View source for Dido-class cruiser

{{Short description|Class of light cruisers built for the Royal Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Argonaut.png
|Ship caption={{HMS|Argonaut|61|2}} in wartime camouflage, November 1943 just after repairs at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Dido'' class
|Builders=
*[[Alexander Stephens and Sons]] (1)
*[[Cammell Laird]] (3)
*[[Chatham Dockyard]] (1)
*[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield Shipbuilding]] (2)
*[[Harland and Wolff]] (1)
*[[Portsmouth Dockyard]] (1)
*[[Hawthorn Leslie]] (3)
*[[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Scotts Shipbuilding]] (3)
*[[Vickers Armstrongs]] (1)
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
* {{navy|New Zealand}}
* {{navy|Pakistan}}
|Class before={{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser|4||1934}}
|Class after={{sclass|Fiji|cruiser|4}}
|Subclasses=*''Dido''
* ''Bellona''
|Cost=
|Built range=1937–1943
|In service range=
|In commission range=  1940–1980s
|Total ships completed=16
|Total ships lost=5
|Total ships scrapped=11
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship type=[[Light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=* {{convert|5521|–|5770|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
* {{convert|7081|–|7420|LT|t}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length={{convert|512|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|50|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught=* ''Dido'' class: {{convert|16|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (deep load)
* ''Bellona'' class: {{convert|17|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (deep load)
|Ship power=* 4 [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
* {{cvt|62,000|shp|kW|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=4 shafts; 4 [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|32.25|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{cvt|4850|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|11|kn}}
|Ship complement=*''Dido'' class: 487
* ''Bellona'' class: 530
|Ship sensors=
* Type 128 [[ASDIC]]
* [[Type 279 radar|Type 279]] [[early-warning radar]]
|Ship armament=*''Dido'' class as designed:
** 5 × twin [[QF 5.25 inch Mark I naval gun|{{cvt|5.25|in|mm|0}} guns]]
** 2 × quadruple [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|2-pdr ({{cvt|40|mm}})]] [[AA gun]]s
** 4 × twin [[Vickers .50 machine gun|{{cvt|0.5|in|mm|1}} AA machine guns]]
** 2 × triple [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{cvt|21|in|mm|0}}]] [[torpedo tubes]]
* ''Bellona'' class as designed:
** 4 × twin 5.25 in guns
** 3 × quadruple 2&nbsp;pdr AA guns
** 6 × twin [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}}]] AA guns
** 2 × triple 21 in torpedo tubes
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Dido'' class''' consisted of sixteen [[light cruiser]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] during [[World War II]]. The first group of three ships were commissioned in 1940; the second group of six ships and third group of two were commissioned between 1941 and 1942. A fourth group, also described as the '''Improved Dido''' or '''''Bellona'' class''' (five ships) were commissioned between 1943 and 1944. Most members of the class were given names drawn from [[Classical antiquity|classical history and legend]]. The groups differed in armament, and for the ''Bellona''s, in function. The ''Dido'' class were designed to replace the [[C-class cruiser|C-class]] and [[Danae-class cruiser|D-class]] cruisers as small fleet cruisers and [[flotilla leader]]s for the destroyer screen.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Friedman |first=N. |date=July 2012 |title=Judging the Good from the Bad |work=US Navy History |publisher=USNI |volume=26 |issue=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |year=2010 |pages=186–192}}</ref> As designed, they mounted five twin 5.25-inch high-angle gun turrets on the centreline providing [[Dual-purpose gun|dual-purpose]] anti-air and anti-surface capacity; the complex new turrets were unreliable when introduced, and somewhat unsatisfactory at a time when the UK faced a fight for survival.

During the war, the original 1939–42 ships required extensive refit work to increase electrical generating capacity for additional wartime systems (notably radar and gun direction equipment) and in the final ''Bellona,'' [[HMS Diadem (84)|HMS ''Diadem'']], fully-electric turrets. While some damage was experienced initially in extreme North Atlantic weather, changes to gun handling and drill partially mitigated the problems. The fitting of the three forward turrets in the double-superfiring A-B-C arrangement (although in Royal Navy classification, fifth turrets were called "Q", not "C") relied upon the heavy use of aluminium in the ships' superstructure, and the lack of aluminium after the [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuation of the British Army from France]] was one of the primary reasons for the first group only receiving four turrets, while the third group received four twin 4.5-inch mounts and no 5.25-inch guns at all.<ref name=rr5>Raven & Roberts, p. 275</ref> The ''Bellonas'' were designed from the start with four radar-directed 5.25-inch gun turrets with full Remote Power Control and an expanded light anti-aircraft battery, substantially increasing their efficiency as AA platforms.

