HMS Belfast

Children shake the hand of a diving suit on board HMS Belfast in Shanghai, 1945.

Through late 1945, Belfast helped to provide humanitarian aid and ferry newly-released British internees from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

Image: IWM (A 30857)

Those visiting or passing HMS Belfast this week will have noticed two new flags flying from her mainmast alongside the White Ensign of the Royal Navy.

The Red Ensign and Blue Ensign have been raised again today to coincide with a commemorative service for Merchant Navy Day, held across the river at Tower Hill Memorial.

The event is hosted by the The Merchant Navy Association.

Photo: Stuart Paul

On Christmas Day 1942, a newly repaired and modernised HMS Belfast arrived in Scapa Flow to join 10th Cruiser Squadron. The 18 months that followed would see the ship operate in support of the Atlantic Convoys, delivering essential supplies to the Soviet Union.

By 1942 the Arctic Convoy route to Russia via Iceland had become one of the great naval battlegrounds of the Second World War, but the weather was arguably a greater threat than the Germans.

Learn more about HMS Belfast and the Artic Covoys: https://bit.ly/3OsEOAX

IWM (A 15530) / IWM (HU 8799) / IWM (HU 8795)

Did you see HMS Belfast feature in last night's episode of Warship: Life in the Royal Navy on Channel 5?

Host Julia Bradbury pays a visit to the iconic landmark to learn about life onboard ship and meet HMS Belfast veteran, Roger Alford.

If you missed it, it's not too late - you can still watch it on My5: https://bit.ly/3X17rcR

Pictured: Commodore Inga Kennedy and Julia Bradbury in HMS Belfast’s Sick Bay.

Join us aboard HMS Belfast this October for IWM in Conversation with: Damien Lewis. Hear the acclaimed author tell the incredible true story of the SAS behind enemy lines in France, 1944.

Across IWM take the opportunity to discover the role of women in aviation, hear your favourite podcasters at IWM Podcast Live, and commemorate Churchill 2024, the 150th birthday of Winston Churchill.

Book now: https://bit.ly/4fvvDMI

© IWM (Art.IWM ART 2613)

This summer, climb aboard HMS Belfast to hear the stories of the sailors, marines and airmen who made HMS Belfast feel like a floating city.

Starting on the quarterdeck, explore the torpedo room, galley, sickbay, and more to hear the stories of the men who called HMS Belfast home.

Tours last 90 minutes and run at 10:15am and 2:15pm every Wednesday and Friday throughout August.

Book now: https://bit.ly/4bNRjAI

This summer, adventure your way around HMS Belfast with our family trail.

It’s 1944 and the Morse Mice are receiving messages suggesting that the ship is about to be involved in something big! So big that quite a few furry friends – allies – are on board, too.

Climb aboard and decipher the Morse Code the Morse mice are protecting, and reveal HMS Belfast's destination to the crew. You will even be able to make your own Morse Code transmitter!

And from 26 July to 31 August, families can also create their very own medal inspired by the ship. Carve out a design into a mould before letting it set to paint and take home as a souvenir.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4d5aFlN

This photograph, taken May 1950 shows the ship's company of HMS Belfast during her service in the Far East.

A month later, communist North Korea would invade South Korea and Britain's armed forces would go to war following a United Nations resolution.

In two years of service, HMS Belfast would see more action that she had seen during the entirety of the Second World War.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3rIpybr

© IWM HU 36877

King George VI inspects a Royal Marine detachment on HMS Belfast's quarter-deck, Scapa Flow.

The man being inspected nearest the camera is Bandmaster Douglas Zenas Colls, who had enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1917.

IWM (A 18690)

Today, HMS Belfast commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day with a simulated gun salute.

The anniversary is particularly significant for the ship, which supported the British and Canadian assaults on Gold and Juno beaches during the Normandy Landings, firing almost continuously for five weeks.

Learn more about HMS Belfast and her role in D-Day: https://bit.ly/3Xut7QD

Images: R. Ash, P. Chaplin, V. Kodajova

Here, Belfast is photographed at anchor off the Normandy beachhead, firing A and B turrets during the Normandy campaign, 1944.

On the morning of the 6 June 1944, HMS Belfast joined the opening bombardment of Operation Overlord as the flagship of Bombardment Force E, supporting troops landing at Gold and Juno beaches. Her first target was the German gun battery at La Marefontaine (which, as a result of HMS Belfast’s bombardment, played no meaningful role in the defence of the beaches).

The Normandy campaign was the last time Belfast fired her guns in the Second World War. Read more about HMS Belfast and D-Day on our website: https://bit.ly/458vjis

© IWM (IWM FLM 4015)

Tomorrow, Thursday 6 June, HMS Belfast will commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day with a simulated gun salute taking place at 1pm.

