HMS Caroline is a decommissioned C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that was the lead ship of her sub-class.

From October 2016 she underwent inspection and repairs to her hull at Harland and Wolff and opened to the public on 1 July 2017 at Alexandra Dock in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast.

[3] Caroline was the last remaining British First World War light cruiser in service, and she is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland still afloat.

The C-class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to close within torpedo range.

[4] Ordered in July–August 1913[5] as part of the 1913–14 Naval Programme,[6] the Carolines were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Arethusa-class cruisers.

The turbines produced a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) which gave her a designed speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph).

The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,680 nautical miles (6,820 km; 4,230 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

Upon commissioning, she joined the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, serving as leader of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla.

In early 1916 she joined the Grand Fleet's 4th Light Cruiser Squadron and remained with it, fighting as part of it at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 under the command of Captain Henry R. Crooke, through to the end of the war in November 1918.

As Belfast developed into a major naval base during the Second World War, its headquarters outgrew the confines of HMS Caroline herself and occupied different establishments in various parts of the city.

There were depth charge pistol and Hedgehog repair workshops associated with HMS Caroline, some of which would have been on the quays beside her berth in Milewater Basin.

[10] The Royal Naval Reserve Unit decommissioned from the ship in December 2009, moved ashore, and recommissioned as the "stone frigate" (i.e., shore establishment) HMS Hibernia.

On her decommissioning, she was placed into the care of the National Museum of the Royal Navy[13] at Portsmouth, though remaining moored in her position in Alexandra Dock in Belfast.

One proposal considered was to remain in Belfast as a museum ship within the Titanic Quarter development alongside SS Nomadic.

[15] However, in October 2012 the Northern Ireland government announced that the ship would remain in Belfast and that the National Heritage Memorial Fund had pledged £1,000,000 to help to restore her.

[27] The phenomena of fewer fee-paying visitors coupled with rising overheads is a common experience for museums in the UK.