The legendary British cruiser Belfast. Light cruisers of the Belfast class Ship Belfast London

" The most advanced light cruisers of the British Navy.

Belfast-class light cruisers
Belfast-class light cruisers

Light cruiser "Belfast" permanently moored in London
Project
A country
Previous type	"Manchester"
Main characteristics
Displacement	Standard - 10,302 dl. T, full - 13,175 dl. T
Length	176.47/187 m
Width	19.3 m
Draft	6.5 m
Booking	Belt - 114 mm; traverses - 63 mm; deck - 51…76 mm; towers - 102...51 mm; barbettes - 51…25 mm
Engines	4 TZA Parsons
Power	82,500 l. With. (60.7 MW)
Mover	4 screws ∅ 3.43 m
Travel speed	32.3 knots (60 km/h)
Cruising range	8000 nautical miles at 14 knots
Crew	781 people
Armament
Navigation weapons	two Admiralty type gyrocompasses echo sounder type 758N
Artillery	4 × 3 - 152 mm/50, 6 × 2 - 102 mm/45
Flak	2 × 8 - 40 mm/40, 3 × 4 - 12.7 mm machine guns
Anti-submarine weapons	"Asdik" type 132, 6 Mk-VH depth charges on the upper deck rails, 15 spare bombs
Mine and torpedo weapons	2 three-tube 533 mm torpedo tubes
Aviation group	1 catapult, 2 seaplanes

History of creation

It all started with the fact that the fleet of the Land of the Rising Sun ordered four Mogami-class cruisers, which with a standard displacement of 9500 dl. t carried 15 155 mm guns, a 100 mm side belt and protection for artillery magazines 140 mm thick. At the same time, they declared that the standard displacement of cruisers is 8500 dl. tons Formally, these cruisers were considered light, but in strength they turned out to be comparable to heavy ones.

Design

The hull of the cruisers had a classic forecastle design with an inclined stem and a cruising stern. The contours are characteristic of the British school of shipbuilding: round-chine with a characteristic break. The forecastle occupied about 45%. The hull was assembled according to a longitudinal scheme.

The design of the cruisers is essentially the same as that of the Southampton, but the engine and boiler rooms are moved aft and the hull is 7 m longer than the 180-meter (592 ft) hull of the Southampton. The contours of the body are round-cheeked, with a pronounced zygomatic break in the bow. The hull is divided by transverse waterproof bulkheads into 15 compartments; there was no structural anti-torpedo protection. There is a double bottom along the entire length of the hull, and a triple bottom in the cellar area. The freeboard height at normal displacement was 9.45 m at the bow (versus 9.33 m for the cruiser Gloucester) and only 4.95 m amidships and 5.56 m at the stern.

The Belfast type was originally designed to carry sixteen 152 mm guns in four four-gun turrets. This idea was soon abandoned and they returned to four three-gun turrets, albeit of an improved design, which made it possible to reduce the turret crew and increase the speed of supply of ammunition. The saved tons were spent on placing four additional 102-mm anti-aircraft guns, while lightly armored shelters for servants, an eight-barreled Pom-Pom and additional armor protection were placed between them. The decking is made of hardwood brought from the island of Borneo. The standard displacement was 10,069 dl. tons, total - 12,672 dl. tons The rescue equipment consisted of three motor boats 11 m long, one motor boat 8 m long, one motor 11-meter longboat, two sailing-rowing 10-meter boats, two 8-meter whaleboats, one 5-meter motor dinghy and two 4-meter meter dinghies. In addition, the cruisers carried Karlei's life rafts.

The Belfast-class light cruisers were equipped with three rodless anchors of the Byers design weighing 5588 kg (two main and one spare), one Admiralty-type aft stop anchor weighing 711 kg and one Admiralty-type verp weighing 508 kg.

Power plant

The main power plant consisted of four Parsons turbo-gear units and four Admiralty-type three-collector steam boilers. All boilers had steam superheaters, fuel and air heaters. The scheme is echelon; The boilers are located in pairs in two boiler rooms, and the TZA - in two engine rooms. The operating steam pressure in the boilers is 24.61 kg/cm² (24.29 atm), the temperature is 343°C, the normal preparation time for a hike is about 4 hours. The designed range was 10,000 nautical miles at 16 knots and 12,200 miles at twelve knots. Each boiler room was equipped with four turbofans, which created an excess pressure of 241.3 mm of water column. Compared to cruisers of the Linder and Aretyusa types, the Towns had more economical, although heavier, “cruising-type” units. Three turbines (high-pressure, low-pressure with a reverse stage and a cruising turbine) and a gearbox made up the turbo-gear unit. The cruising turbine was located in front of the theater and was connected to its shaft through a gearbox with a hydraulic coupling; it was switched off at full speed. The power and rotation speed were as follows:

TVD - 9400 l. With. at 3350 rpm.
TND - 10,600 l. With. at 2400 rpm.
TKH - 5000 l. With. at 6400 rpm.

