History of Royal Navy cruisers (heavy cruisers, light cruisers). Royal Navy cruiser website featuring the Leander Class cruiser HMS Ajax including crew and families of ex-crew members notice board for the cruiser HMS Ajax.
HMS Ajax, was built by Vickers Armstrong at barrow and launched 1st march 1934 and completed 12th April 1935. HMS Ajax served in the South Atlantic 1939, taking a major role in the battle of the River Plate against the Graf Spee, going to the Mediterranean fleet 1940 - 1942, became part of Force H before going for refit in the United states 1943, returning to the Mediterranean Fleet 1943 till the end of the war. HMS Ajax was finally scrapped at Newport November 1949.
Specifications for HMS Ajax
Displacement: 6,985 tons Speed: 32.5kt Complement: 550
Armament: Eight 6 inch guns in pairs. Eight 4 inch anti-aircraft guns in pairs and eight 2pdr anti-aircraft guns in pairs as well as twelve 0.5 inch machine guns in fours. Eight 21 inch torpedo tubes in pairs and 1 aircraft.
The War In Abyssinia And The Fleet
Concentration
A brief account of the circumstances leading up to the Italy-Abyssinian War and an outline of the campaign is of interest to most of us, in view of the relation, which these matters had to our movements during the Commission.
In the latter part of the last century, the Italians, who were far behind Britain and France in the “race for Africa,” first cast covetous eyes at the cool and fertile highlands of Abyssinia.
Eritrea to the north and Somaliland to the south, they already possessed, but these colonies, though providing several ports and a great length of coast line, were low lying and unhealthy, and therefore unsuitable as outlets for the growing Italian population.
The Italian expeditionary force, which pushed on conquest bound into Tigre, the northern province of Abyssinia, met with intial success in 1895, but it, miscalculated the strength of the Abyssinian people and the difficulty of keeping lines of communications open in that mountainous country.
In 1896 an army of 120,000 Abyssinians, commanded by the great Emperor Menelik, surrounded the entire Italian force at Adowa and inflicted a crushing defeat upon the invaders.
This called a halt to Italian colonial progression and a treaty was signed fixing the boundaries of the Abyssinian “Empire.”
Nearly forty years later, Italy, whose prestige had suffered a damaging blow, was to seek revenge.
The rise of Mussolini with his Fascist regime saw Italy grow rapidly in power during the post war years. By the end of 1934 it was apparent that the Duce intended to start his programme of colonial expansion by the conquest if Abyssinia, which he regarded at Italy’s destiny, according to a number of bombastic public utterances made to the Black shirts.
In December 1934 a clash occurred at Wal Wal, a watering place for tribesmen on the boundary between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland, over the delimitation of the frontier. Hundreds of casualties were inflicted on both sides in spite of the presence of an Anglo-Ethiopian boundary Commission. This led to threats and demands for compensation on the part of Abyssinia and relations grew worse and worse. At the beginning of 1935 Mussolini started to pour soldiers, labourers and war material into Eritrea and Somaliland via the ports of Massawa and Mogadiscio respectively.
Soon vast Italian armies, merchandized to the highest degree and supplemented by large numbers of aeroplanes, were assembling on the northern and southern frontiers of Abyssinia. A continuous stream of Italian troop ships and transports passed through the Suez Canal crowded with regulars and Black shirts vociferously acclaiming “Il Duce.” No attack could be made until the autumn, as the rains render all highways in Abyssinia impassable between the months of June and September.
Heedless of world opinion, Mussolini pushed on his war preparations and on 11th September 1935 Britain gave her dramatic lead to the League of Nations by concentrating her fleets in the Mediterranean, with an eye to “Military Sanctions.”
We all know, only too well, how Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria and Haifa were prepared for war during that hectic and uncertain autumn when Italy, enraged at Britain’s action, seemed on the point of attacking her as well as Abyssinia.
At the end of September the long awaited blow fell and, on the trifling pretext of a frontier incident, Marshal De Bono, with an army of 150,000 men, started to advance into Abyssinia from the north, while Marshal Graziani with a smaller army advanced from the south. The Italians made rapid progress into the plains of Ogaden in the south during the first few days, aeroplanes proving effective in the open country, but a waterless desert checked their advance.
