Development Design of the class Hull and general design Powerplant Protection Armament ⚙ specifications MISSILE Weight Dimensions Propulsion Speed Range Guidance Ceiling Accuracy Payload ⚙ specifications CANNON Weight Barrel length Elevation/Traverse Loading system Muzzle velocity Range Guidance Crew Round Rate of Fire ⚙ specifications TORPEDO Weight Dimensions Propulsion Range/speed setting Warhead Max depth Guidance ⚙ … Read more
Kawanishi E7K “Alf” (1933) Imperial Japanese Navy, 533 built IJN main cruiser reconnaissance floatplane in 1941 In 1932, the Imperial Japanese Navy requested Kawanishi Aircraft to replace its previous E5K (1931) as part of the 7-Shi requirement. The new design was designated E7K1, powered by a 462 kW (620 hp) Hiro Type 91 W-12 inline … Read more
Circa 100, 8 variants (1968-2017) The Russian “Bear” casts its shadow over the USN To start this new cold war naval aviation section, let’s start not with the USN but the Soviet Navy, giving the fact that using extensive air assets was part of the doctrine to compensate for the numerical inferiority of the Sovietsky … Read more
WW2 Soviet Cruisers Between prewar, interwar and cold war designs, the Soviet Union’s Navy (Sovietsky Flota) aligned about 32 cruisers, many after the 1917 being relics of the pf even before the war of 1877 or the Russo-Japanese war. Those built afterwards were either designed to take the place of the cruisers sunk and captured, … Read more
Italy (1935), Duca D’Aosta, Eugenio di Savoia The middle Condottiere The group IV of the Condottieri cruisers “superclass” included the Emanuele Filiberto Duca d’Aosta (1934) and Eugenio di Savoia (1935), very similar in design and appearance to the previous Raimondo Montecuccoli class. These fleet cruisers were the last armed with “only” (given their tonnage) eight … Read more
Spanish pre-dreadnought Battleship (1885-1929) Pelayo was a French-built Battleship, first modern one in service with the Armada. A fitting subject for the 12 October, Spanish National Day and Feria. Pelayo was also the most robust proposition of the whole Spanish Navy when the 1898 broke out. She stayed to defend the homeland, together with several … Read more
France – Treaty Light Cruiser 1828-1959 An innovative French cruiser Named after a famous French naval engineer, Emile Bertin, this light cruiser innovated in the same way Algeria, marking a clear break for heavy cruisers. In the interwar Germany was still the only country against which France imagined having to fight and there was a … Read more
Bundesmarine Training Cruiser (A59) 1959-1990 West German Navy’s flagship In this day of Germany Unity (3 October) what more but the very flagship that bore the country’s name, Ambassador and flagship of the Bundesmarine for most of the cold war ? A59 Deutschland though was not a capital ship, but a schoolship (A for auxiliary … Read more
WW1 British Torpedo Boats United Kingdom (1876-1905): Circa 120 vessels The forgotten linage One aspect of the Royal Navy which is frequently overlooked or downright forgotten, is the topic of Torpedo Boats. Just as for Gunboats. But it’s understandable as these vessels are more generally assimilated to small navies, not the world’s largest one. And … Read more
Svea class coast defence ships (1886) Swedish Navy – Svea, Göta, Thule The Svea class armored ships (“pansarskepp”) of the Swedish fleet comprised HMS Svea, Göta and Thule. They were coastal defensive ships armed with 25 cm guns and the lead vessel was launched on 12 December 1885. They were modernized in 1900-1904, and after … Read more
