Dido-class light cruiser were designed in the 1930s as convoy escorts and destroyer leaders, intended for operations in the Mediterranean. As such, ships of the Dido-class had to be both large enough to operate in rough waters as well as fast and maneuverable enough in order to keep up with destroyers, whilst at the same time remaining relatively cheap to produce in large numbers.

HMS Dido, the lead ship of her class, was laid down in October 1937. In July 1939, Dido was completed and commissioned into service a year later. HMS Dido’s early service life was marked with convoy escort duties in the Atlantic, before joining the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet in April 1941.

As part of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean forces, HMS Dido took part in numerous major operations, including the landings at Sicily and mainland Italy as well as southern France. During her service in the Mediterranean, HMS Dido performed various roles, from doing supply runs over evacuating troops to bombarding shorelines.

By 1944, HMS Dido briefly returned to Great Britain, before being sent off on escort duties as part of the arctic convoys. In 1945, HMS Dido was sent to Copenhagen, where the warship fired the last naval shot as part of the war in Europe, however not in anger, but in celebration of the surrender of the German Kriegsmarine.

Some time after the end of WW2, HMS Dido joined the ranks of the Royal Navy reserve fleet, remaining in service for another good decade. In 1957 however, HMS Dido was decommissioned from service and sold for scrap.