View source for HMS Tiger (C20)

{{short description|Lead ship of her class Tiger-class cruiser of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Tiger}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Engels vlootbezoek aan Rotterdam De Engelse kruiser Tiger loopt binnen, Bestanddeelnr 915-5467.jpg
|Ship image size=320px
|Ship caption=HMS ''Tiger'' before her conversion
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Tiger''
|Ship ordered=1942 Additional Naval Programme
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[John Brown Shipyard]]
|Ship laid down=1 October 1941
|Ship launched=25 October 1945
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=18 March 1959
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=20 April 1978
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship captured=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Scrapped, starting October 1986
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto={{ubl|{{lang|la|Quis eripiet dentes}}|Latin: 'Who shall draw my teeth'}}
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship original cost=£12,820,000 <ref name=NE1959>''Navy Estimates, 1959-60'', pages 230-1, "List and particulars of new ships which have been accepted or are expected to be accepted into HM service during the Financial Year ended 31st March 1959"</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Tiger|cruiser|0}} [[light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=*as built: 9,550 tons standard, 11,700 tons deep load
*after conversion: 9,975 tons standard, 12,080 tons deep load<ref name=Conwaysp504/>
|Ship length=*{{convert|555.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} overall
*{{convert|538|ft|m|abbr=on}} between perpendiculars
|Ship beam={{convert|64|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|21|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*Four [[Admiralty boiler|Admiralty-type]] three drum boilers (400 psi)
*Four shaft Parsons [[steam turbines]]
*producing 80,000 [[Horsepower|shp]]
|Ship speed={{convert|31.5|kn|km/h|lk=in|0}}
|Ship range=
*{{convert|2,000|nmi|km|lk=in|0}} at {{convert|30|kn|km/h|1}}
*{{convert|4,000|nmi|km|lk=in|0}} at {{convert|20|kn|km/h|1}}
*{{convert|6,500|nmi|km|lk=in|0}} at {{convert|13|kn|km/h|1}}<ref name=Janes1975-76/>
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement=698 (885 after conversion)
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
*as built: Types 277Q, 903 (x5), 960, 992Q radars, Types 174, 176 and 185 sonars
*after conversion: Types 278, 903 (x4), 965M, 992Q radars, Types 174, 176 and 185 sonars
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*As built:
*Four × [[QF 6-inch Mark N5 gun]]s (2 × 2)
*Six × [[QF 3-inch Mark N1 gun]]s (3 × 2)
*After conversion:
*Two × 6-inch (1 × 2)
*Two × 3-inch (1 × 2)
*Two × [[Seacat (missile)|Seacat]] GWS22 quad missile launchers
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=
After conversion: Four helicopters (originally [[Westland Wessex]], then [[Westland Sea King|Westland Sea King HAS 2]] )
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Tiger''''' was a conventional [[cruiser]] of the British [[Royal Navy]], one of a three-ship [[Ship class|class]] known as the {{sclass|Tiger|cruiser|4}}. Ordered during the [[Second World War]], she was completed after its end.

''Tiger'' was in service by 1960 and served in the [[Far East]] and then with the [[Home Fleet]] before going into reserve at the end of 1966.

From 1968 ''Tiger'' was converted to a "helicopter and command cruiser" and equipped with guided missile anti-aircraft defence before returning to service in the early 1970s. She remained in service until 1978 when she was put into reserve and marked for disposal. There were moves to return her to service during the [[Falklands War]] for her flight deck capacity, but this did not proceed. ''Tiger'' was finally sold for scrap in 1986.