The design capacity was 80,000 liters. With. at a propeller speed of 300 rpm, which was supposed to provide a speed (at full load) of 31 knots, the maximum speed with standard displacement was supposed to be 32.25 knots. The turbines were driven by four three-bladed propellers ∅ 3.43 m and a pitch of 4.19 m. The maximum speed with a clean bottom under the cruising turbines alone was 23 knots, with a fuel consumption of 7.5 t/h, which corresponded to a cruising range of 6141 miles. During sea trials in May 1939, Edinburgh with a displacement of 10,550 dl. t (close to standard) reached a speed of 32.73 knots with a power of 81,630 hp. With. "Belfast" with a displacement of 10,420 dl. t showed respectively 32.98 knots and 81,140 hp. With.

The cruisers had two independent electrical systems - AC and DC. The main power system with a voltage of 220 DC was used for lighting, driving fans, power motors, and heating. The AC network powered the gyrocompass, fire control system, radio equipment and ASDIC.

Electricity was generated by two turbogenerators with a capacity of 350 kW and one of 400 kW. The DC network fed two 300 kW diesel generators; the third (50 kW) was used as an emergency. The emergency lighting was battery operated.

Armament

Artillery weapons

The artillery armament of the Belfast-class cruisers included twelve 152 mm and the same number of 102 mm guns.

152-mm Mk-XXIII cannons with a barrel length of 50 calibers were the main caliber guns on all pre-war British light cruisers, starting with Linder. Initially they were installed in two-gun turrets Mk-XXI (Linder, Sydney, Arethusa), then in three-gun turrets Mk-XXII (Southampton type) and Mk-XXIII (Belfast, Fiji), with the minimum distance between the axes of the guns at zero elevation angle is 1.98 m. A feature of the British three-gun turrets was the displacement of the middle barrel back by 0.76 m in order to prevent the dispersion of shells due to the mutual influence of muzzle gases during full salvoes. For 152 mm guns, two types of shells were used - semi-armor-piercing with a ballistic cap and high-explosive. The mass of both was 50.8 kg, the weight of the explosive in the first was 1.7 kg (3.35%), in the second - 3.6 kg (7.1%). There were two types of charges - normal (13.62 kg) and flameless (14.5 kg). When using any, the initial velocity of the projectile was 841 m/s, which provided a maximum firing range of 23,300 m (125 kbt) with a gun elevation angle of 45°. The magazine capacity is 200 shells per gun. The barrel's survivability was 1,100 rounds when fired with a normal charge and 2,200 when fired with a flameless charge. The maximum firing range at an elevation angle of 45° is 23,300 m. The range of angles at which loading was carried out was from −5 to 12.5°. The rate of fire was up to eight rounds per minute, but they depended more on the feed rate, which was higher at Belfast and Fiji than at Southampton and Manchester. As a legacy from the four-gun turret, the Belfast received three lifts, each with a capacity of twelve rounds per minute, and three supply pipes, each with a capacity of twelve rounds per minute, feeding ammunition directly from the magazines directly to the turrets.

Large-caliber anti-aircraft artillery consisted of twelve 102-mm Mk-XVI guns in twin Mk-XIX deck mounts. The length of the gun barrel was 4572 mm (45 klb), the weight including the bolt was 2042 kg. In the Mk-XIX installation, both barrels were in the same cradle, the distance between the axes of the guns was 53.3 cm, and the maximum elevation angle was 85°. Projectile weight - 15.88 kg; the firing range at an elevation angle of 45° was 18,150 m, the height reach was 11,890 m, the technical rate of fire was 20 rounds per minute, although the practical one was lower: about 12-15 rounds. Initially, higher characteristics of the guns than their predecessors reduced the survivability to 600 shots, but after the start of the use of new flameless gunpowder, it increased to 1800 shots.

