Naval History Forums

Perhaps an interesting hypothetical might be if Admiral Cradock had had the Pre-Dreadnought HMS Canopus with him at Coronel, as well he might have had he realised she could in fact make 16 knots (not the mere 12 knots, he had been told). Or if he had had the large and powerful Armoured Cruiser HMS D...

I think the only way Germany could have 'won' the war at sea 1914-18 would have been unrestricted Submarine warfare from the start and the building of many more submarines. However this would probably have brought the USA into the war sooner and this would not have helped Germany on land on the West...

That's a whole new issue. Policy prior to WWII could have been different for many countries. For example Britain might not have given in to US pressure and have followed the advice of the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers in the early 1920's and not ditched the Anglo-Japanese Naval alliance...

Some very interesting ideas here. I tend to agree, that until Nuc subs arrived, with a high underwater speed and the ability to stay submerged, submarines often proved disapointing in fleet engagements. On the other had, as I said in an earlier post, the two RAN 'Counties' HMAS Canberra and HMAS Aus...

The Royal Navy remains a large Navy in overall world terms, once it has its two new large carriers -the largest ships ever built for the RN, and the largest Aircraft Carriers outside the US Navy- it will still be in the top two or three Navies in the world. It has generally good ships and is certain...

22/23 January 1879 Rorke's Drift Natal South Africa. 130 British soldiers -a number of them sick- beat off 4,500 Zulu Warriors, winning 11 VC's the most ever awarded for a single action.
Ted

If you are talking about the best soldiers of all time my votes would include:
The Roman Legionaries.
British Infantry of the Peninsular War and Waterloo campaigns.
The modern British and Australian SAS.

I am not sure how you have a list of the top ten military leaders of all time that does not include Marlborough and Wellington...
Ted

I always find ships sinking sad.
Ted

Had HMS Hood not blown up, while nothing is certain in a sea fight, I think I would have backed Hood, Prince of Wales, two Heavy Cruisers and six Destroyers to defeat Bismarck and one Heavy Cruiser...
Ted

An Australian Naval researcher friend of mine has pointed out to me that the Australian 'County Class' Heavy Cruisers HMAS Australia and HMAS Canberra were also earmarked to Force Z.
Ted

My belief, based on my reading, is that Bismarck had a more 'old fashioned' armour distribution than the KGV class, particularly in terms of deck, as opposed to belt armour. KGV's actually had more depth to their deck armour than Yamato... As to the Radar, as I said in actual use British Sea borne r...

A very thoughtfull reply, Ted :D Just one idea: given the rising power of aircraft, shouldn't the battleships be equipped with much more AA guns? Especialy the Bofors 40mm. After all, they couldn't always hope of a carrier behind them to launch fighters if needed.... Well I was trying to stay in mi...

Never said it was likely to have been done, but all the ships I mention, apart from the early Frigates and escort carriers were at least designs in 1936, a slightly larger 'Edinburgh' with two extra twin 4 inch AA is not all that radical. The political stuff -not making more enemies than one had to,...

If you stick with the actual ships involved in the real Battle of Jutland Germany cannot win. The reality is Scheer and the Highs Seas Fleet, not once, but twice, at Jutland was lucky to have avoided a smashing defeat: If Jellicoe had turned towards, instead of away from, the Highs Seas Fleet, on ei...