HMS Liverpool, named after the port city of Liverpool in north-west England, was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy in service from 1938 to 1952. During the Second World War, Liverpool gained four battle honours and was seriously damaged in two attacks by Italian torpedo bombers. She operated variously with the naval stations in the East Indies and China and with the Mediterranean and Home fleets. While assigned to the China Station in January 1940, the cruiser instigated a diplomatic incident with Japan when she intercepted the liner Asama Maru off the coast of Japan. Liverpool fought in the battles of the Espero Convoy and Calabria, the Arctic Convoys, and Operation Harpoon during the Malta Convoys. An aerial attack on 14 June 1942, during Operation Harpoon, proved to be the sh