Hawkins Class Cruiser - Modifications

Modifications

No ships were completed with the original design secondary armament. Hawkins carried only the 12 pounder anti-aircraft (A/A) guns, her sisters having two (Raleigh) or three (Frobisher, Effingham) QF 4 inch Mark V guns on mountings HA Mark III. In 1929, Hawkins had her 12 pounder guns replaced by an equal number of the same model of 4-inch (102 mm) guns as her sisters. Frobisher was partially disarmed as a training ship in 1932, but reverted to a cruiser in 1937 when Vindictive was specially demilitarised for this role.

The ships were scheduled for disposal in 1936, but rising international tensions caused their retention. In 1937, Effingham was rebuilt as a light cruiser with nine BL 6 Mark XII guns on single mountings CP Mark XIV. These were shipped superfiring forwards in 'A', 'B' and 'C' positions, on either wing, triple aft in 'W', 'X' and 'Y' positions with the ninth gun being on the quarterdeck in position 'Z'. The after boiler rooms were removed and the remaining uptakes trunked into a single large funnel. Secondary armament was eight QF 4 inch Mark XVI on twin mountings HA/LA Mark XIX, eight QF 2 pounder Mark VIII guns on two quadruple mountings Mark VII and twelve 0.5 inch Vickers machine guns on three quadruple mountings Mark I. The submerged torpedo tubes were removed. She had a new bridge and spotting top and carried a crane amidships; the catapult and aircraft were never fitted.

It had been planned to rebuild Hawkins and Frobisher on similar lines, but other priorities prevented this. They were re-armed for war with all their 7.5-inch (191 mm) guns, except in Frobisher which had the wing guns removed so that the 4-inch (102 mm) gun deck could be extended out to the ship's sides. In 1940, they received two (Hawkins) or four (Frobisher) quadruple 2 pounder "multiple pom-pom" mountings and seven (Frobisher) or eight (Hawkins) 20 mm Oerlikon guns on single mountings P Mark III. They received an outfit of centimetric Radar Type 273 target indication on the bridge, Type 286 air warning at the mastheads, Type 275 on the HACS 4-inch (102 mm) gun director for ranging and bearing and, in Frobisher only, a pair of Type 282 sets on the pom-pom directors on the bridge. Further wartime additions increased the number of 20 mm guns.