Built as a training cruiser for the French Marine Nationale the Jeanne d'Arc was both floating school and combat capable warship. During WWII she formed part of a flotilla taking French gold to Canada before joining Free French forces in 1943. The single vessel of the Jeanne d’Arc-class was designed to use the same guns as the Duguay-Trouin-class. She was...
Köln was the third of the Königsberg-class of light cruiser, operating between 1929 and 1945, initially under the Reichsmarine and subsequently the Kriegsmarine. In the 1930s she served as a training vessel for cadets, but the outbreak of World War Two saw her conducting operations in the North Sea, though she didn’t encounter any British warships at this...
The lead ship of her class, Königsberg had a similar operational history to that of her sister ships like Köln (see above), operating as a training vessel until the outset of World War Two. She spent the early part of the war laying defensive minefields in the North Sea before participating in the invasion of Norway as part of Operation Weserübung. It was...
The third of the Admiral-Hipper-class of heavy cruisers, Prinz Eugen was named for Prince Eugene of Savoy, and 18th century Austrian general. She saw action during the German operation Rheinübung of 1941, in which, along with Bismarck, she attempted to breakout into the Atlantic to sow chaos amongst merchant convoys. The two ships destroyed the British...
There were to have been four ships of the Richelieu-class, with the first two laid down in 1935 and the second pair following in 1935. Gascogne was cancelled and Clemenceau never completed. The last ship followed a modified design which placed one of the turrets aft of the superstructure – the original design had both main armament turrets forward, much...
The German capital ship Scharnhorst was the lead of her two ship class, launching in October 1936. She was armed with a main battery of nine 28cm C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Though plans were drawn up to 38cm guns, these plans were never enacted. Through the early war, Scharnhorst, operated in tandem with her sister ship, Gneisenau, in raiding...
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...
When launched, the Surcouf was the largest submarine in the world, only surpassed in the Second World War by the Japanese I-400-class submarine. Her intended role was that of commerce raider and her design was intended to maximise this mission. She had a range of 10,000 miles, could sail for 90 days and was equipped with a Besson MN-411 floatplane in a...
Sister ship to the Bismarck, the Tirpitz was 2,000 tons heavier and thus the heaviest warship to have ever been produced by a European navy. She served in Norway and the Baltic Fleet acting as a potent deterrent. The Tirpitz became an obsession for the British. After the sinking of the Bismarck, the Tirpitz, as Germany’s most powerful warship, was destined...
The Type 1936 was a large and very powerful design mounting 5.9-inch guns, based on the general layout of the Type 1934. The intended twin turrets were not available in time, so planned armament was reduced to single mounts in some positions. As with the preceding class, an enlarged version, designated Type 1936A, was developed from the original. The Type...
The Alaska-class fell midway between a heavy cruiser and a battleship, and the United States Navy considered these vessels large cruisers rather than battlecruisers. They were designed as cruiser-killers, tasked with destroying post-Washington Treaty heavy cruisers. As a result, they were given 12-inch guns, significant armour protection, and could travel...
USS Hornet was a Yorktown class-carrier serving in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two. She launched the Doolittle Raid (the first air operation to strike the Japanese Archipelago) on 18 April 1942. She later participated in the crucial Battle of Midway as well as the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid. As part of the Solomon Islands campaign, USS Hornet was...