admin7126 France: Océan, Marengo, Suffren, Central Battery Ironclad (1870-1897) The Océan-class were three wooden-hulled armored frigates of the French Navy built 1865-1870, the largest and most powerful to date, and first French central battery models. Océan took part to the blockade of Prussian ports in the Baltic Sea in 1870 (Franco-Prussian War). Marengo after modernization took … Read more
IJN “special type” Destroyers built 1937-39: Asashio, Ōshio, Michishio, Arashio, Asagumo, Yamagumo, Natsugumo, Minegumo, Arare, Kasumi. After a time of “austere” designs trying to adhere to the new London Treaty tonnage limitations with the Hatsuharu and Shiratsuyu classes, Japan decided to just ignore the treaties altogether and flat out lie or not declare the next … Read more
France (1909) Condorcet, Danton, Diderot, Mirabeau, Vergniaud, Voltaire The six Dantons were the last French pre-dreadnoughts. They had the misfortune to be ordered in 1906-1908, when HMS Dreadnought was launched. However, the planned construction resumed until the delivery of the six ships in 1911, to be succeeded by the first French Dreadnoughts, the Courbets. The … Read more
Germany (Kriegsmarine): 1938–1940: T-1 to T-12 The Type 35 torpedo boat were the first modern German Torpedo Boat type, designed specifically as torpedo boates. Despite being called Type 1935, they were completed a few months after the start of World War II, still training as the Norwegian Campaign started by April–June 1940. Design-wise, German authorities … Read more
RN (Built 1896-1903): HMS Diadem, Amphitrite, Andromeda, Argonaut, Ariadne, Europa, Niobe, Spartiate The eight Diadem signed an attempt to stand out from the gigantic Powerful class, deemed too expensive. They had reduced size, armour and saved a total of 3,000 tons, shelving 100,000 pounds per ship, which was almost the cost of a light cruiser … Read more
Oceanic Submersibles: Lorenzo Marcello, Enrico Dandolo, Sebastiano Veniero, Andrea Provana, Lazzaro Mocenigo, Giacomo Nani, Agostino Barbarigo, Angelo Emo, Francesco Morosini, Comandante Cappellini, Comandante Faà di Bruno (1939-47) The Marcello class were 11 ocean-going submarines of the Regia Marina entering service between 1938 and 1939, very active during the Second World War. They were derived from … Read more
Naval Trainer – 200 built The Aeromarine 39 was an American two-seat training seaplane ordered by the US Navy in 1917. It was built by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co., Keyport, New Jersey. This conventional biplane was designed so that pontoons could be detached and replaced with wheeled undercarriage quicky. In all, 150 were … Read more
Spanish Broadside Ironclad (1877-1987) Sagunto was a wooden-hulled Armada Real armored frigate ordered as a ship of the line back in 1858, and reconverted in 1862-69, then commissioned in 1877. A very lengthy construction at the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro, punctuated by many design flaws and corrections resulting eventually in a short service life of … Read more
Royal Navy Broadside Ironclads: HMS Hector, HMS Valiant 1861–1864, service until 1956 The Hector-class ironclads were armoured frigates (single battery deck like most ironclads of the time except the Magenta) Thes ironclads, like their immediate predecessors, the Defence class, were designed as smaller and cheaper versions of the Warrior-class armoured frigates but were modified versions … Read more
Armoured Cruiser Vladimir Monomakh (1882) Imperial Russian Navy, 1883-1905 Vladimir Monomakh (Владимир Мономах) was an armoured cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy built 1881-83. She was named after Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Prince of Kiev. Her career was spent in the Far East, but was back in the Baltic Sea as the Russo-Japanese War flared … Read more
