HMS Hermione was a light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons, (Glasgow, Scotland), with the keel laid down on 6 October 1937. She was launched on 18 May 1939 and commissioned 25 March 1941. On 16 June 1942, Hermione was torpedoed and sunk by the in the Mediterranean. Eighty-eight crewmembers were killed. Construction and design The Dido-class were designed as small cruisers capable of being built quickly and in large numbers to allow a shortfall in numbers of cruisers against the numbers which were required to meet the Royal Navy's requirements. Rather than the mixed armament of single purpose 6-inch (152 mm) low-angle (anti -ship) and 4-inch (102 mm) high-angle (anti-aircraft) guns carried by previous light cruisers, it was decided to fit a dual purpose main armament, capable of both anti-ship and anti-aircraft fire. This used the new 5.25-inch (133 mm) gun as used in the King George V-class battleships. Hermione was one of two Dido-class cruisers ordered under the 1937 construction programme for the Royal Navy, following on from 5 ships ordered the previous year. Hermione was laid down at Alexander Stephen and Sons Linthouse, Glasgow shipyard as Yard number 560 on 6 October 1937, was launched on 18 May 1939 and completed on 25 March 1941. Hermione was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a mean draught of (increasing to at full load. Displacement was standard and full load. The ship's machinery was arranged in a four-shaft layout, with four Admiralty 3-drum boilers supplying steam at to Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, rated at , giving a speed of . of fuel oil were carried, giving a range of at , reducing to at and at . The ship's main armament consisted of ten 5.25-inch guns in five twin turrets on the ship's centreline, with three forward and two aft. Two quadruple 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom mounts were mounted on the ship's beams to provide close-in anti-aircraft protection, backed up by two quadruple .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns on the bridge wings. Two triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes provided additional anti-ship capability. Fire control for this armament was provided by a single low angle director control tower (DCT) on the ship's bridge, together with two High Angle Control System (HACS) director towers, one on the ship's bridge and one aft. A armour belt protected the