HMS Belfast Through History

• The Arctic convoys

  The Arctic convoys

  Sailors and Royal Marines take a break from clearing ice from HMS Belfast’s upper decks. HMS Belfast spent most of 1943 in the waters of the Arctic, providing close-range heavy cover for the convoys taking supplies to the USSR.

• Service in the Far East

  Service in the Far East

  Children of British and Commonwealth civilian internees are entertained at a party held on board HMS Belfast in Shanghai, October 1945. HMS Belfast helped evacuate survivors of Japanese prisoner of war and civilian internment camps in Shanghai.

• The Korean War

  The Korean War

  HMS Belfast fires a salvo from her 6-inch guns at shore targets in North Korea, November 1951. HMS Belfast was amongst the first British ships to go into action off Korea, and patrolling and shore bombardments were her main duties.

• Last years at sea

  Last years at sea

  HMS Belfast leaves Singapore in April 1962 at the end of her last foreign service commission. Following the Korean War, the need for a large peacetime navy dwindled, and in 1963 HMS Belfast was paid off into reserve for the last time.

• Arrival in London

  Arrival in London

  HMS Belfast sails under Tower Bridge to take up her permanent mooring in the Pool of London, 15 October 1971. She became part of IWM in 1978.

• Ongoing preservation

  Ongoing preservation

  Dry-docked in Tilbury, HMS Belfast undergoes preservation work on her hull, September 1982. IWM continues to preserve and restore the ship through its dedicated team of staff and volunteers, most recently replacing her masts in 2010.