HMS Ajax

E52191

HMS Ajax was a British Leander-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that gained fame for its role in early World War II naval actions, particularly in the South Atlantic.

All labels observed (6)

Label Occurrences
HMS Ajax canonical 15
Ajax (Royal Navy cruiser) 1
British cruiser Ajax 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Leander-class light cruiser
Royal Navy cruiser
aircraftCarried seaplanes with catapult (early war)
armamentPrimary 8 × 6-inch (152 mm) guns in four twin turrets
armamentSecondary 4 × 4-inch (102 mm) guns
armamentTorpedoes 8 × 21-inch torpedo tubes
battleHonour Aegean 1943–44
Atlantic 1939–40
Crete 1941
Malta Convoys 1941
linked to: Battle of Malta

Mediterranean 1940–43
Normandy 1944
linked to: Battle of Normandy

River Plate 1939
Salerno 1943
linked to: Italy 1943–45

Sicily 1943
beam 56 feet
builder Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness
linked to: Vickers-Armstrongs
class Leander class
commandingOfficerAtRiverPlate Captain Charles Henry Woodhouse
commissioned 3 June 1935
conflict Second World War
linked to: World War II
country United Kingdom
crewComplement approximately 570
dateOfBattleOfTheRiverPlate 13 December 1939
decommissioned post-Second World War
displacementFullLoad approximately 9,740 long tons
displacementStandard approximately 7,000 long tons
draught 19 feet
fate sold for scrap
laidDown 7 February 1933
launched 1 March 1934
lengthOverall 554 feet
maximumSpeed 32.5 knots
namedAfter Ajax (mythological Greek hero)
notableEngagement Battle of the River Plate
operator Royal Navy
opponentInBattleOfTheRiverPlate German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee
linked to: Admiral Graf Spee
pennantNumber 22
powerOutput 72,000 shaft horsepower
propulsion 4 shafts
steam turbines
refit underwent wartime refits including enhanced anti-aircraft armament
roleAtNormandy naval gunfire support for Allied landings
scrapped 1949
scrappedAt Inverkeithing, Scotland
linked to: Inverkeithing
serviceEntryPeriod interwar period
squadronAtRiverPlate South American Division of the Royal Navy
sustainedDamage damaged in Battle of the River Plate
theatre Mediterranean Sea
North Atlantic
linked to: North Atlantic area

South Atlantic

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (20)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Battle of the River Plate combatantShip HMNZS Achilles
linked to: HMS Ajax
Ajax, Ontario namedAfter HMS Ajax
Batalla del Río de la Plata mainCombatant crucero ligero HMS Ajax
subject linked to: La batalla del Río de la Plata
linked to: HMS Ajax
Batalla del Río de la Plata hasParticipant HMS Ajax
subject linked to: La batalla del Río de la Plata
Henry Harwood commanded HMS Ajax
Battle of Cape Matapan AlliedShip British cruiser Ajax
linked to: HMS Ajax
Ajax namedAfter HMS Ajax
Ajax namedAfter Ajax (Royal Navy cruiser)
linked to: HMS Ajax
New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy notableShip HMS Leander
linked to: HMS Ajax
Leander class ship HMS Ajax
Charles Henry Woodhouse commanded HMS Ajax
subject linked to: Captain Charles Henry Woodhouse
Charles Henry Woodhouse militaryUnit HMS Ajax
subject linked to: Captain Charles Henry Woodhouse
Battle of the River Plate involvedShip HMS Ajax
subject linked to: River Plate 1939
Battle of Cape Matapan involvedShip HMS Ajax
subject linked to: Matapan 1941