Table Of ContentTHE HISTORY AND SPECIFICATIONS
OF 300 WORLD-FAMOUS SHIPS
CHRIS BISHOP
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Contents
Introduction 6
Cheops Ship (3000BC) to Bounty (1784) 12
Vanguard (1787) toAdelaide (1872) 44
Canada (1876) to Dreadnought (1906) 70
Scharnhorst (1907) to Indianapolis (1931) 102
Achilles (1932) toYamato (1941) 142
Onslaught (1942) to Forrestal (1955) 190
Endurance (1956) to U-12 (1966) 222
Yankee class (1967) to Nacken (1976) 252
Sovremennyy (1980) toVoyager ofthe Seas (1999) 280
Index 312
6 SHIPS
Introduction
Fromthedawnofcivilization,theseahasheldafascination Peloponnesian War (431-404BC). Manned by large crews,
for humankind. Over the centuries, men have sought to oarsmenwereable topropeltheseagilevesselsathighspeed
navigatetheseaswithamyriadofshipsandsailingcraftfor under favourable conditions. It would be centuries before
an equally diverse range ofpurposes. Ships,even in the sailing ships could reach such speeds over short distances.
earliestdays,couldcarrycargosfartherandfasterthanany Navalbattletacticsweredevelopedinthisperiod,notablyby
typeofoverlandtransport. theGreekadmiralPhormioin400BC,whoseskillenabledhim
todefeatsuperiorforces.
Long before the Iron Age, when Northern Europeans were Though Roman merchant ships had sailed the
buildingsimpleplankboatsthatweresuitableforuseonrivers MediterraneansincethebeginningofthethirdcenturyBC,the
andlakes,thepharaohsofEgyptwerebuildingsophisticated Romans were traders bysea, not fighters. While the Roman
shipsabletooperateintheopenwatersoftheMediterranean. LegionsdemonstratedtheRomanmasteryofwarfareonland,
From this period two distinct types ofships evolved, with thedevelopmentofafightingnavyhadbeenneglected.
cargo vessels possessing hull forms designed for carrying Carthage,originallyacolonyofthePhoenicians,possesseda
capacity while warships developed as fast, manoeuvrable strong navy because of the necessity to seek its livelihood
fightingplatformsabletomountandusearangeofweapons. around the Mediterranean. When commercial rivalry finally
ThevesselsoftheBronzeAgewerelimitedintheirabilities, caused a war between Rome and Carthage in 264BC, the
butbyabout700BCtheGreeks,copyingandimprovingupon Romanssoonsawtheneedtodeveloptheirnavyandmodelled
Phoeniciandesigns,haddevelopedfast,rowedfightingships theirwarshipsupon thosecapturedfrom Carthage.Although
with several banks ofoars. This was typical ofthe type of theRomanswereoriginallydefeatedtheysoonperfectedtheir
fighting ship that fought at Salamis (480BC) and remained tactics,developing the boarding bridge, which enabled their
the standard type for a long time after the end of the soldierstostormontothedecksoftheCarthaginianvessels.
INTRODUCTION 7
Forthebestpartofamillenium,therewasljttledevelopment centuries,tileexploitsofVik.ingraidersbegantohaveaneffect
inshipbuildingintheMediterranean,wherethelateenrigheld upon surrounding countries who had no navies of any
sway.TillshadbeencopiedfromtlleArabianGulfandIndian importancebutreliedmostlyupontheirarmjesfordefence.
Ocean,whereitwasusedbyArabtradersbecauseithadgood
sailing qualities, especially in coastal waters. Such a rig, SailTakesOver
however, was not suitable for long ocean voyages where the In northern Europe the warship underwent its own distinct
foreandaftriggaveabetterperformance. development.ByAD1300highcastleswereadded totheends
With theendofRoman seapowerin the Mediterranean tile ofthevesseltogivebowmenaheightadvantageinbattle.Over
development of shipbuilding underwent further changes, thenext300yearsorsotllesecastlesgrewinsize;however,as
especiallyin northern waters. From the nintll to tile eleventll thegunbecametilemainweapon,housedinthehullforbetter
stability, so the castles were reduced to a low poop and
forecastle. Astileforeandaftriggainedpredominanceso the
galleyswitil tileirbanksofoars fell from favour. The need to
have the hull sides leftclearfor the many rowers meant that
only the extremeendscouldcarryguns,making these lightly
builtvesselsnomatchevenforthelightly-armedfrigates.
