Japan, 1933-45. The Chidori-class torpedo boat (千鳥型水雷艇, Chidori-gata suiraitei) were Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo boats, the first since decades, built in the interwar and seeing heavy action in the Second World War. The design was an attempt to circumvent, very much like Italy, tonnage limitations on warships. The IJN staff ina predictable pattern wanted as … Read more
1949-2011 USS Waller DDE-466 underway c1961 (AI colored) After covering all WW1, WW2 and cold war US destroyers up to the Arleigh Burke and Zumwalt what was left for consideration ? The forgotten stopgaps on the 1950s: The Fletcher, Sumner and Gearing conversions, a solution mirroring the GUPPY conversions for submarines. The USN (and the … Read more
Germany: SM U66 to U-70 1915-21. The U66 class U-Boats were originally ordered in 1913 by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, to Germaniawerft shipyards. Their initial numbers were U-7 to U-11 (U7 class). Internally they were called the UD type, and if delivered, would have been by far the best Austro-Hungarian subs. However, the German government purchased … Read more
Broadside Ironclad Frigate in service 1866-1875. HMS Pallas was a purpose-built wooden-hulled, centre battery ironclad laid down in 1863 s a private venture at Woolwich by Sir Edward Reed. The reason was to use the stocks of seasoned timber held in the Woolwich Dockyard initially reserved for traditional wooden battleships. The design was accepted by … Read more
So what’s up doc ? This year had been interesting to day the least in terms of naval news, ending with the “trump class battleship” that had the naval websphere in ebullition. Wether it’s new steam of traduced later into reality we will see. This year also ended with the largest combined naval exercizes of … Read more
Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carriers (2009- ongoing) In service: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), Enterprise (CVN-80), Doris Miller (CVN-81), William J. Clinton (CVN-82), George W. Bush (CVN-83). Xmas Special ! Without much subject left worthy of such date, after the amazing Seawolf class SSNs here is a class that is likely not to … Read more
Trump class Battleship Guided Missile “Battleships” (2025): BBG-1 USS Defiant, BBG-2, total 20-25 planned. The Trump-class is a planned new class of large surface combatants that U.S. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials described publicly as “battleships” and part of a broader naval expansion called the “Golden Fleet.” The Trump-class battleship (also referenced as … Read more
FAA 1923-31: 62 built. Another forgotten naval warbird, and arguably renown for its… interesting looks, was the most Blackburn of all, inventively named after the company. Answering the Specification 3/21 of 1921, this was to be solely a carrier-based reconnaissance and spotting aircraft. The company designed a fuselage optimized for that mission while wing and … Read more
Royal Navy Emergency Destroyer (built 1940-42) Q class: Queenborough, Quadrant, Quail, Quality, Quentin, Quiberon, Quickmatch, Quilliam R class: Rotherham, Racehorse, Raider, Rapid, Redoubt, Relentless, Rocket, Roebuck HMS Rapid (H53), standard War Emergency Programme, 4th flotilla. In a nutshell, Q and R were sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered by the Royal Navy as the 3rd … Read more
Coastal Submersibles (1931-48): Marcantonio Bragadin, Filippo Corridoni The Bragadin-class were four submarines built for the Regia Marina in 1927-31 by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto, Taranto. The class comprised two boats, and they were essentially minelaying versions of the earlier Pisani class, sharing the latter’s stability issues and needed to be modified to correct those … Read more
