Spanish Armada (1888-1898): Armoured Cruisers Infanta Maria Teresa, Vizcaya, Almirante Oquendo If it is a dubious privilege to have three cruisers of the same class sunk the same day, the Infanta Maria Teresa class shared it with other examples, as Cressy, Hogue Aboukir in WWI, three of the Zara class at Matapan in 1941 and … Read more
Germany (1929-45) – About 424 Minesweepers Introduction: The Räumboote, or “R-Boote” were the mass-produced wooden-built German coastal minesweepers. In time, they also performed other missions, notably escort, ASW patrol and rescue. They were built from 1929 with the following R1, R17, R25, R41, R130, R151, R218, R301 and R401 classes, the latter mostly not completed … Read more
French 2nd class oceanic submersibles (1925-1938) Sirène (4), Ariane (4), Circé (4), Argonaute (5), Diane (9), Orion (2), Minerve (6), total 34. The largest French Submarine serie. In September 1939, with 34 boats, a good chunk of the total submarine force of the French, the 600-630 series were supposed to defend French interests in the … Read more
Protected Cruiser Askold (1900) Russian Empire 1899-1922 The five-stack Russo-German cruiser Askold in Kronstadt, 1902 As part of the many cruisers ordered in emergency by the Russian Imperial staff to bolster the newly created Pacific fleet, Askold (Аскольд) named after the legendary Medieval Varangian warlord, was ordered in Germany as Russian Yards were at full … Read more
Aircraft Carrier Support Ship Royal Navy – 1939-59 Don’t call me an aircraft carrier: HMS Unicorn was an oddity as aircraft carrier in WW2, as she was envisioned in the 1920s already and with the Second London Naval Treaty, the british delegation secured a condition for auxiliary vessels at large, that opened the gate for … Read more
FAA 1941-44: circa 800 built/converted. The salty variant of the Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was the second main fighter of the RAF in WW2. Since the Spitfire soon became the trusted frontline model, Hawker’s model took more diverse roles and of of these became an “expandable” model for CAM-ships, the catapulted “Hurricat”. From there, a … Read more
Bagley class Destroyers (1936) Fleet Destroyers (1935-48): USS Bagley, Blue, Helm, Mugford, Ralph Talbot, Henley, Patterson, Jarvis DD-386-93 The Bagley-class destroyers were a group of eight destroyers built for the United States Navy during the 1930s. They were designed to serve as multipurpose warships capable of conducting a wide range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, … Read more
Gridley class destroyers (1937-1947) USN Fleet Destroyers (1912-1935): USS Gridley, Craven, McCall, Maury (DD-380-401) The Gridley-class destroyers were four 1500-ton fleet destroyers according to the London Naval Treaty, laid down by June 1935 and March 1936, commissioned in 1937-38 and largely based on the previous Mahan-class destroyers: Same hull but single stack and reviewed powerplant, … Read more
USN Fleet Destroyers (1912-1935): USS Sampson, Rowan, Davis, Allen, Wilkes, Shaw (DD-63-68) The Sampson-class destroyers were commissioned in 1916-1917, as the follow-up O’Brien/Tucker classes with 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, and last of the “1000-tonners”. Their main innovation was the introduction of four triple-mounts torpedo tubes, giving them a world-beating twelve-torpedo broadside, albeit halved due … Read more
USN Fleet Destroyers (1912-1935): USS Tucker, Conyngam, Porter, Wadsworth, Jacob Jones, Wainwright (DD-57-62) The Tucker class were six #USN fleet #destroyers started just as #WWI was about to start. These were also the fourth of the “thousand tonners”, based on their displacement. They were an incremental development of the O’Brien class, with the same 21-inches … Read more
