HMS Fiji

HMS Fiji was the lead ship of her class of 11 light cruisers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the Second World War. Commissioned in May 1940, she was initially assigned to the Home Fleet under the command of Captain William Gordon Benn (1889-1962) who had previously commanded the Revenge-class battleship Royal Oak sunk by U-47 in Scapa Flow. In August 1940, Fiji was detached to escort a force tasked to force French West Africa to join the Free French. On 1 September 1940, the ship was torpedoed by U-32 while en route, and was out of service for six months while undergoing repairs. With a new captain in command, Fiji was then assigned to Force H where she helped to escort convoys to Malta. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in early May 1941. After the Germans invaded Crete a few weeks later, she was sunk by German aircraft on 22 May after having fired off all of her anti-aircraft ammunition.

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