Ships in Class: Yorktown, Hornet, Enterprise Built in a series of three, only the USS Enterprise survived the war, with the USS Yorktown sunk during the Battle of Midway, and the USS Hornet during the Battle of Santa Cruz. The USS Enterprise went on to become the most frequently decorated US carrier of the war, even earning the British Admiralty Pennant...
At the time of Italy’s entry into World War Two, she possessed a modern and – on paper at least – highly effective fleet. Four battleships and eight heavy cruisers were available, with three more battleships being fitted out. However, there were no aircraft carriers (initially), not least because the Regia Marina was intended to operate near to friendly...
Submarines: Compared to a German Type VII C submarine, the Marcello-class were much larger, displacing 1,060 tons versus 769. Speed and range between the two classes were almost similar, but the Marcello-class had more torpedo tubes than the famous U-Boat. The Marcello-class should be considered one of the most successful produced by the Italian shipyards...
The Battle for the Pacific was only the beginning. Victory at Sea is the game of naval combat during the Second World War. Throughout 1939–45, the nations of the world duelled across the oceans across the globe, only to discover the fundamental nature of naval warfare changing in the face of rapidly developing technologies. Now you can play out these...
Admiral Franz von Hipper was commander of the German battlecruiser squadron of the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and subsequently became commander-in-chief of the German high seas fleet. It was for him that Admiral Hipper was named, the lead ship of her class. Admiral Hipper saw significant action over the course of the war, with a heavy emphasis on the Battle...
In 1923 it was decided to convert an incomplete Normandie-class battleship to a carrier. Despite a refit in 1935, she was far too slow for fleet operations in World War Two and was demilitarised in 1942. In 1943 she joined the Free French Naval Force where she served for a time before being converted to an aircraft transport. Béarn was the only French...
Blüche was named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who lead the Prussians to victory at Waterloo. She was the second of the Admiral Hipper-class of heavy cruisers, completed shortly after the outbreak of World War II. She was assigned to the task force supporting the invasion of Norway in April 1940, serving as the flagship of Konteradmiral Oskar Kummetz...
Also known as the Jaguar-class, Chacal (Jackal)-class destroyers were designed to fulfil a scouting role for fleet battle lines and to attack enemy shipping in the Mediterranean. As a result, they possessed poor endurance, mounted no anti-submarine weapons, and had woefully inadequate anti-aircraft fire, especially in the face of the German Luftwaffe. The...
The four vessels of the Suffren-class were based on the Duquesne-class, though each was built to slightly different standards as lessons were learned from the preceding ship. Their hull form was sleek and graceful, taking a classic cruiser form. While the Duquesne-class lineage was apparent, the Suffren-class had a much more modern look about them. Armour...
While serving as commerce raiders, the Scharnhorst-class Battleships (or battlecruisers), Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were responsible for sinking over 105,000 tons of allied shipping in a single cruise. The two ships operated together for much of the early portion of the war, including sorties into the Atlantic, the sinking of British cruiser HMS Rawalpindi...
Though laid down and launched before the start of the war, the Graf Zeppelin was never completed or commissioned, and it never saw action. Whilst four aircraft of the class had originally been planned, constant in-fighting between the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, as well as a priority on the building of U-Boats hampered their construction, with the planned...
One of the most famous carriers of the war, the HMS Ark Royal received many battle honours in its service. The first enemy aircraft shot down by the Fleet Air Arm was with one of her Blackburn Skuas, while her bombers sank the German cruiser Königsberg, the first example of a capital ship being sunk by an attack from the air. Better remembered is the Ark...