Hi all!
My two cents - the first one is actually a real never-where I've wanted to draw for some time:
Great Britain - Neptune-Class
Britain's final WWII cruiser construction programme included six units of considerably larger size than all previous light cruisers, displacing some 15.000 tons and carrying the same armament and protection as a Cleveland, but with better seakeeping and without the Cleveland's topweight issues. Armament were 12 152mm LA guns, 12 114mm DP guns, 20 40mm cannon and 28 20mm cannon; fire control was provided by no fewer than 21 directors (including the radars integrated in the 40mm twin mounts). They were named Neptune, Minotaur, Bellerophon, Centurion, Mars and Edgar.
![[ img ]](http://shipbucket.com/wiki/images/0/03/CL_Neptune_1950.png)
When the war ended in September 1946, only the first two had been laid down, and neither had progressed very far. Cancelling them and pocketing the peace dividend was considered, but the Berlin blockade and the Korean war soon proved that no peace dividend was to be had anytime soon. The incomplete cruisers Blake and Defence were transferred to Patagonia in 1949 to rebuild that Dominion's navy, which had been totally wiped out in the war, and it was decided to complete Neptune and Minotaur for the RN in 1949, although to a radically altered design. Four of the new Mk26 152mm DP twin turrets were selected as main armament; being much heavier than the original Mk24 LA triples, they had to be moved aft in the hull to prevent bow-heaviness; this measure required re-construction of the whole forward hull in front of the foremost boiler room, resulting in a more steeply raked bow. The 114mm DP mounts were replaced with automatic 76mm twins, whose number was cut to four; the forward mounts had to be deleted due to the width of the new bridge structure, which had to be spacious enough for the vastly increased electronics equipment. Smaller, straight funnels replaced the original design's massive raked ones, and two lattice masts with the latest radar suite replaced the tripods. No 40mm and 20mm cannon were carried any more, but armament was augmented with two twin Bidder ASW torpedo tubes and a Ruler Anti-torpedo rocket launcher. In this shape, Neptune was launched in 1953 and completed in 1956; Minotaur followed a year later.
![[ img ]](http://shipbucket.com/wiki/images/3/35/CL_Minotaur_1957.png)
Both ships served in the Atlantic after commissioning, coming barely late for the Suez crisis. They were upgraded with more modern radars and four quad Seacat launchers (total missile stowage 64) in the mid-1960s. The obsolete Ruler launcher was landed.
![[ img ]](http://shipbucket.com/wiki/images/2/2e/CL_Neptune_1967.png)
They again served with the main fleet during the 60s and 70s, usually operating as flagships; by 1970, they and four Admiral-class heavy cruisers formed the entire cruiser force of the RN. They were however considered less useful as the heavy cruisers, lacking their heavy guns, but being nearly as large and needing the same crew size. In an attempt to give them a new role, Minotaur was refitted with the Sea Dart missile in 1975, requiring the removal of both aft 152mm turrets, reduction of 76mm turrets to two and complete re-arrangement of the fire-control suite. The Bidder torpedoes were removed and a helipad installed, although there was no space for a hangar.
![[ img ]](http://shipbucket.com/wiki/images/2/27/CL_Minotaur_1977.png)
Neptune remained in her original state and took part in both the first Lemurian crisis while Minotaur was undergoing conversion. During the Patagonian war, Minotaur was flagship of the Pacific squadron tasked with keeping Pinochet's Chilean Navy occupied while the main fleet hit the Argentinians; she twice came under Chilean Air attack and took a Bullpup into her side armour, which saved her. Her Sea Darts and guns shot down four Chilean aircraft. Neptune missed that war due to engine troubles. After the war, Minotaur was de-rated to TS, as there were enough Sea Dart armed destroyers available (six Type 82s and ten Type 42s by 1986). Neptune soldiered on, but the problem of excessive operating cost led to the demise of the RN cruiser force during the 1980s. None of the six existing ships received further modernizations, as their hulls had reached the end of their designed life in the early 1980s. They left service in 1985 (Neptune) and 1988 (Minotaur). Patagonia considered Minotaur's purchase to replace the losses taken, but she no longer was in a state that would allow economic operation. By 1990, both were scrapped.
Greetings
GD