Questions tagged [naval]
Of or pertaining to ships and or the sea, especially military vessels.
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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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When was the first intentional ricochet fired from a naval artillery?
Wikipedia states that the first ricochet firing was performed in 1688. This other website says it may have existed in 1587. All those historical events are for cannonballs fired from the ground ...
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Which Soviet submarine was HMS Splendid tracking on 30th March 1982?
In 'Vulcan 607', R. White describes the background of the submarines that headed to the Falkland Islands. For the HMS Splendid, he notes that the submarine, under CO Lane-Nott was engaged in a mission ...
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How were ship kills accounted in WWII?
In the movie Greyhound, at the end, the fleet requests an oral report of the incidents in which the captain says "My escort group sank three others...".
But in the movie it is seen that ...
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How much protection did Fort Warren afford Boston?
Fort Warren (constructed 1833–1861) was built on Georges Island in Boston Harbor, by my understanding to guard what was then the main channel into Boston, marked "Main Shipping Channel" on ...
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Where from, and in what way, did the first detailed account of the use of self-propelled torpedoes reach the RN and USN?
Three possible candidates seem to exist for the first verified (non-participant) observation of a torpedo boat assault. The options are the Russo-Turkish War, at Caldera Bay, or at Weihaiwei, all of ...
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Are there other examples of naval bases being deliberately situated in shallow-water harbours post-1801?
The generic tendency in naval history has been that deeper ports are better as they allow larger ships to dock at the port. The importance of deeper water ports increased rapidly in the 19th century ...
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Is there any evidence of naval ramming in the 9th and 10th century North Sea?
In Bernard Cornwell's 'Sword of the Kings', his main character uses the tactic of ramming to sink an enemy ship before engaging in hand-to-hand combat with surviving ships which get leashed together. ...
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Did Spain have a strategic plan for its navy in the Spanish–American War?
Admiral Cervera y Topete is cited in many places as having thought that the Spanish couldn't defeat the Americans in war due to the dilapidated state of the Spanish Navy. The position of the Spanish ...
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What did the Baltic Fleet do in Reval in 1904 and when was it there?
I noticed, in @Schwern's answer that the 1904-1905 journey of the Baltic Fleet is cited as having started in (modern Tallinn). This doesn't make much sense as to the best of my knowledge Reval/Tallinn ...
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In the Battle of the Coral Sea, how could two Japanese scouts grossly mis-identify two American ships?
I've been reading the Wikipedia pages about the Pacific theatre in WW2; in the page describing the battle of the Coral Sea there is the following passage:
[...] the scout [from Shōkaku] confirmed ...
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What were Helfrich's orders for Doorman in 1942 prior to the Battle of the Java Sea, and did he comment on these in later life?
I've been trying to understand what went in prior to the Japanese invasion of Java. From my understanding thus far, Vice-Admiraal (Vice Admiral) Conrad Helfrich took command of the ABDA naval forces ...
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Was there a way for ships to disengage from boarding actions?
I was doing some research about Naval tactics in Age of Sail - especially in boarding tactics. I read several personal diaries, letters and accounts of these battles written by combatants. From ...
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What were the typical types of ships used in the Persian Navy in the 1730's and 1740's?
What were the typical types of ships used in the Persian Navy in the 1730's and 1740's? Is the make-up of the fleet known (i.e., how many ships of what class, etc)?
The revival of Persia's power in ...
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The Sumatrans told Marco Polo that there was an island to the Southeast. Were they referring to Australia? [closed]
In 1292, Marco Polo was waiting for the winds to shift so he could leave Sumatra and return to Venice. He spent his time learning about an island called Java, in the southeast. Everyone said that it ...
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Were fighters used as a carrier group defense tactic? [closed]
Okay, i know this is probably a silly question, but were carrier based fighters ever used as a defense during an air attack combined with the use of ship based AA weapons. I mean, i know they probably ...
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How were soldiers positioned on a platoon-sized amphibious landing craft in WWII?
Did the military think through who might need to have the highest survival rate as they offloaded onto a defended beach?
Were the men with different roles (radio, machine gun, medic, platoon leader, ...
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How did the Hansa organize river trade in the 14th and 15th centuries?
How did the Hansa accommodate the transition from sea to river trade along a trade route? Would river travel have been controlled by one group of people, e.g., Guild of the River Oder Merchants? Would ...
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How did (riverine) toll castles operate?
Toll Castle
A toll castle (WP) was a castle built either on a river, lake, or road intended to guard that trade route:
Such castles were usually placed at strategic locations, such as border ...
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What was the typical error with dead reckoning navigation?
Suppose we are trying to navigate with just a compass and lag (dead reckoning, plus some latitude measurements), like people did before they started using chronometers and lunar distances method. What ...
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How were horses disembarked from sail ships?
Back in late 18th century, ship of the line embarked soldiers (e.g. royal marines) that can perform land actions. To disembark, they took place into longboats.
If a specific land action was planned, ...
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Why were Royal Navy ships forbidden to attack the ARA Veinticinco de Mayo in Argentinian waters?
I watched this video on the British hunt for the Argentinian aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, during the Falklands war.
