HMS UGANDA (C66)

'HMS ''Uganda'' (C66)', was a Second World War-era Royal Navy Crown Colony class light cruiser. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and recommissioned as 'HMCS ''Uganda''', and later renamed 'HMCS ''Quebec'''.
HMS ''Uganda'' was commissioned by the Royal Navy on 17 December 1942. While serving in the Mediterranean Sea she took a direct hit from a 1.4-tonne glider-bomb off Salerno, Italy. There being no dry dock available in the theatre of war that could handle the repairs, the ''Uganda'' was sent to the United States Navy shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina. During this time the Canadian government arranged to acquire the ''Uganda''. Originally she had two hangars for Supermarine Walrus aircraft that were designed for reconnaissance work, but the aircraft were later removed and the hangars used for radio and radar rooms as well as crew amenities.
She was one of the "Ceylon" sub-class (the 2nd group of 3 ships built in 1939) of the Colony class cruisers and built by Vickers-Armstrong Walker yard.

Contents

Service

Royal Navy

Mediterranean Operations

Battle Casualty

Service with the Royal Canadian Navy

The Canadian Crew

Assignment to Far East

Pacific Operations

Out of the Action

HMCS ''Québec''

References

See also

Service

★ Home fleet 1943

★ Mediterranean fleet 1943-44,

★ Refit U.S.A. 1944,

★ With RCN assigned to Pacific fleet 1945

★ With RCN assigned to Atlantic Duty 1952

★ With RCN Korean War

Royal Navy

In March 1943 after training at Scapa Flow, HMS ''Uganda'' sailed as convoy escort to protect a convoy bound for Sierra Leone from the German Narvik class destroyers operating out of the Bay of Biscay. After two such convoy duties, she was sent as escort for the RMS ''Queen Mary'' carrying Winston Churchill and his staff to Washington. The journey was made at 30 knots, and the ship sailed into NS Argentia, Newfoundland low on fuel. Upon return from that duty the ''Uganda'' returned to Plymouth for a refit.

Mediterranean Operations

With the refit completed she was sent to the Mediterranean as escort to one of the largest troop convoys of the war heading to Sicily. The Uganda was part of the bombardment fleet for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily on July 10 1943. She was then assigned to close support for major bombardments throughout Sicily. On the opening of Operation Avalanche, September 9 1943, she was part of the fleet bombardment covering the invasion of Italy at Salerno.

Battle Casualty

On 13 September the ship was hit by a new German radio controlled glider bomb. The bomb hit the starboard side aft and penetrated through seven decks and the ship's bottom before exploding. Sixteen crew were killed and seven injured. Damage control under Lieutenant Leslie Reed managed to get the ship moving with one engine. She was towed to Malta by the USS ''Narragansett'', where temporary repairs were made. The heavily damaged ship, with only one of her four propellers working, then proceeded across the Atlantic Ocean to Charleston, South Carolina for repairs. She arrived on 27 November 1943. Whilst under repair the Canadian government negotiated with Britain to obtain ''Uganda'' for the Canadian Navy.

Service with the Royal Canadian Navy

''Uganda'' had been refitted and improved during the repairs. The Walrus aircraft and catapult were removed and the hangars were converted to crew recreation and radar suites. The radar, radio and aircraft identification package on the Uganda was amongst the latest available. The ship was recommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on Trafalgar Day, 21 October 1944. Upon commissioning, ''Uganda'' became the pride of the Royal Canadian Navy, being the largest and most powerful ship in the fleet. ''Uganda'' was also to become the first Canadian warship to circumnavigate the globe.

The Canadian Crew

The officers assigned to the ''Uganda'' were of the highest quality. The captain was Captain Rollo Mainguy, OBE, who is considered to have been one of the best officers in the RCN. He later became Chief of Naval Staff. The First Officer (executive officer), Commander Hugh Pullen, and other officers including Lieutenant Commanders Landymore and Littler were all eventually promoted to flag rank. Lieutenant John Robarts, Aircraft Recognition Officer, went on to become Premier of Ontario. The other members of her crew of 907 were also a carefully picked group and additional training was provided by sending personnel to gain experience on Royal Navy cruisers. The crew came from every province in Canada and Newfoundland. Eight-seven percent were reservists (RCNVR and RCNR), and the balance RCN.

