Photos Navies Of All Nations
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Italy:
Submarine Axum fitting out at Monfalcone, 1936; on 12 August 1942, she fired four torpedoes at a British naval formation, all of which hit, critically damaging the cruiser HMS Cairo (later scuttled) and damaging the light cruiser HMS Nigeria and the tanker SS Ohio
The Axum (commanded by Tenente di Vascello Renato Ferrini) was part of the Axis deployement to contrast the Allied effort to resupply Malta in mid-August 1942 (codenamed Operation Pedestal); among other phases, no less than fifteen Italian submarines and two German U-Boote would be lying in wait.
Departing Cagliari on 11 August 1942 bound for the channel of Skerki Bank, together with four other submarines (all of which, save one, would successfully attack the Allied ships), it reached the area on 0600 h of the next day, and it submerged. After moving towards Cape Blanc in the belief that the convoy would hug the coast as much as possible, at 1840 h the Axum saw on its starboard side smoke, and also smoke coming from AA fire, and turned towards it, believing that the enemy was there.
Coming up to periscope depth at 1927 h, TV Ferrini was able to spot the enemy formation at about 8'000 m, and assumed parallel course to better observe it. After noticing a change of course of the enemy convoy, he ordered to maneuver to get close and fire torpedoes, standing at 15 m depth and at half ahead.
At 1955 h, at an estimated range of 1300 m from the first column of merchantmen and of 1800 m from the cruiser he could see, all four torpedoes of the fore tubes were fired, after which evasive maneuvers were started at once.
After sixty-three seconds, one detonation was heard, then twenty-seven seconds later other two very close together. Ferrini judged to have hit one ship of the first column and another of the second one, but instead he had hit three ships, and none of his torpedoes had been lost.
The first torpedo had struck HMS Nigeria (a Crown Colony-class cruiser) at the height of the bridge, killing fifty-two crewman, flooding the engine rooms and jamming the rudder; the damaged cruiser, after disembarking Admiral Borrough, had to make for Gibraltar at 14 knots, escorted by three destroyers. It would be under repair until September 1943.
Two torpedoes had struck the old cruiser HMS Cairo (a C-class cruiser converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser), killing twenty-four men and removing the aft section of the ship; the stricken cruiser had to be abandoned and finished off by HMS Derwent with gunfire.
The final torpedo had hit the tanker Ohio, temporarily immobilizing her and causing a violent fire; in twenty minutes, however, the crew managed to put out the fire, and the gallant ship (it would be subjected to further attacks, but it would be one of the ships that made it to Malta) steamed on at 13 knots.
To top it off, the loss of the two cruisers (one forced to double back, the other doomed) fitted with radio and personnel to coordinate with the CAP meant that Force X would have a much harsher time against subsequent Axis air attacks.
Submarine Axum fitting out at Monfalcone, 1936; on 12 August 1942, she fired four torpedoes at a British naval formation, all of which hit, critically damaging the cruiser HMS Cairo (later scuttled) and damaging the light cruiser HMS Nigeria and the tanker SS Ohio
The Axum (commanded by Tenente di Vascello Renato Ferrini) was part of the Axis deployement to contrast the Allied effort to resupply Malta in mid-August 1942 (codenamed Operation Pedestal); among other phases, no less than fifteen Italian submarines and two German U-Boote would be lying in wait.
Departing Cagliari on 11 August 1942 bound for the channel of Skerki Bank, together with four other submarines (all of which, save one, would successfully attack the Allied ships), it reached the area on 0600 h of the next day, and it submerged. After moving towards Cape Blanc in the belief that the convoy would hug the coast as much as possible, at 1840 h the Axum saw on its starboard side smoke, and also smoke coming from AA fire, and turned towards it, believing that the enemy was there.
Coming up to periscope depth at 1927 h, TV Ferrini was able to spot the enemy formation at about 8'000 m, and assumed parallel course to better observe it. After noticing a change of course of the enemy convoy, he ordered to maneuver to get close and fire torpedoes, standing at 15 m depth and at half ahead.
At 1955 h, at an estimated range of 1300 m from the first column of merchantmen and of 1800 m from the cruiser he could see, all four torpedoes of the fore tubes were fired, after which evasive maneuvers were started at once.
After sixty-three seconds, one detonation was heard, then twenty-seven seconds later other two very close together. Ferrini judged to have hit one ship of the first column and another of the second one, but instead he had hit three ships, and none of his torpedoes had been lost.
