Naval
QUIBERON BAY
The Battle of Quiberon Bay, Nicholas Pocock, 1812. National Maritime Museum. In the naval sphere in 1759, Pitt’s control of British strategy and the military appointments on which it depended was positioning Great Britain to overthrow the French Empire and its naval power lock, stock, and barrel. Not surprisingly, given the British tradition of muddling through in times of peace,…
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SAMURAI OF THEÂ SKIES
The Imperial Japanese Navy began experimenting with aviation as early as the British and Americans. But because Japan did not see much combat in World War I, it had fallen behind the other powers by 1918. To catch up, it turned to its traditional mentors: for the army, the French;…
Japanese Pre-WWII Navy Part I
Japanese battleship Kirishima In China and later in the Pacific, Japanese amphibious assaults were marked by surprise landings, often at night, at several spots simultaneously or in rapid sequence. Air and naval superiority were always present at the point of attack. Japan had no marine corps as such. The army…
Japanese Pre-WWII Navy Part II
CV Kaga converted from a Tosa-class battleship. Mindful of America’s industrial superiority, Japanese authorities realized that any protracted war, even if waged defensively, would require as many aviation resources as the empire could muster. The solution lay in building fast, medium size merchant and passenger ships that could be quickly…
Graf Zeppelin I
Plans for a shipped-based air force started soon after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. The first plans were limited to supplying the existing battleships and cruisers with reconnaissance seaplanes. On March 12th 1934 the first requirements the future aircraft carrier was given. Within a year the design study had been…
Graf Zeppelin II
Last photograph of Graf Zeppelin towed from Swinocijscie Poland to Leningrad. April 17. 1947. In April 1945, Soviet troops found the carrier’s artillery had been dismantled, the installation of fire control equipment had not been finished and the electrical installations partially installed as well as the flight equipment. There was…
P2V Neptunes Part II
“The Truculent Turtle” The third production P2V-1 was chosen for a record-setting mission, ostensibly to test crew endurance and long-range navigation but also for publicity purposes: to display the capabilities of the Navy’s latest patrol bomber. Its nickname was “The Turtle,” which was painted on the aircraft’s nose (along with…