Mauritius
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Ship Class | Crown Colony-class Light Cruiser |
| Hull Number | C80 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom |
| Laid Down | 31 Mar 1938 |
| Launched | 19 Jul 1939 |
| Commissioned | 4 Jan 1940 |
| Displacement | 10,725 tons full |
| Length | 556 feet |
| Beam | 62 feet |
| Draft | 17 feet |
| Machinery | Four oil fired 3-drum Admiralty-type boilers, geared turbines, four shafts |
| Power Output | 72,500 shaft horsepower |
| Speed | 33 knots |
| Crew | 907 |
| Armament | 4x3x6in BL Mk XXIII guns, 4x2x4in guns, 4x2x40mm Bofors guns, 3x2pdr anti-aircraft guns, 6x2x20mm anti-aircraft guns, 2x3x21in torpedo tubes |
| Armor | 83mm belt, 51mm deck, 51mm turrets, 102mm control tower |
| Aircraft | 2 Walrus seaplanes (removed in 1943) |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseHMS Mauritius was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser, of the Fiji sub-class. Although she was commissioned into British Royal Navy service in 1940, corrosion problems in the fire main caused by the internal degaussing system, caused her to undergo a series of refits at Simonstown in South Africa, Singapore, and Plymouth in Britain. In 1942, she joined the Eastern Fleet. In Apr 1943, she was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, where bad luck followed her, this time in the form of damage from grounding. After repairs were done in Jun 1943, she supported the Allied landings in Sicily and Salerno in Italy. In late 1943, she patrolled the Bay of Biscay against French and German blockade runners. In Jan 1944, she returned to Italy in support of the landings at Anzio. In Jun 1944, she supported the landings at Sword Beach in Normandie, France, followed by patrols off the coast of Bretagne. In late 1945, as a part of the Home Fleet, she patrolled the North Sea and escorted carriers. In Feb 1945, she entered the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England, United Kingdom for refitting, and the war would end while she was in the yard. She returned to service in Mar 1946, serving in the Mediterranean Sea until 1948. After a brief period out of commission, she was recommissioned in 1949 for service in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Returning to Britain in Dec 1951, she was placed in reserve. She was sold for scrap in 1965.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Sep 2013
Light Cruiser Mauritius (C80) Interactive Map
Photographs
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Mauritius Operational Timeline
| 20 Dec 1937 | The British Royal Navy issued the order for the light cruiser to be named HMS Mauritius. |
| 31 Mar 1938 | The keel of cruiser HMS Mauritius was laid down by Swan Hunter at Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom. |
| 19 Jul 1939 | HMS Mauritius was launched at Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom. |
| 4 Jan 1940 | HMS Mauritius was commissioned into service. |
| 30 Aug 1940 | Captain Leicester Charles Assheton Curzon-Howe was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. |
| 21 Jan 1941 | Commander Arthur Reid Pedder was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. |
| 1 Feb 1941 | Captain William Derek Stephens was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. |
| 22 Mar 1943 | Captain William Wellclose Davis was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. |
| 15 Aug 1943 | Before dawn, German seaplane tender Richthofen, torpedo boat T24, minesweeper M275, minesweeper M385, and Sperrbrecher 157 were caught by British cruiser Mauritius, destroyer HMS Ursa, and destroyer Iroquois in the Bay of Biscay off Les Sables d'Olonne, France. T24 laid a smoke screen and fired torpedoes at Iroquois, but all of them missed. British ships fired, sinking Sperrbrecher 157, and damaging all other ships; M385 was forced to beach to prevent sinking. HMS Iroquois suffered light damage in the engagement. |
| 14 Aug 1944 | HMS Mauritius sank German minesweeper Sperrbrecher 157 off France. |
| 22 Aug 1944 | HMS Mauritius sank five German coastal patrol Vorpostenboot vessels off France. |
| 23 Oct 1944 | Captain Charles Alfred Evelyn Stanfield was named the commanding officer of HMS Mauritius. |
| 27 Jan 1945 | After sundown, HMS Diadem and HMS Mauritius engaged in combat with German destroyers in the North Sea; German destroyer Z31 was heavily damaged during the engagement, but would survive to return to port. |
| 6 May 1949 | HMS Mauritius was recommissioned into service. |
| 19 Dec 1951 | HMS Mauritius arrived at Chatham, Kent, England, United Kingdom. |
| 27 Mar 1965 | HMS Mauritius arrived at Inverkeithing, Scotland, United Kingdom to be scrapped by the firm T. W. Ward Limited. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
23 Dec 2015 09:28:25 AM
In February 1945 HMS Mauritius refitted in the Gladstone dock at Seaforth, Liverpool.
18 Aug 2016 09:41:38 AM
Hi I have tonnes of photos of this ship when it was back in service in 1949 also some rare photos can some one email me and help me see if there's photos are genuine
7 Oct 2016 10:34:22 AM
Just returned to South Africafrom a trip to Normandy and never realised that an HMS Mauritius was involved. My wife is from that island and it is fascinating to have learnt this fact and the info on it. Wish there was a model of it that I could build! Perhaps there is???
7 Jan 2018 01:40:15 AM
Hi,
I'm looking for some information on my uncle William Wilden who was a crew member. He traveled from The Island Of Mauritius on the ship HMS Mauritius to Australia. They were transporting sugar.
Thank you.
18 Nov 2019 06:19:41 PM
my father Robert Brodie just passed away at age of 97. He was Chief Petty officer HMS MauritiusvJune 6 1944. Any info would be great. we have his notes the night before his mission
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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17 May 2014 02:27:58 AM
I have a picture of a crossing the line certificate for HMS Mauritius, dated 1941, signed by D A Holdsworth the recipient is G Garrod.