HMS Belfast

C59F0287.jpgJust upstream from Tower Bridge along the South Bank is a World War II cruiser, HMS Belfast. Part of the Imperial War Museum, the Belfast has been moored up in London as a museum for many years. I visited it as part of a school trip when I was quite young. It is a slightly incongruous thing to see against the other occupants of the river. A while back it was given a repaint in a splinter camouflage scheme as opposed to the plain gray it had before. The rest of the river traffic is bright in comparison.

C59F0330.jpgThe ship is impressive enough when viewed from river level but, when you look from above, you get to see just how large it is. A light cruiser from that era is a substantial thing. Occasionally a Royal navy ship may visit the city and they have previously moored up alongside the Belfast. The comparison between the old and the new is quite striking. The angular lines of older ships compared to the more sweeping hull shapes show the age of the design. Sadly, I don’t have any images of that to share.

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