So what’s up doc ? This year had been interesting to day the least in terms of naval news, ending with the “trump class battleship” that had the naval websphere in ebullition. Wether it’s new steam of traduced later into reality we will see. This year also ended with the largest combined naval exercizes of the PLAN around Taiwan, a prelude of things to come likely in 2027. As for Naval Encyclopedia, the refit is completed for 2026, and the website is inaugurating a brand new logo and spanking new hull paint and superstructure changes. Content-wise, the 19th century section will be completed, the WW1 section partly rewritten and also completed, as the WW2, and cold war section, with more awaited on the modern era side. But the most important part, reflected in the logo identity, is a venture into civilian ships, starting with the easiest part, liners and passenger ships at large for which i have some 300 references. Next will be cargo ships, starting with the best known classes, and then all the others for which data is available, and hopefully dedicated videos… Hope you’ll be around to see this. Happy New Year Folks !
A “cushy” Year ?
2026. A make or break year ? Wether it’s for the site itself or the world, this will not likely a too much eventful year. Geopolitics will see less major elections and government changes, so same heads at the top of the world globally. The war in Ukraine is -sadly- likely going on again after probably the worst winter since 2022, and perhaps a spring ofensive, but the Ukrainian are ready, still with European support, and despite economic hardships. The US are going to be absorbed to the east, and China continue to prepare for its Taiwanese gamble. All experts and analysts sees indeed 2027 as instead THE major eventful year, between a new major elections cycles in the countries that count and perhaps a coordinated offensive, on Taiwan and on the Baltic states as a diversion of Europe from Ukraine, all with ramping up hybrid war and likely more serious incidents. World war three at the gates. All this with massive climate degradation in the background. Who will win this battle for the future of humanity ? Imperialist Autocrats and Soul-less businessmen or the planet ? Future will tell.
The Refit and New identity
The new 2026 website for Naval Encyclopedia, is just (almost) out of the dry-dock after a major overhaul and in post-refit sea trials. Full Commission is expected in February, and your daily articles once again. About the new logo: If the base colours remain the same, inspire by sea colors, the logo is indeed brand new. The original one was essentially an anchor split with a forward view of the Bismarck. However, in the long run it appears difficult to decipher and impossible to simplify more as it was in 2022. Now the new logo is quite unique for its apparent duality traduced in two ways: One about warships: At the same far more exciting than cargo ships, but weapons of war and instant steel coffins for thousands. This is also a reflection about the new direction of naval encyclopedia from 2026 onwards, after covering a majority of warships, a brave new leap into the civilian fleets from the industrial revolution to this day. In this, the logo reflects the dark and bright side, war and peace aspects of ships and the sea at large. So after naval aircraft in 2023-25, all types of civilian vessels will be seen, from liners to humble trawlers.
2016-2026, quite a decade for naval encyclopedia
In the meantime, modestly, naval encyclopedia will enter a new threshold. It’s back in the summer of 2016 that Naval Encyclopedia transitioned to English as prime language, and really saw the start of its scaling up, with gradual completion of all three major eras, WW1, WW2 and the cold war. This was done chronologically, class after class, and the same, June the centennial of the battle of Jutland was celebrated. Now ten years later, will that battle be celebrated the same way? There are serious doubts about this, for many reasons. Anyway, the website from 2024 onwards took a more radical daily publication rythm, which was maintained in 2025 in order to complete sections. New ones entered the fray: The 19th century in 2023, now underway completion, and modern navies in 2025, bringing us to “hotter” topics like the major news last month that was the cancellation of the Constellation class frigates, the failure of yet another major procurement program for the USN and another missed milestone to face the Chinese shipbuilding steamroller.
What’s left for naval encyclopedia ?
First off back in November, a refit started, notably to boost performances. It will still be ongoing, while the website is in its backup mode, which means for technies out there, a database-less pure html form, basic, but still with a search engine, and faster. The goal is to find a hack-proof, modern, superfast architecture still with all the bells and whistles attached to a million plus views website with daily views going from 6,000 to 15,000.