Assignment to Far East

''Uganda'' was sent to join the British Pacific Fleet's operational area south of Sakishima Gunto. Leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia on 31 October 1944, she steamed via the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Alexandria, through the Suez Canal, and on via Aden and Colombo, Ceylon to the fleet base at Fremantle, Australia, where she arrived on 4 March 1945. She joined the 4th Cruiser Squadron and spent the rest of the month working up. The conditions for the crew were hard since the ship had not been modified for tropical conditions, which would have provided better air circulation throughout the ship and more fresh water capacity.

Pacific Operations

''Uganda'' proved valuable during operations undertaken by the British Pacific Fleet because her radar and aircraft identification capabilities were amongst the best in the fleet. On 10 April 1945, the strike against Sakishima was cancelled and the Task Force was ordered to attack Formosa instead. For three days they attacked the Formosan airfields. They were then directed back to Sakishima Gunto. The islands were attacked from 15 April to 20, before the fleet was sent to Leyte Gulf. She later joined the U.S. Third Fleet 300 miles east of Japan and was the only Canadian warship to fight in the Pacific Theatre against the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Out of the Action

It was while ''Uganda'' was involved in these Pacific operations that a directive came through from Ottawa to poll the crew on whether they would volunteer for the Pacific war. The requirement that only volunteers would be sent to the war zones had become a major issue in the Canadian election. Canada had faced a desperate shortage of soldiers in the closing days of the European war. As a result, "zombies" (conscripted soldiers who refused combat duty) had been ordered into combat roles. This had caused a political storm, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, trailing in the polls, promised that only volunteers would fight against Japan. He narrowly won the election, largely because of the military vote. When the war ended in Europe the rate of re-enlistment fell dramatically. While this was going on the Canadian government wanted the crew to volunteer for the war in the Pacific. The crew for one reason or another felt they had volunteered for "hostilities only", (i.e., hostilities against Germany) but now found themselves fighting a different enemy in a quite different part of the World.
On 7 May 1945, the vote was held on the ''Uganda'' and 605 crew refused to volunteer for the Japanese war. The British Admiralty was furious and said it could not replace the ship until 27 July. An embarrassed Canadian Government offered to replace ''Uganda'' with HMCS ''Prince Robert'', an anti-aircraft flak ship that was being refitted in Vancouver. HMCS ''Uganda'' was detached from the fleet on 27 July when HMS ''Argonaut'' joined the fleet. The ship proceeded to Eniwetok, and then to Pearl Harbor for refuelling before heading for Esquimalt. En route to Pearl Harbor, one boiler suffered a liner collapse which would have required the ship's withdrawal from active combat. The ship limped into Pearl Harbor on 4 August, but was not welcomed because of the resentment that they were "quitting" the war. They were refuelled and sent on their way. En route to Esquimalt, the crew heard news about the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan. They arrived in Esquimalt on 10 August, the day the Japanese announced their acceptance of the terms of surrender. Had the ship remained in the Pacific, she would probably have steamed into Tokyo Bay on 30 August to witness the official surrender, as it was no Canadian ships were present at the ceremony.

HMCS ''Québec''

On 1 August 1947, HMCS ''Uganda'' was paid off into reserve status. As a result of the Korean War, on 14 January 1952, HMCS ''Uganda'' was recommissioned as HMCS ''Quebec''. She was moved to her new station on Canada's east coast. Another cruiser, HMCS ''Ontario'', which didn't come on steam until the war was over, was stationed on the west coast. In 1953, HMCS ''Québec'' was the flagship of Rear Admiral Bidwell which lead the Canadian ships to Spithead for the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Canadian group consisted of a carrier, two cruisers, one destroyer, and two frigates. HMCS ''Québec'' served two tours in the Korean War theatre. As part of the post-war reduction, HMCS ''Québec'' was paid off in June 1956 and scrapped in Japan.
See also: List of ships of the Canadian Navy and HMCS QUÉBEC, Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre
For other ships of this name, see HMS ''Uganda''.

References

See also