I just finished a book called "To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World", it details the Royal Navy (in relation to how they laid the foundations for the modern world) from the start till the Falklands and after. It obvious focuses heavily on Trafalgar, it's a fantastic read.Originally Posted by delra
"The best thing about the British is our ability to laugh at ourselves. By ourselves, I mean other people and by laugh, I mean invade."
HMS Victory a 104-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. Nelsons flagship at Trafalgar in 1805... still in service (preserved as a museum ship but still in commission). A glorious ship that lead British forces to victory in one of the most important battles in British history!
"The best thing about the British is our ability to laugh at ourselves. By ourselves, I mean other people and by laugh, I mean invade."
The end of an era and the biggest misktake made by the MOD.
The Last Harrier.
I still think the best naval photos are always the BBs. USS Pennsylvania, making a move on the Japanese-held Philippines:
"Our officers of cavalry have acquired a trick of galloping at everything. They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy, and never keep back or provide a reserve."
As much as I would prefer we kept Ark Royal, the realities of the situation we're in means we don't need it. It wouldn't even have been used or be of much use in Libya. The Harrier was a fine aircraft but it wasn't long range and it couldn't deliver stand off missiles. It must be faced that the Ark was a relatively small strike carrier with a very soft punch. We're getting two new supercarriers in part due to the money saved by cutting the fleet. The ship was a nice capability but one we can live without until 2019.
"The best thing about the British is our ability to laugh at ourselves. By ourselves, I mean other people and by laugh, I mean invade."
Absalon RASing
Visby corvettes (Swedish)
A picture i shot in Severomorsk last year.
C2X 2010
I had always imagined the Nansens were much bigger, I'm quite disappointed now.C2X 2010
"The best thing about the British is our ability to laugh at ourselves. By ourselves, I mean other people and by laugh, I mean invade."
We had garden navy, bathtub navy and here's Photoshop navy. Here's what Americans will be packing in 2015 - if Chinese lend them money to build it:
It's huge, it's modern, it's loaded with computers, it's scary, it's kinda cute and it has quite a few new cool toys - like electro-magnetic catapults to launch aircraft. CVN-78 USS Gerald R. Ford. This one is going to replace Enterprise.
"Our officers of cavalry have acquired a trick of galloping at everything. They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy, and never keep back or provide a reserve."
It gets me all worked up just looking at it!
Having browsed through cool naval stuff under construction, I found out India is going to have quite some navy in a few years. They are prepping two Carriers, among 3 dozens other vessels. This is Vikrant class, being designed and built entirely in India in Cochin shipyards. It's going to carry 40x Mig-29k multi-roles around and in general will be quite badass. I don't expect them fighting for the Arctic Circle - but maybe in the Somali expansion? ;-)
As a sidenote, Indians together with MIGs and tech also bought this Soviet old junk and have it refitted now in Russia to be operational around the same time their local carrier gets builts - so two CBGs total by 2015. $2.5 bil a piece, but no girl could resist. Baku aka Admiral Gorshkov aka INS Vikramaditya.
"Our officers of cavalry have acquired a trick of galloping at everything. They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy, and never keep back or provide a reserve."
Is it a battleship or is it a carrier?
The Soviets called it an "Aviation Cruiser."
Walrus class submarines
4 submarines
Hr. Ms. Walrus
Hr. Ms. Zeeleeuw (Sealion)
Hr. Ms. Dolfijn (Dolphin)
Hr. Ms. Bruinvis (Harbour Porpoise)
Hr. Ms. Walrus
23 Feb - 2 Mar 1999: Walrus participates, among other NATO navies and the Brazilian navy, in the exercise JTFEX / TMDI99.
JTFEX / TMDI99 stands for Joint Task Force Exercise / Theatre Missile Defence Initiative 1999. The exercise is held in the Caribbean and on the US main land and has 27000 participants, of which 15000 naval participants. This exercise is the biggest gathering of forces since the Gulf-war, is held from 1 Feb to 4 Mar 1999.
During this exercise the Walrus penetrates the US screen and 'sinks' many ships, including the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71. The submarine launches two attacks and manages to sneak away. To celebrate the sinking the crew designed a special T-shirt. Other ships that are sunk by the Walrus (2) during this exercise are: USS Boise SSN-764, Ro?m DDG-70, R? DDG-61, Ville De Quebec FFH/FFG-332, Stephen W. Grooves FFG-29, Holstein F-216, Vella Gulf CG-55, Mount Whitney LCC-20.
Alkmaar class Minehunters
10 Minehunters (4 are being sold)
Hr. Ms. Haarlem
Hr. Ms. Maassluis
Hr. Ms. Makkum
Hr. Ms. Middelburg
Hr. Ms. Hellevoetsluis
Hr. Ms. Schiedam
Hr. Ms. Urk
Hr. Ms. Zierikzee
Hr. Ms. Vlaardingen
Hr. Ms. Willemstad
Zeven Provinciën class frigates
4 air defense and command frigates
Hr. Ms. De Zeven Proviciën
Hr. Ms. Tromp
Hr. Ms. De Ruyter
Hr. Ms. Evertsen
Karel Doorman class frigates
2 multipurpose frigates
Hr. Ms. van Speijk
Hr. Ms. van Amstel
Rotterdam class Amfibious Transport Dock
2 Amfibious Transport Docks
Hr. Ms. Rotterdam
Hr. Ms. Johan de Witt
Others
Beside these ships there are several support vessels for the navy and the marine corps.
FUTURE
4 Holland Class korvets
Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs)
Hr. Ms. Groningen
Hr. Ms. Zeeland
Hr. Ms. Holland
Hr. Ms. Friesland
Last edited by Rguz; 22-04-2011 at 14:25.
-Een plan dat niet aangepast kan worden is per definitie een slecht plan-
While India overpaid Russians for their old not-battleship, Brazil bought an old CV from France for bare $12 mil, added modernized A4 Skyhawks from Kuwait (remember Falkland War? those got owned by Harriers there - but they also bravely defended Kuwait in the Desert Storm so maybe it evens out) and will have their replacement for Minas Gerais (good old Colossus class btw) fully operational later this year after they finish installing cable tv (not a joke) and all other crucial systems on it. Rumour says it runs on vegetable oil now (now I am kidding). :-)
NAe Sao Paulo:
Last edited by delra; 22-04-2011 at 14:14.
"Our officers of cavalry have acquired a trick of galloping at everything. They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy, and never keep back or provide a reserve."
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