The northern advance was also successful and within a fortnight Italy was celebrating the fall of Adowa, scene of her humiliation. Southwards towards Addis Ababa pushed De Bono’s army and Makale was the next town to fall. There the advance was halted by desperate Abyssinian resistance, in which the Emperor Haile Selassie himself bore a part, aided by the increasing mountainous character of the country. A drive by Graziani northwards towards Harrar to cut the countries only railway was unsuccessful and by the end of 1935 the situation was a virtual deadlock. Italian aeroplanes and mechanized force were, for the moment unable to prevail against the elusive, guerrilla tactics adopted by their opponents. Italy’s position at this time, with economic sanctions applied against her by the League of Nations, was not favourable.
The arrival of Marshal Badoglio to replace De Bono in the supreme command was an indication that Mussolini was dissatisfied with the progress of the war. It was soon apparent that the most strenuous efforts were to be made to achieve decisive results before the rain commenced in May. Large scale offensives were launched simultaneously open north and south fronts in January 18936 and, for the first time in this campaign, mustard gas was dropped by Italian aeroplanes over a wide area on the northern front. The Abyssinians, totally unprotected against gas, were soon on the retreat and Italian columns made spectacular advances to Gondar and Lake Tana in the northwest and to the shores of Lake Rudolf, along the frontier of Kenya, in the southwest.
During February and March the Abyssinian forces held out desperately against the main attack by Badogilo’s northern army, but gradually they were driven back.
With the fall of Magdala in April, the route lay open to Addis Ababa, which the Italians reached a few days later, their mechanized columns moving swiftly once the main mountain barriers were passed.
The capture of Addis Ababa on 5th May meant the end to all organised resistance, on the part of the Abyssinians. Harrarm Diredawa and the remaining unconquered area along the railway line were soon taken.
The railway had not been cut during the whole campaign, and had remained the only line of communication between the capital and the outside world.
By the end of May nearly the whole of Abyssinia, except the western province, was under Italian control, including Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, whose water is vital for the irrigation of Egypt and the Sudan cotton fields.
It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good and the sudden end to this struggle brought the finish of sanctions and the British Fleet was able to disperse at the beginning of June and return to its normal stations.
The Base Defences
Early in September 1935 many Naval, Military and R.A.F. units suddenly found themselves “under orders.” Owing to the special issues of tropical clothing, junior officers and men knew that they were destined for a warm climate, and as our relations with Italy were strained because of Mussolini’s aggressive attitude towards Abyssinia, it was generally surmised that this destination was somewhere between Malta and Aden. Whether Great Britain was clenching her mauled fist primarily in support of the League of Nations, or whether she considered her Imperial Communications were threatened, it s not the object of this article to consider.
The majority of these units found themselves at Alexandria, and very soon that large commercial port contained a bigger concentration of naval and other units than has been seen since the Great War. The period immediately preceding the completion of our naval concentration at Alexandria, and the installation of anti-aircraft, underwater and coast defences-when the tension with Italy was at its height was most critical, and it is doubtful if many of us have considered what might have happened.
Great Britain was unprepared for war; the Mediterranean fleet was cruising in the Eastern Mediterranean and its only base for repairs, stores, and communications, etc, was Malta, which would have been untenable in the event of war with Italy. It was possible, too, that our line of communication through the Central and Western Mediterranean would be so severely interfered with, that the establishment of another base for the Fleet father East would be impossible. More and more dependent does a modern fleet become on a well-equipped and well-defended base, yet the possibility of the Mediterranean fleet having to operate from one or more unequipped and undefended anchorages loomed very large at this period.
Alexandria was most conveniently situated from a geographical point of view and lent itself fairly easily to defence by coast artillery and underwater defences; the installation of A.A. defences was simplified by the fact that the anchorage was situated at very nearly the maximum range of the nearest Italian air base; attacking aircraft were therefore limited to a direct approach, along which topographical conditions allowed the main effort of the ground defences to be concentrated.
The first personnel for defences of Alexandria arrived on 14th September 1935 in the transport Neuralia and consisted of 250 Royal Marines and 600 Army ranks; the Royal Marines consisted of the Landing and Transport Company of the M.N.B.D.O., and the Army units of one A.A. battery R.A. one Searchlight Company R.E., with their necessary R.C.’s, R.A.M.C. and R.A.O.C. detachments. The tractors, lorries, guns and searchlights arrived shortly afterwards in S.S. Bellerophon, which had been hurriedly loaded by the troops, at Portsmouth, before sailing. The R.M. unit was known as H.M.S. President III-one of the few “ships” ever commissioned and commanded by a R.M. Officer. The force was quickly disembarked from Neuralia, which returned home, and the troops were temporarily quartered in H.M. Ships Woolwich and Resource, and at Mustapha.