Anti-aircraft armament consisted of a pair of quad 12.7 mm machine guns, Vickers .50 and two eight-barreled Pom-Poms. The two-pound Vickers Mk.VII assault rifle was a development of the Mk. I, created back in the First World War, both models were called “pom-pom” for the characteristic sound made when fired, had the same 40.5-caliber barrel length and provided the new 764-gram HV projectile with an initial speed of 732 m/s (old "Pom-pom" used 907 gram LV projectiles with a muzzle velocity of 585 m/s). It had an effective altitude reach of 1,700 yards (1,550 m) instead of the not very large 1,200 yards (1,100 m) of the old one, although this was not very much, but was partly compensated by the high rate of fire - 100 rounds / min per barrel, which made it possible to develop high density fire. Fire control was carried out using anti-aircraft directors with 1.22 rangefinders. In addition, there were two 7.69 mm Vickes machine guns.

The landing parties were armed with 16 light machine guns (six Bren and ten Lyus).

And finally, in peacetime, the armament of the cruisers included three-pound (47 mm) Hotchkiss salute guns, created in the 80s of the 19th century in France and installed on large ships exclusively for presentation purposes.

Aviation weapons

In the 1930s, aircraft weapons were considered an important part of the combat power of a large surface ship. The Belfast class, like its predecessors, carried three Supermarine Walrus seaplanes. Two of them were stored with folded wings in separate hangars in the bow superstructure, the third stood on the catapult. The D-1H catapult is a powder catapult, 28 m long. The aircraft were lifted on board by two 7-ton electric cranes installed on the side of the catapult. With the advent of radar on cruisers, the need for on-board reconnaissance personnel disappeared, and since the middle of the war, aviation equipment has been dismantled from cruisers.

Torpedo weapons

The cruisers were armed with two TR-IV three-tube torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, installed on the upper deck along the sides, in the middle part of the ship. The ammunition load consisted of 12 533 mm torpedoes. Spare torpedoes (steam-gas Mk-IX) were stored in a room between the devices, protected by 16-mm steel plates. The cruisers used a single speed setting of 9.6 km at 36 knots. Belfast was one of the few large ships of the Second World War that used its torpedo weapons in battle (in December 1943 against the Scharnhorst). The torpedo tubes were dismantled during the major modernization of 1955-1959.

Booking

The weight of the armor, without turret armor, was 18.6% of the standard displacement. Compared to the Southampton, the protection scheme has changed: the 114-mm armor belt has become significantly longer, which made it possible to abandon the box-shaped armor of the cellars. The belt dropped below the waterline by 0.91 m, reaching the main deck in height (in the area of the engine and boiler rooms - to the upper deck). The transverse beams were of the same thickness - 63 mm, the armored deck - 50 mm and 76 mm in the area of the ammunition magazines of the bow and stern turrets. The steering gear was protected from above by a 50 mm main deck, and from the sides by a 25 mm box. The armor of the barbettes was strengthened - now above the deck their thickness on the sides was 102 mm (51+51), and at the bow and stern - 51 mm (25+25), overboard, to the armored deck, their thickness on the sides was 51 mm, and in the bow and stern - 25 mm. The towers had a thickness of 102/51/51 mm - front/side/roof.

"Belfast"(English HMS Belfast) is a British light cruiser that functions as a museum. The ship was built in the 30s of the 20th century and today it is the last surviving cruiser of Great Britain.

There were only two such ships (Town class, Belfast subclass) - Edinburgh and Belfast, and both of them performed well in World War II. The cruisers fought heroically in the north, but the Edinburgh was sunk by a German submarine, and the Belfast participated in battles for a long time and was used to guard Lend-Lease cargo. Despite the fact that the cruiser was a light cruiser, that is, it had limitations in displacement and caliber of artillery pieces, its armament was excellent.

Content

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Ship specifications:

displacement 10 thousand tons;
dimensions - 190 meters (length), 19 meters (width);
maximum speed - 32 knots;
crew - 730 people;
three spotter aircraft;
two torpedo tubes;
armament - 152 mm main caliber guns (4 turrets with 3 guns in each turret).

The cruiser underwent modernization from time to time, during which small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery was reinstalled. Subsequently, the aircraft and torpedo tubes were removed from the ship. Today Belfast is moored directly opposite the Tower, on the River Thames. In panoramas of the Thames you can often see this floating museum, a memory of the Second World War. The entrance to it is from the embankment along a ladder.

