Spanish Armada – 25 destroyers (1885-1947) Spanish destroyers: Pioneers From Audaz to Alvaro de Bazan: Argentine ARA Juan de Garay & Cevantes of the Churucca class (1926) Agreed: Audaz is only arguably the very first destroyer, and Alvaro de Bazan was a frigate, although of the size and capabilities of a destroyer. Anyway, this a … Read more
RHN Giorgios Averof (1910) Greece (1910) Rarely ships have been given the privilege of a very long career as a flagship of an entire navy, nor having such historical significance. RHN Giorgos Averof was probably the best example which can be found in naval history. Ordered in 1908 as a modified Italian Pisa-class armored cruiser, … Read more
WW1 Japanese Cruisers Japan (1890-1919) About 34 cruisers Origin of IJN Cruisers: Meiji and Bakumatsu era Frigates: The origin of Cruiser design in Japan came from the Bakumatsu and Meiji eraso roughly the 1855-1877 period. During that time, marked by deep transformations of the archipelago (notably on the industrial side) and the Boshin war (1868-69), … Read more
France – Suffren, Colbert, Foch, Dupleix The four musketeers: The Suffren were thought out as 10,000 tons Washington heavy cruisers, follows-up of the previous Duquesne class. The latter were not even completed when plans for the Suffren were laid out. Indeed by 1925, France financed the construction of Suffren, followed the next year by the … Read more
Veinticinco de Mayo class cruisers (1930) ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, Almirante Brown (CA1, CA2) The Argentinian Trentos – What made the Veinticinco de Mayo class cruisers famous in particular was that Argentina was the only Nation in the whole southern continent of America to order new cruisers post-Washington (1922). One was ordered in UK, as … Read more
Rostislav: The Russian-build oil-burning battleship Russian Empire It’s unfair to restrict the quality of a ship to a unique characteristic, so to summarize, but four points could help cornering her a little bit. Russian built Lightly armed Oil-burning boilers (world’s first) Slow completion and overweight She was the result of discussions in the admiralty and … Read more
Germany (1871-1918) – 177 TBs prewar, 96 WW1 (112 planned) Total: 273 TBs at the heart of a transition: From a coastal to a blue water navy – Until the Hochseetorpedoboats (see the earlier article) which were destroyer in all but name, German Torpedo-boats had the responsibility of defending territorial waters of Germany. They were … Read more
Trento, Trieste, Bolzano (1927-32) In 1920, Italy had few modern cruisers. The Washington Treaty set new standards to be followed by all naval forces, notably the heavy cruiser, with an arrangement of 8-in (203 mm) guns for 10,000 tons standard, framed itself in a global tonnage by nation. Italy had the same as France, 175,000, … Read more
USA (1912) USS New York, Texas The New York class became the first American battleships with 14-in guns and the last with coal, twin turrets, no AA and classic 1900s scheme protection. BB34 New York after the 1926 refit. Behind her, BBs of the Nevada class. Note the livery of the time, light grey for … Read more
Conventional and missile Cruisers, projects and conversions (1947-90) 62 Cruisers 1947-90 Overview: From conventional to missile warfare In February 1946 the “Red fleet” was renamed the Soviet Navy (Советский Военно-Морской Флот, romanized as Sovyetsky Voyenno-Morskoy Flot), and Stalin, the absolute master of USSR, milited for a conventional fleet able to rival the new likely adversary … Read more
