School Frigate (1966) F76. See notes. HMS Mermaid (F76) was a single frigate which spent only five years of service under British flag. She was not part of any official program, originally she was ordered for the Ghana Navy, launched and completed as a private venture. But when Ghana disengaged from the purchase, the order … Read more
Svenska Marinen Two destroyers: Psilander, Puke, acquired Jan. 1940. Second entry in a new cycle started in 2025, about Swedish Destroyers from the interwar to the end of WW2: The Psilander class. Sweden had experie,ce building its own destroyers since a decade, with notably the Wrangel class being the latest launched in 1917. Modest, it … Read more
Central Battery Ironclad Frigate in service 1866-1914 (Indus II 1904). HMS Bellerophon was designed by Sir Edward Reed as a central battery frigate with large guns and a better power-to-weight ratio, a thicker but reduced area armour and sharp beak ram combined with a classical style plough bow and double bottom. This was an iron … Read more
Germany (Built 1941-45): 91 submarines commissioned Development In 1941, Karl Dönitz confered with his top atlantic flottilla commanders and some decorated U-Boat captains at his Lorient HQ, Villa Kerlilon, about U-boat performances and how they could be improved. Of course at the same time he was aware of Professor Walter’s work on a new type … Read more
United Kingdom – Emergency Fleet Destroyer (1942-43): S class: Saumarez, Savage, Scorpion, Scourge, Serapis, Shark, Success, Swift T class: Teazer, Tenacious, Termagant, Terpsichore, Troubridge, Tumult, Tuscan, Tyrian The S and T class were sixteen destroyers of the RN launched in 1942–1943 for the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla, fleet and convoy escorts in World War … Read more
RNAS/FAA (1912) Coastal Patrollers, 48 made. Used until 1918. The Short S.38 or Admiralty Type 3 was originally a modified Short S.27 for production tested on a flying-off platform on the battleship HMS London. The remains of this biplane were returned to Short, and it was rebuilt with extensive modifications, ending as a S.38 type, … Read more
Germany: Kriegsmarine. F-class escort ship: F1-F10 built 1934-38. The Flottenbegleiter were a multi-purpose class of ten specialized escort vessels built for the Kriegsmarine in the late interwar. However they certainly were probably the worst ships of the Kriegsmarine, hand down. During the Second World War between poor reliability and seakeeping despite modifications had them relegated … Read more
Japanese Self Defence Naval Force – ASW destroyers: たかつき Takatsuki, きくづき Kikuzuki, もちづき Mochizuki, ながつき Nagatsuki (DD164 to DD167) The Takatsuki-class destroyer were four destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force built between 1964 and 1970 as anti-submarine warfare specialists. Designed to operate the DASH ASW drone system it was soon removed in 1977. Instead, … Read more
Germany: Minelayer subs UE and UE1 class. SM U71 to U-80 1916-33. The U71 class were also known as the UE1 type ocean-going minelayer submarines () they were built by Dantzig naval yard for U73 and U74 (UE) and all the rest (UE1) at Vulcan NyD in Stettin. They notably varied by powerplant, some having … Read more
Amphibious Assault Ship LPH-2 to LPH-12 1961-2002: USS Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Guadalcanal, Guam, Tripoli, New Orleans, Inchon. New lineage: US Cold War Amphibious Capital Ships. The USMC alongside the USN had its own “aircraft carriers”. They were anything but. Instead they were dedicated, large amphibious assault ships that happened to have an helicopter, and later … Read more