The Second World War for Belfast began with an explosion - in 1939 the cruiser was blown up by a German mine and it took three years to restore it. These years were the most tense for the British navy during the entire conflict. At this time, the Edinburgh, which was transporting Soviet gold - payment for British aid, sank in the Barents Sea. When Belfast returned to the water, she was used as cover for Lend-Lease convoys heading to Murmansk. He also supported Allied troops during the Normandy landings. Later, the cruiser took part in the Korean War, and in the early 60s it was sent to reserve. When it became clear that the Belfast was the last cruiser that took part in the events of the Second World War, the British public came out with a request to preserve the ship for posterity as a museum. In fact, the ship actually owes its "life" to one of its former commanders, Rear Admiral Morgan-Giles. Its construction once cost Britain more than 2 million pounds. Today it costs about £2,000 a day to maintain and park.

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The architecture of the ship differs in the position of the engine installation - it is located closer to the stern to accommodate the seaplane. Outside you can see the main caliber bow turrets (152 mm), Bofors anti-aircraft guns, of which there are 6 in total on the ship. The interior is decorated as it looked during the war. To create the atmosphere, the rooms contain wax mannequins in appropriate Royal Navy uniforms from the last century. Cooks in the ship's bakery and galley, doctors bending over an anesthetized patient in the operating room, a hospital with recovering sailors, a carpentry shop, an artillery cellar, a fire control post. Officers' cabins, sailors' quarters, shower and latrine. Why, on the ship you can even see a dummy of Frankenstein's red cat, who catches a dummy rat. In the radio room, the radio operator plays English music so that the eight hundred sailors who lived for months in this house on the water don’t miss their homeland so much. Former sailors who served on the Belfast are now serving as guides on the ship. It is difficult to get lost in the ship's premises - there are signs everywhere, you can consult information stands with movie screens or even take an audio tour. At the entrance to the ship there is a traditional souvenir shop with military-historical literature at “museum” prices.

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Museumification of the cruiser and the exhibition "Life of the Ship".
Afterwards, from the outside, from both banks of the Thames, we will board it along the bridge at the stern.
From here you have a magnificent view of the Tower and Tower Bridge.

On 24 August 1963, the cruiser Belfast returned to Devonport from her last long voyage to the Mediterranean and, after some minor reconstruction, was put into reserve. In January 1966 the ship's machinery and power system were re-mothballed and from May 1966 to 1970 she served moored at Fareham Creek in Portsmouth in the reserve division. While Belfast was at Fareham Creek, the Imperial War Museum became interested in preserving the 175-ton Mk XXIII triple turret. The turret could represent a range of vanishing British gun cruisers and complement the pair seamlessly.

On April 14, 1967, museum staff visited the cruiser Gambia, also moored at Fareham Creek. After the visit, the idea of preserving the entire ship emerged. But the cruiser Gambia was in poor condition, so they turned their attention to the possibility of saving Belfast. The Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defense set up a joint committee which reported in June 1968 that a scheme to preserve the cruiser was practical and economical. However, in early 1971 the government, represented by Paymaster General (an official of the Treasury), refused to retain it. On May 4, 1971, the cruiser Belfast was sent for recycling and began to wait for cutting into metal.

The deck at the stern is covered with wood, and a sail is stretched over it to protect against precipitation. Directly in front of us is the entrance to the premises of the officers responsible for controlling the ship and giving signals. To the right is a silver ship's bell, donated to the ship in 1948 by the people of Belfast.

Following the government's refusal to preserve the ship, a private trust, the HMS Belfast Trust, was established. It was headed by its chairman, Rear Admiral Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles, captain of Belfast from January 1961 to July 1962. On 8 March 1971, Morgan-Giles stood before the House of Commons and described Belfast as being "in a remarkable state for future preservation" and that saving it represented the nation's "last opportunity". Among the MPs who spoke in support of Morgan-Giles was Gordon Bagier, MP for South Sunderland, who served as Royal Navy Squire aboard Belfast and was on board for both the sinking of Scharnhorst and the Normandy landings. Speaking for the Government, Deputy Secretary of the Navy Peter Michael Kirk said Belfast was "one of the most historic ships the Navy has had in the last 20 years" but it could not prevent the dismantling of the ship's equipment as things had gone too far to stop it. However, he agreed to defer a decision on further dismantling so that the Trust could draw up a formal proposal.
After numerous efforts, in July 1971 the government agreed to place Belfast in trust for the Trust, with Vice Admiral Sir Donald Gibson as its first director. At a press conference in August 1971, the Trust announced Operation Seahorse to transfer the cruiser to London. The ship was towed from Portsmouth to London via Tilbury, where it was converted into a museum. On October 15, 1971, the cruiser was towed to its final stop above Tower Bridge.
Pay attention to how, in just over two months, the main work was carried out to transform the cruiser into a museum.

