HMS York ( 90 ) HMS " York " , pennant number 90 , was a heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy built in the late 1920s . She mostly served on the North America and West Indies Station before World War II . Early in the war the ship escorted convoys in the Atlantic and participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940 . " York " was transferred to the Mediterranean theatre in late 1940 where she escorted convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet . She was wrecked in an attack by Italian explosive motorboats of the 10th Flotilla MAS at Suda Bay , Crete in March 1941 . The ship ' s wreck was salvaged in 1952 and scrapped in Bari . Design . " York " s design was based on the earlier County classes that was intended to be smaller and cheaper , but better armoured . She was easily distinguishable from her sister ship , , as the latter had straight masts and funnels , while those of " York " were angled to the rear . In addition , " York " also had a very tall bridge designed to clear the aircraft catapult originally planned to be carried on the superfiring ( ' B ' ) gun turret forward . " York " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving four shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by eight Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " York " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 628 officers and men . The ship mounted six 50 - calibre 8 - inch ( 203 mm ) guns in three twin turrets . Her secondary armament consisted of four QF Mk V anti - aircraft ( AA ) guns in single mounts . " York " mounted two single 2 - pounder ( 40 mm ) light AA guns ( " pom - poms " ) . The ship carried two triple torpedo tube above - water mounts for torpedoes . " York " lacked a full waterline armor belt . The sides of her boiler and engine rooms were protected by of armour and sides of the magazine s were protected by of armour . The transverse bulkheads at the end of her machinery rooms were thick . The top and ends of the magazines were three inches thick . The lower deck over the machinery spaces and steering gear had a thickness of . Space and weight was reserved for one catapult and its seaplane , but they were not fitted until after she was completed . A second catapult , intended to be mounted on ' B ' turret , was deleted from the design during construction . Service . " York " was laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company , Jarrow , on 18 May 1927 , launched on 17 July 1928 and was completed on 1 May 1930 . She became the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet upon commissioning . She served with the 8th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station , and was detached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935 and 1936 for the Second Italo - Abyssinian War , before returning to the American Station until the outbreak of war in September 1939 . The ship was transferred to Halifax , Nova Scotia that same month for convoy escort duties . In October 1939 , " York " was assigned to Force F at Halifax , which was active in hunting for commerce raiders and protecting convoys . She was briefly refitted in Bermuda between 31 October and 22 November before she returned to Great Britain for a more thorough refit in December . Upon its completion on 9 February " York " was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of Home Fleet . On 3 March 1940 the ship intercepted the German blockade runner " Arucas " in the Denmark Strait near Iceland , but she was scuttled by her own crew before she could be captured . In early April 1940 , " York " , and the rest of her squadron , were assigned to carry troops under Plan R 4 , the British plan to invade Norway . The troops were disembarked on 8 April when the British learned of the imminent German invasion of Norway and the squadron , under the command of Vice - Admiral John Cunningham , joined the bulk of the Home Fleet already at sea . On 10 April the destroyer was badly damaged by air attack and " York " was detailed to tow her to Lerwick for repairs . The ship , and the light cruisers and , ferried the 1st Battalion of the Green Howards and other troops from Rosyth to Åndalsnes and Molde on 24 – 25 April . " York " returned home on 26 April . " York " was one of the ships used to evacuate British and French troops from Namsos , along with three French transports and a number of British destroyers , on the evening of 1 / 2 May . In the Mediterranean . In August 1940 " York " was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet , joining the 3rd Cruiser Squadron in Alexandria in late September , after escorting a convoy around the Cape of Good Hope . Two days later she participated in Operation MB . 5 , where the Mediterranean Fleet escorted the light cruisers and as they ferried troops to Malta . During the Battle of Cape Passero , " York " sank the damaged and abandoned destroyer " Artigliere " on 13 October after the destroyer ' s engagement with the light cruiser the previous evening . A month later " York " and the Mediterranean Fleet executed Operation MB8 , a complex series of manoeuvers , including Operation " Judgement ' , where the ship escorted the aircraft carrier as her aircraft attacked the Italian Fleet at Taranto on the evening of 11 / 12 November . A few days later " York " ferried British troops from Alexandria , Egypt to Piraeus , Greece . On 26 November , " York " , and the rest of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron , covered a small convoy to Malta . The Mediterranean Fleet , including " York " , sortied on 16 December to conduct air strikes on Italian shipping , airbases on Rhodes and to bombard Valona . In early January 1941 the ship escorted the tanker and four s to Suda Bay , Crete and covered operations in the Eastern Mediterranean during Operation " Excess " . She arrived back at Alexandria on 16 January . " York " returned to Suda Bay in early February for operations against Italian shipping . During Operation " Lustre " in March , she protected troop convoys from Egypt to Greece . Fate . " York " was disabled at Suda Bay in Crete by two Italian explosive motorboats ( ) of the Italian " Regia Marina " assault Flotilla " Decima Flottiglia MAS " , launched by destroyers " Crispi " and " Sella " on 26 March 1941 ; the two old destroyers were fitted with special cranes to operate assault craft . Six motorboats entered the bay , led by Tenente di vascello Luigi Faggioni , and attacked three targets in pairs ; the first was " York " , second the tanker " Pericles " and last another ship at anchor . Three of the attacking boats had various problems , either mechanical or human , due to the extreme temperature conditions , but the other three successfully attacked their targets . Two motorboats , packed with 330 - kilogramme ( 667 lb ) charges in the bows , struck " York " amidships , flooding both boiler rooms and one engine room . Two British seamen were killed . All Italian sailors survived the attack and fell into British hands . The ship was run aground to prevent her from sinking . The submarine was used to supply electrical power to operate the cruiser ' s guns for anti - aircraft defence , but she was later severely damaged by air attack and had to be towed away for repairs . On 18 May , further damage was inflicted by German bombers and the ship was damaged beyond repair . Her main guns were wrecked by demolition charges on 22 May 1941 when the Allies began to evacuate Crete . " York " s wreck was salvaged in February 1952 and towed to Bari to be broken up , beginning on 3 March .