C - class cruiser The C class was a group of twenty - eight light cruiser s of the Royal Navy , and were built in a sequence of seven groups known as the " Caroline Class " ( six ships ) , " Calliope Class " ( two ships ) , " Cambrian Class " ( four ships ) , " Centaur Class " ( two ships ) , " Caledon Class " ( four ships ) , " Ceres Class " ( five ships ) and " Carlisle Class " ( five ships ) . They were built for the rough conditions of the North Sea , and proved to be rugged and capable vessels , despite their being somewhat small and cramped . The " Caroline " class . The " Caroline " class were all ordered in July to August 1913 , as the first six of eight " light armoured cruisers " under the 1913 programme . They were launched in 1914 or 1915 and commissioned in 1915 . They had an armament of two single 6 in guns aft , eight 4 in guns and two 6 pounder guns . Their anti - aircraft ( A / A ) weaponry consisted of four 3 pounder guns . Their aft 6 in guns were superfiring and the class had three funnels . During the First World War , the ships of the class underwent a variety of alterations , including the removal of the guns in " Caroline " , " Carysfort " and " Comus " , being replaced by two extra guns , while " Cleopatra " , " Conquest " and " Cordelia " retained one or two of the guns , with two 2 pounder guns being added to some of the ships . The " Calliope " class . The two ships of the " Calliope " sub - class - HMS " Calliope " and HMS " Champion " - were the last pair of the eight " light armoured cruisers " to be ordered in July to August 1914 under the 1913 Programme . They had all geared turbines , the first RN cruisers to be fitted with them . They also had increased belt armour and , " Champion " had just two screws . They were commissioned in mid to late 1915 , as modifications to the " Caroline " with higher speeds and a more efficient boiler layout and the reduction in the number of funnels to two . The two ships had different machinery types for comparative purposes . " Calliope " and " Champion " underwent similar gun armament modifications to the " Caroline " class . They also had underwater tubes rather than the deck mounted weapons of the " Caroline " class and were given two twin deck mounted torpedo tubes during the war but these were later removed to reduce top weight . The " Cambrian " class . The " Cambrian " class were ordered in September 1914 under the 1914 - 15 Programme , and commissioned between 1915 and 1916 . They had two funnels rather than the three in the " Caroline " class , following on from the developments in the " Calliope " subclass . The " Cambrian " class had similar armament to the previous sub - class , with its main armament being four guns in single mounts . Their secondary armament consisted of eight guns . They were later removed , with " Canterbury " and " Champion " retaining one single gun . The rest of the ships used either two to three guns . The " Centaur " class . The " Centaur " class were ordered in December 1914 , and built using materials originally intended for two scout cruiser s to be built for Turkey . They were launched and commissioned in 1916 . The class also had geared turbines as well as four screws . They retained the two funnels introduced to the C class by the " Cambrians " . Their main armament was five 6 in guns in single mounts . Their guns were mostly replaced in a similar fashion to the previous sub - classes , with smaller calibre guns . The " Caledon " class . The " Caledon " class were all ordered in December 1915 and commissioned in 1917 . They retained the two funnels of the previous two sub - classes . Their propulsion was slightly different from the previous sub - classes . Their superstructure was also slightly altered . They had a main armament of five guns and a secondary armament of two 3 in guns , as well as an AA armament of four 3 pounder guns . The surviving ships of the class survived to see World War II , and underwent a number of modifications . Five Oerlikon 20 mm cannon s were added to all ships . " Caledon " herself had a different armament , as she underwent an extensive rebuild that saw her become an AA cruiser . She was armed with the effective gun , of which she had twelve , two 40 mm Bofors and eight 20 mm Oerlikons . The " Ceres " Class . The " Ceres " class were ordered in March to April 1916 and commissioned between 1917 and 1918 . They were very " wet " at the bow , which was remedied in the subsequent " Carlisle " sub - class with the addition of a " trawler bow " . Their main armament consisted of five guns , while their secondary armament consisted of two guns , of which a further one was later added to " Ceres " herself . Four 3 pounder guns were also fitted . Three ships underwent extensive rebuilds during the 1930s , becoming AA cruisers , resulting in all previous armament being removed . The ships were " Coventry " , " Curacoa " and " Curlew " , with " Curacoa " being the last of the three to be rebuilt in 1939 ; the other two ships having been converted in 1935 . " Coventry " and " Curlew " were given ten guns ( two later being removed from " Coventry " ) and sixteen guns for their AA role . " Curacoa " had slightly different gun numbers , being armed with eight guns and four guns , and later on in WWII , four 20 mm Oerlikons . " Cardiff " and " Ceres " were to have undergone the same conversion , but this was prevented by the outbreak of war . The " Carlisle " Class . The " Carlisle " class were ordered in June and July 1917 under the War Emergency Programme , and commissioned between 1918 and 1922 . They differed from the previous sub - class , with the addition of a " trawler bow " which raised the bow higher , as well as having no conning towers . They had an armament of five guns in single turrets , while their secondary armament consisted of two guns , four 3 pounder guns and two 2 pounder guns . All ships of the class , except " Colombo " and " Capetown " , were converted into AA cruisers in 1939 , although " Capetown " received 6 20 mm guns and radar . Their main armament consisted of eight guns in four twin turrets with varying numbers of 20 mm Oerlikon guns being added . " Colombo " was finally converted to an AA cruiser in 1942 , with its armament consisting of eight guns and six 20 mm Oerlikons . First World War service . In March 1916 , " Cleopatra " rammed and sank the German destroyer G . 194 while " Cleopatra " covered a raid at Tondern . Ships of the C class were extensively involved later that year in the Battle of Jutland . In 1917 , " Centaur " hit mines that blew her bow and stern off . Despite the extensive damage , " Centaur " survived and was repaired . The year also saw ships of the class involved in action at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight . In 1918 , " Cardiff " had the honour of leading the defeated German High Seas Fleet to the River Forth , where the German ships would be held before being moved to various other ports . No C - class ships were lost during the First World War ; however , in December 1918 , " Cassandra " hit a mine and subsequently sank . Ships of the C class performed a variety of duties after World War I , including service on overseas stations . In 1919 , " Curacoa " hit a mine that badly damaged her , but she survived and was repaired . The " Caroline " , " Cambrian " and " Centaur " classes were all scrapped or consigned to minor roles , such as training ships , by the 1930s . Conversion . In the mid - 1930s it was decided to modernize and refit the C class cruisers for anti - aircraft work . The aim was to convert all 13 cruisers of the late C classes , the " Caledon " s , " Ceres " s and " Carlisle " s . The conversions between 1935 and 1936 of HMS " Coventry " and HMS " Curlew " served as prototypes . " Coventry " and " Curlew " first had all armament removed . This was replaced with 10 single mount 4 inch high angle ( HA ) guns and two eight - barreled 2 pounder " pom - pom " mounts . The previous gun directors were removed and replaced with two suitable for anti - aircraft gun control . Only limited structural work was carried out to keep costs down , but the masts were altered . In 1938 the aft pom - pom was removed because of shortages and given to other ships - the replacement was two quadruple Vickers machine gun mounts . The modifications were considered successful , and the conversion of the other eleven ships was drawn up . This was delayed though ; " Cairo " and " Calcutta " did not start conversion until 1938 . Instead of single guns , they were to receive twin HA mounts except that one mount was given over to a quad pom - pom . In mid 1939 " Carlisle " and " Curacoa " went in for their conversion but the conversion work ceased on the outbreak of war . Second World War service . In the Second World War , the " Caledon " , " Ceres " and " Carlisle " class ships participated , despite their age . " Calypso " caught the German blockade - runner " Konsul Hendrik Fisser " in 1939 . That same year , " Caradoc " intercepted the German tanker " Emmy Friedrich " , whose crew subsequently scuttled her . A number of ships took part in the Norwegian campaign in 1940 . The C class were also extensively used in the Mediterranean Sea ; the first notable engagement by a ship of the class being " Coventry " ' s participation in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in 1940 . In 1941 , " Calcutta " and " Carlisle " took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan , in which a number of Italian warships were sunk . C - class cruisers also took part in the campaign and evacution of Crete , coming up against heavy German opposition from the air . In 1942 , " Carlisle " took part in the Second Battle of Sirte . In 1942 / 43 " Colombo " and " Caledon " went in for their refits - getting 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikons alongside the twin mounts . In 1943 , " Carlisle " was heavily damaged by German aircraft , though did not sink . The damage did , however , knock the ship out of the war . In 1944 , " Capetown " provided support to the Normandy Landings , bombarding German positions . Six ships of the C class were lost during the war : " Cairo " was sunk in 1942 by the Italian submarine " Axum " during Operation Pedestal ( the pivotal resupply of Malta ) ; " Calcutta " was attacked and sunk by German aircraft during the evacuation of Crete ; " Calypso " was sunk by the Italian submarine " Bagnolini " in 1940 ; " Coventry " was heavily damaged by German aircraft while covering a raid on Tobruk in 1942 , forcing HMS " Zulu " to scuttle her ; " Curacoa " was sunk after colliding with the ocean liner RMS " Queen Mary " in 1942 ; and " Curlew " was sunk by German aircraft off Narvik during the Norwegian campaign in 1940 . The survivor . HMS " Caroline " was decommissioned in 2009 . Despite ongoing alterations throughout her lifetime , many parts of the ship still date to when she was originally commissioned in 1914 . The Royal Naval Museum is currently attempting to develop a viable long - term solution to preserve the ship .