==Construction==
''Tiger'' started out as ''Bellerophon''. She was laid down in 1941 at the [[John Brown Shipyard]] as part of the {{sclass|Minotaur|cruiser (1943)|4}} of [[light cruiser]]s. These vessels had a low construction priority, owing to there being more pressing requirements for other ship types during the Second World War, particularly anti-submarine vessels. ''Bellerophon'' was renamed ''Tiger'' in 1945, and was launched, partially constructed, on 25 October 1945. She was christened by [[Margaret Wedgwood Benn|Lady Stansgate]], the wife of [[William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate|William Benn, Viscount Stansgate]], the [[Secretary of State for Air]].{{efn|Labour MP, and later government minister, [[Tony Benn]] was their son.}} Work on ''Tiger'' was suspended in 1946, and she was laid up at [[Dalmuir]].

The ''Tiger''s were redesigned in 1948,<ref>D.K. Brown & G. Moore, ''Rebuilding the RN. Warship Design since 1945'' (2013), p. 48</ref> mainly for anti-aircraft defence of convoys and aircraft carrier task forces. Cruisers were seen as playing a secondary and complementary role to light fleet aircraft carriers in the defence of trade and attack on enemy shipping.{{sfn|Brown|Moore|2012|pp=47-52}}<ref>G. Moore, "British Cruiser Design 1946–1956" in ''Warship'', 2006, Conway. London (2006) pp. 41–50</ref> For AA defence of [[fleet carrier]] task forces the cruisers replaced the AA batteries of Second World War-era battleships and carriers.{{efn|Only the new ''Eagle'' and ''Ark Royal'' carriers were expected to have their own AA defences.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}}}

In 1951, rather than building new cruisers, the Government decided to complete the ship and two others to an altered design with all-new armament. With the revised design, HMS ''Tiger'' became the [[lead ship]] of the class. Due to the priority of the [[Royal Air Force]] (in providing defence against nuclear attack by Soviet bombers), the Cold War, and the conflict between the prime minister and [[Admiralty Naval Staff]] over shipbuilding issues, the warships that were approved in 1951-1953 were anti-submarine frigates, destroyers, and minehunters but no cruisers.<ref>A. Seldon. ''Churchill's Indian Summer. The Conservative Government 1951–5''. Hodder & Stoughton. London (1981)</ref>{{page needed|date=December 2020}} The restart of work on the ''Tiger'' class and reconstruction of other cruisers was delayed until 1955.

The ship had automatic {{convert|6|in|mm|0|adj=on}} guns in twin high-angle mounts with each gun designed to fire 20 rounds per minute, and a secondary battery of automatic {{convert|3|in|mm|0|adj=on}} weapons firing at 90–120 rpm. Each 6&nbsp;inch and 3&nbsp;inch mounting had its own Medium Range System (MRS) 3 radar [[Director (military)|director]]. [[George Hall, 1st Viscount Hall|Viscount Hall]]{{efn|Hall had been the [[Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Royal Navy)|Civil Lord of the Admiralty]] from 1929 to 1931}} stated in the House of Lords in 1959 that her "automatically controlled" guns were "capable of firing at more than twice the speed of manned armament" and the "improvement in guns was ten times better than if the ship had been with the original gun armament".<ref name="NavyEstsHoL" /> However, ''Tiger''{{'}}s 6-inch guns usually jammed after 30 seconds firing,<ref>G.M. Stephen, ''British Warship Designs since 1906''. Ian Allan. London (1985), pp. 84–85</ref> and couldn't deliver sustained bombardment in support of troops ashore. RN argued that the first 30 seconds of engaging jet aircraft and warships was the critical determinant and that aircraft would be shot down with short bursts of fire and as such limited magazine capacity and gun reliability were less important than instantaneous response. The decision to complete the ships was based on the availability of hulls and expectation that the cruisers could be completed sooner (three years against five years) and cheaper (60% of the cost) than building new [8,000-ton] cruisers at a time when the existing cruiser fleet was ageing and its weapons and fire control were useless against modern aircraft. The RN had 21 cruisers in 1957, nine of which were in operation; by 1961, the cruiser fleet had reduced to nine, of which five were in service.<ref>D. Wettern, ''Decline of British Seapower''. Janes (1982) London p. 137</ref>

