HMS Cumberland (57)

HMS Cumberland was a heavy cruiser operated by the Royal Navy, from 1928 to 1946, and then from 1951 to 1959.

In late 1939 she was part of the South American Cruiser Squadron, a squadron hunting for the powerful German commerce raider Graf Spee, that included another heavy cruiser, HMS Exeter, and the light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles.^[1] The other three ships did engage with the Graf Spee, and inflicted crippling damage on her. But Cumberland had had to have been left behind, in Stanley, due to a need to repair some minor damage. She was able to reinforce the other ships as they waited in international waters, off Monte Video, where the crippled Graf Spee had sought sanctuary.

References

↑ "On this day: The Battle of River Plate". New Zealand Defence Force. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2025-12-16. The South American Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy, under the command of Commodore Henry Harwood, comprised Cumberland (under repair in the Falkland Islands), Exeter, Ajax and Achilles.

[Nzdf2021-12-13-1] "On this day: The Battle of River Plate". New Zealand Defence Force. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2025-12-16. The South American Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy, under the command of Commodore Henry Harwood, comprised Cumberland (under repair in the Falkland Islands), Exeter, Ajax and Achilles.

[1]