HMAS Sydney (1948) RAN Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier (1948-76) Australia Day ! HMAS Sydney (R17/A214/P214/L134) was the former HMS Terrible (1944), a Majestic-class “light aircraft carrier”, sold in 1947 and completed, then commissioned into the RAN as HMS Sydney, 3rd of the name, in 1948. She was the first RAN carrier, one of three operated … Read more
Kriegsmarine Torpedoboote Germany (1924-45) – 36 (90 planned)+ 49 TB Ausland (TA), total 84 Why German Torpedo Boats in WW2 ? Before WW2, only four nations signatory of the Washington Treaty considered the torpedo boats as a way to go around some limitations in tonnage for destroyers, although this category was largely seen as obsolete … Read more
French Marine Nationale – Oceanic Types 1923-1947: Caïman, Dauphin, Espadon, Marsouin, Morse, Narval, Phoque, Requin, Souffleur The Requin (“shark”) class submarines: Continuing with our study of interwar submersibles in 2023 with 100 years of distance (1923) here is another entry: The first French Oceanic submersible design of the interwar, launched 1924-27. The 1,000 tonnes models … Read more
Battleship Retvizan (1900) Russian Empire 1898-1905 Japanese Empire IJN Hizen 1908-1923 Retvizan was a Russian pre-dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy by the American Yard William Cramp & Sons, Russian shipyards being at full capacity. She was briefly assigned to the Baltic Fleet but soon transferred to the Far East in 1902, meeting … Read more
Forrest Sherman class destroyers (1955) 18 destroyers 1953-1959 Forrest Sherman, John Paul Jones, Barry, Decatur, Davis, Jonas Ingram, Manley, Du Pont, Bigelow, Blandy, Mullinnix, Hull, Edson, Somers, Morton, Parsons, Richard S. Edwards, Turner Joy The “last gunships”, first postwar US destroyers The 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers were many things: The first post-war US destroyers, successors … Read more
Farragut class Destroyers (1934) US Navy Fleet Destroyers (1933-47): USS Farragut, Dewey, Hull, MacDonough, Worden, Dale, Monaghan, Aylwin Starting anew: The Farragut class The Farragut class destroyers marked a turning point in ship design for the United States. They were the first design studied since 1917, and first destroyer type since the Washington Treaty signing … Read more
USA – (1898-1902): 12 destroyers: USS Bainbridge, Barry, Chauncey, Dale, Decatur, Hopkins, Hull, Lawrence, Macdonough, Paul Jones, Perry, Preble, Stewart The Bainbridge-class destroyers were first designated as Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs), authorized by the Congress in 1898 following the Spanish–American War. Built between 1899 and 1903, they represented 13 of 16 TBDs, but the lead … Read more
The one and only German carrier-borne naval fighter Luftwaffe for the Kriegsmarine – Naval Fighter, 17 built (1941-42) The Messerschmitt Me 109 was one of the two attempts of the Luftwaffe to design a naval fighter, the after the Arado Ar 197. They were part of the Kriegsmarine Plan Z approved by Hitler in 1936, … Read more
Imperial Japanese Navy, 1923-44. IJN Sendai, Jintsū, Naka (+Kako, Ayase, Minase, Otonase, unnamed- cancelled) The “four pipers” light cruisers The cruisers of the Sendai class were very close in their general design compared to the previous Nagara, but with larger dimensions, new machinery for greater speed traduced in a new funnel. The fourth of the … Read more
Fokker C.XI W (1934-38) About Fokker and Floatplanes Created by a Dutchman, Anthony Fokker, the company he founded in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, soon became a legend of aviation, credited with Albatros with providing the best central empires designs of WWI. The Fokker D.VII, his last fighter, was even mentioned in the Armistice clauses and … Read more
