USS Langley (CV-1)

The USS Langley (CV-1) was the earliest aircraft carrier in service with the US Navy. She was developed from a coal cargo ship, the collier USS Jupiter, between 1919 and 1921. She would be commissioned on March 20, 1922, and would remain with the fleet until 1936, when she was rebuilt as a seaplane tender. Until 1928, she was the only aircraft carrier in the US Navy. Then USS Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3) would also join the fleet. By 1936, she had already become slow (14 knots) and unable to handle the new generation of new fast monoplanes.

The first US Navy fighter to take off from USS Langley was the Vought VE-7, a biplane that had been introduced in 1918. This aircraft would be assigned to this US Navy's carrier until 1927. Early in her career, she had a large pigeon coop under her flight deck. The coop contained homing pigeons which were used to send messages. However, the pigeon coop was taken out after she was commissioned. The carrier also had two smoke stacks, which were folded down during flight operations.

When the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines on December 8, 1941, the seaplane tender USS Langley was anchored off the coast of Cavite, the Philippines. As the Japanese troops advanced, she hoisted anchor and sailed for the Dutch East Indies. However, as the Japanese invaded these islands, she left for Darwin, Australia, where she arrived in early January 1942. There, she became part of the Allied naval forces.

On February 27, while the USS Langley carried a cargo of thirty two disassembled P-40 aircraft, sixteen Japanese Mitsubishi G4M bombers attacked her and her escorts. She took five heavy-bomb hits. There were several explosions as fire broke out. With the steering broken and with a hole in her hull, tons of water poured into the engine room. First, she got a 10 degrees list, then she began to sink. After her crew had been rescued, she was scuttled by the escort destroyers, which used torpedoes and gun shells.

Specifications

Displacement: 12,900 tons

Length: 165.2 m (542 feet)

Beam: 19.9 m (65 feet, 5 inches)

Draft: 8.4 m (27 feet, 8 inches)

Propulsion: two electric motors, with two shafts, powered by two AC generators, generating 7,200 HP. Three boilers, for the turbines that drove the generators.

Maximum Speed: 14 knots

Range: 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km/4,000 miles)

Number of Aircraft: 36

Armament: sixteen 102-mm guns set up in four turrets.

Crew: 470 sailors and officers

Below, the USS Langley (CV-1) in 1924

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Yasen Class

Also known as Project 885, the Yasen class are the latest model of nuclear cruise-missile submarines, in service with Russian Navy since 2013. They are feared by NATO nations because of their stealth and armament, as they bristle with different types of hypersonic and supersonic cruise and anti-ship missiles. As of today, four subs have been produced so far; they are Severodvinsk (K-560), Kazan (K-561), Novosibirsk (K-573), and Krasnoyarsk (K-571).

The Yasen class submarine was designed and developed by Malakhit Marine Engineering Bureau and is presently being built by Sevmash, which signed a contract with the Russian government to produce a total of twelve Project 885 submarines. Three of the four subs already in service have recently been upgraded to the Yasen-M version, which are now fitted with a more compact and extremely silent nuclear reactor and a more powerful spherical sonar. The new power plant, the noise-reducing insulation, and external rubberized skin make of the Yasen class (Project 885) the stealthiest submarines in the world today.

The structure of these ultra-silent and lethal submarines consists of a tubular-shaped single hull, which is made of low-magnetic steel, with an spherical nose. The purpose of the low-magnetic steel is to reduce its magnetic signature. The tapering tail portion of the hull is fitted with four fins; two vertical ones, equipped with the rudder, and two horizontal ones, which have movable stabilizers, which reminds of an aircraft tail elevators. On the body of their Zircon hypersonic missiles, there is a legend in that says: "From Russia, with Love".

Specifications

Type: attack cruise-missile submarine

Length: 139 m (458 feet); Yasen-M: 130 m (430 feet)

Beam: 13 m (43 feet)

Displacement: 13,800 tons (submerged); 8,600 tons (on surface)

Power Plant: one KTP-6 pressurized water reactore, with two 210-MW, GT3A turbines, generating 43,000 HP.

Maximum Speed: 28 knots (submerged and silent mode); 20 knots (on surface).