HMS ''Tiger''{{'}}s revised weapon fit was for immediate post-war requirements and the continued reconstruction of the class confirmed the [[1957 Defence White Paper]] as interim anti-aircraft ships pending the introduction of guided weapons into the Royal Navy; four [[County-class destroyer]]s with the [[Seaslug (missile)|Seaslug missiles]] had been ordered by February 1957. In practice, only ''Tiger'' would be ready in time and perform sufficiently well to serve any length of time as a gun cruiser.{{efn|The first of the County-class, [[HMS Devonshire (D02)|HMS ''Devonshire'']], was commissioned in November 1962.}}

By the time ''Tiger''{{'}}s legend was accepted by the Board of the Admiralty in July 1954 and [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|the Cabinet]] in November 1954, the cruiser design, hull and machinery were really too old. Her two 6-inch turrets were insufficient to guarantee surface fire and were less effective in the [[anti-aircraft warfare]] role due to improvements in missiles and aircraft;<ref>C.Bell. ''Churchill and Seapower''. OUP (2013) p 315 & 392</ref> also, the basic fit of three twin 3 inch turrets were poor for effective, reliable coverage of the fire arcs.<ref>D. Brown & G. Moore. Rebuilding the RN Warship Design since 1945, Chatham, (2003) p 46-51</ref> The planned [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40mm Bofors guns]] approved in 1954/57 as essential for close-in defence were omitted to give the crew space and comfort.<ref>D. Brown & G Moore. ''Rebuilding the RN'' (2003) p 45-6</ref> [[Air conditioning]] was fitted throughout the ship, and a 200-line automatic telephone exchange was installed. Her first captain was reported in the [[House of Lords]] to have said "that H.M.S. ''Tiger'' had been designed to cope with nuclear attacks, in that she can steam for up to a fortnight through [[Nuclear fallout|radioactive fallout]] with remotely controlled boiler and engine and armament operating with re-circulating purified air below decks, and could operate as a fighting unit even if a nuclear bomb were dropped near by."<ref name="NavyEstsHoL">{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1959/may/06/the-navy-estimates#column_147 |author= |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title= The Navy Estimates |date=6 May 1959 |volume=216 |at=col 147|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> They were described in Parliament as "effective ships for a long period to come, and especially is this true east of Suez, where distances are so gigantic."<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1959/mar/09/vote-a-numbers#column_891 | author=The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty (Mr. C. [[Ian Orr-Ewing]]) |title= Vote A Numbers |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |volume=601 |at=col 891|date=9 March 1959|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>

As completed, ''Tiger'' carried:
*a Type 992Q surface search radar at the top of the foremast,{{sfn|Marriott|1985|pp=109–110}} with a range of {{convert|30|nmi|km}},<ref name=Conwaysp504/>
*a Type 960 air warning radar at the top of the mainmast,{{sfn|Marriott|1985|pp=109–110}} with a range of {{convert|170|nmi|km}},<ref name=Conwaysp504/>
*a [[Type 277 radar|Type 277Q]] height-finding radar halfway up the mainmast,{{sfn|Marriott|1985|pp=109–110}} with a range of {{convert|120|nmi|km}},<ref name=Conwaysp504/>
*five MRS 3 fire control directors (one for each turret), each fitted with a Type 903 gunnery radar.{{sfn|Marriott|1985|pp=109–110}}
Her sonars were:
*Type 174 medium range search,<ref name=HazeGrey/>
*Type 176 passive search, which shared the same dome as the Type 174,<ref name=HazeGrey/>
*Type 185 underwater telephone.<ref name=HazeGrey>{{citation|title=Tiger class cruiser|url=http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/rn/cruisers/tiger/|access-date=1 June 2017|first1=Sandy |last1=McClearn|website=Haze Gray & Underway}}</ref>

The ''Tiger''{{'}}s complement was officially stated as 698 (53 officers and 645 ratings) in peacetime, and 900 in wartime.<ref name=Janes1961-62>{{citation|page=252|title=Jane's Fighting Ships, 1961-62|editor-first=Raymond V B|editor-last=Blackman|publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd|date=1961}}</ref>

