The H.M.S. Belfast By Knut Böhmer On the Southbank of the Thames, just between London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, one of the few remaining floating fortresses of Second World War has found a place to lie after the war ended (we lost). The H.M.S. (that stands for Her/His Majesty’s Ship) is an impressive sight. The six huge 180 millimeter gun turrets located at each end of the ship make the whole ship look like one huge weapon formed out of tons of steel. These gigantic guns had to be loaded by hand and fired after the bridge’s orders, for at the outbreak of the naval war the Belfast wasn’t yet equipped with fire calculation systems or automatic fire control, which were fitted later. At the sides of the ship several huge flaks (that’s anti-aircraft guns) are placed, which had to be operated manually (this was done by pedals at chest height, just like on a bike, except that, of course, the arms had to be used) by at least nine men- three for each of the two barrel, one to shoot, one to control the height and one to control the direction of the shot. It’s easy to imagine how well-trained and coordinated a crew must have been in order to fire up to fifty rounds per minute at moving airplanes! The Belfast also had some torpedo tubes to assist the deck guns against other ships or to defend the H.M.S. against German submarines, which soon became a highly effective naval weapon of the Germans. It is next to impossible to imagine the gigantic destructive powers borne on this ship. The H.M.S.’s fire range is large enough to cover most parts of London, including the suburbs! These powers were used in combat quite often, for in the early 1940’s the Belfast patrolled the northern French coast, which was occupied by the Germans at that time, using its superb range to slow down the beginning fortification of the whole coast and to weaken the existing forts. On June 6th, 1944 the Belfast was one of the first to attack the Normandy coast during the invasion of the allied forces. This day was to become the beginning of the end of the Nazis’ reign over Europe – thanks to the huge allied fleet, among which the Belfast fought. After the end of the war, the Belfast was used until the Korean War, for which several new technologies were installed. Afterwards, the H.M.S. was laid up, but was reactivated again several years later to improve western statistics in Cold War.

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