admin7126 Project 1123 Kondor 1962-96 Moskva, Leningrad, Kiev (cancelled) The Moskva and Leningrad were the first “aircraft carriers” built by the Soviet Union. They were perfect hybrids, combining the firepower of a cruiser foward with an aft flight deck, a configuration that was quite common at the time (Italians Doria, Veneto, Japanese Haruna, French Jeanne D’Arc, … Read more
Italian Regia Marina, US Built 1861-1875: Re d’Italia, Re di Portogallo The Re d’Italia class were two ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina in emergency, built in the United States based on plans of the French ironclad Gloire and with an original battery on a single deck of thirty-eight broadside main guns, belt … Read more
USA (1916-46) O-1 to O-16, small oceanic submersibles The “O” class USN submersibles were of group of 16 boats completed late in WWI. They missed the great war, being commissioned shortly before of after the armistice. The interwar saw them still active, modernized for some and some were still around in WW2 as training submarines. … Read more
Guided Missile Destroyer D23, sole of her class (1973-2020, preserved). The Type 82 destroyer only had a single ship in class built for the Royal Navy, HMS Bristol (D23). She was intended as the first of new large destroyers escorting the CVA-01 aircraft carriers planned for the early 1970s. But the the 1966 Defence White … Read more
US Navy Fleet Destroyers (1942-80s): 58 Ships; DD-692 to DD-790 The Sumner were about the last US destroyers of WW2 to see significant service. Their near-sisters, the Gearing class, were completed in the dying days or postwar. Above all, the Allen M. Sumner class destroyers marked a true break with the rather excellent and mass-produced … Read more
Italian Regia Marina, French Built 1860-1904: Formidabile, Terribile The very first Italian ironclads were the Formidabile class. They were at the origin of a now forgotten naval arms race, which concerned the Adriatic during the 1860s. At the price of massive financial efforts, a brand new unified Kingdom of Italy and a fledgling, also new … Read more
Project 611 (NATO “Zulu”) conventional attack submarines 26 submarines 1952-57 The Project 611 (NATO Zulu class) were an early postwar attack submarine class contemporary, but more developed than the Project 613 (Whiskey class) on their replication of all innovations found in the the WW2 German Type XXI U-boat. They saw a limited production at Leningrad … Read more
Catapult-launch observation floarplane, Curtiss 97B USN Carrier Fighter (1944-1949, 577 built) The USN last onboard floatplane The Curtiss SC Seahawk was a scout seaplane designed by Curtiss (Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co.) for the United States Navy during World War II. It was scheduled to replace the existing Curtiss SO3C Seamew and Vought OS2U Kingfisher … Read more
Project 159 class, Strozhevoi Korabl (light escort) Frigates 8 General Purpose Frigates 1948-1970: 54 completed. One aspect of the Soviet Navy of the cold war, especially early phase in the 1950-60s was the emphasis on mass production, just as in interwar years. Famous examples of the time were the Project 613 Whiskey class submarines, and … Read more
Fleet Aircraft Carrier 1944-2017: HMS Elephant (1944), HMS Hermes (1959-85), INS Viraat (1986-2021) The story of HMS Hermes is one of an aircraft carrier with the longest service in hostory so far: HMS Hermes (R12). From keel laying in 1944 to scrapping in 2021, HMS Hermes had been around for 77 years, with more than … Read more