HMS Belfast supported the British and Canadian assaults on Gold and Juno beaches during the Normandy Landings and fired almost continuously for five weeks from 6 June 1944 as the Allied troops pushed inland.

This significant anniversary for the ship will be marked through pyrotechnics to simulate the firing of HMS Belfast’s forward facing 6-inch guns and starboard side 4-inch guns.

It’s 1944 and the Morse Mice are receiving messages suggesting that HMS Belfast is about to be involved in something big.

Explore the ship to decipher the Morse Code and reveal HMS Belfast's destination to the crew. You will even be able to make your own Morse Code transmitter.

Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/3QXRodo

HMS Belfast leaves Singapore harbour at the end of her final foreign service commission, March 1962.

Learn more about this history of HMS Belfast and how she has been preserved as the last remaining vessel of her type: https://bit.ly/48HobuO

© The rights holder (IWM HU 4646)

From 3 to 9 June, celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day with a special guided tour of HMS Belfast, exploring the role the crew of the ship played in the D-Day landings.

From firing the first shots of the naval bombardment to treating the wounded, HMS Belfast is one of the only three surviving ships from the massive fleet involved in ‘Operation Neptune’, the amphibious assault on the beaches of Normandy.

Book now and join us for these exclusive D-Day tours, which will take you chronologically through the events of 6 June 1944: https://bit.ly/3WjOOSI

On 26 December 1943, a Royal Navy Battle Group led by HMS Duke of York and a Cruiser Squadron including HMS Belfast engaged the German battleship, Scharnhorst in the Battle of North Cape.

Painted in 1974 and now part of the IWM collection, this work by artist John Hamilton commemorate's HMS Belfast's role in the action.

Belfast is shown starboard side on and the Scharnhorst is visible in the far distance, illuminated by a star shell. A splash in the water shows that HMS Belfast is under German fire.

Learn more about the Battle of North Cape: https://bit.ly/3VCWdMC

© The artist's estate

Following the Japanese surrender and the end of the Second World War in August 1945, HMS Belfast joined other Royal Navy vessels providing humanitarian assistance to British prisoners of war and internees in the Far East.

Arriving in Shanghai, HMS Belfast threw a series of childrens' parties which among other entertainments, featured a "Swinging Crate" suspended from the Ship's Crane (pictured).

© IWM (A 30855) / (A 30857) / (A 30854)

This 'Bluenose certificate' was presented to HMS Belfast rating, G Stacey in December 1943.

Certificates like this illustrated example here were unofficial and celebrated a long-held Royal Navy tradition for marking a sailor's first crossing in to waters of the Arctic Circle.

© Crown copyright. IWM (Documents.5213)

An American S.51 helicopter flies over HMS Belfast in the Yellow Sea during the Korean War, 1951.

HMS Belfast saw more action during the Korean War than at any other point during her career, firing more than 8,000 rounds from her 6-inch guns.

Learn more about HMS Belfast during the conflict: https://bit.ly/3XPgFc2

© IWM (A 31985)

HMS Belfast is depicted from the bridge of HMS Argonaut in this painting from September 1945 by James Morris.

Both ships are portrayed entering the mined approach to Kiirung, Formosa with American aircraft carriers at anchor in the distance.

© IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 5535)

Officers are pictured here on HMS Belfast's original, open bridge which would eventually be replaced by a fully-enclosed bridge during a later refit.

As the background of the photograph suggests, those working on the open bridge would have to face the icy conditions of the Arctic firsthand.

© IWM (HU 8796)

This Friday 5 April, meet veterans and eyewitnesses of conflict to gain a unique insight into the impact of war on people’s lives.

You will hear an array of personal stories and powerful memories from those who have experienced conflict first-hand.

Discover how was life at sea on board HMS Belfast: https://bit.ly/3Q6ve9j

Learn from our expert guides about the lives of those who worked and lived on board, hearing the stories of the sailors, marines and airmen who made HMS Belfast feel like a floating city.

Discover what life was like on board a Royal Navy cruiser, hear first-hand accounts from those who lived on board and learn about what kept the men of HMS Belfast going through freezing Arctic convoys, D-Day and the Korean War.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3VlpyuR

Adventure your way around HMS Belfast with our brand-new family trail and help the ship’s cooks find hidden eggs.

Unscramble the letters hidden in these eggs to reveal the name of a very special cake the ship’s Captain has asked the cook to bake!

Plan your visit now: https://bit.ly/4aymKyD

Since taking her place on the southern bank of the Thames in 1971, HMS Belfast has established herself as a much-loved London landmark. But aside from her day job as one of the capital's world-leading museums, she has also played a starring role in some iconic cultural moments from the past few decades.

From Only Fools and Horses, to Depeche Mode and bell-ringing mishaps, learn more about HMS Belfast in popular culture: https://bit.ly/48RtYN8

Credit: On Demand News