The ''Navy Estimates'' for 1959-60 gave her initial costs as £12,820,000,<ref name=NE1959/> whereas ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' gave her initial cost as £13,113,000.<ref name=Janes1975-76/><ref name=Janes1961-62/>

''Tiger'' was accepted by the Navy in March 1959,<ref name=NE1959/> and commissioned on 18 March 1959.<ref name=Conwaysp504>Gardiner 1995, p 504.</ref>{{efn|name=CommissionedDate|On 26 October 1960, the [[Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Royal Navy)|Civil Lord of Admiralty]], [[Ian Orr-Ewing, Baron Orr-Ewing|Ian Orr-Ewing]], stated in the House of Commons that the ''Tiger'' first commissioned in June 1959.<ref name=Commissioned>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1960/oct/26/hms-lion-and-tiger-gun-turrets-and#S5CV0627P0_19601026_CWA_52
|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title=H.M.S. "Lion" and "Tiger" (Gun-Turrets and Control Gear) |date=26 October 1960|at=volume 627 cc 278-9W|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>}}

==Early career==
[[File:HMS Tiger (ca. 1965) (20872081230).jpg|thumb|right|HMS ''Tiger'' April 1965. The Type 960 radar's dipole array at the top of her mainmast was replaced with the Type 965M radar single "bedstead" aerial during her 1968-72 refit.<ref name=RadarsAsConverted/>]]
The early part of ''Tiger''{{'}}s first commission was spent, under Captain [[Richard Washbourn|R. E. Washbourn]], on trials of her new armament. After workup, now 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 the [[flagship]] of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]]. By late 1960, there were still problems with her armament and it was planned to resolve these at her first refit at the end of 1960.<ref name=Commissioned/> During a visit by the [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]] (the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]]), his [[Naval Secretary]] Rear-Admiral [[Frank Twiss]] "made the unpardonable error of shooting down a very expensive target aircraft, to the cheers of the ship's company but to a stinging rebuke from their Lordships of the Admiralty."<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1978/jan/17/tributes-to-sir-frank-twiss|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title= Tributes to Sir Frank Twiss |author=Lord Carrington |date=17 January 1978|at =volume 388 cc 1-5|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> The ship took part in operations in the [[Far East]] during the [[Indonesian Confrontation]] in the early 1960s. The Navy in the early 1960s suffered manpower shortages, which resulted in a "shortfall in technical personnel" in the ''Tiger'',<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/mar/18/vote-1-pay-etc-of-the-royal-navy-and#S5CV0674P0_19630318_HOC_461 |title=House of Commons Debates, Vote 1. Pay, etc., of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines|date=18 March 1963|at=volume 674 para. 132, 140|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> as a consequence some "items of its equipment could not be operated",<ref name=ConversionPlans/> and "some of its equipment was not operational".<ref name=ConversionPlans/> In September 1963, the ''[[Glasgow Herald]]'' said that the "Tiger already has a much-reduced crew and is virtually a floating office."<ref name=ConversionPlans/> During the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election campaign]], the leader of the opposition, [[Harold Wilson]], criticised the government for this during a speech at [[Plymouth]].<ref name=Office>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1967/mar/01/hms-tiger#S5CV0742P0_19670301_HOC_314|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title=H.M.S. "Tiger"|date=1 March 1967|at=volume 742 cc 497-8|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=note in this reference|date=October 2021}}