From the initial trials of the lead ship ''Bonaventure'', the new light cruisers were considered a significant advancement and were surprisingly effective in later actions in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], such as protecting [[Malta Convoys|convoys to Malta]], seeing off far larger ships of the [[Regia Marina|Italian Royal Navy]].<ref name=rr5/> The {{convert|5.25|in|mm|adj=on}} gun was primarily an anti-surface weapon but designed to fire the heaviest shell suitable for manual loading for use in anti-aircraft defence, and accounted for around 23 aircraft and deterred far more{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}. Both the ''Didos'' and ''Bellonas'' were dogged by roller path jams in the rail track upon which the turret gunhouses rotated. These issues regularly put turrets out of action from their initial sea trials until the last operational service of ''Euryalus'' and ''Cleopatra'' with the RN in 1953–54 and were the bane of the three ''Bellonas'' operated postwar by the RNZN.<ref>D. Brown. Reconstructing the RN 2012</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=December 2023}}<ref>NZ Archives/ RNZN Dido cruiser files, Captain Reports, Logs, Proceedings, Rule books turret safety and magazines and key control. Dido class Black Prince and Bellona. Archives. Wellington</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=December 2023}}. The original ''Dido''-class ships {{HMS|Bonaventure|31|6}}, {{HMS|Charybdis|88|6}}, {{HMS|Hermione|74|6}} and {{HMS|Naiad|93|6}} were lost in the war. The survivor, name ship {{HMS|Dido|37|6}}, was [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|put into reserve]] in 1947 and decommissioned ten years later. {{HMS|Euryalus|42|6}} was the last of the original class to see service, being decommissioned in 1954 and scrapped in 1959.

The ''Bellona'' class (as well as four rebuilt ''Didos'') were mainly intended as [[Radar picket|picket ships]] for amphibious warfare operations in support of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy and [[United States Navy]] in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]]. {{HMS|Spartan|95|6}} was the only ship of the sub-class to be sunk, struck by a German [[Fritz X]] glide bomb while supporting the landings of the [[Battle of Anzio]]. Two ships were to be modified to be command ships of [[aircraft carrier]] and cruiser groups, intended for action against planned German [[battlecruiser]]s. Originally these were to be ''Scylla'' and ''Charybdis'' of the third group, but the 1943 loss of ''Charybdis'' saw ''Royalist'' of the fourth (''Bellona'') group selected instead; these were also known as the '''Modified ''Dido'''''<nowiki/>''.''

Postwar modernisation proposals were limited by the tight war emergency design. There was insufficient space and weight for the fire control and magazines of four or five modern twin 3-inch turrets, combined with the fact that the 5.25-inch shells had a much larger bursting charge than the smaller 4.5-inch guns in service postwar, making them more effective high-altitude AA weapons.<ref name=m9>Murfin, p. 139</ref> {{HMS|Royalist|89|6}} was rebuilt for potential action alongside the battleship {{HMS|Vanguard|23|6}} against the post-war [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] {{sclass|Sverdlov|cruiser|1}}s and {{sclass|Stalingrad|battlecruiser|1}}s and was loaned to the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] (RNZN) from 1956 to 1966.

==Armament==
[[File:HMS Cleopatra smoke.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|{{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}} lays smoke to shield a convoy as {{HMS|Euryalus|42|2}} elevates her forward 5.25 inch guns to shell the Italian fleet at the [[Second Battle of Sirte]], 22 March 1942}}]]
The class were intended to be armed with ten 5.25-inch (133&nbsp;mm) guns in five twin turrets, which were of the same circular design as the secondary armament in the {{sclass|King George V|battleship|||1939}}s. Due to a shortage of the guns caused by difficulties in manufacturing them, the first group were built with only four 5.25-inch gun turrets. Only HMS ''Dido'' had the fifth turret added later. The first group was also armed with a [[QF 4-inch naval gun Mk V|{{convert|4|inch|mm|adj=on|abbr=on|0}} gun]] for firing [[star shell]]s and two quadruple [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder (40&nbsp;mm) "pom-poms"]] for anti-aircraft defence.

