![HMS Cleopatra Cruiser escorting a convoy in the Mediterranean Sea with sparkling light on the waves.](https://amazon.clikpic.com/rosswatton/images/HMS_Cleopatra_Dido_class_cruiser_2.jpg)
Dido-class Cruiser
HMS Cleopatra was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, with the keel being laid down on 5 January 1939. She was launched on 27 March 1940, and commissioned on 5 December 1941. The painting shows the ship in early 1943 on escort duty in the Mediterranean, and was commissioned by a collector from Belgium.