Rear-Admiral [[Michael Pollock (Royal Navy officer)|Michael Pollock]] flew his flag in her as Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Home Fleet, from 1965 to 1966. On 10 August 1966 one of the guns accidentally fired a practice shell into Devonport Dockyard during material tests of the equipment. "One member of the ship's company was slightly grazed, but there were no other casualties."<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/aug/12/hms-tiger-firing-accident|title=House of Commons Debates, H.M.S. "Tiger" (Firing Accident)|date=12 August 1966 |at= volume 733 para. 2011-2|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> In October 1966, the ship was visiting Cardiff at the time of the [[Aberfan disaster]]. The crew assisted with the rescue and recovery operation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jenkins|first1=David|title=Shipping at Cardiff: Photographs from the Hansen Collection|publisher=[[University of Wales Press]]|isbn=9781783163229|oclc=935680065|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G26uBwAAQBAJ&q=%22HMS+Tiger%22+%22Aberfan+disaster%22&pg=PA97|access-date=25 October 2016|location=Cardiff|date=2013|edition=2nd|orig-date=1993}}</ref>

From 2 to 4 December 1966, she hosted talks between Prime Ministers [[Harold Wilson]] (UK) and [[Ian Smith]] of [[Rhodesia]].<ref name=ZimbabweToday>{{citation|url=http://zimbabwe-today.com/ian-smith-prime-minister-of-rhodesia/|title=Obituary, Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia|date=6 April 2017|newspaper=Zimbabwe Today|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527153805/http://zimbabwe-today.com/ian-smith-prime-minister-of-rhodesia/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Smith>{{citation|title=The Great Betrayal|first1=Ian|last1=Smith|publisher=Blake Publishing|date= 1997|isbn=1-85782-1769|pages= 127–131}}</ref> The latter had [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|unilaterally declared independence from Britain]] due to Britain's insistence on the [[No independence before majority rule|removal of white minority rule]] before independence. Twenty officers (including all twelve [[midshipmen]]) were put ashore at Gibraltar before the talks to "make room for the three delegations of the Prime Minister, the Governor of Rhodesia and Mr. Smith."<ref name=Office/> When the Rhodesian delegation arrived, the ''Tiger'' was a few miles off shore, and the delegation was ferried out in a small craft. The ''Tiger'' then moved out to sea, but moved close to harbour when the Rhodesian delegation disembarked.<ref name=Smith/> On Wilson's orders, the British and Rhodesian delegations were "separated in all activities outside the conference room".<ref name=ZimbabweToday/>

==Conversion and later career==
''Tiger'' was placed in reserve on 18 December 1966, before undergoing conversion to a "helicopter and command cruiser" from 1968–72 in [[HMNB Devonport]]. This reconstruction included removing the after 6&nbsp;inch mount and 3&nbsp;inch mounts, installing two [[Seacat missile|Seacat missile GWS 22]] mounts,<ref name=Conwaysp504/> and building a flight deck and hangar to operate four [[Westland Wessex]] (later [[Westland Sea King]] HAS 2) helicopters. ''Tiger'' was given much taller funnels with squared off caps, which was such an improvement that the [[HMS Blake (C99)|''Blake'']] was given similar funnels in 1977.<ref name=Conwaysp504/>

Once converted, ''Tiger'' carried:
*a Type 992Q surface search radar at the top of the foremast,<ref name=RadarsAsConverted/> with a range of {{convert|30|nmi|km}},<ref name=Conwaysp504/>
*a [[Type 965 radar|Type 965M]] air warning radar with an [[AKE-1]] single [[bedstead aerial]] at the top of the mainmast,<ref name=Conwaysp504/><ref name=RadarsAsConverted>{{harvnb|Marriott|1985|p=110}}</ref> this had a narrower beam than the Type 960, which was needed for air direction and was now the Royal Navy standard.<ref name=Friedman319>{{harvnb|Friedman|2012|p=319}}</ref>
*a Type 278 height-finding radar halfway up the mainmast,<ref name=Conwaysp504/> which was similar to the Type 277Q, but easier to maintain,<ref name=Friedman319/>{{efn|name=Type278|Sources differ: ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995''{{sfn|Gardiner|1995|p= 504}} and Friedman {{sfn|Friedman|2012|p=319}} state that the ''Tiger'' had a Type 278 after conversion while Marriott{{sfn|Marriott|1985|p=110}} and ''Janes''<ref>''Jane's Fighting Ships 1975-76'' page 349</ref> state that the ''Tiger'' had a Type 277Q after conversion.}}
*four MRS 3 fire control directors (one for each turret and Seacat mounting, each fitted with a Type 903 gunnery radar.<ref name=Janes1975-76/><ref name=RadarsAsConverted/>

She had excellent [[command, control, and communications]] facilities installed, and found use as a [[flagship]] to task groups.