Near the entrance to the aft superstructure there is a wooden commemorative plaque with the Belfast coat of arms, its motto “PRO TANTO QUID RETRIBUAMUS” (Latin: “What should we give in exchange for more.” The same motto is embossed on the 1 pound coin minted in 2010) and the most significant military campaigns in the cruiser's history.
- Arctic convoys of 1943 to the Soviet Union;
- the battle of the North Cape on December 26, 1943, as a result of which the German battleship Scharnhost was sunk;
- landing in Normandy in June 1944;
- participation in the Korean War in 1950-52.

HMS Belfast was opened to the public as a museum on October 21, 1971, the day of the Battle of Trafalgar. Belfast became the first naval vessel to be saved for the nation after victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Although she was no longer part of the Royal Navy, HMS Belfast received special permission to fly the naval ensign.
Support for the restoration of the vessel was received from individuals, the Royal Navy and commercial enterprises. By 1974, the admiral's bridge, forward boiler rooms and engine rooms had been restored and equipped. In the same year, the ship's operations room was reconstructed by a team from HMS Vernon and six turrets from Bofors were returned. By December 1975, 1,500,000 guests visited Belfast.
However, by 1977 the financial position of the HMS Belfast Trust had deteriorated significantly and the Imperial War Museum asked permission to merge the Trust and the museum. On 19 January 1978, Secretary of State for Education and Science Shirley Williams accepted the proposal that HMS Belfast "is a unique demonstration of an important stage in our history and technology." The ship was transferred to the museum on 1 March 1978 and became the third branch of the Imperial War Museum. In October 1998, the HMS Belfast Association was formed to reunite former members of the shipping company.

Now the space of the ship is divided into several thematic zones. To begin with, we will walk a little along the port side, delve into the bowels of the cruiser and examine the exhibition called “Life on board the ship.”
The first room we enter on the starboard side is the laundry room. A museum begins with a coat rack, and a museum ship begins with a laundry room.
There is everything you need to keep your crew's clothes clean. Note the ironing presses on the left.

Washing and spinning machines. The sailor serving them stands with his back to us.

After being installed at Tower Bridge, Belfast was dry docked twice to improve the durability of the hull. In 1982, work was carried out in Tilbury, and in June 1999 the cruiser was towed to Portsmouth. This was the first time he went to sea in 28 years. To do this, it was necessary to obtain a Seaworthiness Certificate from the Maritime and Coastal Agency. During the last docking, the hull was cleaned and repainted, galvanic protection was checked and an ultrasonic examination was carried out. It is expected that the ship will not require additional drydocking until 2020.
During maintenance work on the cruiser, her hull and superstructures were repainted in a specific camouflage scheme officially known as Admiralty Destructive Camouflage Type 25, which Belfast wore from November 1942 to July 1944. This was opposed by some experts, due to the contradiction between the camouflage, reflecting most of the active service during World War II, and the ship's current configuration, the result of the ship's lengthy refurbishment from January 1956 to May 1959.
With the creation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) National Historic Ships Advisory Committee in 2006, Belfast was included in the National Historic Fleet.
On 9 May 2010, a ceremony was held on board Belfast to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Veterans of Arctic convoys attended the medal presentation ceremony by Russian Ambassador Yuri Fedotov.
In 2017, it was announced that the Royal Navy's third Type 26 frigate would be named Belfast. At the same time, the IWM said the museum would be renamed "HMS Belfast (1938)" as a means of avoiding confusion.

The carpentry workshop, despite the fact that the cruiser is not just made of iron, but also has armor protection, an integral attribute of any ship. The carpenter, as expected, will appear in the image of Papa Carlo.

When the cruiser Belfast was first opened to the public, visitors could only view the upper decks and forward superstructure. As of 2011, nine decks were open to the public. The management of the Imperial War Museum has divided the interior of HMS Belfast into three extensive exhibition areas. The first of them, “Life on board a ship,” talks about the peculiarities of organizing maritime service. In this part, the interiors of the compartments have been restored, complemented by mannequins illustrating the working conditions of the crew. Among those available for inspection: the hospital, galley, laundry, chapel, wardroom, cockpits, etc. Since 2002, school and youth groups have been able to stay aboard the Belfast overnight, sleeping in bunks on the restored 1950s deck.

