British Fiji Class Cruisers and Their Derivatives: Design, Development and Performance

408 pages

RAdm R G Melly

Conrad Waters is a much renowned author and editor on naval affairs.  With a particular interest in the design and development of Royal Navy cruisers, he has sought to provide a technical history of the Fiji-class from its origins in the 1930s through to final disposal, building on the success of his earlier book, British Town Class Cruisers. Whilst much has been written about the operational histories of this class of warship, the author contends that there is little to put the overall evolution of the Fiji design in its proper context, and he has sought to correct that oversight.

The Fiji-class arose because of the Admiralty’s desire to acquire a force of 70 cruisers to safeguard the worldwide trade routes. Constrained both by post-WWI financial imperatives and by the limitations imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930, the Navy developed the concept of heavy and light cruisers, in an attempt to build up numbers. The Fiji-class, with a nominal displacement of 8,000 tons, fell into the latter category. The initial class of 11 ships, delivered between 1940 and 1943, were designed with a main armament of six-inch guns in four triple mountings, albeit the last three ships were delivered to a modified design in which X-turret was removed. A further seven ships of ‘modified’ and ‘improved’ designs, with increased beams, were subsequently ordered (six of which were delivered) as part of the wartime construction programme.

The initial design work struggled to achieve the desired tonnage within acceptable stability criteria, and the outcome was a tight design with a displacement somewhat less than the earlier, similarly armed, Town-class; nevertheless, the “first of class” sea trials were met with considerable satisfaction. With the onset of war and the lifting of treaty restrictions, the displacement again increased as additional equipment was installed. In a comprehensive analysis, the author then sets out, in impressive technical detail, the principal design features of the class and the subsequent developments which resulted in the ‘modified’ and ‘improved’ designs.

A significant section of the book details the wartime operations and performance of the 13 ships of the class commissioned prior to the war ending on 15 August 1945. Whilst two ships were lost to enemy action (Fiji and Trinidad), these tough, useful cruisers acquitted themselves well, as the realities of combat were absorbed and as the ships were upgraded.

A further section considers the post-war development of the class, with the uncertainties of the emerging Cold War era and financial realities causing much debate over which of the legacy cruiser classes best met the future requirement. As a result, some of the Fijis saw further service. The evolution of the class culminated with the radical redesign of two of the ‘improved’ hulls, Tiger and Blake, which emerged as helicopter cruisers. Finally, the book the outlines the post-war careers of the class, some serving with foreign navies, including their involvement in the Suez Crisis and the Korean War. The author concludes that the Fijis, despite the compromises necessarily embraced in their design, proved more than adequate to meet the heavy demands placed upon them. A substantial appendix on camouflage schemes and a shorter one on embarked aircraft complete the book.

The author has undoubtedly produced the definitive book on this class of warship. Wide-ranging in its scope, authoritative and extensively researched, it contains a wealth of detail, backed up by an extensive use of footnotes, diagrams and evocative, black and white photographs. The book is also a testament to the constructors and shipyards that displayed the astonishing ability to design, manufacture and, faced with warfare’s realities, rapidly develop this class of warship. Handsomely produced and eminently readable, Conrad Waters’ achievement in writing this excellent book is remarkable.