When plans were announced to Parliament in March 1964, it was said that the Navy did "not expect this conversion work to be difficult or particularly expensive".<ref name=ConversionPlans>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1964/mar/02/vote-a-numbers#S5CV0690P0_19640302_HOC_248|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|title= Vote A. Numbers|volume=690 |at=col 935, 955, 979, 1051, 1084|date=2 March 1964 |access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> The reconstruction of [[HMS Blake (C99)|''Blake'']] and ''Tiger'' was examined in the third report of the [[Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom)|Public Accounts Committee]] for 1972. [[Michael Barnes (British politician)|Michael Barnes]] said in parliament that the refits "show too lax an attitude towards the way in which the taxpayers' money is being spent".<ref name=Hansard07December1972>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1972/dec/07/public-accounts-committee-reports#S5CV0847P0_19721207_HOC_297|date=7 December 1972|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title= Public Accounts Committee (Reports)|volume=847 |at=col 1735-1737|access-date=30 May 2017}}</ref> "The refits were planned to take 18 months and to cost £5 million each... The ''Tiger'' refit took over five years and cost over £13 million."<ref name=Hansard07December1972/>{{efn|name=Cost|''Jane's Fighting Ships'' gives the cost of conversion as £13,250,000.<ref name=Janes1975-76/> By comparison in the mid-1960s construction of a new [[Leander-class frigate|''Leander''-class frigate]] cost about £5 million, which had risen to about £{{fraction|6|1|2}} million by 1972 when the ''Tiger''{{'}}s refit was complete.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}}} Rear-Admiral [[Morgan Morgan-Giles|Morgan-Giles]], MP for Winchester, while advocating for the carrier [[HMS Eagle (R05)|HMS ''Eagle'']] to be brought back into commission, described ''Blake'' and ''Tiger'' as "among the worst abortions which have ever been thrust on the Royal Navy".<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1972/feb/23/defence#S5CV0831P0_19720223_HOC_334|date=23 February 1972|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|title= Defence|volume=831 |at=col 1344|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>

The ship's helicopter squadron increased the ship's peacetime complement to 885 (85 officers and 800 ratings),<ref name=Janes1975-76>{{cite book|page=349|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1975-76|editor-first=John E|editor-last=Moore|isbn=0-354-00519-7|publisher=Macdonald and Jane's & Co|date=1975}}</ref> which put a strain on accommodation for the crew.<ref name=RadarsAsConverted/>

During reconstruction and in the following years, material cannibalised from ''Lion'' was used to patch both ''Tiger'' and ''Blake''. ''Tiger'' reportedly had so much material from ''Lion'' that her crew nicknamed her "HMS Liger".{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

She was recommissioned on 6 May 1972. Her large crew made her an expensive ship to operate and maintain. When the economic difficulties of the late seventies came around, this led to a defence manpower drawdown that resulted in manpower shortages;<ref name=Conwaysp504/> although ''Tiger'' remained in service long enough to take part in the 1977 [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Silver Jubilee]] [[Fleet Review]] in celebration of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. ''Silver Jubilee Fleet Review'', HMSO</ref>

==Decommissioning and disposal==
[[File:HMS Tiger (1945) at Portsmouth Navy Day 1980 2.jpg|thumb|right|The de-activated HMS ''Tiger'' at [[Portsmouth]] [[Navy Days]] in 1980, showing the Type 965M radar with single bedstead AKE-1 aerial on her mainmast, the large flight deck and the hangar added in 1968–72.]]
In 1978 ''Tiger'' was placed [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|in reserve]], and decommissioned on 4 May 1979.<ref>{{citation |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1997/nov/12/hms-tiger#S6CV0300P0_19971112_CWA_208 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |title=HMS Tiger|date=12 November 1997 |volume=300 |at=col 581-2W |access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> She was put on the disposal list in 1979. Both ''Tiger'' and her sister ship ''Blake'' were listed as part of the Standby Squadron, and moored inactive at [[HMNB Chatham]].