The passage displays one of the 533-mm torpedoes that make up the ship's mine and torpedo armament

The second section of the exhibition, “Internal Mechanisms,” is located below the waterline and is protected by the ship’s armored belt. This section covers basic power, electrical, and communications systems. In addition to the engine room and boiler room, various sections of the ship present to the attention of visitors the Admiral's fire control post, the bow control room of the ship, and the cellars of one of the main caliber towers.

Next to it is a hatch with numerous seals. The hatch is clearly not simple, but I can’t say anything about its purpose.

The third section of the exhibition, “Combat Posts,” includes the upper deck and forward superstructure with the ship’s weapons, command post and fire control post. The conning tower, the admiral's cabin and the main caliber artillery tower are open to the public. During 2011, two rooms were reinterpreted. The conning tower was restored to its appearance during the major British-Australian-American joint exercise Pony Express held in North Borneo in 1961. The reinterpretation included an interactive audiovisual radar screen. In July 2011, the interior of the Y Turret, the latest 6-inch turret, was redesigned with audio-visual and atmospheric effects in an attempt to capture the feeling of a gunner at the Battle of the North Cape.
To highlight the perception of the cruiser's armament, her 6" guns from the bow turrets were re-aimed at the London Lock service station on the M1 motorway, approximately 12.5 miles from central London, causing various public speculation.
One 4-inch gun and ammunition hoist are in working order and are used during military historical re-enactments for dry-fire demonstrations. In addition to the various areas of the ship open to visitors, some sections have been set up as a separate exhibition area. Permanent exhibitions include HMS Belfast in War and Peace and Life at Sea.

An authentic latrine with sanitary ware with the self-explanatory name Shanks, which means cuttings, trunks, rods...

Mail office. Here the crew could receive and send letters to relatives. Only outgoing correspondence can lie here for quite a long time, before entering a port or opportunity.

Ship's Church. It stores memorial banners and wreaths

Radio center broadcasting in-ship broadcasts and music

Rack with equipment "Rediton" enlarged

We gradually move along the corridors of the cruiser to its bow. On the right is an open door with latches. The doorway is blocked by an advertising board for a company that works with asbestos. On the left, beyond the edge of the frame, are shields with cruiser diagrams.

Information boards with a deck-by-deck display of the cruiser's premises. In the foreground is another hatch with bolts and something similar to a small crane beam

Deck layout of the cruiser Belfast

Having received a general idea of the structure of the cruiser, let's go to the galley.
Almost immediately we find ourselves in the premises where supplies are stored. In this case, this is a refrigerator with meat carcasses and tenderloins ready for cooking.

Chicken and sirloin on aluminum containers in the refrigerator

And in this room the butcher will cut the carcasses into chops

Potatoes are peeled here. I just can’t figure out how this potato peeler works. Or is it always broken, like it was in our army?
In theory, the potatoes should be poured into the top hatch, rotate in the drum of the centrifuge, generously watered with water from a hose, and then, without waiting for the mechanisms to stop, the door facing us opens with a long handle and the potatoes fly out into a large tray (in ours, right on the floor, if you don’t place a huge tank with handles). Here, for some reason, there are unpeeled potatoes in a tray, in the middle of which, on a pedestal, stands a half-frying pan, half-pot with the results of labor.

Dishwasher with mountains of dirty dishes in the sinks

Actually, the galley is where food is prepared for the crew. In front of us is a table for cutting and preparing fish, on the right are instructions for using the deep fryer

Process of deep frying fish for Chips and Fish

First courses and side dishes are prepared here

Freshly peeled potatoes were loaded into this tank. Notice how skillfully it is made, I especially liked the foam on the water and one. potatoes that have managed to darken

Something similar to a “bread slicer” in the Soviet army. Packaging for tea leaves, syrup and margarine. On the right are partially included in the frame or scales or cutting devices

Some other utility room

From there we get to the distribution. It's not mealtime and the counters are just starting to fill up with ready-made dishes.

Distribution from those standing with trays for food

In the background, already familiar cooks are frying fish

We go to the bakery

The inscription at the top can be translated as “Order: no smoking!”

Then I heard that somewhere someone was squeaking and a cat was meowing and I followed the sounds, ending up in an empty pantry where potatoes were once stored.

Here the ship's cat caught a big fat rat

I leave the galley area and find myself in the junior officers' quarters. Here someone from the team has just taken a shower and is preparing to take over the shift

Wardrobe

I go further into the bow of the ship on the right side and find myself in the ship's infirmary.
First to the dentist's office. Here the persistent smell of medicine hangs in the air, the drill squeals, and the patient’s cries carry far along the corridors of the ship.