Involved, among other ships, was the Royal Navy nuclear submarine HMS ...
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How long would it take to sail from New Orleans to Belize in late Summer 1867?
I’m writing a story where the characters need to travel by sea from New Orleans to Belize. The event takes place in late Summer 1867. I need to figure out the following:
What route they would take
...
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Was the de Havilland Mosquito ever deployed on an aircraft carrier?
The de Havilland Mosquito was a highly versatile aircraft of World War II, designed as a light bomber, but also used as a fighter, torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft among other things.
The ...
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How did U-boats enter and exit the submarine pens at Brest?
I was reading about the Brest submarine pen/bunker complex and looking at pictures of it. I was even able to locate a set of blueprints of the base here. But because of the poor quality of the image ...
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What can we deduce about the expected career of a US Navy "lifer" in 1972?
In 1972, a member of the U.S. Navy who's already accumulated several years of service mentions that he's expecting to spend his entire working life in the USN. What does that imply about his ...
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Who or what were the Nassadista?
I have encountered several references to Nassadista in a 16th century Latin manuscript. As far as I can tell the noun is masculine, first declension (nominative plural Nassadistæ).
Context implies ...
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How do we know the tonnages U-boats sank?
In the videogame series, Silent Hunter, which simulates being a submarine captain in WW2, after a patrol you are told how much tonnage you sank. I always thought that was just a reward mechanism to ...
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Did the Soviet ever attempt "innocent passage" thru American waters?
In 1986 and 1988, the US Navy sent warships into Soviet Crimean Sea territorial waters as exercises of innocent passage (which essentially means that you can sail through an unfriendly nation's waters ...
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When did humans develop the ability to sail any direction regardless of wind direction?
When did humans develop the sail technology and skills to be able to use the wind to sail in any direction, including using techniques such as beating to effectively sail into the wind?
I checked ...
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Were armed merchantmen effective against submarines?
The armed merchantman Jervis Bay was no match for the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer in a ship to ship duel. Nevertheless, the merchantman put up a brave fight lasting over an hour, allowing ...
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What do we know about the squadron that evacuated Moore's force after Corunna?
Upon being appointed commander of British forces in Iberia, and Napoleon's subsequent invasion with Le Grande Armee, Sir John Moore's retreated to a defensive position near the port of Corunna, in ...
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Where can I find an official record of names and service dates for commanding officers of former US Navy vessels?
I'm particularly interested in records for the Indiana-class pre-dreadnought battleship named USS Massachusetts (BB-2). Can this information be found online?
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Why didn't the British consider the USS President's attempted flight as a fake surrender?
In the War of 1812, the USS President was captured by the Royal Navy.
Wikipedia gives the final actions of the day:
President ceased fire at 7:58 pm and hoisted a light in her rigging, indicating ...
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Did Empress Cixi divert funds for the Beiyang Fleet to build the Summer Palace?
There is a popular story that Empress Dowager Cixi diverted funds originally intended for the Beiyang Fleet in order to upgrade the Summer Palace. This is significant because the amount - approx. 22 ...
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Which juridical reasons led the Netherlands to lose control of the seas?
It has always been my understanding that the Netherlands lost control of the seas because of land wars against France, especially Louis XIV, and because of the difficulties involved in holding ...
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How many ships did the fleet of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) possess at its peak (around 1670)?
The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (1602–1800) was a huge Dutch company primarily earning lots of revenue in the spice trade among other activities.
For this work they needed a lot of ships from ...
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Did the Americans trade destroyers in the "destroyer deal" that they would later need themselves?
In the fall of 1940, the U.S. and Great Britain made the so-called "destroyer deal," of 50 old American destroyers in exchange for the use of British bases ranging from Newfoundland to the Caribbean. ...
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Is there a historical example or a manuscript about troop formation or fighting stance on a boat?
Is there a historical example or a manuscript about troop formation or fighting stance on any sort of boat or ship?
Especially during colonialism or the golden age of piracy, no specific location so ...
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Communication lag during the Age of Sail: what if enemy claimed that peace agreement was signed?
In the past due to the communication lag the hostilities could proceed long after peace agreements were signed. This was especially severe for the overseas territories and ships. I'm somewhat more ...
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What was the name of the torpedo boat with mechanical problems accompanying the Wilhelm Gustloff?
The Wilhelm Gustloff was a German cruise ship that was used as part as a means of evacuating refugees from Gotenhafen (today Gdynia) in January 1945.
The Wikipedia article reads:
The ship left ...
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Where can I find data on the amount of fuel carried by WWII Warships and what their operational ranges were?
I am looking for a fairly comprehensive source where can I find data on the amount of fuel carried by WWII Warships and what their operational ranges were? I mean, I want to look up this information ...
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How did passengers keep warm on sail ships?
Trans-Atlantic passenger travel was not very popular until the advent of the steamer, and yet men and women crossed the ocean periodically, including the affluent.
From what I've been able to gather,...
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Why were some Napoleonic battles fought at sea?
'The Royal Navy 1793-1815' is all about the different battles that took place in the water'...my main concern is why the navy was involved at all? why couldn't they just fight in the land ?
Is it ...
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