Range: 30 years, which is the life-time of the nuclear reactor. (it has to stop for food supply, though)

Armament: 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles; 3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles; Oniks anti-ship missiles; ten 533-mm torpedo tubes, with 28 Futlyar heavy-weight deep-water torpedoes.

Compliment: 70 men

Below, the Yasen class submarine Kazan (K-561) on sea trials in 2018.

Novosivirsk about to be launched in late 2019.

Below, Severodvinsk (K-560) in 2015.

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Helgoland Class Battleship

A Helgoland class battleship was one of four German dreadnoughts used by the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. These battleships succeeded the Nassau class and they all took part in the Battle of Jutland. This new series of dreadnoughts comprised SMS Ostfriesland, Thuringen, Helgoland, and Oldenburg, which were in service between 1912 and 1919.

The Helgoland class were the first battleships in the Imperial German Navy to be equipped with the 305-mm (12-inch/50 cal.) naval guns, which had the same performance and effects as the British 13.5-in guns of the Orion and Iron Duke class. Developed from the Nassau series of dreadnoughts, they had basically the same layout. The difference lied in their armament and their hull length, with the Helgoland's being longer and having three exhaust funnels instead of the two in the Nassau class. These all four battleships still relied on the three triple-expansion steam engines of their preceding class.

All four Helgoland class battleships served with Battle Squadron 1 of the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine and they all saw combat action at the Battle of Jutland on May 31/June 1, 1916. SMS Oldenburg and Helgoland were damaged during this naval engagement. However, they were subsequently repaired in the shipyards at Kiel. Also, all four were stricken on November 5, 1919, after the war, and they were handed over to the Allies. Helgoland, Thuringen, and Oldenburg were given up to Great Britain, France, and Japan respectively and were scrapped. SMS Ostfriesland, on the other hand, was relinquished to the United States of America, where she would eventually be used as a target and sunk in 1921.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought

Length:166.4 m

Beam: 28.5 m

Draft: 8.4 m

Displacement: 22,800 tons (empty)

Propulsion/Machinery: 3 triple-expansion steam engines, with three screw propellers, fed by 15 boilers, producing 28,000 HP.

Maximum Speed: 20 knots.

Range: 9,400 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Armor: 300-mm on belt; 65-mm on deck, 305-mm on barbettes.

Armament:  twelve 305mm (12-inch) guns; fourteen 150mm (5.9-inch) guns.

Compliment: 1,390 sailors and officers

Below, SMS Helgoland, the lead ship of her class, in 1914, as part of Battle Squadron 1.

 SMS Ostfriesland in 1918, before it was handed over to the US Navy.

Below, SMS Thuringen before the war.

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SMS Ostfriesland

The SMS Ostfriesland was a German dreadnought battleship in service with the Kaiserliche Marine from 1911 to 1919. She belonged to the Helgoland class, which comprised four battleships; SMS Helgoland, Ostfriesland, Thuringen, and Oldenburg. Although these vessels were based on the Nassau class, with exactly the same layout, they were longer, had bigger-caliber guns (twelve 12-inch) and had improved triple-expansion engines. They all saw combat action during World War I.

The SMS Ostfriesland was laid down on October 19, 1908, in the shipyards of Wilhelmshaven and built by Kaiserliche Werft. She was launched on September 30, 1909, and commissioned on August 1, 1912. She would be assigned to the 1st Division of the Battle Squadron 1 of the German High Sees Fleet, participating in a number of naval engagements during World War I. Together with the rest of warships of Battle Squadron 1, Ostfriesland took part in the raid on Scarborough and Hartlepool.

She and her sister ships also participated in the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. Although she came out unscathed, Helgoland and Oldenburg were damaged. In 1917, SMS Ostfriesland was given the mission of patrolling the German Bight. Later, she and her sister ships participated in Operation Albion, which was the landing and capturing the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga. After the war, in 1919, she was decommissioned, disarmed and handed over to one of the victor nations; the United States, where she would be sunk while being used as a target during naval drills.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Displacement: 22,800 tons (empty)

Length: 166.40 m (546 feet)

Beam: 28.5 m (93.5 feet)

Draft: 8.4 m (27.5 feet)

Propulsion: three vertical, 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, with three shafts, fed by 15 boilers, generating 28,000 HP. Exhaust: three funnels.