The second group had all five twin 5.25-inch turrets and did not require the 4-inch gun. The third group's armament was changed due to the shortage of 5.25-inch guns and had eight [[QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun|QF 4.5-inch (113 mm) guns]] in four twin turrets instead. The 4.5-inch turret  was better suited to the primary anti-aircraft role of the ''Dido'' class but the ammunition was considered too heavy for peacetime use. The forward (A and B) 4.5-inch turrets were mounted on the top of conjoint deckhouses. The superstructure extended forward with more crew accommodation and radar rooms which allowed the two cruisers to operate as flagships. The high rate of fire of the 4.5-inch turrets, together with simpler dual-purpose twin Director Control Tower (DCT),{{efn|Red DCT for A & B and Blue for X & Y turrets}} meant that ''Scylla'' and ''Charybdis'' were arguably the only members of the ''Dido'' class that were true AA cruisers.<ref>R. Hughes. ''Through the Waters. A gunnery officer on HMS Scylla 1942–3''. W . Kimber. London (1956) p 25-29</ref> The 4-inch gun was also fitted and the 2-pounder armament was increased from eight to ten.

The ''Bellona'' subclass differed in appearance somewhat from their predecessors. They had eight 5.25-inch RP10 Mk II guns in four twin turrets and had greatly improved anti-aircraft armament, with twelve 2-pounder guns and twelve [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]. The bridge of the ''Bellona'' class was lowered by one deck compared to the previous three groups. This reduced topweight and so full radar control could be fitted to the 5.25-inch turrets and the 2-pounder guns. These ships used the [[HACS]] high angle fire control system. The two [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] were more upright than the raked ones of the original ''Dido'' class.

==Service==

In [[World War II]], the ''Dido'' class saw much action, including the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]], the [[Second Battle of Sirte]], [[Operation Torch]], [[Operation Overlord]] and the [[Battle of Okinawa]], as well as many other duties in the [[Mediterranean]] and [[Pacific]].  The production of the 5.25 turrets during the war and the turrets reconstruction, with remote power for faster elevation and training and better fire control was slow, difficult and expensive and largely limited to the cruisers rebuilt after severe action damage in the United States, Argonaut, Cleopatra and Phoebe. It was never  completed on several Dido that survived the war. Five ships were lost during the war: {{HMS|Bonaventure|31|2}}, {{HMS|Charybdis|88|2}}, {{HMS|Hermione|74|2}}, {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}}, and {{HMS|Spartan|95|2}}. {{HMS|Scylla|98|2}} was badly damaged by a [[naval mine]] and declared a [[constructive total loss]]. The post-war survivors continued in service; all were decommissioned by the 1960s. {{HMS|Bellona|63|2}}, {{HMS|Black Prince|81|2}} and {{HMS|Royalist|89|2}} were lent to the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] post-World War II. In 1956, {{HMS|Diadem|84|2}} was sold to [[Pakistan]] and renamed ''Babur''.

==Ship modifications==

===''Dido''s===

''Bonaventure'' completed with only four twin 5.25-inch turrets because of shortages and received a 4-inch [[Shell (projectile)#Illumination|starshell]] gun in "X" position. She received a radar set before October 1940 but was otherwise unaltered. ''Naiad'' was completed with five turrets. She received five 20&nbsp;mm in September 1941 and had [[Type 279 radar]] by this time. {{HMS|Phoebe|43|2}} completed with four turrets and was fitted with a 4-inch gun in "C" position forward of the bridge. The latter was 'landed' (removed) during her refit between November 1941 and April 1942 at [[New York City]], along with the 0.5-inch machine guns and Type 279 radar, while a quadruple 2&nbsp;pdr replaced the 4-inch gun and eleven 20&nbsp;mm guns were fitted. Radars were now [[Type 281 radar|Type 281]], 284 and 285. The "A" turret was temporarily removed at the end of 1942 after [[torpedo]] damage. During repairs in the first six months of 1943, all three quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom mounts were landed, as were seven 20&nbsp;mm, to be replaced by three quadruple [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors guns]] and six twin 20&nbsp;mm. Radar Type 272 was also fitted. Her A turret was replaced in July 1943. Her light anti-aircraft weaponry in April 1944 was twelve 40&nbsp;mm (3 × 4) and sixteen 20&nbsp;mm (6 × dual, 4 × single).

