admin7126 Re Umberto class ironclads (1883) Italy (1883) Re Umberto, Sicilia, Sardegna A new kind of battleship In 1883, the first two ships of this class, Re Umberto and Sicilia, were authorized in parliament by the Finance law. They had been designed by Benedetto Brin, then president of the naval projects committee. In 1885, the parliament … Read more
Although the war at sea in Europe saw few “big guns” engagements (no Jutland equivalent here), Admirals still played a major part in many operations, from the long battle of the Atlantic to shore bombardments in North Africa, Sicilia, Italy, and France, and naval battles in the Mediterranean. However this was in the pacific that … Read more
Forrestal class Aircraft Carriers (1954) USS Forrestal, Saratoga, Ranger and Independence (1954-57) The Forrestal class aircraft carriers (CV-59-62) were the first USN “supercarriers” of the USN, tailored to carry the generation of jet fighters. With the last commissioned in 1959, they served for the whole cold war, missing Korea but seeing Vietnam and all the … Read more
Chinese Popular Liberation Army Navy (2017) The Chinese Navy goes one step higher for naval dominance Back in April 2017, a brand new massive aircraft carrier was launched. That’s not everyday it happened. Symbol of the times, it’s Chinese. Still unnamed, it was built at Dalian. The PLAN (Popular Liberation Army Navy) is already, since … Read more
WW1 British Submarines United Kingdom (1890-1918) About 350 subs 1885-1921. Overview of British ww1 submarines In the general sense, the very conservative Royal Navy always considered surface warfare like the only “honorable way” to do battle on the seven seas. Submarines were either not considered as to be trusted (not proven) in the 1890s, and … Read more
Italy (1885): Etna, Vesuvio, Stromboli, Fieramosca The first Italian modern protected cruisers: Etna was the only survivor of a class of four protected cruisers dating from 1885-1888. Designed by Carlo Vigna and George Rendel, they were based on the Giovanni Bausan of 1883, herself largely based on a Sir W G Armstrong Mitchell & Co.’s … Read more
Japanese vs Chinese Navy, 17 September 1894 The first major naval battle of the industrial era Less well known than Tsushima, the battle of Yalu River is nevertheless one of the few naval battles that occurred at the end of the Century, with relatively modern ships. Other contemporary examples had been the battle of Cuba, … Read more
Kaiser Friedrich III class Battleships Germany (1896) Friedrich III, Wilhelm II, Wilhelm der Grosse, Karl der Grosse, Barbarossa The “Emperors” class – This class of 5 battleships (the “emperors”) included the Friedrich III, Wilhelm II, Wilhelm der Grosse, Karl der Grosse and Barbarossa. Very different from the Brandenburg in all respects, they would formed the … Read more
WW1 American Gunboats 42 ships (1889-1914) Overview of American Gunboats in ww1 Among the first ships built for the “new navy”, the “old” one being the one built by the Union to blockade the Confederate states in 1861-65, the Dolphin and the ships that followed has been seen as cheap alternative to cruisers. They were, … Read more
United Kingdom (1911) Before the tragedy, there was a luxury liner And the Titanic was the objective pride of the White star lines. This company which surfed on an human wealth, the ten of thousands immigrants willing to leave for an American dream. These were the real steam that allows these enterprises to flourish and … Read more
