HMS York was a British cruiser laid down in 1927, launched in July 1928, and commissioned in the Royal Navy in 1930. The total length of the ship was 175.3 meters, width 17.4 meters, and her full displacement was about 10,800 tons. HMS York's top speed was around 32-33 knots. The main armament at the time of the launch was 6 203 mm guns in three twin. The secondary armament includes 4 102 mm AA guns and 6 533 mm torpedo tubes.
HMS York was the first of two class cruisers to bear the same name. In the assumptions of British designers, the York-class ships were in fact smaller and cheaper to build County-class ships. They differed from their predecessors mainly by the weaker main armament, but they had slightly better armor and a different engine. HMS York underwent reconstruction in the interwar period - in 1931, a seaplane catapult was installed on it, and in 1933 the anti-aircraft armament was strengthened. At the outbreak of World War II, the unit was in the Caribbean Sea and was relatively soon included in the search for German raiders. At the turn of 1939/1940, HMS York was undergoing renovation in Great Britain. In April and May 1940, the unit participated in the Norwegian campaign. In the second half of August 1940, HMS York was directed to the Mediterranean Sea, where he escorted one of the convoys bound for Suez, but he traveled the way around Africa. In March 1941, the cruiser was severely damaged as a result of the operation of the 10th MAS Flotilla in Suda Bay, and in May of the same - as a result of very serious damage - it was abandoned by the crew.