''Dido'' had four turrets and a 4-inch gun similar to ''Phoebe''. The 4-inch and the machine guns were removed in the latter half of 1941 at [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], when the "Q" position 5.25-inch turret was shipped and four 20&nbsp;mm were fitted, two of which replaced the original quadruple 0.5 mm machine guns. In the early summer of 1943 three 20&nbsp;mm were exchanged for four twin 20&nbsp;mm and the radar outfit was altered by the addition of Types 272, 282, 284 and 285. April 1944 lists show only eight 20&nbsp;mm.

[[File:HMS Birmingham convoy.jpg|thumb|The cruisers {{HMS|Edinburgh|16|2}}, ''Hermione'', and ''Euryalus'', steaming in line abreast whilst they escort a convoy (not visible) as part of [[Operation Halberd]] to resupply Malta]]
{{HMS|Euryalus|42|2}} completed with her designed armament. In September 1941 the .5-inch machine guns were landed and five single 20&nbsp;mm fitted. Two more were added by September 1942. By mid-1943 two 20 mm had been removed and four twin 20&nbsp;mm shipped. The type 279 radar was replaced by types 272, 281, 282 and 285. In a long refit from October 1943 to July 1944, C turret was replaced by a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom and two twin 20&nbsp;mm were fitted. Radar 271 and 272 were removed and types 279b, 277 and 293 fitted.

''Hermione'' was also completed as a five-turret ship. She had the .5-inch MGs removed in October–November 1941 and received five 20&nbsp;mm.

{{HMS|Sirius|82|2}} was completed with five turrets and five 20&nbsp;mm. She had received two more 20&nbsp;mm by mid-1943. One of these was landed at [[Massawa]] at the end of 1943 and two 40&nbsp;mm Bofors Mk III were fitted.{{efn|in [[Italian East Africa]] captured during the [[East African campaign (World War II)|East African campaign]]}} She is listed as having only seven 20&nbsp;mm as light AA in April 1944. By April 1945 she had two Mk III 40&nbsp;mm fitted and had landed two 20&nbsp;mm.

{{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}} was completed with two 2-pounder pom-poms in 1942 in lieu of the .5-inch machine guns but these were removed in the middle of the year and replaced by five 20&nbsp;mm. A sixth 20&nbsp;mm was added in mid-1943. During repairs between November 1943 and November 1944, Q turret was removed, as were two quadruple 2-pounder pom-poms and five 20&nbsp;mm. Three quadruple 40&nbsp;mm Bofors and six twin 20&nbsp;mm were fitted and there were four single 20 mm. In 1951 the American quadruple Bofors and Oerlikons were replaced by three twin MK 5 Bofors and eight single Mk 7.

{{HMS|Argonaut|61|2}} was completed with four 20&nbsp;mm in lieu of the .5-inch machine guns. She had Q turret removed during repairs in 1943/44, and lost the four 20&nbsp;mm. She received a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom in lieu of the 5.25-inch and had five twin 20&nbsp;mm fitted. By April 1944 her light AA comprised three quadruple 2-pounder pom-poms, six twin power-operated 20&nbsp;mm and five singles. By the end of the war with [[Japan]] she had received five 40&nbsp;mm Bofors and three 40&nbsp;mm Bofors Mk III.

{{HMS|Scylla|98|2}} was completed with four twin 4.5-inch Mk III in UD MK III mountings because of a shortage of 5.25-inch mountings. The forward superstructure was considerably modified to accommodate these and also to increase crew spaces. Her light AA on completion was eight single 20&nbsp;mm. Six twin power-operated 20&nbsp;mm were added at the end of 1943.

{{HMS|Charybdis|88|2}} was also completed with four twin 4.5-inch and had a 4-inch Mk V forward of X mounting. Her light AA at completion was four 20&nbsp;mm and two single 2-pounder pom-poms. The 4-inch star shell gun and two of the single 2-pounder pom-poms were removed and replaced by two twin and two single 20&nbsp;mm, probably in 1943.

