 11 died of there wounds.
The DEVONSHIRE returned to Malta, and from there to Devonport where she arrived on 14 August 1929.
Stationed in 1932 in the 5th Cruiser Squadron at the China Station until 1933 when she returned to the Mediterranean.
1935 Took part in the Silver Jubilee Review of the fleet at Spithead.
1936 Employed in the removal of refugees during the Spanish Civil War
May 1937 at the Coronation Review of the fleet at Spithead.
When World War II broke out on 3 December 1939 she was at Alexandria, Egypt.
She then joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow, took part in the Norwegian campaign in April/May 1940, she came under heavy air attack from German planes on 9 April off Stavanger in which she slightly was damaged.
07 June 1940 while at anchor off Tromso King Haakon VII his family and members of the Norway Parliament embarked on the DEVONSHIRE. Also 400 rearguard troops embarked, and after sailing the DEVONSHIRE headed for Greenock, Scotland where all were disembarked on 10 June.
She then headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia for a refit.
Mid 1941 she returned to Scapa Flow, she took part in the first convoy to Russia in Operation Dervish and provided distant cover from 16 to 18 August with other ships of the Royal Navy. The convoy of 7 merchant ships arrived safely in Archangel on 21 August.
In Operation Strength to bring Hurricane aircraft and associated RAF personnel to Archangel, she with other Royal Navy vessels covered this operation from 30 August to 14 September.
Then she searched for the German raider KORMORAN in the South Atlantic, on 22 November 1941 she destroyed the German raider ATLANTIS in the South Atlantic.
May 1942 took part in de Madagascar operations, Operation Ironclad. Thereafter she escorted some troopships from Suez to Simonstown. South Africa.
July 1944 she formed part of an escort for the aircraft carriers HMS FORMIDABLE and INDEFATIGABLE when they carried out air attacks on the German TIRPITZ in the Norway’s Kaafjord. December 1944 she escorted the minelayer TRUMPETER off Norway. She came under heavy enemy air attack by JU-88 torpedo bombers, of which one was shot down.
7 June 1945 she escorted the HMS ARIADNE on which was Prince Olaf of Norway back to Oslo.
From Oslo she proceeded to Copenhagen where the German warships PRINZ EUGEN and NURNBERG surrendered to her.
Later that year she made a number of trooping voyages east of Suez.
April 1946 she returned after her last trooping voyage from Colombo to Rosyth to be fitted out as a cadet training ship to replace HMS FROBISHER.
April 1947 commissioned as a training vessel.
She made her first training voyage in the autumn of 1947 first to Ireland then to the Mediterranean where she visited some ports before returning to Devonport for Christmas.
1948 She protected British interests at Belize, British Honduras.
1951 Landed a party of her crew to protect the airport of Grenade during a strike.
June 1953 present at the Coronation Review of the Fleet, she was the oldest warship present.
07 September 1953 paid off, and put in reserve.
16 June 1954 she was sold to British Iron and Steel Corporation.
10 December 1954 under tow she left Devonport to be broken up by John Cashmore Ltd., Newport, South Wales.
Ascension 1995 65p sg654, scott 616.
Norway 1995 4.50k sg?, scott1097 (King Haakon boarded the DEVONSHIRE in 1940)
Source: Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge. Devonport built Warships by Burns.
http://en,wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Devonshire_(39) http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/devon/devon.htm