The first torpedo had struck HMS Nigeria (a Crown Colony-class cruiser) at the height of the bridge, killing fifty-two crewman, flooding the engine rooms and jamming the rudder; the damaged cruiser, after disembarking Admiral Borrough, had to make for Gibraltar at 14 knots, escorted by three destroyers. It would be under repair until September 1943.
Two torpedoes had struck the old cruiser HMS Cairo (a C-class cruiser converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser), killing twenty-four men and removing the aft section of the ship; the stricken cruiser had to be abandoned and finished off by HMS Derwent with gunfire.
The final torpedo had hit the tanker Ohio, temporarily immobilizing her and causing a violent fire; in twenty minutes, however, the crew managed to put out the fire, and the gallant ship (it would be subjected to further attacks, but it would be one of the ships that made it to Malta) steamed on at 13 knots.
To top it off, the loss of the two cruisers (one forced to double back, the other doomed) fitted with radio and personnel to coordinate with the CAP meant that Force X would have a much harsher time against subsequent Axis air attacks.
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Argentina:
Two destroyers of Buenos Aires-class built for Argentinian Navy with RMS Queen Elizabeth in the background, Barrow, 1938.
Only 2 of the class of 7 were built at John Browne's for Argentina. E10 would be ARA San Luis and the inboard ship will be ARA San Juan. The photo is from 1938, probably after the commissioning of the destroyers
Two destroyers of Buenos Aires-class built for Argentinian Navy with RMS Queen Elizabeth in the background, Barrow, 1938.
Only 2 of the class of 7 were built at John Browne's for Argentina. E10 would be ARA San Luis and the inboard ship will be ARA San Juan. The photo is from 1938, probably after the commissioning of the destroyers
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RN:
HMS Eagle (R05) underway in the mid 1960s. Eagle is easily identifiable by her Type 984 radar and the tail code "E" on her aircraft (Ark Royal did not carry the Type 984 radar and had the tail code "R"). Visible on deck are Supermarine Scimitar F.1s tanker aircraft of 803 Naval Air Squadron, which relinquished their last frontline Scimitars in October 1966.
HMS Tiger after her conversion to a helicopter and command cruiser
HMS Eagle (R05) underway in the mid 1960s. Eagle is easily identifiable by her Type 984 radar and the tail code "E" on her aircraft (Ark Royal did not carry the Type 984 radar and had the tail code "R"). Visible on deck are Supermarine Scimitar F.1s tanker aircraft of 803 Naval Air Squadron, which relinquished their last frontline Scimitars in October 1966.
HMS Tiger after her conversion to a helicopter and command cruiser
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USN:
USS Nebraska (BB-14) wearing an unusual experimental camouflage, 1918
(January 6, 1921) USS Massachusetts (BB-2), a battleship that served the United States honorably during the Spanish-American war, is scuttled off the coast of Pensacola, Florida
USS Nebraska (BB-14) wearing an unusual experimental camouflage, 1918
(January 6, 1921) USS Massachusetts (BB-2), a battleship that served the United States honorably during the Spanish-American war, is scuttled off the coast of Pensacola, Florida
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Germany & Greece:
Incomplete battleships and battlecruisers in Hamburg harbour, around 1920; on the left, the battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich and the battleship Württemberg, on the right, the battleship Salamis
The presence of the Mackensen-class battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich (ordered as Ersatz Freya) and of the Bayern-class battleship Württemberg is no surprise.
The Salamis requires a little more depth.
With the naval race between Greece and the Ottoman Empire not slowing down by 1911-2, and the latter ordering one dreadnought in Great Britain (and taking over one initially ordered by Brazil), the Greek Navy pushed for getting battleships of their own. After asking for tenders from various shipyards, the one from AG Vulcan of Hamburg was selected; however, the design of the ship would change a lot from its inception, growing from a relatively small 13'700 t design to a much more ambitious 19'800 t one, armed with eight 14 inch guns and capable of 23 knots, leading to much discussion on whether it would have been a battleship or a battlecruiser.
Laid down on 23 July 1913 and launched on 11 November 1914, the ship's fate was virtually spelled by the Great War, that prevented her from being completed (not only because of manpower shortages and redirection of steel to war production, but also because the American-built main armament could not be delivered because of the British blockade (ironically, the Royal Navy itself would get these weapons, to be used on its monitors). The non-standard design of the ship also meant that she was not taken over by the Kaiserliche Marine, despite initial British fears.
