USN (1927-30)- USS Narwhal, Nautilus (V-5, 6, later SS-167 and 168) 1930-1945 The Narwhal class was known as V5 class when authorized in 1926, wuth USS Narwhal and Nautilus built 1928-1931 as smaller but improved non-minelaying versions of the very large USS Argonaut. The trio was the only one attempt of the US to produce … Read more
3,261 LCT-1 to LCT-8 1940-1945 SPECIAL D-DAY 80th Yr Anniversay ! Of the main landing vessels that made the Armada of Operation Overlord on June, 6th, 1944, were many LCTs, especially the LCT-5/6 family of landing craft. Denominaiton at that stage was “Landing Craft, Tank” and they constituted a missing link between the infantry alone … Read more
US Navy (1918-47) – Converted fleet carriers: USS Saratoga, Lexington The Lexington class aircraft carriers: Return on the largest warships of their time, first USN fleet carriers, only one to feature a 80-aircraft group. They were born almost by accident, converted from the impressive Constellation class Battlecruisers projected in 1916 and built from 1917. The … Read more
Cruiser submarine (1925-1943) The unique V4, SM-1, SS-166 or USS Argonaut was an experimental US Navy cruiser submersible, and world’s largest until the French Surcouf, or the Japanese STO class in WW2. She was the very reason the cruiser submersible was not adopted, despite two smaller vessels, V5 and 6 being built afterwards. She would … Read more
US Navy 19 Escort Aircraft Carriers (1943-45) 35 planned, 16 cancelled) CVE-105 – CVE-123: Commencement Bay, Block Island, Gilbert Islands, Kula Gulf, Cape Gloucester, Salerno Bay, Vella Gulf, Siboney, Puget Sound, Rendova, Bairoko, Badoeng Strait, Saidor, Sicily, Point Cruz, Mindoro, Rabaul, Palau There were two types of mass-produced escort carriers during WW2: Those based on … Read more
USA (1945) USS Saipan (CVL-48), Wright (CVL-49) – service 1947-1980 Light Carriers based on heavy cruisers Two light carriers, Saipan (CVL-48) and Wright (CVL-49), were built for the USN during the war, and these were conversions, just like the nine Independence-class light carriers, based on cruiser hulls to gain a precious time in construction. However, … Read more
US Navy Fleet Destroyers (1944-90): 104 vessels The Gearings were the last American destroyers of the war. They mirrored the Sumner specifications for armament, but with a new, longer hull for extra oil storage and extended range. The initial program included 116 ships but in the end, 106 were completed, roughly half in the last … 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
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
US Navy 174 Fleet Destroyers (1942-44) (no list submitted). The Fletchers are probably the best-remembered destroyers of the USN during the second world war. Not only by numbers as they embodied the United States’s industrial might in wartime but also because they arrived soon enough to make a difference in the Pacific, with significant combat … Read more
