The German captain decided not to fire, however, since the war was almost over. During the last days of the war in Europe she was spotted in the North Sea by a German submarine without being aware of it. She was later given a brief refit for Pacific service in the Far East, and joined Operation Zipper which was intended to eject the Japanese from Malaya but turned into a relief operation following the Japanese surrender. Amongst her best-known activities are her role in the sinking of the German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst in the Battle of the North Cape in December 1943 and the bombardment of enemy positions at the beginning of the landing phase of the D Day (Operation Neptune) in June 1944. Once returned to service, with her original displacement of 11,175 tons now increased to 11,553 tons, she served with distinction for the rest of the war. Launched in March 1938, Belfast struck a mine soon after the start of war in 1939 which broke her back and injured 21 members of the crew, a calamity putting the ship out of action for three years. HMS Belfast is a 6-inch gunned, 32-knot Edinburgh Class Light Cruiser that served in World War 2 and is now berthed on the River Thames, near Tower Bridge, London as a museum Ship. A superb model of the British Cruiser now moored permanently in the Pool of London.
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