ww2 US Navy

Iowa class battleships (1942) Battleships (1942-44): USS Iowa (BB-61), New Jersey (BB-62), Missouri (BB 63), Wisconsin (BB 64), Illinois (BB 65), Kentucky (BB 66) The Iowa class battleships were the last built in the US, and memorable ships at more than one title. They were the culminating point of a standard design worked out since … Read more

PT-Boats (1942) USA – Circa 500 built (1942-45) WW2 USN PT Boats: Overrated Success ? The “wooden marvels” were known by many names during WW2, but the official and generic “PT-Boat”, meaning “Patrol, Torpedo (Boat)”. They were an unknown type for the USN in WW1, as there was no need for such “naval dust” when … Read more

USA – circa 23,492 (1942-45) The Landing Darling (06/06/2022) Few crafts in WW2 were underrated but these “Higgins Boats”. The LCVP has been absolutely crucial to the Allied victory From the shores of Africa to the European Western Front. It became as instrumental as the Jeep or GMC truck on land, not a proper military … Read more

South Dakota class battleships (1939) Battleships (1938-42): USS South Dakota (BB-57), Indiana (BB-58), Massachusetts (BB 59), Alabama (BB 60) The shortened fast battleships The South Dakota class was a class of four fast battleships, the lead vessel being the second named after the 40th state, taking the name of a super-dreanought class canceled under terms … Read more

Midway class USA – Fleet Aircraft Carriers (1945-92): USS Midway, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Coral Sea The first USN armoured aircraft carriers The Midway class aircraft carriers were the penultimate evolution of interwar and WW2 US aircraft carrier design: They were designed at the same time as the future Essex class fleet carriers in 1940, but … Read more

Sangamon class Escort Aircraft Carriers US Navy 4 ships (Converted, Commissionned Aug. – Sept. 1942): USS Sangamon, Suwanee, Chenango, Santee From civilian oilers to aircraft carriers The former Cimarron-class oilers launched in 1939 for civilian use, were requisitioned for the supply needs of the fleet, recommissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1940–1941 as AO28, 29, … Read more

US Navy Fleet Aircraft Carriers (1942-50): USS Essex, Yorktown, Intrepid, Hornet, Lexington, Bunker Hill, Wasp, Franklin, Ticonderoga, Randolph, Hancock, Bennington, Shangri-la, Bonhomme Richard, Antietam, Boxer, Lake Champlain, Princeton, Tarawa, Kearsage, Leyte, Philippine Sea, Valley Forge, Oriskany The world’s largest capital ship program In March 1941, the first of the most prolific series of heavy aircraft … Read more

North Carolina class Battleships Fast Battleships (1940): USS North Carolina (BB-55), Washington (BB-56) The first USN fast battleships USS North Carolina’s bow, Pearl Harbor, 16 November 1942 The North Carolina class battleships were a revolution for the US Navy: After the long vacancy of the Washington Treaty banning new battleships for ten years and prolongated … Read more

USA (1931-32) USS Portland, Indianapolis. The Portland class: The 2nd generation. Designed after the Northamptons, the two heavy cruisers Portland and Indianapolis were contemporary of the New Orleans class which still looked like the Northamptons. But in reality they improved on many points and especially that of protection, so much so that they are considered … Read more

US Navy (1942-46) Light Cruisers: USS Cleveland, Columbia, Montpelier, Denver, Amsterdam, Santa Fe, Tallahassee, Birmingham, Mobile, Vincennes, Pasadena, Springfield, Topeka, New Haven, Huntington, Dayton, Wilmington, Biloxi, Houston, Providence, Manchester, Buffalo, Fargo, Vicksburg, Duluth, Newark, Miami, Astoria, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Galveston, Youngstown, Buffalo, Newark, Amsterdam, Portsmouth, Wilkes-Barre, Atlanta, Dayton The WW2 standard USN light cruisers … Read more