The object of this force was to provide A.A. defences ashore at any anchorage, which the commander in Chief might require for use by the Fleet-A.A. defence, had priority over all other shore defences. The force was capable of loading, transporting across country, installing and maintaining these A.A. defences wherever they might be required.
Preliminary work was immediately commenced on reconnoitring battery positions, preparing gun pits, buildings O.P.’s selecting camp sites, etc, for the defences of Alexandria, the equipment and personnel for which were known to be arriving in the near future.
On 26th September 1935, H.T. Lancashire arrived at Alexandria with the royal Naval personnel for the installation of underwater defences, Port War Signal station, 1,400 royal Marines, and additional Army details under the command of a Brigadier R.M. This force was known as H.M.S. President IV, in which President III was ultimately absorbed to form the “Base Defences, Mediterranean.” The R.M. units in Lancashire included 6-inch, 4-inch and pom-pom coast defence batteries, an AA battery and Searchlight Company together with additional transport personnel, a Workshop Section, and the necessary administrative units. The store ships S.S. Atreus and Bencruachan arrived shortly afterwards.
Heavy tractors, trailers, gun transporters and lorries were soon to be seen passing to and fro along the streets of Alexandria; camps sprang up almost overnight in widely separated areas, and guns and searchlights began to arrive at their pre-arranged positions.
Few of the personnel of the fleet ever realised to what extent Alexandria was finally defended; the following gives a very brief idea of the layout of the defences:
6-inch battery at Agami with coast defence searchlights.
6-inch battery at Ras-el-Tin with coast defence searchlights.
4-inch battery at Mex with coast defence searchlights.
Pom-pom battery at Shirou with coast defence searchlights. The requirements of A.A. shore defences call for dispersion of the 3-inch two gun sections, and they were disposed in a narrow eclipse round Alexandria, Mustapha, Silsila, Ras-el-Tin, Mex, Agami, Dekhela and along the southern shore of Lake Mariout. The Searchlight positions were even more scattered, and there were approximately 20 of these, each commanded by a corporal and 12 men. Two at least of these positions were supplied daily with food and water by camel transport owing to the nature of the ground. Listening ports in connection with these defences were situated as far distant as Mersa-Matruh and Burg-el-Aeabe.
In addition to these defences at Alexandria, personnel of the Base defences were absent in connection with the installation of coast defences at Mersa-Matruh, Haifa, Port Said, Suez and Port Sudan, and its Headquarters in Lancashire was therefore dealing at this period with a very large area.
Reserve ammunition and stores of the Base Defences were concentrated in store huts at Dekhela, where a R.M. guard of 150 men was continuously maintained.
The maintenance of communications, and the daily administration of units so widely dispersed was naturally a big problem; nearly 300 miles of telephone cable was laid in Alexandria alone, and the motor-transport drivers and their vehicles were called upon for continuous hard work.
As time progressed, permanent hutments and cookhouses were erected in most of the larger camps, and these began to take the form of small towns rather than the hastily erected encampments, which appeared initially. Canteens were established in all camps, and every little comfort that the ingenuity of the officers and men could devise was added to make life easier. The two great enemies were insects and sand, and although these were very troublesome in the early days, they were fighting a losing battle when the camps were finally evacuated in July 1936. The order for evacuation was received in the camps on 9th July 1936, and within four weeks every man, gun, searchlight, lorry, etc, was once again in England.
Throughout the period of strained relations with Italy certain units of the defences were ready to sail at short notice to any other anchorage which the Commander in chief might require for the use of the Fleet and which would require defences. These units were known as the “Port X force,” and the majority of their stores remained in S.S. Bellerophon and Bencruachan; 150 of the personnel of this force were continuously embarked in H.T. Lancashire for maintenance purposes, and the remainder were always ready for immediate embarkation.
To the majority of the personnel in the Fleet the “Base Defences” called to their mind a white ship-the Lancashire-which rarely went to sea, and contained a large body of Royal Marines who had nothing to do. I hope that this very brief description of the Base Defences will help to dispel that idea, and also emphasize the fact that ship are of little value in war, however efficient they and their ships companies may be, unless they have a well defended base from which to operate.
Extracted from A Record of the First Commission of HMS Ajax April 1935 to August 1937 on the Mediterranean and America and West Indies Stations.
