On this day in 1960: Tiger-class light cruiser HMS Lion (C34) was commissioned.
Work on the ship was suspended after its launch in 1944 and remained halted until the mid-1950s. Originally intended to be completed as HMS Defence, it was redesigned as a Tiger-class air-defence cruiser with modern automatic twin 6-inch gun turrets instead of the older triple turrets. Renamed HMS Lion in 1957, construction resumed because completing the partially built cruisers was considered faster and cheaper than building new ones. Lion was commissioned in 1960 at a final cost of about £13 million.
Although all three Tiger-class cruisers were later planned for conversion into helicopter carriers, Lion was placed in reserve in 1965 instead. It was used as a source of spare parts for its sister ships, decommissioned in 1972, and sold for scrap in 1975.
A look back at the stern of USS New Jersey BB-62 in 1983. Helicopters could land on her fantail, and you can still see the remnants of WWII with here AA enclosures. #ussnewjersey#bb62#boneyardsafari#navalsafari