ww1 warships

St Vincent class battleships (1908)

by

United Kingdom (1908) – St Vincent, Collingwood, Vanguard The second dreadnought-type serie The St Vincent were built in record time, compared to the previous Bellerophon which differed in many details from HMS Dreadnought. However, they still had their share of own differences: Higher upper masts, improved engines, slightly longer and beamier hull which was also … Read more

Hospital Ships

by

World’s navies (1863 to today) As these lines are written, the world would remember medical personal and nurses involved in the present COVID19 pandemic. But ships dedicated to the care of the wounded existed almost since the red cross was invented: By Swiss businessman Henri Dunant, horrified to see casualties at the battle of Solférino … Read more

Moltke class Battlecruisers

by

Moltke class Battlecruisers Germany (1910) Battlecruisers – SMS Moltke, SMS Goeben Development and Design A May 1907 conference already defined the path that would lead to the decision of building two ‘all big guns capital ships’ when the German Naval Office decided make a follow-up of the Von der Tann, with an enlarged design and … Read more

HMS Tiger (1913)

by

United Kingdom (1913) Battlecruiser The HMS Tiger: Feline beauty and hard shell Described by historian John Keegan as “certainly the most beautiful warship in the world then, and perhaps ever”, the Tiger was also better protected, yet cheaper than the older Lion class, the “big cats” disliked by the admiralty. Despite of her merits, no … Read more

Active class Cruisers

by

RN (1911): Active, Amphion, Fearless The last prewar scout cruisers: The Active class were three ships closely derived from previous Blonde/Boadicea scout cruisers. This third group only counted HMS Amphion and HMS Active, as HMS Fearless was built on similar plans a few months later. These three units were operational in 1913. With a few … Read more

Nassau class battleships (1906)

by

Nassau class battleships (1908) SMS Nassau, Rheinland, Posen, Westfalen Germany’s first dreadnoughts The four Nassau (Nassau, Westfalen, Rheinland, Posen) were the first monocaliber battleships of the German Navy. They were not however ordered or designed in response to the HMS Dreadnought as often assumed but predated her in the Admiralstab. Another confirmation the monocaliber type … Read more

Lion class Battlecruisers (1910)

by

Lion class Battlecruisers (1910) HMS Lion, Princess Royal, Queen Mary Beatty’s “splendid cats” at Jutland were a source of pride in 1914… but a source of embarrassment in June 1916. The fatidic day of the battle the admiral said famously “what is wrong with our b… ships today ?” after seeing Queen Mary blowing out. … Read more

Invincible class Battlecruisers (1907)

by

RN (1907) Battlecruisers: HMS Invincible, Indomitable, Inflexible The Invincible class were the world’s first battlecruisers. A rare breed, since it was only tried by four nations, UK, Germany, Japan and the US (attempted, the converted to CVs). The way that lead to them was as fascinating as for the Dreadnought, and also entirely due to … Read more

Admiralty M-class destroyers

by

13 RN Destroyers (1914): HMS Matchless, Murray, Myngs, Milne, Moorsom, Morris, Mansfield*, Mento*, Mastiff**, Meteor**, Miranda***, Minos***, Manly***. The Admiralty M were the first British (and world’s) mass-built destroyer class ever. They were an improvement of the L (Laforey) class but at the insistance of Winston Churchill, first lord of the admiralty, they were planned … Read more