Exercises
During the months of February and March we had the most trying and strenuous months of the Mediterranean interlude. The early preparations of a great fleet for all contingencies had been completed. Organisation was complete and the Commander in Chief was left with the task of tuning up his great fighting machine. It had been realised that aircraft would play a very much greater part in any war nowadays than had been met before. Accordingly the Gunnery Co-operation flight, or “Queen Bee” party, was sent out to Alexandria early in February. This form of wireless controlled aerial target had of course been in use in the Navy for some time, but it was brought out particularly to give the fleet at Alexandria a chance to get their anti-aircraft armament up to absolutely first-rate efficiency.
These “Queen Bee2 aircraft were kept on shore and whenever required for a practice the Australia would hoist one on to her catapult and put to sea. The principal controlling officer was on her bridge, and it was he who directed the aircrafts movements. As a stand by in case his set lost control, another ship was required to act as secondary control ready to take over at a moments notice. This lot fell to Ajax, so that for the following seven weeks we found ourselves going to sea whenever a practice was being carried out. The somewhat negative duty of being prepared was supplemented by making us flank mark, and keep records of the shoots for analysis afterwards.
The 1st Cruiser Squadron carried out the first shot on 15th February. One plane was shot down in the forenoon by close range fire of the 1st C.S. and in the afternoon we were very glad to see Ajax along bring one down at long range. We therefore could afford to criticise the efforts of other ships, so many of which we were forced to witness. Many and various were the weird squadrons that would sail down between Australia and Ajax. Battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, repair ships, depot ships, destroyers and net layers all had their fling. Some of the shoots made good watching, especially some of the more ambitious barrages, but we were one and all sick of the sight of Queen Bees by the time the last one was killed. According to the official report on the matter, the Fleet learnt a great deal in those two months. We are glad that our labours were not in vain.
In the midst of this anti-aircraft programme we had to take our place in the routine gunnery and torpedo practices of the squadron, so we did not get much time in harbour. On the 20th March Admiral Sir W. W. Fisher handed over the Fleet to Admiral Sir A. D. P. R. Pound and sailed for England in the Queen Elizabeth. All ships manned and cheered ship as he went out. He had done the nation a great service during his additional six months of command, and though we perhaps did not occupy the highest place of favour in his eye, we must all recognise the great work that he did during those critical months.
The new C-in-C spent the next three days visiting every ship in the fleet. He came onboard Ajax on the Monday and later that week we heard that we were to fly his flag at sea for exercises. At first little was known as to what was required of us, but on Tuesday 31st, he came attended by nine staff officers. Ship’s staffs were augmented in the communication and cipher departments, and for 24 hours we were the flagships. We are happy to be able to record that as far as we know the ship gave every satisfaction in its unexpected role, and though we are thankful that the war for which we were preparing never occurred, it is a pity that we could not show our full ability.
Those, men, were the incidents, which were occupying us during those two months. The monotony was soul destroying. Even the eternal buzz that we were returning to our station next Friday week began to flag and fail. Rear Admiral A. E. Evans, erstwhile Commodore of the South American Division, came onboard and walked round divisions one Sunday, and said a few words of encouragement, wishing us luck on return to Patagonia. And yet the weeks dragged on. Ships came and went. The first Cruiser Squadron had swollen to 11 on arrival of the Sydney, the new Australian cruiser. At the end of March certain leave restrictions were removed, and it was made possible to go to Cairo for a couple of days. Many took advantage of this concession. Sports were the refuge of many, and the ship did very well in Squadron football league, being beaten in the final by the London. This was an especially good show, when one realises that the ships against which we were competing had much larger ships companies.
Cairo
Busy streets, taxicabs, buses, tramways, large hotels, modern shops and carefully lay out gardens-that was my first impression of Cairo. Bur for the characteristic smock like dress of the natives, and the fez, which are seen on every hand, I might almost have imagined myself to be in a European city. Not until I visited the Citadel, an ancient fortress built by Saladin in 1163 on a hill almost in the centre of Cairo, did I realise the capital of Egypt is termed the “City of mosques.”
Part of the Citadel is still used to house a garrison, but the rest of it is open to visitors and from its windows some wonderful views are to be seen. In one direction I looked out towards the Great Pyramids on the edge of the desert in the suburb of Giza; in another direction I looked over the Moslem part of the town, and it is there that the flat monotony of city roofs is relieved by the domes and minarets of scores of mosques. A mosque is always built with a tall minaret from the balcony of which a muezzin or priest calls the faithful to worship “Allah” at appointed hours.
