WW1 Royal Navy

United Kingdom (1890-1910): HMS Centurion, Barfleur, Renown. The British forgotten second rate battleships The Centurion-class battleships are now an example of the forgotten Anglo-Russian naval rivalry of the late XIXth century. These were a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy dating back from the early 1890s. Unusual, they were second-class battleships which service … Read more

British Pre-dreadnoughts HMS London, Bulwark, Venerable, Queen, Prince of Wales The London class comprised five pre-dreadnought battleships. They were planned in mid-1890s and, built and commissioned in the early 1900s. The class was basically a repeat of the preceding Formidable class with incremental changes, in that case the armour layout. Artillery was the same as … Read more

Flower class Sloops (WWI) Royal Navy (1915-1919) – 134 ships The first “flowers” The WW2 ‘Flower’ class is famous from being basically a whaler adapted to ASW and delivered by myriads of small yards in the British isles and commonwealth, Canada in particular. Despite their slow speed and small size, they did their job well … Read more

British Royal Navy Gunboats 1880s to 1918 About 31 gunboats 1914 Gunboat diplomacy The story of the Royal Navy is forever linked to its high seas grand fleet at Scapa Flow, but behind, the Empire depended on a myriad of smaller, less glamorous vessels: The Gunboats. Slower, less protected and less armed with everything afloat, … Read more

HMS Canada (ex-Almirante Latorre) 1914 The Chilean take on the south American Naval arms race HMS Canada was a unique battleship in the Royal Navy, and just like the HMS Agincourt and Erin, one of those ordered abroad and requisitioned while on completion when the war broke out in August 1914. Explaining while she was … Read more

HMS Agincourt (ex-Rio de Janeiro, ex-Sultan Osman I) 1913 The ‘Gin Palace’ HMS Agincourt was singular ship. Not only became a worldwide sensation by its unusual configuration, but she also changed hands three times: Ordered originally by Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) to counter Argentina, she was cancelled, repurchased by Turkey, and then requisitioned in August … Read more

WW1 British Battlecruisers United Kingdom – 12 battlecruisers Foreword: Attempt to define the Battlecruiser Vittorio’s Cuniberti’s design -The first point is semantic: very name “battlecruisers” has been misleading ever since it was first coined in 1912. The idea of a nimble fast warship, the cruiser, did not rendered justice to its capital ship capabilities (less … Read more