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HMS Norfolk in Aden
Harbour
With a displacement of over
10,000 tons she mounted eight 8-inch guns. In
WW2, as one of the few ships fitted with radar
at the time, she would gain fame in the hunt for
the Bismark. In 1935 she was the flagship of the
East Indies Squadron. In that period Aden was
not in the East Indies command but under the
Flag Officer Red Sea and Canal Area, whose shore
base was at HMS Stag at Port Said.
The Norfolk had been sent to
Aden because of the Abyssinian Crisis as there
were no heavy ships under the Flag Officer Red
Sea. Aden would normally not have had more than
a sloop or two based there, or perhaps a
destroyer. Baden-Powell recorded that when he
visited Aden during this period there were at
least 20 warships of the Royal Navy in the
harbour. These would have included the 2nd
Destroyer Flotilla (see image above) from Malta and a submarine
depot ship with a number of submarines. This
squadron had been assembled to at least match
the Italian squadron in Massaua. Its strength in
1935 is not known, but in 1940 it would amount
to about 10 destroyers and six submarines.
Post Office Bay
showing the Post Office Pier and the long Naval
Pier
During the time of the
Abyssinian crisis there was a problem ensuring
enough berths were left free for the merchant
ships calling at Aden - hence the destroyers and
sloops were berthed several abreast. HMS Norfolk
would have been berthed opposite Post Office Pier, as
would have been the remainder of the naval
ships. Surprisingly HMS Norfolk only had a
draught of 16 ft so that would not have been a
problem.
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