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HMS Minotaur / Swifture

The Minotaur Class, a proposed class of eight Light Cruisers, were ordered under the 1941 and 1942 Warship Construction Programmes. The Minotaur class of light cruisers, also known as the Swiftsure class, was designed as a modified version of the Crown Colony class. The design was modified after the first two ships, HMS Swifture and HMS Minotaur, were laid down in 1941 as a result of which these two ships became known as the “Group 1” ships.

One Swiftsure class light cruiser was laid-down as HMS Minotaur for the Royal Navy, completing in late-1944. During construction she was passed to the RCN and became HMCS Ontario. She served with distinction until 1958, then being scrapped.

The “Group 2” ships, sometimes referred to as the Superb Class, included HMS Superb. The Cruiser Superb, a Light cruiser of the Minotaur class built by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. was first commissioned on October 30th 1945. In March 1946, she had the honor of conveying Her Majesty the Queen, then H.R.H Princess Elizabeth, on an official visit to Belfast. Serving on the Mediterranean and Home Stations from 1946 to 1950, at one time in 1947 she was the only operational cruiser in the Royal Navy. After participating in many Western Union, and later, N.A.T.O exercises, she was relieved by H.M.S. Glasgow as flagship on the American and West Indies Station and in 1951 cruised extensively around South America and on the East Coast of North America. In 1952 she returned to the Mediterranean on a Home Fleet Cruise as Flagship to Rear Admiral Robson, Flag Officer Flotillas, who had been her first Captain.

Later, in 1952, she was transferred to the America and West Indies Station as Flagship to Vice Admiral Sir William Andrewes, returning to Spithead in June for the Coronation review. After the Review, there followed a cruise in North American waters and a return to Chatham for leave and a docking period in November. After a refit in 1954, Superb once more sailed for the West Indies under the command of Commodore Donald-Fuller and spent one year abroad. On her return to Chatham in 1955 she once again refitted and preparing for her General Service commission of 1956-57 under command of her Captain,The Earl Cairns when she took up station in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf States, East Africa and was present at the Home Fleet review at Spithead in May 1956. She was laid up in Gareloch in late 1957 and on 8th August, 1960 she arrived at Dalmuir to be broken up.