Navistory The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk is a light interwar biplane designed to be carried as a parasite fighter by the United States Navy airships USS Akron and Macon. This was the first operational use of the concept in the US, for the short time both airships were in commission (before their loss in 1933 and 1935). … Read more
Koninklijke Marine G1 to G13 (1903-1913): Still 3 active 1940. Like Nordic Countries, the Netherlands were still fond of torpedo boats when WW2 broke out. They were a cheap way to dispense torpedoes as a deterrent to any ship, and less costly and complex to operate than submarines. However like many nations at the time, … Read more
Broadside Ironclads: 1862-65: HMS Scorpion, Wivern. HMS Scorpion and Wivern were two small turret ironclad originally ordered by the Confederate States Navy in 1862, seized in 1863 by the British to prevent delivery as they were violating the Foreign Enlistment Act since the Union was still considered friendly to Great Britain. The Scorpion class were … Read more
Fleet Aircraft Carrier Project (1947) The original Clemenceau was a secret project elaborated after the Joffre class (started but never completed) was further developed in the occupation, with the idea of building a modernized variant after the war ended. This culminated in August 1947 when the design was approved and construction ordered. She was to … Read more
Russian Minelaying Submarine (1915-1919) New Cycle ! Russian submarines from 1865 to the revolution. The Russian Imperial Navy was a pioneer in submarines, having the first operational models just after the US Civil war experiments, like the HL Hunley and USS Alligator. Alexandrosvky (1865) was followed by the fifty plus Drzewiecki midget subs for the … Read more
Imperial Japanese Navy: IJN Tosa, Kaga, launched 1921, one completed 1922, converted as CV. In the first world war, the Imperial Japanese Navy took part in limited operations with the entente powers, notably in the Mediterranean, but its fleet of battleships saw little action. However the naval staff had grand ambitions for the Japanese stance … Read more
Eclipse class Cruiser (1894) RN: Protected Cruiser built 1893-1898: Eclipse, Diana, Dido, Doris, Isis, Juno, Minerva, Talbot, Venus The mostly forgotten Eclipse-class were nine protected cruisers, second-class, built for the Royal Navy 1893-98 and still active in WWI. They were deployed in many theatres from the North sea to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and India … Read more
The Akron class remains the only class of aircraft carrier airship in history. They were in service with the US Navy for a very short time, and if the concept was very much in the line of “Popular Science” concepts, it was still quite serious. Alongside the 100+ aircraft carriers delivered by US shipyards from … Read more
16 ships completed 1990-2002 (3 to Chilean Navy), 4 active 2026 The Type 23 were the last cold war Royal Navy Frigates, with a development that went back to the late 1970s. This is also the last class of that era still with us today. They became in the post cold war years, the core … Read more
K VIII, IX, X: Patrol submarines (1922-1944) The next Dutch submarine class to see action in WW2, also fairly old, were the K.VIII class. They varied from the K.V-class for the removal of their two external torpedo tubes to reduce their vulnerability to depth charging. The British did the same but for the drag they … Read more