Maximum Speed: 20 knots

Range: 9,400 nautical miles at 10 knots

Armament: twelve 305-mm (12-inch) guns, set up in twin turrets; fourteen 150-mm (5.9-inch) guns.

Armor: 300-mm-thick on belt; 77-mm on deck; 305-mm on barbettes.

Compliment: 1,390 sailors and officers.

Below, the SMS Ostfriesland in 1917.

In this aerial view of the German battleship after the war, in 1920, you can see the layout of the 12-inch gun turrets

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HMS Majestic (1895)

HMS Majestic (1895) was a British first class battleship, which was in service with the Royal Navy between 1895 and 1915. She was the first capital ship of the Royal Fleet to be protected by steel armor instead of iron plates used for the iron-clad types. Using steel instead of iron as armor saved her a lot of weight; otherwise she would have had more displacement and draft. She was also fitted with modern steam engines, with twin smoke funnels set up side by side. She was the lead vessel of the Majestic class, which comprised a total of nine battleships.

HMS Majestic boasted four 12-in (305-mm) and twelve 6-in (152-mm) guns. Being a development of the Royal Sovereign class, she was laid down at the Portsmouth's shipyards in February 1894. She was launched on January 31, 1895, entering service in December 1895. She assigned to the Channel Fleet as the flagship, carrying out patrol duties off the coast of the British Isles. When World War I broke out, she and her sister ship HMS Prince George took part in the Gallipoli Campaign in March 1915. That year, on May 27, HMS Majestic was hit by torpedoes fired from a German U-boats and sank within fifteen minutes, with the loss of forty human lives; the other members of her compliment were rescued.

Specifications

Type: first class battleship (pre-dreadnought)

Displacement:  14.560 tons (empty)

Length: 128.3 m (421 feet)

Beam: 22.9 m (75 feet)

Draft: 8.2 m (27 feet)

Propulsion: two 3-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines, with two shafts, fed by 8 boilers, generating 10,000 HP

Maximum Speed: 17 knots

Range: 4,000 nautical miles

Armor: 299-mm-thick on belt; 102-mm on deck; 360-mm on barbettes.

Compliment: 672 sailors and officers

Below, a photo of HMS Majestic taken in April 1905 in the Aegean Sea, a few weeks before she was sunk.

The Majestic battleship in 1901.

The lead ship of her class sinking in the waters of the Dardanelles on May 27, 1915.

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Project 949A Antey

The Project 949A Antey is a type of nuclear-powered 'battle' submarine, which was developed and built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Known as the Oscar class by NATO's intelligence, it was laid down in Severodvinsk's shipyard in 1975 and introduced in 1979. Today, from the fourteen submarines completed, eight of them still remain in service with the Russian Navy, with three of them having just been upgraded with better stealth technology to the 949AM version. It is the third largest submarine of the Russian fleet, after the Typhoon and the Borei class.

Armament

The Project 949A Antey, which is also referred to as the Project 949 Granit, is a 'battle' submarine because it is armed to the teeth. It is equipped with 24 medium-range, over-the-horizon, supersonic cruise missiles (P-700 Granit), which can be fired against land targets or against enemy warships, such as aircraft carriers and destroyers. It also carries 4 Poseidon Drones, which are fitted with thermonuclear warheads, and 28 SET-65E torpedoes, which are launched through four 533mm tubes. The upgraded submarines, the Project 949AM, are also armed with the new hypersonic 3M-54 Kalibr missiles.

An Oscar class submarine sailing in the Pacific Ocean in 2005.

 

Construction

The Project 949A Antey submarine was built by Sevmash in two variants; Oscar I, and Oscar II, with the latter being slightly longer than the former. Both of them were made on a double-hull design, using titanium. Not only is the Oscar II longer, but it also has a superior acoustic performance. The pressurized steam for its two steam turbines is supplied by its two nuclear reactors. These two variants replaced the Papa class submarines.

