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    This title is the 26th volume containing the usual diverse range of major feature articles devoted to the design, development and service of the world's fighting ships.

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    This title is the 26th volume containing the usual diverse range of major feature articles devoted to the design, development and service of the world's fighting ships.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    519 views211 pages

    Warship 2004

    Uploaded by

    SaskJack
    This title is the 26th volume containing the usual diverse range of major feature articles devoted to the design, development and service of the world's fighting ships.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 211
    EDITOR Antony Preston was the frst editor of Warship an re his duties in 1996, He has writen numerous books on naval technology and history and was a major contributor to the ‘Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships series. Antony's most recent book, The Worl’ Worst Warships, sa conteoversial ‘examination of why some warship designs fail, MAIN CONTRIBUTORS thas always been the policy of Warship co publish the work of the world finest warship historians. Consequently, the constibutions to this volume are by established and recognised expents Tain McCallum worked forthe British Council in various parts ofthe world, before returning to England to pursue his research in military and naval history. In addition to 2 number of articles, he has published Blood Brothers, a double Biography ofthe inventors Hiram and Hudson Maxie John Jordan has written widely on the development of fast French battleships, the post-Soviet Russian Navy andl the modern navies of Western Europe, His current major interest isin the French Marine Nationale of the inter-var period. Kathrin Milanovich has been researching the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy for many years. This is her fist contribution to Warship. Peter Brook was a retired psychiatrist who began writing on warships thirty years ago itn Werships Intemational This is his sixth contribution to Warship; he also recently published Warships for Export: Anmstongs Warships 1867-1927 for the World Ship Society, Enrico Cernuschi and Vincent O'Hara are first time contributors to Warship. Cernuschi has published more than 150 articles on maritime subjects, and is the co-author of the Aefincive Le Navi da Guerm ltaiane 1940-1945. O'F researched naval history for 25 years, and his book battles of the German navy is forthcoming from the Naval Institute Press. Daniel G. Harris turned his hand to maritime history in 1985, specialising in Swedish naval procurement. In 1991 he was awarded the Silver Medal of Merit by the Swedish Royal Society of Naval Sciences. He now resides in Canada Stephen McLaughlin is a librarian with the San ranciseo public library. He specialises in the construction programmes of| Russia and the former Soviet Union and is the author of Russian ae Soviet Baleshps (Naval Institute Press, 2003). George Moore is researching the warship building ro: grammes ofthe Royal Navy which evolved in the Second ‘World War, He has contributed numerous articles to Warship fon wartime cruiser projects and steam gunboats. Colin Jones isa rela Warship author and as also contributed to The Age of Sai. He isthe author of several books on a number of subjects apart from the navy, including radio, trams and fery boats. WARSHIP 2004 ‘WARSHIP 2004 Warship Editor: Antony Preston Warship 2004 compiled by: Martin Robson & Stephen Dent CONWAY MARITIME PRESS Frontispiece ‘The cruiser USS Charleston. Stern view showing her temporary al 6in armament. The ship is fea tured in Peter Brook's antile ‘Armstrongs’ Conaribution to the New United States Navy’ inthis ed- tion, (Library of Congress Print & Photographic Department, Detroit Publishing Co.) © Conway Maritime Press 2004 Fi published in Great Britain in 2004 by ‘Consvay Maritime Press ‘An imprint of Chrysais Books Group pl ‘The Chrysalis Building, Bramley Road, London W10 68P “wev:conwaymaritime.com AllLrights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced, stored in 2 retieval system, of rransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or ‘otherwise, without the prior written permission of che publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data ‘Acrecord ofthis til is available on request fom the British Library. ISBN 085177 9484 ‘Warship editor: Antony Preston. Warship 2004 compiled by Marin Robson and Stephen Dent Frined in Spain| CONTENTS Editorial FEATURE ARTICLES The Riddle of the Shells, 1914-18: The Test of Battle, Heligoland to the Dardanelles by Tain McCallum The Minelaying Cruiser Pluton by John Jordan Naniwa and Takachiho: Elswick-buile Protected Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy by Kathrin Milanovich Armstrongs’ Contribution to the New United States Navy by Peter Brook ‘A Century-Long Dream: Single Purpose Engine Submarines of the Italian Navy by Enrico Cemuschi and Vincent O’ Hara Minelayer Clas Fleming: an early Gas Turbine Ship by Daniel G Harris Project 69: The Kronshtadt Class Battlecruisers by Stephen McLaughlin The Dawn of the Salisbury, Leopard and Whitby Class Frigates by George Moore The Ships Named Anzac by Colin Jones REVIEW SECTION Navies In Review 2003-2004 Warship Notes The World's Worst Warships Reviews Warship Gallery Index 21 29 57 76 92 99 118 138 149 163 175 187 200 206 EDITORIAL VX J ctcome to Warship 2004, the 26th issue of the prestigious annual. It has undoubtedly been noticed that the previous issue, Warship 2002-2008, was late. This has resulted in a decision to permanently move the publication of the annual from autumn/winter to the spring, Regular readers will already have noticed the slight change in title of the annual, removing the two-year spread from its name. This was causing some confusion, among readers. We feel that renaming the title