After the war, an arbitration ensues between the Greek government, that refused to provide further payment to the builder, and AG Vulcan, seeking compensation; this would be dragged on until 1932, when the matter was settled, and the hull was broken up for scrap the same year.
Incomplete battleships and battlecruisers in Hamburg harbour, around 1920; on the left, the battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich and the battleship Württemberg, on the right, the battleship Salamis
The presence of the Mackensen-class battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich (ordered as Ersatz Freya) and of the Bayern-class battleship Württemberg is no surprise.
The Salamis requires a little more depth.
With the naval race between Greece and the Ottoman Empire not slowing down by 1911-2, and the latter ordering one dreadnought in Great Britain (and taking over one initially ordered by Brazil), the Greek Navy pushed for getting battleships of their own. After asking for tenders from various shipyards, the one from AG Vulcan of Hamburg was selected; however, the design of the ship would change a lot from its inception, growing from a relatively small 13'700 t design to a much more ambitious 19'800 t one, armed with eight 14 inch guns and capable of 23 knots, leading to much discussion on whether it would have been a battleship or a battlecruiser.
Laid down on 23 July 1913 and launched on 11 November 1914, the ship's fate was virtually spelled by the Great War, that prevented her from being completed (not only because of manpower shortages and redirection of steel to war production, but also because the American-built main armament could not be delivered because of the British blockade (ironically, the Royal Navy itself would get these weapons, to be used on its monitors). The non-standard design of the ship also meant that she was not taken over by the Kaiserliche Marine, despite initial British fears.
After the war, an arbitration ensues between the Greek government, that refused to provide further payment to the builder, and AG Vulcan, seeking compensation; this would be dragged on until 1932, when the matter was settled, and the hull was broken up for scrap the same year.
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France:
Battleship Provence anchored in harbour after modernisation, mid 1930s.
Battleship Dunkerque pictured off the French coast, 1938
Battleship Jean Bart in dock. This photo was taken from a US Navy Aircraft from the USS Ranger during Operation Torch, November of 1942.
Battleship Provence anchored in harbour after modernisation, mid 1930s.
Battleship Dunkerque pictured off the French coast, 1938
Battleship Jean Bart in dock. This photo was taken from a US Navy Aircraft from the USS Ranger during Operation Torch, November of 1942.
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RN:
Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant and Royal Navy Wildcat HMA2, attached to Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234), participate in a passenger exchange during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 5. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats.
Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant and Royal Navy Wildcat HMA2, attached to Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke (F234), participate in a passenger exchange during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 5. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats.
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USN:
The four U.S. Navy Porter-class destroyers USS Balch (DD-363), USS Moffett (DD-362), USS Winslow (DD-359) and USS McDougal (DD-358) moored together at San Diego, California (USA), in March 1939.
USS Nicholas (DD-449) on acceptance trials off Rockland, Maine, 28 May 1942, a week before she was commissioned.
In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Nicholas earned 16 battle stars in World War II, placing her among the most decorated US ships of World War II, a total surpassed among destroyers only by her sister ship, USS O'Bannon. She earned five more in the Korean War and nine in the Vietnam War for a total of 30.
The four U.S. Navy Porter-class destroyers USS Balch (DD-363), USS Moffett (DD-362), USS Winslow (DD-359) and USS McDougal (DD-358) moored together at San Diego, California (USA), in March 1939.
USS Nicholas (DD-449) on acceptance trials off Rockland, Maine, 28 May 1942, a week before she was commissioned.
In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Nicholas earned 16 battle stars in World War II, placing her among the most decorated US ships of World War II, a total surpassed among destroyers only by her sister ship, USS O'Bannon. She earned five more in the Korean War and nine in the Vietnam War for a total of 30.
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USN:
Atlantic Ocean (Sept. 22, 2003) -- The Spruance-class destroyer USS Thorn (DD 988) escorts USS Enterprise (CVN 65) during the Comprehensive Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). The Enterprise Strike Group is underway participating in COMPTUEX in preparation for a Mediterranean Deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Joshua C. Kinter. (RELEASED)
Atlantic Ocean (Sept. 22, 2003) -- The Spruance-class destroyer USS Thorn (DD 988) escorts USS Enterprise (CVN 65) during the Comprehensive Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). The Enterprise Strike Group is underway participating in COMPTUEX in preparation for a Mediterranean Deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Joshua C. Kinter. (RELEASED)
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