===''Bellona''s===
[[File:Bellona (cruiser)- SLV H91.250-1391.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Bellona|63|2}} of the ''Bellona'' subclass]]
{{HMS|Spartan|95|2}} received no alterations as far as is known. ''Royalist'' was converted to an [[escort carrier]] squadron flagship immediately on completion, when an extra two twin 20&nbsp;mm were fitted as well as four single 20&nbsp;mm. She was the only ship to receive an extensive postwar modernisation ordered for service in the RN but was later loaned to [[New Zealand]]. Plans were drawn up to fully modernise the four improved ''Dido''s with either four twin 3-inch L70 guns or 4.5-inch Mark 6 gun turrets. However that would have required building new broad-beamed ''Dido''s because the magazines of the ''Royalist'' type could hold  only enough 3 -inch ammunition for 3 minutes 20 seconds of continuous firing.<ref name=m9/> The refit of ''Royalist'' was shortened and ''Diadem'''s was abandoned because the new steam turbines needed were unaffordable. ''Royalist''′s reconstruction, like that of ''Newfoundland'', incorporated much of the RN's late 1940s and early 1950s view of a desirable cruiser. ''Royalist''′s  5.25-inch armament was given some of the improvements of the final 5.25 inch mounts built for the battleship ''Vanguard'' but not the extra space or power ramming. Also added was a secondary armament of three STAAG automatic twin 40mm guns, new Type 293 and 960M radar and Type 275 (two sets) DP fire control for the 5.25 guns, and a [[lattice mast]]. {{efn|''Royalist'' was loaned to the RNZN in 1956, in exchange for ''Bellona''}}

''Bellona''  had four single 20&nbsp;mm added by April 1944 and received an extra eight single 20&nbsp;mm by April 1945. When she was loaned to the RNZN after the war, the twin Oerlikons were replaced by six single 40mm in the RNZN's own electric powered mount. ''Bellona'' was never fitted with six standard tachymetric directors which were requested by the RNZN for controlling the Bofors. The quadruple pom pom mounts were mothballed by RNZN for manning reasons but the single Oerlikons were maintained on ''Bellona''.

''Black Prince'' and {{HMS|Diadem|84|2}} also received eight single 20&nbsp;mm, and had a further two twin 20&nbsp;mm by early 1945.

==Post-war development==
Post war in the expanded 1951 programme of the Korean War Emergency a broad beam ''Bellona'' class armed with four twin 4.5-inch guns<ref name=m9/> was considered as a cruiser option along with the 1951 ''Minotaur'' class<ref>B.Watson. ''The changing face of the world's Navies 1945 to present''. Arms & armour. London (1991) p. 79</ref>

''Black Prince'' was loaned to the RNZN after the war and was operational briefly in 1947 before part of her crew mutinied and were discharged. After refit in 1952, with eight single electric powered 40mm Bofors and six single 20 mm Oerlikon, it was operated till 1955, during which it visited the 1953 Fleet Review at Spithead. ''Diadem'' (renamed after ''[[Babur]]'', the founder of the Mughal dynasty) was sold to Pakistan in 1956 after a modest refit with Type 293 and Type 281 radar and standardised twin 40mm twin and single light AA guns. ''Babur''  became a cadet training ship in 1962 but was brought into use and her 5.25-inch guns were fired in the limited naval activities during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]].

==Ships in class==
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data, ''Dido'' group
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | [[Pennant number|Pennant]]
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | [[Laid down]]
! scope="col" | [[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]]
! scope="col" | [[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]]
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Dido|37|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 37
| rowspan=3 | [[Cammell Laird]], [[Birkenhead]]
| 26 October 1937
| 18 July 1939
| 30 September 1940
| Broken up at [[Barrow-in-Furness]], 1957
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Argonaut|61|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 61
| 21 November 1939
| 6 September 1941
| 8 August 1942
| Broken up at [[Newport, Wales|Newport]], 1955
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Charybdis|88|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 88
| 9 November 1939
| 17 September 1940
| 3 December 1941
| Sunk at [[Battle of Sept-Îles]], 23 October 1943
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Phoebe|43|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 43
| [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]], [[Govan]]
| 2 September 1937
| 25 March 1939
| 27 September 1940
| Broken up at [[Blyth, Northumberland|Blyth]], 1956
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Hermione|74|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 74
| [[Alexander Stephen and Sons]], [[Glasgow]]
| 6 October 1937
| 18 May 1939
| 25 March 1941
| Torpedoed by the {{GS|U-205}}, 16 June 1942
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Bonaventure|31|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 31
| rowspan=2 | [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]], [[Greenock]]
| 30 August 1937
| 19 April 1939
| 24 May 1940
| Torpedoed by the {{ship|Italian submarine|Ambra||6}}, 31 March 1941
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Scylla|98|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 98
| 19 April 1939
| 24 July 1940
| 12 June 1942
| Broken up at Barrow-in-Furness, 1950
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 93
| rowspan=2 | [[Hawthorn Leslie|R. W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company]], [[Hebburn]]
| 26 August 1937
| 3 February 1939
| 24 July 1940
| Torpedoed by the {{GS|U-565}}, 11 March 1942
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 33
| 5 January 1939
| 27 March 1940
| 5 December 1941
| Broken up at Newport, 1958
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Sirius|82|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 82
| [[Portsmouth Dockyard]], [[Portsmouth]]
| 6 April 1938
| 18 September 1940
| 6 May 1942
| Broken up at Blyth, 1956
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Euryalus|42|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 42
| [[Chatham Dockyard]]
| 21 October 1937
| 6 June 1939
| 30 June 1941
| Broken up at Blyth, 1959
|}

