HMS Orion (85)
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The Leander-class light cruiser HMS Orion: Royal Navy, Penant 85
Displacement: 7,215 tons Speed: 32.5kt Complement: 550 Armament: Eight 6 inch guns in pairs. Eight 4 inch anti-aircraft guns in pairs Eight 2pdr anti-aircraft guns in pairs Twelve 0.5 inch machine guns in fours. Eight 21 inch torpedo tubes in pairs and 1 aircraft.
Built by: Devonport Dockyard (Plymouth, U.K), Vickers Armstrong (Newcastle-on-Tyne, U.K.) Laid down: 26 Sep, 1931 Launched: 24 Nov, 1932 Commissioned: 18 Jan, 1934 Ended service: 1947
Sold for scrap: to Arnott Young (Dalmuir, Scotland) on 19 July 1949.
HMS Orion was commissioned for service with the Home Fleet but she was transferred to the American and West Indian Station in 1937 where she was with the 8th Cruiser Squadron. In June 1940 she was transferred to the Mediterranean. She was with the 7th Cruiser Squadron as Flagship. She took part in the bombardment of Bardia and the engagment of Punto Stilo. During the rest of 1940 she escorted Malta convoys and transported troops to Greece. In the early part of 1941 she was in the Crete and Aegean areas and was also at the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941.
On May 29 1941, during the evacuation of Crete, she was badly damaged after being bombed. Many of her crew lost their lives. She was taken to Simonstown, South Africa where she had temporary repairs and was then sent to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the USA for major repairs.
HMS Orion returned to the Mediterranean in 1943. This time she was with the 15th Cruiser Squadron. She was involved in the invasion of Sicily.
Orion spent the rest of the war around the Mediterranean. She also took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944.
HMS Orion was scrapped in August 1949.
| Leander-class cruiser |
| Royal Navy |
| Achilles | Ajax | Amphion | Apollo | Leander | Neptune | Orion | Phaeton |
| Royal Australian Navy |
| Hobart (ex-Apollo) | Perth (ex-Amphion) | Sydney (ex-Phaeton) |
| Royal New Zealand Navy |
| Achilles | Leander |
| Indian Navy |
| Delhi (ex-Achilles) |