From the beginning ofthe fifteenth century warships and
merchant vessels continued to develop along diflerent lines.
Shipswouldnolongerneedtocarryasinglemastbuttwo-and
JohnPaulJones'frigateBonhommeRichard(launched
1765)wastypicalofthefightingshipsthatdominatedthe
lastdaysofsail.
SHIPS
later three-masted vessels were built that proved reliable on navigation bydead reckoningpossible. Europeans were now
longvoyages.TheearlypracticeofsteeringWIthasinglelarge abletoexploreandtradeinfaroffplaces,whichmturnledto
oaratthesterngaveway tothe rudderrightafton thecentre colonizationinNorthandSouthAmerica,Africaandbeyond.
line of the vessel, so giving more posItive control on the By 1800 the salling ship had reached the peak of its
steering.Otherimprovementsintechnologyoccurred,notably development. Over the preceeding few hundred years many
with thedevelopmentofthe compassand the hourglassand countries developed their navies to a high degree, with
these, combined with the log that measured speed, made England Spam,Franceand Hollandleadingtheway. Indeed,
oneoftheprimefactorsinthedevelopmentofthesecountries'
ThenewgenerationofoceanlinersliketheColumbia, navalforceswastheneedtoprotectthemerchantshipstradmg
enteringservicein1902,offeredwell-heeledtravellers infar-flungcolonies.By1800Americawasalsointheforefront
speedandluxuryundreamedofinpreviouseras. oftechnology,producingsomeoftheworld'sfinestfngates.
INTRODUCTION 9
TheSteamRevolution stronger, lighter construction translated into faster ships.
Vesselswerestillbuiltofwoodandcarriedevergreaterspreads In spite of these dramatic developments, the sailing ship
ofsails, but by the end of the eighteenth century the first continued to play a major role in world commerce. In the
experiments were being made with steam propulsion, a 1860s the fast clippershipappeared,intended for service in
method thatwould freeshipsfrom beingrelianton thewind thetea,woolandgraintrade.Thegeneralcargosailingvessel
and eventually, once the steam engine reached a degree of stillprosperedamongsttheburgeoningsteamshipfleets;even
perfection, enable ships to make faster passages along more aslateas 1900welloveronethirdofaUmerchantships,10m
direct routes. The Industrial revolution ushered in other tonsoutofaworldwidefleetof24mtons,weresailingships.By
changes,suchastheuseofiron,andlatersteel,inshipbuilding. 1932 there were still nearly 3000 merchant sailing ships 111
Laughed offby the conservative-minded,not least those in regularservice.
highnavaloffice,thesmoky,clankingshipsweretakenupfirst
bythemerchantmarine,whowantedtoshortenjourneytimes. Ironclads
Thenewsteampropulsion,andthenewmaterialsprovidedby Althoughearlyattemptstobuildironhulledwarshipswerenot
the industrial revolution, especially iron plate in mass successful, the new technologies accelerated warship
quantities,wroughtmorechangeinthe50yearsbetween1800 development. Until 1860, major warships were still built of
and1850thanallthedevelopmentsoftheprevious500years. wood;someofthesteam-poweredshipscarriedover120guns
Yetin the 1850safull-rigged shipwith thewind behind her on three decks. In the late 1850samajor change tookplace
couldstillovertaketheaveragepacketsteamer. with the layingdown ofDupuyde Lome'ssplendidcreation
By the mid-1800s the new technologies of the industrial Clairewhich,althoughithadawooden hull,was completely
revolution had begun to pickup speed. Marineengineering, coveredinironarmourabletoresistthegunsoftheperiod.In
basedon the twin innovationsofthesteanlengineand metal the 1860s, the broadside ironclad frigates replaced the
construction, prospered, and new developments in the field wooden-hulledtwo-and three-deckerline-of-battleships,and
followed one upon another. More efficient machinery and weresoonin turnreplacedbyturretedships.Asgunsbecame
10 SHIPS
more powerful so armour grew thicker which, because of sea battlesofthe twentieth century.The years thatled up to
weight limitations, was restricted to protecting the vitals. World War 1 witnessed Great Britain's naval supremacy
Capitalshipsnowcarriedamixedarmamentoflarger,quick challengedfirstbyGermanyandthenJapan,butattheendof
firingguns:fewerinnumber,butbytheirrapidfireincreasing tllatconflictthe German HighSeasFleethad ceased to exist
thenumberofroundsfiredperminute. andtheprincipalmaritimepowerswereBritain,Japanandthe
Machineryandboilersdevelopedrapidly.Asenginesbecame UnitedStates.