Specifications

Type: nuclear-powered battle submarine

Displacement: 15,400 tons

Length: 143 m (470 feet)

Beam: 17.6 m (57.8 feet)

Draft: 11 m (36.3 feet)

Propulsion: two nuclear reactor; two steam turbines, with two shafts, generating 60,000HP

Maximum Speed: 30 knots

Depth it can submerge: 500 m

Range: unlimited

Compliment: 130 men

 Below, an Oscar II submarine at a Russian naval base in Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific.

 

Below, the Project 949AM Antey (Oscar II) moored to a wharf of a Russian base.

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HMS Rodney

HMS Rodney was a British battleship in service with the Royal Navy before and during World War II. She had a unique design in which all nine 16-in (406-mm) guns were mounted on the fore portion of vessel in front of the bridge and mast. With the pennant number 29, she belonged to the Nelson class of two battleships, which were powered by two Brown-Curtis geared turbines, with two shafts, generating 45,000 HP.

HMS Rodney (29) was laid down on December 28, 1922, and built by Cammell Laird Co. in the shipyards of Sheffield. Launched in 1925, she was finally commissioned on December 7, 1927, after two years of sea trials and corrections. After a long life of useful service, she would be decommissioned in 1946 and stricken in 1948. She had been built according to the 1922 Washington Naval Conference agreements, by which the United Kingdom was not allowed to produce capital ships above 35,000-ton displacement.

Below, aerial view of Rodney during WW2. You can see her three triple turrets, with its 16-in guns in front of bridge.

Along with her sister ship Nelson, HMS Rodney had a very active operational life in the Atlantic, where she took part in the final destruction of the German battleship SMS Bismarck on May 27, 1941. After that naval engagement, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Theater, where she participated in Operation Pedestal as a merchant ship escort, in 1942; this naval operation consisted in carrying supplies to Malta. In 1944, as part of the Home Fleet, HMS Rodney took part in the Normandy landings on June 6, providing fire support to the invasion forces.

Specifications

Type: battleship

Length: 216.4 m (710 feet)

Beam: 32.3 (106 feet)

Displacement: 33,313 tons (empty)

Draft: 10.2 m (33.5 feet)

Propulsion: two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, with two shafts, supplied by eight 3-drum boilers.

Maximum Speed: 23 knots

Range: 7,500 nautical miles

Armament: nine 406mm (16-in) guns set up in three triple turrets; twelve 152mm (6-in) guns; six 120mm (4.7-in) AA.

Compliment: 1,314 sailors and officers.

Below, HMS Rodney (29) in the early 1930s.

The battleship at the beginning of WW2.

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HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth was a British dreadnought battleship, which was used by the Royal Navy both in WW1 and WW2. She was the lead ship of her class, which also comprised four other new dreadnoughts; HMS Malaya, Barham, Valiant, and Warspite. Built by Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, Queen Elizabeth was the first to be laid down, on October 21, 1912. When launched on October 16, 1913, she was the most modern and powerful battleship in the world as she was fitted with eight 15-inch (381-mm) naval guns, which were a new design and superior to other navies' 14-inch guns.

HMS Queen Elizabeth was also the first British dreadnought to move to an all oil-fired propulsion system. This move was done to meet the requirement to generate a much higher output and to reach the maximum speed of 24 knots. In order to achieve this objective, this battleship was equipped with new machinery; four Parsons steam turbines supplied by 24 boilers, putting out 75,000 HP. However, HMS Barham and Valiant were powered by Brown-Curtis turbines instead. The decision to go to an all oil-fired propulsion saved enough weight to allow the ship to have thicker armor. The exhaust was done through two large funnels set up behind the fore mast.

Below, HMS Queen Elizabeth dreadnought in November 1914, before she was sent to the Dardanelles.

This capital ship of the Royal Navy was named after Elizabeth I, the 16th century British monarch. When she was commissioned on December 22, 1914, WW1 had already started. In 1915, she was assigned to the British fleet operating in the Strait of Gallipoli (Dardanelles), in the Eastern Mediterranean, to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. There, she carried out ground-softening bombardment of the Turkish coast in support of the Commonwealth troops invasion of the region. She would not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but her sister ships did.

