Navistory Turkish Navy vs Russian Navy 18 November 1914 Prologue: New recruits for the Turkish fleet: In August 1914, the declaration took by surprise all German units stationed outside the metropolis. These forces remote from home comprised initially the Pacific squadron under Von Spee (see battles of Coronel and the Falklands), but also of the cruiser … Read more
Grillo class tracked torpedo launches (1918) Italy (1918) Tracked MTB or amphibious tank ? The Grillo is one of the least known Italian small craft of ww1, and for good reasons as on an operational level it did not really moved the needle. But this was one of these purpose-built mechanical contraptions that escape all … Read more
Germany (1906) Scharnhorst, Gneisenau The last German armoured cruisers: Before the ones you probably know better from ww2, the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau has been Imperial Navy’s most recognizable and famous German cruisers. Named after famous Prussian generals during the Napoleonic wars, they had been were the ultimate and very best German armoured cruiser, at the … Read more
United Kingdom (1901) Drake, Good Hope, King Alfred, Leviathan. A new class of large armoured cruisers The 1897 Powerful class marked its era as the most impressive cruisers in the Western Hemisphere, but they has been considered since as one of a kind “white elephants”, leading to the construction of more reasonable series of the … Read more
German Navy vs Royal Navy 1st November 1914 Graf Spee’s far east squadron in Valparaiso, Chile, about to sail afte the battle, Nov. 3, 1914 The first British defeat since 100 years Long before the famous 1980s Falklands conflict, the Royal Navy had already crossed fire in this remote corner of the globe. This time … Read more
Naval history Early Steamers of the Industrial Era The Aerolipile was the earliest known attempt to devise a practical steam engine. This simple device created by Hiero of Alexandria in Hellenistic Egypt turned steam to a rotating motion in the 1st century AD. However there was no real control, and despite the speed of the … Read more
HMS Repulse, Renown (1916) Veterans of two wars: The Renown class battlecruisers were initially planned as two extra battleships of the Revenge class, or which five were already in construction. Admiral Sir Jackie Fisher was rebuffed by the admiralty for more battlecruisers, but after the first battles of 1914, opinion changed, and Fisher convinced Churchill … Read more
France (1907): Edgar Quinet, Waldeck-Rousseau France’s last armoured cruisers The last French cruiser-battleships, and by far the most imposing, were the two Edgar Quinet, which constituted at the same time a synthesis of all the acquired experience in design for this particular type of ship and at the same time an additional milestone in the … Read more
German mini-subs and human torpedoes Germany (1944-45) Introduction: K-verband projects: Not a part of the series of famous “V-weapons”, these ultra-modern miracle weapons supposed to reverse the fate of the Reich, these very light units of the Kriegsmarine appeared late, as a last-ditch naval bulwark to the enormous means deployed by the allies. With the … Read more
Although the war at sea in Europe saw few “big guns” engagements (no Jutland equivalent here), Admirals still played a major part in many operations, from the long battle of the Atlantic to shore bombardments in North Africa, Sicilia, Italy, and France, and naval battles in the Mediterranean. However this was in the pacific that … Read more