more reliable and economical so sail power was dispensed
with.Boilerpowercontinuedtoincrease,leadingtothetriple TheNuclearAge
expansion engine with its good economy. Liquid fuel in the The years between 1906 and 1935 were marked by
shapeofoilbegantobeusedinthe1890sandtheturbinefirst undreamedoftechnologicalinnovation.Destroyers,oncelittle
appeared,markingamajorstepinengineering. more than coastal craft, were turned into hardy, seawortilY
The locomotive torpedo was also adopted by all navies. vessels with arole to playon the world's oceans,and World
Duringthisperiodthesubmarineslowlyevolved,andwiththe War I proved the destructive capability of the submarine
development of the battery by 1900, became a practical beyond all doubt. During that war, Britain took the first
weapon.Bytheturnofthetwentiethcenturythebattleshiphad tentative steps in the development ofthe aircraft carrier, the
reacheditspeak,butby1906theall-big-gunDreadnoughtwas vesselthatwastobecomethecapitalshipofthefuture.
on the scene and, like the Warrior before her, immediately Thecarrier,perhaps,wasthemostsignificantnavaldesignto
eclipsedexistingcapitalships,thusheraldinganothernewera. emergefromtheperiod;notonlydiditenablefleetstoengage
HMS Dreadnought made all other warships obsolete one another at distances far beyond visual range but it also
overnight,andledtoanavalconstructionracethatcontributed becameaprimarytoolinhuntingdownthetwogreatestnaval
totheoutbreakofWorldWarI. threats of World War II, the commerce raider and the
Itwasatimeofinnovation,aperiodthatsawthedebutofthe submarine. The six years ofWorld War II put an end to
battlecruiser,ahybridwarshipthatwastomakeitsmarkonthe centuriesofconventional thinking on naval forces. Thegun-
INTRODUCTION II
armed capitalshipwas no longerthe masterofwaratsea. In percentstillmovesbysea,andtl,eworld'smercantilefleetgrew
the North Atlantic and in the Pacific, the supremacy ofthe tokeeppacewiththedemand,goingfrom 130mtonsin 1960
battleship ended when air power defeated sea power. The toover500rntonsin2000..atwenty-foldincreasesince 1900.
aircraftcarrierbroughtawholenewdimensIOntonavalwarfare Olderstylesofcargoboatshavealmostdisappearedwithbulk
and it has been the dominant element of every major cargocarriersandcontainershipstakingtheirplace.
applicationofseapowersince 1945. Oceanlinersdisappearedinthe 1950sand 1960sasaresult
Since the 1950s, the advent of nuclear power has ofexpanding air travel but now their successors are cruise
revolutionized underwater warfare, enabling submarines to ships whose passengers are sailing the oceans for pleasure;
remainsubmergedfor manymonthsatatime. In theshapeof thesehugefloatinghotelsincludeintheirnumbersomeofthe
the ballistic missile submarine, it has made possible the largestvesselsintheworldtoday.
ultimateinweapons.
Progress in merchant shipping since 1900 has also been
tremendous.Steampropulsiongaveway to themoreefficient
diesel,andtheresultantdeclineinthenumberofseafarerswas
multiplied by the development ofautomated ship handling
systems, while the introduction ofcontainerization and tl,e
streamliningofbulkcargohandlingchangedthenatureofport
operation beyond recognition. Such changes were vital to
accommodate the increase in worldwide trade, ofwhich 90
TlteUSNavy'sattacksub1llarineSeawolf(SSN21)putsto
seailltheNa.,"raganseltBayoperatingareaforlt.erftrstsea
trialinJuly1996.
