History
United Kingdom
Name	Mauritius
Namesake	Mauritius
Ordered	20 December 1937
Builder	Swan Hunter,Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Laid down	31 March 1938
Launched	19 July 1939
Commissioned	4 January 1940
Fate	Scrapped, 27 March 1965
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Fiji-classlight cruiser
Displacement	8,642long tons (8,781 t) (standard)
Length	555 ft 6 in (169.3 m)
Beam	62 ft (18.9 m)
Draught	19 ft 10 in (6 m)
Installed power	4Admiralty 3-drum boilers 80,000 shp (60,000 kW)
Propulsion	4 shafts; 4 gearedsteam turbine sets
Speed	32.25knots (59.73 km/h; 37.11 mph)
Range	6,250 nmi (11,580 km; 7,190 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	733 (peacetime), 900 (wartime)
Armament	4 × triple6 in (152 mm) guns 4 × twin4 in (102 mm)DP guns 2 × quadruple2-pdr (40 mm (1.6 in))AA guns 2 × quadruple0.5 in (12.7 mm)AA machine guns 2 × triple21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes
Armour	Engine and boiler rooms: 3.25 in (83 mm) Decks: 2–3.5 in (51–89 mm) Magazines: 2–3.5 in (51–89 mm) Gun turrets: 1–2 in (25–51 mm)
Aircraft carried	2 ×seaplanes
Aviation facilities	1 ×catapult, 2 ×hangars

HMSMauritius, pennant C80, was aFiji-classlight cruiser of theRoyal Navy. The ship was built bySwan Hunter,Newcastle upon Tyne. She was named afterMauritius, which was aBritish colony when she was built and entered service in 1941.

Mauritius was completed with an internal degaussing system which induced severe corrosion to the ship's fire main (made of copper); this major defect, which rendered her unfit for action, required refits, first atSimonstown, later atSingapore, and finally atPlymouth.The future Admiral of the FleetHenry Leach served as a midshipman aboardMauritius during this time.She joined theEastern Fleet in 1942, but was withdrawn in April 1943 to reinforce theMediterranean Fleet. After repairs following grounding, she was operational in June 1943 and thereafter participated in the landings in Sicily, (Operation Husky), in July as a unit of Support Force East, when she carried out shore bombardment duties.

In September she was part of the covering force for theSalerno landings, but by the end of the year had been transferred to theBay of Biscay to carry out anti-blockade-runner patrols, as part ofOperation Stonewall. However, she soon returned to the Mediterranean, this time forOperation Shingle, the Anzio landings, in January 1944. In June 1944 she covered thelandings in Normandy as part of Force D offSword Beach, then carried out offensive patrols of theBrittany coast in August to mop up the remnants of the German shipping in the area. Operating with destroyers, she sankSperrbrecher157 on 14/15 August and during theBattle of Audierne Bay sank fiveVorpostenboote on 22/23 August. After this she returned to the Home Fleet, covering the carrier raids along the Norwegian coast and making anti-shipping strikes. On the night of 27/28 January 1945, in company with the cruiserDiadem, she fought theaction of 28 January 1945 with German destroyers in whichZ31 was badly damaged. Following this action she was refitted atCammell Laird's between February 1945 and March 1946.

She then served in the Mediterranean, including passing through the Corfu Channel during theCorfu Channel Incident in 1946, with the 15th (later lst) Cruiser Squadron, returning to the UK in 1948. After a spell inreserve and in refit, she recommissioned in 1949 for the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, sailing on 6 May 1949. The years 1949 to 1951 were spent on the East Indies Station with the 4th Cruiser Squadron until she returned toChatham on 18 December 1951.

Mauritius was placed in reserve in 1952 and remained there until 1965, when she was sold for scrapping toThos. W. Ward. She arrived at their yard at Inverkeithing, on 27 March 1965.

HMSMauritius was also the name of aRoyal Navy shore establishment in Mauritius.

• Brown, D. K. & Moore, George (2003).Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design Since 1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-705-0.
• Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85.ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
• Colledge, J. J.; Wardlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020).Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
• Friedman, Norman (2010).British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
• Murfin, David (2010). "AA to AA: The Fijis Turn Full Circle". In Jordan, John (ed.).Warship 2010. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-84486-110-1.
• Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980).British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M. J. (1995).Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell.ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
• Leach, Henry (1993).Endure No Makeshifts: Some Naval Recollections. London: Leo Cooper.ISBN 1-84468-009-6.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHMS Mauritius (80).

• WWII cruisers
• HMS Mauritius at Uboat.net

• Ships built by Swan Hunter
• 1939 ships
• World War II cruisers of the United Kingdom
• Naval ships of Operation Husky
• Naval ships of Operation Neptune
• Maritime incidents in 1946
• Corfu Channel incident

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