Light cruisers like "Dido". Air Defense ships of British convoys. Patyanin S.V.

Light cruisers of the “Dido” type were specially created as the basis of the air defense of the royal fleet. It was they who became the first British cruisers to receive universal artillery of the main caliber (133-mm guns in five paired towers), control of anti-aircraft fire using Poiso with power gyrostabilization and radiation in range, height, azimuth. Approving the names of the next series of cruisers, the Admiralty decided to continue the tradition of assigning to the ships of this class of the names of the heroes of ancient and medieval history and mythology (thereby emphasized continuity with predecessors, cruisers like Leander and Aestyuz). So, Cleopatra has gone from the slipways, “Hermione”, “Feub”, “Argonaut”, “Haribda”, “Scylla”, “Black Prince” and others, and the whole type became called in honor of Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, 16 cruisers of this class were built. They participated in the hostilities at all theaters of the Second World War, where their main task was the protection of the convoys of the Allies (including in the USSR). , and Spartan was the victim of the world's first radio-controlled air bomb, the Diadem service, which was part of the Pakistan fleet, until 1985

the new book of the leading historian of the Navy for the first time in all Details talks about the design, construction, design, tests, modernization, service and combat use of all light cruisers of the Type of the Type "DIDO.

The publication is illustrated by exclusive drawings and unique photographs.