Navistory Frigates: Baleares, Andalucia, Cataluna, Asturias, Extremadura F71-75 (1968-2009) Spanish Day ! The renewal of the Spanish fleet, from Franco’s inheritance to the modern force we known today, went though an important step, the Balears class Frigates. They marke as reset of Spanish shipyard’s expertise with a modified version of the American Knox-class frigates. Albeit very … Read more
IJN Type D Modified class Escort Destroyer (松型駆逐艦): 32+ 80 Kai-Tachibana planned, 14 completed 1945. The Tachibana class was approved under the Modified 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Program, laid down 1944-45, completed between January and June 1945. Like the Matsu, they were pure escort vessels designed for simplicity and rapid construction, but simplification was pushed … Read more
2 built 1942-43 for the Regia Aeronautica The CANT Z.511 is one of these fascinating “what if” of history. Initially planned as a transatlantic aicraft to link Italy and South America for Ala Littoria, the national company, the model came from a September 1937 request. For this, the Adriatic Shipyards (CANT) built the Cant.Z.511 A … Read more
Project 1234 Ovod 1968-75. Nanuchka I-IV: 35 Corvettes Built in Ulis (Vladivostok) and Petrovsky (Leningrad), these were 35 multirole “large missile boats” (NATO corvettes) (17 Nanuchka I and 17 Nanuchka III), plus the Nanuchka II export (7 for Libya and Algeria), and single prototype Nanuchka IV of 1976. Project 1234 Ovod were classified as coastal … Read more
Imperial Russian Navy – Broadside Ironclad built 1861-67, in service until 1885. The Russian ironclad Petropavlovsk was ordered as a 58-gun wooden frigate by the Imperial Russian Navy in 1860 but converted under construction into a 22-gun armored frigate. Her story is very much the same as her sister Sevastopol. She was completed second, a … Read more
Coastal Submersibles (1930-48): Delfino, Narvalo, Squalo, Tricheco The Squalo-class were four submarines built for the Regia Marina in 1928-30 by the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico (CRDA) shipyard at Monfalcone, designed by Curio Bernardis. They were essentially a development of the previous Bandiera class, at 900 tonnes surfaced, and capable of 15 knots. They paid a heavy … Read more
Nuclear attack submarine: Prototype K-278 Komsomolets completed 1983. K-278 Komsomolets was the sole boat built in the Project-685 Plavnik (“fin”) class, NATO reporting “Mike”-class. This was a rather large nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Soviet Navy, unique for her record depth rating. She had been built to experiment dives deep enough to make classic torpedo … Read more
France. Barbette Ironclads: Terrible, Indomptable, Caiman, Requin. Built 1877-1888, service until 1918. The Terrible class were four French ironclad barbette ships of the late 1870s and early 1880s. These ships, with Indomptable, Caïman (small alligator), and Requin (shark), were initially designed to answer the Sachsen class in Germany and later the Italia class and their … Read more
US Navy 1945-80 USS Oregon City, Albany, Rochester (CA-122, 123, 124) The need to improve stability and AA firepower, notably the fire arc of light AA and secondary guns led BuShips (Bureau of Ships) to design in 1942 an improvement of the design, leading to the creation of the Oregon City class, of which only … Read more
Bundesmarine, 82 Built 1981-today for 13 countries. Germany Day ! If on one hand, the Bundesmarine was a relatively modest navy in comparison to West Germany’s and post-1990 unified Germany’s economical means up to this day, export was in addition a major asset to finance it. Indeed, Blohm & Voss was chiefly responsible for it. … Read more
