gCaptain - Maritime & Offshore » royal navy

Ship Photo of The Day: Bow of HMS Queen Elizabeth Leaves Portsmouth

Mike Schuler — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:24:20 +0000

Photo: BAE Systems

A huge section of hull for HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers being built for the UK Royal Navy, left BAE Systems’ Portsmouth facility Monday on a four day journey to the east coast of Scotland.

Employees watched as the large sea-going barge carrying the 6,000 tonne forward section of hull, known as Lower Block 02, was towed from the company’s facility to begin her passage to Rosyth.

To celebrate the departure of the block, a team of 50 cyclists from across the Aircraft Carrier Alliance will set off on a grueling challenge on Friday, cycling 500 miles from Portsmouth to Rosyth in an attempt to “Beat the Block” and raise funds for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

Beat the Block is a great way to not only mark this significant stage in the carrier programme, but also raise money for a charity which supports the men and women of our armed forces. The cyclists face a tough few days ahead so I encourage people to get behind the challenge and show support to the cyclists on route. -Steven Carroll, Queen Elizabeth Class Project Director at BAE Systems

Over the next few days, the block will travel up the east coast of Britain before its scheduled arrival in Rosyth on Friday, May 25. Upon her arrival, Lower Block 02 will be floated off the specialized barge into the waters of the River Forth, where it will then enter the dry dock at Rosyth and workers will undertake a complex move to fit the giant pieces of the jigsaw together. A 13,000 tonne section of hull already in the dock will be floated out to allow Lower Block 02 to move into position and both sections to come together.

An artist’s rendition of the Queen Elizabeth supercarrier. Via wikipedia

At Portsmouth Naval Base, the future home of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, a significant plan of investment is underway to prepare for the ships’ arrival. The plan includes dredging the existing channel to Portsmouth to make it deeper and wider, the renovation and reinforcement of the base’s jetties to ease access for both the QE Class and Type 45 fleet and the installation of new navigational beacons to help the ships find their way safely into and out of the harbour.

The aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a unique partnering relationship between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the UK Ministry of Defence. BAE Systems has an overarching role in managing the QE Class program, as well as playing a central role in the design and build of the ships.

Once completed, the 65,000 tonne QE Class will be the center piece of Britain’s military capability.

The Most Important British Vessel Sunk Off the Chinese Coast You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

gCaptain Staff — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:46:54 +0000

The HMS Poseidon. Photo: LostPensivos Films

In recent weeks, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic and the 3D re-release of 1997′s Oscar-winning ‘Titanic’ has galvanized attention in China, where movie goers spent $58 million over the course of a single weekend to re-experience the demise of the infamous liner. Now a pair of filmmakers are hoping to draw attention to the nearly forgotten sinking of another British vessel, this one a submarine off the Chinese coast.

The HMS Poseidon, a British military submarine that sunk in eastern Chinese waters in June 1931, went down under totally different circumstances from the Titanic. Yet in its day, it also shook the nautical world, spurring global change in the way men went to sea — in particular because of the dramatic undersea escape by a handful of its submariners.

A preview of “The Poseidon Project,” a documentary about the British sub named for the Greek god of the sea by brothers Arthur and Luther Jones, was shown to a small group this week in Shanghai, ironically in a room decorated with silk squids hanging from ceiling.

The film’s narrative tracks the Poseidon’s brief timeline from its launch in England to its arrival at a British naval outpost on the Weihai peninsula in Shandong Province.

The film (see a clip here) explains how during routine surface maneuvers on June 9, 1931, the Poseidon collided with a Chinese freighter. With a tear in its starboard side, the sub went down in just four minutes and dragged much of its crew 120 feet below the surface.

Nicely executed drawings and other artwork in the film illustrate how a small group of five submariners — including one Chinese boy — then made it to the surface alive. Back home in England, they were welcomed as heroes, because at that point for submariners, as the film’s narrator points out, “escape plans were only theoretical.”

The survival of the five members of the Poseidon crew changed much for undersea exploration, the film says. For instance, certain benchmarks used by scuba divers today, such as those to avoid decompression sickness (also known as the bends), were determined based on studies of survivors.

Shot above water more than below, “The Poseidon Project” is no James Cameron-style ghost-swim through a shipwreck. Instead, it explores the Poseidon drama through the story of Steven Schwankert, an American living in Beijing who becomes obsessed with the submarine. He is a scuba diver and his initial goal is to dive the Poseidon site.

China isn’t known as a diving paradise, Mr. Schwankert says in the film, so that “forces you to be creative.” Indeed, as he noted in a TEDx talk in 2011, one of his favorite China dive sites is a reservoir that features a sunken section of China’s Great Wall.

To connect to the Poseidon, Mr. Schwankert used Google Earth, British archives and online forums. Soon, the film says, he was on a quest, not just to dive to the sub, but to revive its history. In the process, he found himself bumping up against sensitive historical episodes, including the previously unknown salvage of the vessel by Chinese divers in the 1970s, a finding that sparked dismay in England.

The Jones brothers asked that other key bits of information from the film be withheld for now as they prepare a final cut to enter in festivals later this year. The story Mr. Schwankert uncovered, the narrator notes, is “complex, dark and more intriguing” than the one he pursued.

– James T. Areddy. Follow him on Twitter @jamestareddy

(This story has been posted on The Wall Street Journal Online’s China Real Time Report blog)

SPOTD: HMS Daring Sails in Formation with USS Abraham Lincoln

gCaptain Staff — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:23:08 +0000

HMS Daring steams along with USNS Joshua Humphreys and USS Abraham Lincoln, Image: CROWN copyright, CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE

On 22 March, HMS Daring joined formation with USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10), and USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188), to take part in a “Photex”. Images were taken from HMS Daring’s Lynx Helicopter 451.

