HMS Gambia 1953 – HMS Gambia (pennant number 48, later C48) was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was in the service of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Gambia from 1943 to 1946. She was named after the then Crown colony of The Gambia, and has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.