Editing Dido-class cruiser (section)

==Armament==
[[File:HMS Cleopatra smoke.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|{{HMS|Cleopatra|33|2}} lays smoke to shield a convoy as {{HMS|Euryalus|42|2}} elevates her forward 5.25 inch guns to shell the Italian fleet at the [[Second Battle of Sirte]], 22 March 1942}}]]
The class were intended to be armed with ten 5.25-inch (133&nbsp;mm) guns in five twin turrets, which were of the same circular design as the secondary armament in the {{sclass|King George V|battleship|||1939}}s. Due to a shortage of the guns caused by difficulties in manufacturing them, the first group were built with only four 5.25-inch gun turrets. Only HMS ''Dido'' had the fifth turret added later. The first group was also armed with a [[QF 4-inch naval gun Mk V|{{convert|4|inch|mm|adj=on|abbr=on|0}} gun]] for firing [[star shell]]s and two quadruple [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|QF 2-pounder (40&nbsp;mm) "pom-poms"]] for anti-aircraft defence.

The second group had all five twin 5.25-inch turrets and did not require the 4-inch gun. The third group's armament was changed due to the shortage of 5.25-inch guns and had eight [[QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun|QF 4.5-inch (113 mm) guns]] in four twin turrets instead. The 4.5-inch turret  was better suited to the primary anti-aircraft role of the ''Dido'' class but the ammunition was considered too heavy for peacetime use. The forward (A and B) 4.5-inch turrets were mounted on the top of conjoint deckhouses. The superstructure extended forward with more crew accommodation and radar rooms which allowed the two cruisers to operate as flagships. The high rate of fire of the 4.5-inch turrets, together with simpler dual-purpose twin Director Control Tower (DCT),{{efn|Red DCT for A & B and Blue for X & Y turrets}} meant that ''Scylla'' and ''Charybdis'' were arguably the only members of the ''Dido'' class that were true AA cruisers.<ref>R. Hughes. ''Through the Waters. A gunnery officer on HMS Scylla 1942–3''. W . Kimber. London (1956) p 25-29</ref> The 4-inch gun was also fitted and the 2-pounder armament was increased from eight to ten.

The ''Bellona'' subclass differed in appearance somewhat from their predecessors. They had eight 5.25-inch RP10 Mk II guns in four twin turrets and had greatly improved anti-aircraft armament, with twelve 2-pounder guns and twelve [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]. The bridge of the ''Bellona'' class was lowered by one deck compared to the previous three groups. This reduced topweight and so full radar control could be fitted to the 5.25-inch turrets and the 2-pounder guns. These ships used the [[HACS]] high angle fire control system. The two [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] were more upright than the raked ones of the original ''Dido'' class.