Questions tagged [naval]
Of or pertaining to ships and or the sea, especially military vessels.
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How much more damage can a big cannon do to a ship than a small one?
I don't think anyone will argue with the fact that the mass of projectiles a Napoleonic era warship could fire at its opponent mattered - a 36 pound ball will naturally tend to cause more damage and ...
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What happened to the rowers during boarding actions in ancient Greece?
My research thus far has led me to the following conclusions: The main methods of dispatching enemy ships during naval combat in ancient Greece was by ramming and by boarding, with ramming being the ...
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When were terms for points of sail first used?
Modern sailing uses terms for points of sail such as "broad reach", "beam reach", "close-hauled", etc., to indicate a vessel's travel in relation to the wind direction. ...
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Is this a Russian naval uniform?
This is a family photo of a relative who might have been in the Imperial Russian Navy in 1915.
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How well were early WW2 naval tactics and strategy accounting for the importance of aircraft carriers? [closed]
I'm not an expert in WW2, but I've heard some conflicting claims about aircraft carriers and how they changed the nature of naval warfare. I know carriers entered wide use in WW2, but not how their ...
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When was Red Sea rig introduced into British Royal Navy?
Red Sea rig is a mess dress uniform variant. It is used by some naval officers in the (UK) Royal Navy and other navies, that inherited its traditions (Canadian, Indian, ...). In general, it is similar ...
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Where did France build up its fleet in 1805-1814?
I was reading about The Battle of Trafalgar and found this interesting section about the consequences:
Napoleon instituted a large-scale shipbuilding programme that had produced a fleet of 80 ships ...
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Why didn't Royal Navy (columns of) ships turn outwards, rather than inwards?
Wikipedia has a colorful GIF on Victoria – Camperdown disaster.
Then I read about Admiral Sir Percy Scott.
In July 1908 came what is referred to as the second signalling incident. Beresford ...
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How did ships in Britain's Grand Fleet avoid each other during maneuvers?
I'm asking about specific procedures in place on a specific ship, and fleet-wide as well if they exist. If the captain of a ship in the Grand Fleet ordered his ship to move in a particular direction ...
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Did the Chinese aim guns above ships in 19th century?
I have read some things that don't seem true about the Chinese opposing English and other western forces during the 19th century and early 20th. What seems to be true is that China was very aware of ...
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Why did water stored on premodern ships "go brackish" or "go bad" while at sea?
I have read in several Napoleonic historical fiction novels that water stored on ships would somehow spoil over time. The water is described as completely unpalatable if not undrinkable, and alcohol (...
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Can anyone help identify the name of the white vessel in this photo w/the masts and funnel?
Unidentified White hulled vessel, possibly in the Boston area in the 1940s. The harbor tug is named IWANA and it was in service in Boston up until 1942. What is the name of the mystery white vessel? I’...
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What other ships were with USS Saratoga when it was hit by a torpedo on 1942 Jan 11?
USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class Carrier of the USN. On 1942 Jan 11 it was hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-6, and then went in for repairs.
However, I would like to know what ...
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Which specific equipment did Italian submarines lack for Atlantic?
I read the book Kretschmer, in which the author Lawrence Patterson quoted one of Dönitz's report concerning the collaboration with the Italian submarine service. One element given for the bad ...
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What German torpedo problem was discovered in 1942?
I am reading a book about Otto Kretschmer, and the author speaks about a problem of German torpedoes.
The only thing said in the book is:
Torpedoes needed to be ventilated during some time because ...
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When did the Royal Navy start to fill a given rank of admiral with more than one officer?
Admirals in the Royal Navy used to follow the coloured-squadron system. If I have understood correctly, when this practice first arose in the seventeenth century, there really were precisely nine ...
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What were the capabilities of U-boats during the battle of the Atlantic?
I'm learning about the capabilities of German u-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic and their improvements during the war, in the most general sense.
I researched three types of U-boat, the VIIA, ...
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Why was the Vichy French Navy in Toulon scuttled in 1942?
In the November 27 episode of the video series WW2 week-by-week I learned (around minute 18) that Admiral Jean de Laborde, Commander of the Vichy French fleet in Toulon, ordered it scuttled when he ...
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Why did ships like the HMS Victory have cannon wells? [closed]
Is there a reason for ships of the line having a well deck/cannon well? (The part of the last closed line of cannons that is exposed just like the weather deck but is therefore lower than the weather ...
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Why didn't the Allies use a naval invasion to retake Norway?
Norway was captured by Germany during WWII, and been liberated from Germany after Karl Dönitz signed the surrender treaty with the Allies. But there were some chances for Allies to create an assistant ...
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In WW2 USN ships, what was the weight of a typical boiler?
I've been searching for this for days, but cannot find it. What is the weight of a typical boiler on a WW2 US Navy ship?
Example: Fletcher Class DD had a total weight (displacement) 2100 to 2500 tons ...
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Why did the Ballahoo and Cuckoo-class schooners earn a bad reputation?
The Ballahoo and Cuckoo-class schooners were small (50-60 foot length) warships built for the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballahoo-class_schooner
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Can anyone identify this European ?naval uniform from photograph and likely date (belle époque)?)
Possibly late 1800s, early 1900s. Almost certainly from the UK. Epaulettes may indicate Naval?
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Did a submarine ever torpedo and sink a destroyer? [closed]
The naval battle of U-405 versus USS Borie sank the Borie, but that was due to its own action of ramming U-405, which had a stronger hull to withstand depth pressures.
Did a submarine ever sink a ...
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What ship is this in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era?
Identification of Ship in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era from my Flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian/51241341355/in/dateposted-public/
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Would the gun crews have different responsibilities aboard a 17th century ship than on the USS Constitution?