During WW2, HMS Queen Elizabeth was assigned to naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea. In June 1941, she was damaged by a mine planted by Italian frogmen. Having being repaired, she became part of the Home Fleet, but in December 1943, she would be sent to the Pacific Theater, where she took part in the Dutch East Indies and Burma campaigns, bombing Japanese bases and providing fire support to amphibious forces.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Displacement:  32,590 tons

Length: 196.8 m (645.8 ft)

Beam:  27.6 m (90.5 ft)

Draft: 8.8 m (28.8 ft)

Armor: 330-mm-thick on belt and turret faces; 65-mm on deck.

Propulsion/Machinery: 4 Parsons turbines, with 4 shafts, and 24 boilers.

Maximum Speed: 24 knots

Range: 5,000 nautical miles at 12 knots

Compliment: 951 men

Below, HMS Queen Elizabeth in 1913, before being launched.

The lead ship of her class during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, along with other British battleships.

 Below, HMS Queen Elizabeth in 1941, in the Mediterranean, being painted with new camouflage.

 Below, the battleship's quarter deck, with Y turret guns trained to port; Mudros, on the Greek island of Lemnos, near the Dardanelles in 1915.

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SMS Schleswig-Holstein

SMS Schleswig-Holstein was a pre-dreadnought battleship in service with the Kaiserlichemarine (Imperial German Navy) from 1908 to 1944. She belonged to the Deutschland class, which also included SMS Hannover, Pommern, Schlesien, and Deutchland. Although she had taken part in World War I, she would become renowned for having initiated World War II, with the bormbardment of the Polish ammunition depots in the city-port of Westerplatte, on September 1, 1939.

SMS Schleswig-Holstein had been laid down in the Germaniawerft shipyards, in Kiel in 1905. After being launched on September 17, 1906, she would spend almost two years on sea trials. She was finally commissioned in 1908, being attached to the II Squadron of the Kaiserlichemarine. Many officers that composed her compliment had already been aboard her sister ship Schlesien.

After WWI broke out, the battleship Schleswig-Holstein was assigned to carry out picket and security duties until December 1914, when she began fleet operations. Between May 31 and June 1, 1916, she participated in the Battle of Jutland (Skagerrat). In the evening of the first day, a large-caliber shell struck one of her naval gun casemates, killing three sailors and wounding eight others. However, her sister ship SMS Pommern did not make it and she was sunk by torpedoes. Having been repaired, she would carry out patrol duties until 1917, when she was reassigned to the 5th U-Boat Flotilla as an accommodation ship.

In March 1918, SMS Schleswig-Holstein moored to a dock in Kiel, and she would lay there for the remainder of WWI. After the armistice, she would survive the severe tonnage reduction imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, she would be upgraded with new boilers and used as training ship for the German Navy cadets. The bombing of Westerplatte ammunition depots was the only action she saw in WWII. In 1944, she would be sunk by Allied bombers.

Armament

SMS Schleswig-Holstein was equipped with four (2x2) 280-mm 'quick-firing' guns (Schnelladenkanonen), with a barrel length L/40. She also featured fourteen 170-mm and twenty-two 88-mm guns. Six 450-mm torpedo tubes added to her lethal array of weapons.

Machinery

This German battleship was powered by three triple-expansion steam engines. These were supplied with pressurized steam from eight Scholz-Thornykroft boilers and six cylindrical boilers. Her two outboard shafts drove a 4.8-m-diameter three-bladed propeller, while her center engine shaft drove a 4.5-m diameter four-bladed propeller. Boilers and steam engines generated a maximum of 19,330 HP, with 122 revolutions per minutes.

Specifications

Type: Deutschland-Class battleship

Displacement: 14,218 tons (loaded)

Length: 127.6 m

Beam: 22.2 m

Draft: 8.25 m

Armor: 240-mm-thick on belt; 40-mm on deck; 280-mm on turrets.

Maximum Speed: 19.1 knots

Range: 5,720 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Crew: 743 sailors and officers

Below, SMS Schleswig-Holstein in 1937 sailing out of the port Hamburg.

The German Deutschland-class battleship approaching a wharf of the port of Kiel in 1918.

Below, the Schleswig-Holstein bombing the ammunition depots of Westerplatte on September 1, 1939.

The Schleswig-Holstein in action (video)

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