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data, ''Bellona'' group
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Pennant
! scope="col" | Builder
! scope="col" | Laid down
! scope="col" | Launched
! scope="col" | Commissioned
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Fate
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Bellona|63|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 63
| Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
| 30 November 1939
| 29 September 1942
| 29 October 1943
| Broken up at Barrow-in-Furness, 1959
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Royalist|89|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 89
| Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock
| 21 March 1940
| 30 May 1942
| 10 September 1943
| Broken up at [[Osaka]], 1968
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Diadem|84|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 84
| R. W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Hebburn
| 15 December 1939
| 26 August 1942
| 6 January 1944
| Transferred to [[Pakistan]], 1956. Renamed ''Babur''. Scrap in 1985.
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Black Prince|81|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 81
| [[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
| 2 November 1939
| 27 August 1942
| 20 November 1943
| Broken up at Osaka, 1962
|-
! scope="row" | {{HMS|Spartan|95|2}}
| style="text-align: center;" | 95
| [[Vickers-Armstrongs]], Barrow-in-Furness
| 21 December 1939
| 27 August 1942
| 10 August 1943
| Sunk by aircraft, 29 January 1944
|}

==See also==
* {{sclass|Atlanta|cruiser|1}}: contemporary American cruiser of similar size, role and configuration

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|first=D. K. |last=Brown |first2=George |last2=Moore |title=Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design Since 1945|location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |date=2003 |ISBN=1-59114-705-0|name-list-style=amp |author1-link=David K. Brown}}
* {{cite book |title=Naval Weapons of World War Two |last=Campbell |first=John |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=1985 |isbn=0-87021-459-4}}
* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-8317-0303-2 |chapter=Great Britain |last1=Campbell |first1=N.J.M.|pages=2–85}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|first=David |last=Murfin |chapter=Damnable Folly? Small Cruiser Designs for the Royal Navy Between the Wars |editor1-first=John|editor1-last= Jordan |title=Warship 2011 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |date=2010 |isbn=978-1-84486-133-0}}
* {{cite book|last1=Raven|first1=Alan|last2=Lenton|first2=H. T. |title=Dido Class Cruisers |date=1973 |publisher=Bivouac Books |location=n.p. |isbn=0-85680-003-1|series=Ensign|volume=3|author2-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|last1=Raven|first1=Alan|last2=Roberts|first2=John|title=British Cruisers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1980|isbn=0-87021-922-7|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2 |author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Cassell |location=London|year=1995|isbn=1-86019-874-0|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dido class cruiser}}
* [http://maritime.org/doc/br224/part1.htm#par20 Gunnery Layout of a ''Dido''-class cruiser. from Gunnery Pocket Book 1945] placed online courtesy of Historic Naval Ships Association
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=23105 Newsreel video of HMS ''Scylla'' fighting the Luftwaffe while protecting convoy PQ18] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424110150/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=23105 |date=24 April 2011 }}
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22589 Our Navy in Action; newsreel footage of ''Dido''-class cruisers engaging Axis aircraft and Italian battleships during the Battle of Sirte on 22 March 1942] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611093241/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22589 |date=11 June 2011 }}
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22502 Short video clip of a ''Dido''-class cruiser in action]

{{Dido class cruiser}}
{{WWII British ships}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cruiser classes]]
[[Category:Dido-class cruisers| ]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]