United Kingdom (1918-1922) -Unbuilt. The first true British “hyper-dreadnoughts” Comparison G3/N3 The term “super-dreadnought” was already coined when the Orion class was unveiled in 1909, armed with 13 in guns instead of 12 inches. In 1913 when was launched the first of the Queen Elisabeth class, the term received a new meaning, as not only … Read more
Spanish Broadside Ironclad (1862-1910) Numancia was a French-built Ironclad, the first “battleship” ever in service with the Armada. She had a fairly long career, and was rebuilt and rearmed four times. On 19 October 1873 she sank by accident the gunboat Fernando el Católico, in November 1902 protect Spanish citizens in Morocco, had a mutiny … Read more
Leichte Schnellboote Germany (1942-45) – About 27 LS boats 1936-1945 Genesis of the “light fast (T)boats” The German Leichte Schnellboote were a series of small and light S-Boote or fast torpedo boats, originally designed to operate from a cruiser or auxiliary cruiser. In the end, design difficulties meant that only two were deployed on two … Read more
HMS Swiftsure, Triumph (1904-1922): The only 2nd class Battleships of the RN in WWI The Swiftsure class were British pre-dreadnought originally ordered by Chile as the Constitución class during a naval arms race to counter’s Argentina own recent acquisitions, two armoured cruisers ordered in Italy (Garibaldi class). They were tailored-designed specifically for this role, to … Read more
Ryan FR-1 Fireball (1945) US Navy mixted piston/jet fighter (1944-47), 71 built The Ryan FR Fireball was the sole US Navy mixed-power (piston and jet-powered) fighter aircraft, designed by Ryan Aeronautical during WW2, hence it’s classification here. It was one of these numerous projects never completed in time to take part in WW2, but it’s … Read more
Argentinian Destroyers 22 Destroyers (1911-1942) WWI Destroyers, still active in WW2 ARA Corrientes In 1906, Argentina had the following: Three Corrientes class, British-built (Yarrow, Poplar) Havock class 280 tonnes ‘A’ type 1896 vessels, and the torpedo boat Espera (launched 22 April 1890, 520 tons) and eight others. The latter were stricken in 1916-27, while the … Read more
Protected cruisers 1888-1926: IJN Matsushima, Itsukushima, Hashidate The Yalu Protected Cruisers These three cruisers played a role central at the battle of Yalu in 1894, and were at the same time an example of the alignment of Japan on the French “Jeune Ecole” (Young School) theories, which attacted attention from relatively modest navies, like the … Read more
Midway class USA – Fleet Aircraft Carriers (1945-92): USS Midway, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Coral Sea The first USN armoured aircraft carriers The Midway class aircraft carriers were the penultimate evolution of interwar and WW2 US aircraft carrier design: They were designed at the same time as the future Essex class fleet carriers in 1940, but … Read more
Aichi D3A (1938) Imperial Japanese Navy, 1,495 built The D3A2 “Val” main IJN Dive Bomber in 1941 The “Val” as it was referred in the USN, was the main Imperial Japanese Dive Bomber of WW2, until replaced gradually from 1942 onwards by the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei, far more modern by all standards and benefiting from … Read more
Japan, 1933-45. IJN Ryūhō was one of the five converted light fleet aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy (alongside the Zuiho and Chitose class), formerly auxilary vessels for which the Washington treaty was vague. Converted from the seaplane tender IJN Taigei in 1941-42, IJN Ryūhō arguably was the least appealing. She suffered from numerous … Read more