Now, about the contents:
Industrial Era
The 19th Century Section is going to see the continuation of the coverage of capital ships of the two great naval giants of the time, Britain and France, ironclads, from sail and steam to steam alone and turrets and transition towards barbette ironclads and early pre-dreadnoughts while rewrite and expansion of old articles will continue, about a hundred. Frigates and corvettes will likely be covered in 2027, for all countries.
WW1
There will be novelties for the WWI RN as well: WW1 British submarines, the completion of RN destroyers, RN monitors, RN gunboats and misc. class of ships.
For the US, completion of the submarine classes and a venture of some 1918-19 projects
For Japan, completion of the last unseen cruisers, but also gunboats, destroyer and submarines seen class after class
For Germany, some rewrites, and the whole lineage of WWI german hochseetorpedoboote (destroyers), completion of WWI German submarines.
For Russia, pretty much the same scheme: Destroyers, but also torpedo boats class (when enough info is present), and submarine classes, completion of cruisers and rewrites.
For France, some rewrites, last remaining cruisers, the Liberté, Normandie and Lyon class BBs, all submarines and destroyers, gunboats (portal page).
For the Ottoman Empire, older cruisers and a few more ships
For Austria-Hungary, individual classes of TBs and destroyers as well as submarines, and many rewrites.
And for the others, many minor ships if data is available.
WW2
Now for the preferred era for naval warfare, most has been covered more recently and rewrites will be more limited. Mosy have been covered for all nations, from battleships to aircraft carriers and cruisers, and in 2026, destroyers of most major naval nations had been covered as well, down to ASW corvettes, frigates and escort destroyers. So what’s left ?
-WW2 Soviet destroyers and Submarines
-Kriegsmarine’s escort ships, still a solid dozen U-Boat classes, auxiliaries and projects
-USN’s last escort destroyers, completion of destroyer and submarine pages (remaining careers) and auxiliaries
-Royal Navy’s remaining wartime destroyers making the transition to the 1950s, misc. ships, motor torpedo boats and gunboats.
-All remaining land crafts and ships iof enough data is available, US assault ships classes and remaining C1 cargo, T1 and T2 tankers among others.
-In general, more on merchant vessels if enough info is found for all nations.
-For the Imperial Japanese, torpedo boats, escorts, sub-hunters, gunboats, minesweepers and submarines.
-For the Regia Marina, moslty small ships, gunboats and remaining submarines.
-For Sweden, destroyers and submarines
-For all the others, the same.
-Plus 40+ naval aircraft mostly from WWI and WW2.
Cold War
-Completion of some nation’s pages
-Many frigates, corvettes for all nations, starting with:
-USSR: Remaining corvettes, small ships, minesweepers and amphibious ships, remaining submarines
-USA: Modernized destroyers (DDR/FRAM) and ASW frigates, assault ships, specialized ships and a few submarines
-UK: Frigates (continuation) and other vessels of all types and descriptions
-France, Italy: Same, mostly frigates, but also submarines for Italy.
-Bundesmarine, West German smaller vessels, but also East German vessels if enough data is available
-Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway’s frigates, submarines and smaller ships
-Japanese missile destroyers (continuation) and the whole navy tree down the chain
-Remaining Canadian and Austrlian ships
-Other nation’s vessels…
Completion of the main cold war page with conflicts after Indochina up to the Gulf war.
From the early cold war to this day the story of USN Frigates, next on Naval Encyclopedia in 2026, with many new profiles and posters.
Modern Navies
The big new shiny section about all major navies today. Expect many new classes starting with the “big boys”, USA, China, Russia, NATO ar large and the rest of the world with newcomers. This will be in order to try to “catch up” with the hottest stuff being launched these days and given the wealth of information, and limited (or classified careers) accent will be on nitpicky technical aspects.
And all this with 100+ new profiles, many being made already, for a future book on navies from the 19th cent. to this day. If possible, completion of the battles pages and tech (everything related with the naval world) plus a new section on admirals biopics and more civilian liners (i have a treasure trove of 250+ liners from many crossed books to cover).