The interior of a mosque is well worth seeing, and the one I chose to visit was El Rifai Mosque, in which the late King Fuad had recently been buried. His tomb, an elaborate affair of alabaster and marble, was in a screened off corner-a private chapel, as it were-through which there was a constant stream of people, the natives in bare feet and the foreign visitors wearing canvas overshoes which they are compelled to put on before entering the mosque. In this chapel were half a dozen venerable old men sitting cross-legged on the floor and poring over the Koran, a copy of which lay open on a stool in front of each one. The Moslems believe it to be good for the soul of the departed that these men should sit there reading the Koran, though in truth it seemed to me that they were either chatting with one another of dozing over their books. Certainly not more than one of the six was reading.
In the main hall of the mosque a score or more of natives were standing in one long line for prayer. The priest who stood in front of the line led the prayer, and as he bowed towards Mecca, the remainder also knelt and bowed low, touching the ground with their foreheads. This ritual, incidentally, accounts for the use of the fez amongst Mohammedans. They consider it wrong to uncover the head in the mosque and the fez is the only type of hat, which allows them to put the forehead on the ground whilst wearing it.
No visit to Cairo would be complete without seeing the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza. Many years ago, the journey to these had to be made by camel or mule across the sands of the desert, but now, thanks to a splendid modern road, I was able to reach them speedily and in comfort by motorcar. On reaching Mena House Hotel at the foot of the plateau on which these stand, I found that to get a “close up” view it was necessary either to walk over the deep sand or ride on a donkey or camel; I chose to ride one of the latter and found this an experience in itself. The camel seemed to rise and fall and develop a rolling motion, so I soon realised why these beasts are called “ships of the desert,” and would myself much prefer ships of the sea.
Though lacking beauty of design, the pyramids are certainly majestic and fitting tombs for the ancient Kings of Egypt. Perhaps they presented a much more impressive spectacle when they were completely covered with alabaster, all of which has been removed at various times for use in constructing mosques and other buildings within the city. The largest, the Pyramid of Cheops, was built about 3733 B.C., and it is said to be built from 2,300,000 huge stone blocks and to have taken 100,000 men, working three months each year, twenty years to erect it. It is 450 feet high, each side at the base being 764 feet in length, and it covers roughly thirteen acres. For a small fee, guides will climb to the top and come down again in about seven minutes-no mean feat. Visitors may ascend with a guide f they wish, but I felt this would prove rather too strenuous in the boiling midday heat.
The inside of the pyramid is open to the public, access being gained through an opening only a few feet from the ground. I was thus able to investigate the huge central chamber, high up in the pyramid, which was once the tomb of kings. Now it is merely a large chamber, lined with granite and completely devoid of any decoration. The ascent along a steep narrow tunnel was very tiring, as in many places it was quite impossible to walk in an upright position. Perhaps the most remarkable feature inside the pyramid is the ventilation, which is effected by means of shafts about a foot square, which run straight to the outside. In spite of this, the air, though reasonably fresh, is cold and damp, and it was indeed a pleasant relief to be once more out in the sunshine.
Behind the pyramids stands the Sphinx, the mysterious looking creature with the body of a lion-the symbol of strength, and the head of a man-the symbol of wisdom. Near by is a temple containing tombs built from blocks of alabaster and granite, which were brought down the Nile from Aswan, 600 miles away. As some of these are six feet thick and fourteen feet long, they must have presented quite a problem, even to the famous Egyptians.
Once again back in Cairo, I decided to visit the world-renowned Egyptian Museum and learn more of the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. It was impossible during a short visit to see more than a small portion of the vast number of exhibits this treasure house contains, and though there are many things of more historic interest, no exhibits have the same magnificence as those excavated from the tomb of Tutankhamen by Lord Carnarvon and Mr Carter. Their value must be fabulous, and after seeing this marvellous collection of treasures, I realised the great task they had set themselves and the pleasure and satisfaction they must have felt on seeing the fruits of their labour. The collection, though excavated from tombs, portrays vividly the life of the ancient Egyptians, their homes, industries, artistic attainments and wealth. The Egyptian Government has recently passed a law prohibiting the removal of these relics from the country, and not without reason, for there is no more fitting place in which they could be seen than in land in which they were originally made and used.
Shops have a curious fascination for most of us and the bazaars of Cairo are no exception. They are situated in narrow lanes and streets, and it is here that the natives of the city sell wares from all parts of the East. In many ways the Egyptian has become Westernised, but not so in selling, for he still loves to bargain over the price of his goods. At first he asks an exorbitant price for them, but can easily be brought down if you adopt an air of difference, and a sale is frequently transacted over a cup of “moka,” that inky coffee in which he seems to delight, and a highly perfumed oriental cigarette.
