USN WW2 carrier-borne fighter Single seat naval fighter (1942-48) The legendary 16:1 navy butcher bird The Grumman Hellcat would be forever associated with the second phase of the Pacific war. It replaced the hard-pressed F4F Wildcat on board all USN fleet carriers (the F4F would continue operating on escort carriers until 1945), and between the … Read more
Seaplane carrier hybrid light cruiser The singular HSwMS Gotland was designed during the interwar as a jack of all trades, built on a shoestring budget, typical of the post-1929 crisis state of military budgets across europe. A bit like the Dutch Tromp class built afterwards, she was supposed to fill many roles at once. Sweden … Read more
US Maritime Commission 1940-45: 238 Built The C3 Cargo Type: Faster than U-Boats SS Mormac Isle The more famous and far more numerous “Liberty Ships” derived for an, early standard cargo defined by MARCOM in 1938 to replaced WW1 vintage standard vessels. Three types were designed, the largest of which became the Type C3-class, third … Read more
1930-52: Up to 1200 built. An amazingly long success story The Shavrov SH-2, affectionately called “Shavrushka”, shares with the Polikarpov U-2 and Antonov An-2 the title of longest serving biplane in aviation history. But she was the only one being tailored as a seaplane, abeit amphibious. He production numbers never reached the scale of the … Read more
Fleet Carriers French Navy (1957) For this 14 of july 2022, French national holiday, here is the Clemenceau class carriers: Clemenceau and Foch were the first purpose-designed aircraft carriers in France since the Joffre class in 1938. They were somewhat inspired by the modernized Essex class, and became the only CATOBAR carriers in Europe in … Read more
Fleet (later Training) Aircraft Carrier United Kingdom (1914-1944) Forty years of career and two wars To the exception of HMS Furious, converted in 1917 and operational sooner, HMS Argus was also a veteran of two wars with 20 years of active service, the longest among British Aircraft Carriers. But to the difference of HMS Furious, … Read more
Carrier Bornes Torpedo Bomber RNAS/FAA 1930-35: 92 built. The early 1930 Blackburn Torpedo Bomber The Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane, a basis for the Japanese license-produced Mitsubishi B2M and for the bomber Blackburn Baffin. Designed as a successor to the Dart it flew for the first time on 17 … Read more
Germany (1913-1919) – SMS Brummer, Bremse In 1915, the Admiralty decided to start construction in Vulcan, Stettin, of two large turbine-powered minelayer vessels. Launched in December 1915, March 1916, commissioned in April and July 1916. These were very active and successful ships until the end of WWI. Design development In order to strengthen or replace … Read more
Conventional CATOBAR Aircraft Carriers (1960) USS Kitty Hawk, Constellation, America, John F. Kennedy (1955-2009) The Kitty Hawk class aircraft carriers (CV-63-66) were the second “supercarrier” serie and last conventional USN aircraft carriers. In between already was studied an enlarged nuclear-powered version from 1955, which ended with the famous USS Enteprise. In theory, to speed things … Read more
Imperial Japanese Navy, Fleet Armoured Aircraft Carrier 1941-44. The Imperial Japanese Navy Taihō was a modern Fleet Aircraft Carrier designed as a successor to the Zuikaku class (1940). She was designed to give a quatitative edge to the Japanese, just as Yamato was for capital ships. As the head of a planned serie, IJN Taiho … Read more