A few medical instruments. Does anyone know how to insert the disgusting sound of a low-speed dental machine here to complete the picture?

Pharmacy. On the left is a box with everything necessary in case of bacteriological infection, or for storing samples and analyzes

Operating room. A complex abdominal operation is currently being performed here.

Anesthesiologist and patient

Surgeon

Hospital convalescent ward

Someone came to visit the sick

This sailor suffered a hand injury

Stretchers for transporting the wounded and injured. Thanks to them, the wounded can be lifted along vertical ladders

I don't remember where it was filmed. Looks like a metrologist's office

We move on to the part where, by demolishing the bulkheads, a more or less unified space was created for an exhibition telling the history of the cruiser. Here I only photographed what caught my attention and there would be no coherent story in pictures.
Drawing of a main caliber gun turret with three 6" BL Mark XXIII guns

Tower layout

Some unknown bullshit. Or is this the hull of a German bottom mine on which the cruiser was blown up in November 1939?

Model of the battleship Scharnhorst in the sinking of which the cruiser participated on December 26, 1943

280-mm main caliber shell of the battleship Scharnhorst

14" shell from British battleships that sank the battleship Scharnhorst

Here, via an internal telephone, visitors can listen to the memories of Belfast veterans and learn about maritime traditions and customs. On the right is a keg for grog. You can take a photo on it.

Naval uniforms and hats of Royal Navy sailors. A diver's helmet is probably also classified as "headgear"

Let's go further.
Buffet N.A.A.F.I. Opening hours on the right
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) is an organization created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational facilities needed by the British armed forces and sell products to military personnel and their families. Something like our Voentorg. NAAFI operates clubs, bars, shops, supermarkets, laundries, restaurants, cafes and other facilities on most British military bases, as well as canteens on board Royal Navy ships. Generally, officers do not use NAAFI clubs and bars as it is considered an invasion of the privacy of junior ranks.
NAAFI personnel who work aboard the ship are part of the Naval Catering Service (NCS), wear a naval uniform and have a combat record, but remain ordinary civilians. NAAFI personnel can also join the Expeditionary Force Institutes (EFI), which provides NAAFI facilities in war zones. EFI personnel are members of the Territorial Army, performing specific duties, serving in ranks and wearing uniforms. NCS personnel can also volunteer to join the Royal Navy while on active service. Petty Officer John Leake, NCS mess manager on HMS Ardent, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in 1982 during the Falklands War for his courage while providing ammunition to a machine gun.

Another kiosk where crew members can buy all sorts of things

A special room where grog is made is a long-standing tradition of the Royal Navy.
The thing is that due to the inability to store fresh water on long voyages, they took a supply of rum, beer or wine to disinfect it and for separate consumption. Rum began to be associated with the British Royal Navy in 1655, when the British fleet captured the island of Jamaica. The presence of home-produced rum led to its replacement of French brandy as an alcoholic drink that was present daily in the sailors’ diet. Rum was replaced by grog.
The name of the drink comes from the nickname of the British vice-admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757) - “Old Grog”. In those days, the daily rum allowance for sailors was half a pint of 80% rum (about 280 ml). It was included in the diet as a preventative against scurvy and other ailments until the abolition of this rule on July 31, 1740. This periodically caused disciplinary problems and drunkenness among sailors. To reduce the effect of alcohol on sailors, Admiral Vernon ordered that rum be distributed only diluted with water, cold or hot (depending on the situation) and lemon juice. The volume of the drink was left the same - half a pint - but the rum itself contained half as much. The drink began to be called “rum on three waters”, or “grog” - after the nickname Old Grog, which was given to Vernon for his habit of walking on the deck in bad weather in an old waterproof cape made of faille (English grogram cloak).
Rum was part of the daily diet of Royal Navy sailors until the rule was abolished on July 31, 1970.

Cruiser Belfast (HMS Belfast)– floating naval museum in London, moored forever between Tower and London Bridges. This is a 7-deck heavily armed armored ship, whose main historical merit is participation in the landing of Allied forces in Normandy in 1944.
« Belfast"can be called London "Aurora", these ships are “twin brothers” in the exchange of museum experience, but judging impartially, the museum cruiser in London is many times more interesting.

It will be interesting to visit Belfast with a child from the age of six, and first of all, of course, boys. Children here are allowed to run around the echoing decks, examine the mounted guns and even turn their turning mechanisms.