to contain, just one year (thus this years annual is Warship 2004) will Femove any grounds for confusion as to when the annual is wo be published. Regular contributors and readers may already know that Antony Preston, the regular and esteemed Editor of Warship, has recently been unwell, All at Conway Maritime Press send Antony our very best wishes, and we hope to have him back at the helm next year for what will be an important issue, coming as it does in the Trafalgar bi-centennial year. In the meantime the Conway team have stepped up into the breach to do our best to try to fill Antony’ admittedly considerable Editorial shoes for this issue of Warship. Many individuals have also rallied to the cause providing assistance and hrlp. It is evidence indeed of the high standing in which Warship is held that all calls for assistance have been answered in the affirmative. Firstly, special mention must be made of Conrad Waters, who kindly submitted this year's ‘Navies in Review’ section in a style and with the comprehensive coverage Warship readers expect and demand. Help also came from DK Brown, Lawrie Phillips, Ralph Dunn of the DPA Press Office, Mike Dent, Andy Field, Wyn Davies, Monika Majlinder, John Bowen, Ian Sturton, David Evans and of course Stuart Robertson in the Conway office Although we were delighted at the helpful response from all areas, this was tempered a great deal by the sad news of the passing of Peter Brook. As many of you know, Peter was a regular and valued contributor not only to Warship but also other journals including the Mariner's Mirror. He was the author of Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships, 1867-1927 (World Ship Society, Gravesend, 1999). Peter's contributions to the annual were always lucid, informative and a joy to read. He will be sadly missed. Peters article for this year, “Armstrongs’ Contribution to the New United States Navy’, can be found on p.57 with an obituary from lan Sturton on p.75. In this article he demonstrates his unrivalled knowledge of the ships designed and” buile by Armstrongs. Interestingly, the company did not build any vessels directly for the USN. OF the seven Armstrong:designed ships that found their way into USN service, three were builtin the US, while four were actually built by the firm but for other navies, two for Brazil and two for Spain. The design, construction and service careers of each of the seven vessels remind us that while many countries aspire to a clear programme of warship constriction, in reality ‘opportunistic procurement can be a more attractive alter- This year the running onder commences with the sec- cond part of lain McCallum’ trilogy examining the shell problems of the Royal Navy during the First World War. Ships are designed to fight, but to do so they require suit able ammunition, and even the heaviest-armed vessels can be rendered impotent by faulty firepower. Here the ‘emphasis is on the test of action, in particular the action, off Heligoland and the controversial naval bombardment of the Dardanelles. Concems about the effectiveness of British projectiles were raised after Heligoland and at the Falkland Islands, where shells had failed to burst suffi ciently to cause maximum damage. Churchill, worried that such revelations might impact on naval morale, shouted down these concerns, The disect result (in strik- ing similarity to Admiral Duckworth’s expedition of 1807) was the navy’ failure to mount an effective purely naval bombardment at the Dardanelles, due to shell short- ages and design problems. This led to the controversial, costly and ultimately unsuccessful deployment of land forces, proving Corbett’s dictum that naval forces are not 1 panacea for all ills in order to be effective, naval force rust be able to project power ashore by working closely with land forces in order to have a decisive influence, Steve McLaughlin has continued to amaze Warship readers with his breadth of knowledge and his ability t0 pick out fascinating episodes in Russian and Soviet war- ship development that serve to broaden our understand ing of history. This year he tackles one of the hardest of subjects: ships that were never actually completed. In ‘Project 69: The Kronshtadt Class Battlecruisers’ he exam- ines the Soviets’ ambitious plans for capital ship design luring the 1930s, His understanding of the political fac- tors influencing ship design and the bureaucracy that goes with it should be recommended reading forall those with a vested interest in warship history. Readers who feel suit- ably inspired to tackle che intricacies of research in mod- crn day Russia might also like to consult his Warship Note on p.171, which provides invaluable advice. ‘After the big gun ships, ewo contributions ftom Warship regulars provide readers with an examination of two solu- tions to littoral minelaying in different decades. In chronological order, Dan Harris examines the Swedish, Clas Fleming minelayer, built specifically for offensive rminelaying in the Baltic. Meanwhile, John Jordan looks at the Marine National's inter-war efforts to restrict future German naval movements by extensive minelaying, The WARSHIP 2004 result was Platon, a cruiser design which was (apart from HMS Adventioe) quite unique. It is interesting that both ‘of these ships had chequered histories. The pre-First ‘World War Clas Fleming saw some aetion in both World ‘Wars and underwent several reconstructions before being scrapped in 1960. Despite this she spent the majority of her time under dockyard control. The ill-fated Pluon last- ced only a few days into the Second World War when on. 15 September 1939 she was blown to bits by an explosion, while unloading mines in Casablanca, Another regular contributor to Warship is George Moore, whose work on the post-1945 Royal Navy has enlightened many readers. This year his subject is the first-class Salisbury, Leopard and Whitby frigates construct ced against the backdrop of the hard won experience gained during the Second World