ROYAL NAVY SOUTH ATLANTIC COMMAND - ROYAL NAVY C D 30 SHIPS *
1)CALIFORNIA (ARMED M. CRUISER)
Photo. www.wikipedia.org by Imperial War Museum
Completed: 1923
Displacement: 16,792 / 10,400 tons
Length: 579,1 ft
Beam: 70,4 ft
Draught: 29,0 ft
Speed: 16 kts
Armament: 8x 152mm, 2x 76mm
AMC California was requisitioned by the Admiralty to be converted into na AMC early in 1939. Conversion was completed on October that same year. In the south Atlantic Station she operated from November 41 to March 42. On 1 April 1942 used as troopship by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT).
8 July 1943 the small fast Convoy Faith, comprising Port Fayry, the troopships Duchess of York and California, and escorted by the destroyer HMS Douglas and frigate HMS Moyola, sailed Port Glasgow, Scotland, for Freetown, Sierra Leone. On the evening of 10 July the convoy rendezvoused with the Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois 500 miles (800 km) WSW of Land's End. On 11 July 1943 when about 300 miles (480 km) west of Vigo, Spain, the convoy was attacked by three Focke wulf F-200 aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 40 from Merignac near Bordeaux.
Accurate high-altitude bombing left Duchess of York and California in flames. The attack cost the lives of 46 servicemen and crew, and both ships were abandoned. It was feared the flames from the ships would attract U-boats, so in the early hours of 12 July they were sunk by Royal Navy torpedoes in position 41°15′N 15°24′W
