Navistory Java class cruisers (1921) The Netherlands – 1921 The battling Dutch cruisers The three cruisers of the Java class were started in 1916-17 to replace older units in the Dutch Navy squadron. The class counted the HLMNS Java, Sumatra and Celebes, but construction of the third was delayed and finally was abandoned in 1919, resources … Read more
Yavuz (1914) Germany/Turkey – 1911 (1914) An unexpected Turkish flagship – The Yavuz Sultan Selim, aka “Yavuz” became in August 1914 the new flagship of the Turkish Ottoman Navy, until then a motley collection of inoffensive museum pieces with a few modern vessels. Basically the German African squadron, based in Dar-es-Salaam, took refuge in Constantinople, … Read more
Japan (1906) Satsuma, Aki The original half-dreadnoughts: The 薩摩型戦艦 Satsuma-gata senkan class was ordered in late 1904, under the War Naval Supplementary Program established during the Russo-Japanese War. It could have been a simple follow-up of previous battleships, but in reality the Satsuma were a clear departure from the Katori-class pre-dreadnoughts. They were the first … Read more
USA/Greece – (1906) Kilkis, Lemnos The first Hellenic battleships – Before the Kilkis class, there was the Mississippi class. They were the last American pre-dreadnoughts, considered at the time somewhat hybrid ships, not monocaliber but with a powerful secondary artillery, and yet still slow pre-dreadnoughts. The Mississippi and Idaho had already a career in the … Read more
Arma Submarina: 18 submersibles (1865-1945) Iberian pioneers of Submersibles The submarine has many fathers. Among the pioneering nations, Spain has been at the forefront of early submarine development. Narcis Monturiol was the inventor of no less than the first fully functional engine-driven submarine. The Ictineo I and II however appeared at a time the Armada … Read more
Naval Technology – Every field. ⚙ From the origins to these days: Naval Technology About a definition of naval technology All good university-like expose starts with a definition: Naval Technology could be summarized as all ways devised to allow mankind seafaring. It’s quite ambitious in its scope and we can only guess the subject would … Read more
Chinese PLAN (1990) – Anqing, Huainan, Huaibei, Tongling Based on the classic NATO: Jianghu class (Type 053H), the Type 053H2G seems to be a derivative of the same lineage but in reality it’s its own class altogether and is separated in all publications and by all authors as the magnitude of changes in important. The … Read more
USA (1910) Florida, Utah The third American dreadnoughts: The USS Florida and Utah, very close to the Delaware, were distinguished by their turrets disposition aft. They were also slightly better protected. during the crisis of Vera Cruz in 1914 they landed marines and in 1917-18 they patrolled the North Atlantic, operating from Ireland. As a … Read more
WW1 British Destroyers Royal Navy (1895-1919) – About 536 ships Introduction It is strange to think of the fact, that the largest active fleet on earth was rightly dismissive of “naval dust”. And yet had a great importance in the development of the torpedo (Via Whitehead), and its carrier, the torpedo-boat, through the first turbine … Read more
Italy Dreadnought Battleship (1910). The first Italian Dreadnought With limited industrial capabilities compared to the UK, Italy could not compete in numbers or construction time, when the first world war broke out. Therefore only six of them were built, a “prototype”, the Dante Alighieri, and two series, the Cesare and Cavour, five ships total, partially … Read more