War. The desigas also encompassed the important technical developments that evolved in the immediate post war era when the future international situation was uncleat. The Salisburys and Lepoards were complex classes of ships, dogged by engine problems. But the later Whitbys benefited from the expe- rience of building the earlier ships, and provided the basic hull design forthe famous Leander class - a clear example of lessons being leamed and then implemented by naval ‘Afier encompassing the Baltic, Mediterranean and Atlantic, Colin Jones takes us to warmer climes in his article examining the histories of the four warships that have been named Anzac. The name is one of the most revered in che Royal Australian Navy, stemming as it does from the Gallipoli landings of 1915. The RN first used the iname in 1916 fora hired ex-trawler. A subsequent Anzac was built as a destroyer leader. The RAN’s first Anzac was a destroyer launched in 1948, and the current Anzac, a frigate, was commissioned in 1998, All of these vessels hhave had interesting careers, which Colin details in an engaging styl. One important factor in the continued success of ‘Warship over the past 26 years has been the influx of new contributors. This issue is no different with two contribu tions from authors new to the annual, Kathrin Milanovich has been researching the warship construc- tion history of the Japanese Navy for several years, and it is hoped that her article ‘Naniua and Takachiko: Elswick: Built Protected Cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy’ will be the first of many. The ships were purchased from, ‘Acmstrongs in response to Chinese naval aggrandizement at the turn of the century and fitted into a wider Japanese plan to build up naval forces, Both saw action at Tsushima in 1905, but this was the highlight of their careers, Naniwa running aground and sinking in 1912 and Takachiho sunk by the German torpedo boat 5-90 off ‘Tsingtao in late 1914. Las, but certainly not least, Enrico CCernuschi and Vincent O'Hara have managed to com- press a century’ worth of history into a lucid and inform- tive examination of the Italian Navy's lengehy attempts to build a true single-engine purpose-built submarine, a dream eventually achieved in 2003 with the launch of the new U2I2A.type submarine, Salatore Toro. Finally, special mention must be made of D K Brown's ‘Slippery Ships’, which, although a little too short to be run as a main article, has been included in the Warship Notes section. This contribution has kept up bis amazing record of contributing to every single year of Warship, and wll continue next year when he will be looking at Steam, ‘Torpedo boats of the Royal Navy. In a break from tradi- tion this year Warship Notes is followed by a number of contributions in response to Antony Preston's recent ‘book, World's Worst Warships. Readers will be delighted (and possibly enraged at the same time) a the stimulating debate Antony's controversial book has provoked. Readers who wish to follow Rowland Wylde, Andreas Liidke, Philip Sims, Stephen Dent and D K Brown and contribute to the debate, in response to the book or the correspondence in this issue of Warship, can write to the Managing Editor at the Conway office. The continued success of Warship is driven by the qual- ity of the contributions, and we always welcome submis- sions of full length articles, shorter pieces to be included in Warship Notes, reviews and images for the Gallery ‘Submissions can be on any subject to do with naval his- tory from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, and should preferably be supplied as double spaced typescript on single sides of paper, accompanied by an electronic version on disk, in text only format. Ideally submissions should be accompanied by illustrations, either hard copy - photographs, print outs ete. - or digital images on disk. To, assist those readers who wish co supply images in this lat- ter form, either scans or from a digital eamera, then what is required is as follows: 1. Pictures should be either at 300 dpi resolution, to sive a width of approximately 16cm, or if at T2dpi resolu tion, then the width will have to be approximately 60cm in order to allow for a four times reduction to obtain an acceptable image for reproduction. Smaller sizes will result in images that can only be used across one column, as opposed to full page with, 2. Images should be saved either as EPS, TIFE, or JPEG format. 3. In addition, we would prefer hard copies of the images to be included, to give a fallback should the digi- tal images nor prove adequate. Questions on this matter, and with submissions gener- ally, should be addressed to the Managing Editor at the Conway office. THE RIDDLE OF THE SHELLS, 1914-18 Part Two: The Test of Battle, Heligoland to the Dardanelles In the second part of his trilogy, Iain McCallum reviews the nature of the heavy shell supplied to the Royal Navy's capital ships during the early phases of the First World War. With the notable exception of the attack at the Dardanelles, actions at sea were generally successful. Nevertheless in the light of experience the Fleet’s gunnery officers were increasingly inclined to question the effectiveness of their projectiles. 1 the years before 1914 relations between the British naval officer and his counterpart in the German High, Seas fleet were cordial enough on the personal and pro- fessional level, each eyeing the other with wary respect. ‘When in 1908 Margot Asquith travelled to Devonport «0 launch the dreadnought HMS Collingwood, she asked ‘Admiral Fawkes in her blunt way if he or any of his sea friends were afraid of the German fleet. He said he thought the navy that was copied and did not copy was likely to remain the most powerful, and he added that they knew all about the German fleet except its record of target practice at sea. It was a significant proviso. The Germans were careful to withhold details of firing exer-

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