When the [[Falklands War]] broke out in early April 1982, both ships were rapidly surveyed and it was determined both were not fit for return to service.{{CN|date=March 2025}} The heavy fuel oil they required for their boilers and very large crews required deemed them uneconomical to operate, also Blake in particular was found to be in very poor material condition with extensive corrosion.{{cn|date=March 2025}} 

There were also doubts about the two ships' self-defence capabilities, (the 6-inch and 3-inch armament had never been reliable) and this coupled with the large complement (and potential loss of life if one of the cruisers was to be lost), caused much anxiety in the Admiralty.{{cn|date=March 2025}} That, along with where to find 1,800 capable and qualified crew in a hurry at a time when the Royal Navy was already down-sizing, sealed the two ships' fate. The UK simply could not afford its own ''Belgrano'' disaster, either materially or politically.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Although [[Chile]] showed a faint interest in acquiring ''Tiger'' and sister-ship ''Blake'', this did not get past the discussion stage and ''Tiger'' lingered on, moored in [[Portsmouth]] harbour. ''Tiger'' existed in a slowly deteriorating condition until mid-1986, and following competitive tendering she was sold for scrap to Desguaces Varela of Spain.<ref>{{citation|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1986/jun/30/hms-tiger#S6CV0100P0_19860630_CWA_473|work=House of Commons Written Answers |title=HMS Tiger|date=30 June 1986|volume=100 | at=col 441W |publisher=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> She was towed to [[Spain]] and scrapping started in October 1986.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=David K. |last2=Moore |first2=George |title=Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design since 1945 |publisher=Seaforth |edition=reprint |date=2012 |orig-date=2004}}
*{{cite book |last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=British Cruisers, Two World Wars and After |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |edition=1 |date=23 August 2012 |isbn=978-1848320789}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gardiner |editor-first=Robert |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |date=1980}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gardiner |editor-first=Robert |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1982 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |date=1983}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gardiner |editor-first=Robert |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |date=1995 |isbn=0-85177-605-1}}
* {{cite book |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1950–51 |publisher=Janes Publishing |location=London |date=1950}}
* {{cite book |last=Marriott |first=Leo |title=Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers 1945–1990 |publisher=Ian Allan Ltd |date=1985 |isbn=0-7110-1561-9}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Moore |editor-first=John E |editor-link=John Moore (Royal Navy officer) |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1975–76 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's & Co |date=1975 |isbn=0-354-00519-7}}
* {{citation |last=Moore |first=George |contribution=British Cruiser Design 1946–1956 |title=Warship 2006 |publisher=Conway |location=London |date=2006}}
* {{cite web |last=Olver |first=Jeremy |title=Tiger Class Cruisers |url=http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Cruisers/tiger.htm |website=The Royal Navy Postwar |publisher=Jeremy Olver |date=15 January 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012123453/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Postwar/Cruisers/tiger.htm |archive-date=12 October 2008}}
* {{cite book |last1=Raven |first1=Alan |last2=Roberts |first2=John |title=British Cruisers of World War II |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |location=London |date=1980}}
* {{cite book |last=Whitley |first=M.J. |title=Cruisers of World War Two: An Illustrated Encyclopedia |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |location= London |date=1995}}
* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4039.html HMS ''Tiger'' at Uboat.net]

{{Tiger class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiger (C20)}}
[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Cold War cruisers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Tiger-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Helicopter carriers]]