Illustrious, Formidable, Victorious, Indomitable (137-69) An introduction: Probably as famous for the Royal Navy the Yorktown class were for the USN, these world’s first armoured aircraft carriers were involved in quantities of operations in the Atlantic, seeing action afterwards in Pacific as well although their formidable resilience when facing the axis air power in the … Read more
United Kingdom – Minelayer Cruiser (1923-47) The first dedicated British minelayer cruiser With the unusual pennant number M23, HMS Adventure was the first dedicated minelaying cruiser of the Royal Navy. Inspired by WWI German minelayer cruisers, she was built in the 1920s but saw action in the Second World War, with a famous commander in … Read more
Revenge class Battleships (1915) Revenge, Ramillies, Resolution, Royal Oak, Royal Sovereign. The Revenge class battleships: Super-dreadnoughts on a budget Overshadowed by the Queen Elisabeth class, the Revenge nonetheless were the next British super-dreadnought serie also taking took part in two world wars. They actively contributed to the Royal Navy’s history, just in time for Jutland … Read more
WW2 British Cruisers United Kingdom (1931-35) 68 cruisers 1919-45 From the C-class to the Tiger The history of development of British cruisers goes all the way back to 1912, when the standard “C” series were first designed. Unlike in the US Navy or IJN whose cruisers were ordered at the end of WW1 and essentially … Read more
HMS Ark Royal (1937) United Kingdom – Aircraft Carrier (1935-41) The large British fleet aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in all her majesty in 1939 – colorized by irootoko jr. HMS Ark Royal was designed in 1934 to both fit Washington Naval Treaty aircraft carrier tonnage limits and carry a large air group, at least … Read more
Australia (1934-36) HMS Perth, Hobart, Sydney The Australian light cruisers These three light cruisers (Perth, Hobart, Sydney) were built specifically for the Australian Navy. They were largely inspired by the Leander class, but now are seen as part of a sub-group called the Amphion class. They distinguished themselves by their two funnels, reflecting a different … Read more
UK 1913-1914: HMS Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, Barham, Malaya, Valiant PART I: A new breed of super dreadnoughts The Queen Elisabeth class battleships carved quite a path in the Royal Navy. When they appeared they redefined altogether the dreadnought genre, levelling up to “super-dreadnought” or “fast battleship”. By their heavy armament, oil-fired turbines and greater speed … Read more
United Kingdom (1918-1945), 57 submersibles 1939, 260 total Introduction British submarines during WW2 were never given the same focus as for surface vessels, and despite heavy losses in 1940-1941, mostly due to the use of large oceanic types in the Mediterranean, wartime production focused on smaller types pioneered before the war, like the Oceanic T … Read more
United Kingdom (1936-39) HMS Southampton, Newcastle, Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Gloucester, Belfast, Edinburgh The new battle-hardened “Town class”. The “Town” class, or officially “Southampton” after the first cruiser launched, was the subject of quite lengthy preliminary studies, resulting both from the experience gained with the Washington class cruisers and future developments of the 1930 … Read more
United Kingdom – Aircraft Carrier The Courageous Class were two light battlecruisers intended for an Operation in the Baltic in 1917 pushed by Sir J. Fisher which never materialized and instead, they were converted as aircraft carriers, completely rebuilt after the treaty of Washington. With HMS Furious and Argus they pioneered the interwar fleet air … Read more
