admin7126 United Kingdom (1934-37) HMS Arethusa, Galatea, Penelope, Aurora The new generation British light cruisers The Arethusa class was the second class of light cruiser built after the end of the Great War. Built on a budget, they fitted within the confines of the Washington Treaty, deriving from Amphion group of the Leander class to save … Read more
US Navy VS. Imperial Japanese Navy The turning point of the Pacific The Battle of Midway was one of these moments in history that acts a bit as a hinge, or a crest between two slopes. A downward slope for Japan in this occurence. Until then, never had the USN in such bad position in … Read more
Almirante Tamandaré (1890) Brazil (1890) The first modern Brazilian Cruiser – The Almirante Tamandare is certainly not world famous not change history but it was certainy a brave leap forward for the only Navy in South America which produced its own warships, at least when they were still manageable. The Tamandare, started in 1885 was … Read more
USA (1910) Wyoming, Arkansas The Wyoming class: Last USN 12-in battleships: The Wyoming and Arkansas were a gradual improvement of the 12-in gun battleship formula, cumulating three pairs of superfiring turrets, all axial. They were completed before the Royal Navy revealed their first 13.5 in gun armed battleships, and would be the last of their … Read more
WW2 Japanese Submarines IJN – About 85 submarines. Introduction: Ideas but wasted opportunities Just like aircraft carriers later, Japan was not shy about new technologies back in the 1910s and already saw the development of submarines as an opportunity. During the interwar, Japanese engineers stepped away from the popular Holland design and learnt from their … Read more
France (1870-1912) – About 60 cruisers The armoured cruiser Condé, from the Gloire class, seen from the Romanov Shtandard Imperial Yacht, from the Romanov family album 2, page 26 (CC) Compared to the relative simplicity of the interwar French lineage, the history of French cruisers goes back to 1860s steam frigates. The first “cruiser” per … Read more
Spain – Méndez Núñez, Blas de Lezo. The ‘C-class’ Spanish cruisers: Blas de Lezo class Blas de Lezo in 1929 The Méndez Núñez and Blas de Lezo were a second class of british ‘C-class’ cruisers, made with British-supplied equipments in Spain, at Ferrol. The first world war unfortunately domed these cruisers ordered just when the … Read more
Zara class torpedo vessels (1880) Zara, Spalato, Sebenico, Lussin The forgotten Zara class cruisers When speaking of “Zara”, the name (outside a clothing brand) in naval history resonates as an Italian heavy cruiser class, which always comes to mind to navy nerds. Not far away, fifty years earlier, another “Zara” class was active… in the … Read more
The Netherlands – 1895-97: HNLMS Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Gelderland, Noordbrabant, Utrecht. The Dutch Apollo-like cruisers after the Apollo class cruisers of 1890. In 1886, the Dutch naval staff planned an ambitious new class of six ships to serve as long range commerce raiders, in distant stations like i the East Indies, but morever to take … Read more
Type 091 (Han class) SSNs (1970) Chinese PLAN (1970-90) – 5 ships ChangZheng 5 (405) in 1993 The first Chinese SSNs: The type 091 class was nothing short of revolutionary when speaking of 1970s China. It really was a leap forward in design, technology and capability, the sign that the PLAN was now “part of … Read more