Seven floors of corridors are fraught with a lot of interesting things - everywhere there are mannequins of sailors performing their duties in the cabins details of everyday life were recreated and scenes from ship life. In the underwater part of the ship "Belfast" you will even see a terrifying battle to save the ship from an underwater explosion - torn bulkheads, gurgling water and a flaring fire!

Official information of HMS Belfast
Website http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/
Address: Morgan's Lane, Tooley Street, London SE1 2JH
Metro: London Bridge
Buses: 21, 35, 40, 43, 47, 48, 133, 381
Open to the public: daily,
March – October: 10.00 – 18.00,
November – February: 10.00 – 17.00,
Last entry is one hour before closing.
Closed December 24, 25, 26.
Ticket price for cruiser Belfast:
Adults £13.50 (including voluntary donation), children under 16 free

Cruiser Belfast - history
At the Harland & Wolf shipyard in Belfast, in 1936, the cruiser Belfast was laid down; it was a special order for the shipyard: the cruiser received slipway No. 1000. But it was in demand only at the beginning of World War II.
Although the ship had improved armor protection, it suffered failure in its first combat operations. In November 1939, the warship hit a German mine, which put it out of action for three years.

After repairs at the end of 1942, Belfast was fully involved in hostilities, but, fortunately, did not receive any further damage. Along the Arctic sea route, the ship repeatedly accompanied and protected cargo transferred by the allies to the USSR. It supplied necessary goods and materials, and military equipment to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

In December 1943." Belfast took part in the destruction of the German battleship Sharnhorst, in which he played a key role. During the battle, the cruiser fired 38 salvos, while avoiding being hit. During the Normandy landings he supported the Allied forces. Since June 1944, the ship, firing at Nazi fortifications, thereby provided cover for the British landing force.

A lot was done with participation in the Korean War. In 1950-1953 Belfast accompanied American and British aircraft carriers, carried out diplomatic missions in Japan, and served as a headquarters ship. It received minor damage from coastal artillery fire. After a major overhaul and minor modernization, the cruiser began to be used on foreign voyages.

In 1960 he visited India, Ceylon, Australia and Singapore, Hong Kong. In 1961, Belfast called at the ports of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Tokyo. In 1962, the cruiser visited Pearl Harbor, off the coast of Canada and the USA.
In 1963, the ship was no longer used for its intended purpose and was put into reserve. During its entire service, Belfast covered about 500 thousand miles.

In 1971, it was decided to turn the last surviving cruiser from World War II into a museum (officially it is considered a branch of the Imperial War Museum).

Not far from the Tower Bridge on the Thames River is the Belfast Museum Ship, which amazes every traveler with its gigantic size. It is also called a symbol of Great Britain's military power. A few decades ago, it took a direct part in the Second World War, and today it is permanently parked, as if demonstrating all its inexhaustible power to curious tourists.

Construction of Belfast began in December 1936. The ship became one of 10 so-called Town cruisers, each of which was named after a particular English city. In this case, the name was borrowed from an Irish settlement. The ship was launched in 1938 on St. Patrick's Day, and was commissioned a year later, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. In November 1939, the cruiser was damaged as a result of a powerful explosion. Restoration work was carried out over two years.

In 1943, the ship played a significant role in the destruction of the German battleship Scharnhost, in July 1944 it took part in the famous Normandy operation, and in 1950-1952 in the Korean War. Between 1956 and 1959 the ship was significantly modernized. And on August 24, 1963 he was decommissioned from the Navy. In 1967, through the efforts of the active public, the Belfast was saved from the expected disposal, and in July 1971 the cruiser was permanently moored near the Tower Bridge, and 4 months later a museum was organized in it.

The snow-white giant amazes with its enormous size. Its length is more than 190 meters, width - over 19.

The ship has 9 decks. The cruiser's crew at one time consisted of 730 people. By the way, several veterans from his first squad are still alive, who sometimes come to visit Belfast. On a tour of the museum ship, you have a unique opportunity to look into all its cabins, where the life of the crew of the 1940-1950s has been restored. In almost every one of them you will see wax figures of captains and their assistants, junior commanders and sailors. Some crew members are resting, others are busy working, and others are having dinner. You will also go to the kitchen, where the dishes that sailors ate in the 1940s are presented. There is also a ship's infirmary, where the wounded members of the Belfast crew were sent, and even a post office. Go into the modest chapel where they prayed in their most difficult moments. Your cruise tour will end on the top deck with stunning views of the Thames.