This video shows a simulated gun drill (the process of loading and firing the gun) performed by the crew of the USS Constitution. I believe the video depicts loading of black powder and the use of a ...
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Was a bomb or shell ever dropped directly down the funnel of a warship?
I was surprised to learn in this awesome video about the USS New Jersey that the funnel on an Iowa-class battleship is not a straight line, there's a bit of a zig-zag in it. The idea was that, unlike ...
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What was the "Favorable result" that the German admiralty was expecting from the naval attack on the Royal Navy in 1918?
The infamous order from 24th October 1918 was planning to slam the German High Seas Fleet against the British Royal Navy. If I recall correctly, this was the second time Germany tried to even the odds ...
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Would a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy during the mid-late 18th century ever sail on a vessel other than a man-o-war, ship of the line, etc?
As someone who does not exactly understand how naval commissions worked in the 18th century, I am curious to know if there might have ever been an occasion where a commissioned officer (such as a ...
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How did changes in the balance of land versus naval balance of power prevent England from being successfully invaded by foreign powers after 1066?
The last successful invasion of England was that by the Normans in 1066. Prior to that, England had been successfully invaded by waves of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from the Continent, and before that, ...
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Where was the Turkish Navy based in July 1914?
I'm trying to figure out whether, if not for the July crisis, Russia could have tried an amphibious invasion of Turkey in 1914, and what the outcome would have been if so.
It seems to me the answer ...
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Was there an official order on ships' cats per vessel?
In the funny, but still (I assume) historically accurate material about "The history of Ships Cats", the author states that "many navies had standing order for minimum acceptable number ...
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What was the fastest coal-powered ship in a country's navy?
The transition from coal to oil fuel as the primary energy source for navy ships took place leading up to and during WWI. The last British battleship to primarily use coal power was the Iron Duke ...
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Why was the ship "Palmyra" so named?
On November 7, 1802, the American trading ship Palmyra, under Captain Cornelius Sawle, was shipwrecked on the reef, which took the vessel's name and now is known as Palmyra Atoll.
Does anybody know ...
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Is the use of flamethrower style naval weapons depicted in this game accurate?
In the popular strategy game Age of Empires 2, one key naval unit is the so-called Fire Ship. Fire ships in the game use a siphon to launch a continuous stream of fire projectiles on the enemy.
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What type of warship is this (likely WW2)?
I know it's not much to go on, but can anyone identify the type of vessel in the photo?
Being officers, there is no cap tally for me to try and zoom in on.
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How common was capturing a post-sail warship?
From this answer it appears that capturing an enemy warship in battle, either by boarding, or by shooting at them from bow or stern until they surrender, was relatively common in the age of sail. ...
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How difficult was to escape from a naval battle after engaging into one during the Age of Sail?
So, I am designing a board game which includes pirates/imperial battles during the age of sail. While I have found a lot of information on the internet as well as books, papers and of course other ...
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Has a prize ship ever been surrendered to a neutral country?
According to the Hague Peace Convention of 1907, §13 Art. 3, whenever a belligerent power captures a prize ship in the territorial waters of a neutral power, the belligerent power must surrender the ...
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Has there been a naval battle where a boarding attempt backfired?
In the War of 1812 battle between the USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon, the Shannon outgunned the Chesapeake decisively, then closed to board the enemy ship. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued before the USS ...
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Were the Japanese "Kongo" class battlewagons advanced for their time?
Built in the early 1910s, Japan's Kongo class battlecruisers had eight 14-inch guns, a speed of about 30 knots, and a displacement of about 26,000 tons. This gave them advantages over British ...
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Did the French violate the Washington Naval ConferenceTreaty limitations?
I was surprised to read in connection with Mers el Kebir that in 1940, France had the second largest navy in Europe, with seven battleships. The reason was France's participation in the 1922 ...
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Why were Japanese escort ships not numerous at the battle of Bismarck Sea?
During the battle of Bismarck sea, Allied units performed air attacks that resulted in the nearly destruction of Japanese fleet.
I understand the reasons why the Allies obtain such a success, namely:
...
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Has it ever been practice to clip to ratlines?
I am reading a story (alt history) where it describes climbing on a ship with the sailors:
pausing to clip their safety harnesses to the ratlines every few feet.
Now, I used to work on a tallship, ...
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Can you identify this Empire flagged c1913 single stack ocean liner?
I believe my great-grandparents arrived on this ship in 1913. I cannot find the name of the ship.
The family immigrated to Canada in 1913 from Belgium. They may have arrived in Quebec, or Saint John, ...
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If a merchant ship captain joined the Royal Navy during the age of sail, would they be put in command?
If the captain/former captain of a merchant ship joined the navy or was press ganged into the the navy would they be put in command of a ship or would they have to work they way up through the ranks? ...
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Did any of the Flying Tigers lead a US Navy squadron?
I came across a couple of passages on the Flying Tigers, mercenary armies and famous volunteers
I saw how one pilot became an ace in Europe and another became a General in the 10th Air Force after ...
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What were common crew ranks on US Navy flying boats and bombers?
historians! I asked this question over on the Aviation SE, but was also suggested to ask here. Below is a copy of my question from over there.
I have been trying to figure this out for some time, but ...
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Why did the US Navy and Marine Corps use satanic symbolism in WW2?
When you look at certain names and symbols used by the U.S. Navy (USN) and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) during WW2, you could see they are heavily loaded with satanic symbols. You have the F6F Hellcat ...
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How many times has inclement weather foiled attempts to navally invade the UK? [closed]
Inclusive of situations where inclement or unseasonable weather delayed the ability to set sail long enough that British ships/fleets were able to foil the plan by direct actions, how many times has ...
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