HMS Daring is currently deployed for a seven-month deployment to continue the Royal Navy’s long-term presence East of the Suez. The ship will be acting as part of the Royal Navy’s standing commitment in the Middle East, providing a range of capabilities from counter piracy to reassurance of the UK’s allies in the region.

Image: CROWN Copyright, click for larger image

Final Stage of Sea Trials Underway for the Latest Type 45 Destroyer, DEFENDER

gCaptain Staff — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:22:42 +0000

Image courtesy BAE Systems

GLASGOW – DEFENDER, the fifth Type 45 destroyer built by BAE Systems, has today set sail from the company’s Scotstoun shipyard to embark on her second and final stage of sea trials off the west coast of Scotland, ahead of her handover to the Royal Navy later this year.

During 28 days at sea, DEFENDER will undertake an extensive programme of trials, including final testing of the ship’s power and propulsion, combat systems, navigational and communications equipment.

Paul Rafferty, Type 45 Programme Director at BAE Systems, said: “The huge momentum driving the Type 45 programme highlights the effective partnering between industry, the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence to deliver the Type 45 fleet.

“The trials demonstrate the progress we’re making and provide an opportunity to put the ship through her paces and prove her outstanding capability in preparation for Acceptance off Contract in July.”

Defender’s Senior Naval Officer, Commander Nicholas Boyd Royal Navy, said: “DEFENDER’s departure on her second set of sea trials marks another milestone in the life of the ship and her company as we prepare to join the fleet later this year. We are looking forward to operating her sophisticated equipment and systems during trials and beyond, putting our experience and training into practice.

“The support of our families and friends along with the links we have established in our affiliated cities of Glasgow and Exeter are very much appreciated, as we work towards the successful acceptance of HMS DEFENDER into the Royal Navy and then deploying her on operations.”

With the first four vessels in the class handed over, the business is on track to deliver all six ships to the UK Royal Navy by the end of 2013. Following her sea trials, DEFENDER will return to the Clyde for final integration and testing, before setting sail for her home port of Portsmouth in July. Meanwhile DUNCAN, the sixth ship in the class, will undertake her first stage trials in the latter half of this year.

Working alongside the Royal Navy at Portsmouth Naval Base, BAE Systems also provides in-service support to the Type 45 destroyers, coordinating all aspects of repair, maintenance and support to the fleet. The Type 45 Class Output Management team recently supported first of class, HMS DARING, in preparing the ship for her first operational deployment in January. The team also continues to support HMS DAUNTLESS, DIAMOND and DRAGON throughout their training periods as the vessels prepare for deployment.

The Type 45s will provide the backbone of the UK’s naval air defences for the next 30 years and beyond. The destroyers will be capable of carrying out a wide range of operations, including anti-piracy and anti-smuggling activities, disaster relief work and surveillance operations as well as high intensity war fighting.

Each destroyer can engage a large number of targets simultaneously, and defend aircraft carriers or groups of ships, such as an amphibious landing force, against the strongest future threats from the air. The vessels will contribute a specialist air warfare capability to worldwide maritime and joint operations.

Maritime Monday for February 27th, 2012 – “Wir sind in Scapa Flow!!”

Monkey Fist — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:33:54 +0000

Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien in 1940

Kriegsmarine Commander of Submarines Karl Dönitz devised a plan to attack Scapa Flow by submarine within days of the outbreak of war. Its goal would be twofold: firstly, that displacing the Home Fleet from Scapa Flow would slacken the British North Sea blockade and grant Germany greater freedom to attack the Atlantic convoys. Secondly, the blow would be a symbolic act of vengeance, striking at the same location where the German High Seas Fleet had surrendered and scuttled itself following Germany’s defeat in the First World War. Dönitz hand-picked Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien for the task, scheduling the raid for the night of 13/14 October 1939, when the tides would be high and the night moonless.

On the surface, and illuminated by a bright display of the aurora borealis, the submarine threaded between the sunken blockships Seriano and Numidian, grounding itself temporarily on a cable strung from Seriano. On entering the harbour proper at 00:27 on 14 October, Prien entered a triumphant Wir sind in Scapa Flow!!! in the log and set a south-westerly course.

At 00:58 U-47 fired a salvo of three torpedoes from its bow tubes, the fourth lodging in its tube. Two failed to find a target, but a single torpedo struck the bow of Royal Oak at 01:04, shaking the ship and waking the crew. At 01:16, three more struck the battleship in quick succession amidships and detonated. Royal Oak quickly listed some 15°, sufficient to push the open starboard-side portholes below the waterline. She soon rolled further onto her side to 45°, hanging there for several minutes before disappearing beneath the surface at 01:29.

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(full size 1280×948 on F Yeah Norsemen)

Scapa Flow (Old Norse: Skalpaflói—”bay of the long isthmus”) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands of Scotland.

It has a shallow sandy bottom not deeper than 60 metres (200 ft) and most of it about 30 metres (98 ft) deep, and is one of the great natural anchorages in the world, with sufficient space to hold a number of navies. Viking ships anchored in Scapa Flow more than 1000 years ago, but it is best known as the site of the United Kingdom’s chief naval base during World War I and World War II.

The Viking expeditions to Orkney are recorded in detail in the 11th century Orkneyinga sagas and later texts such as the Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. King Haakon IV of Norway anchored his fleet, including the flagship Kroussden that could carry nearly 300 men, on 5 August 1263 at St Margaret’s Hope, where he witnessed an eclipse of the sun.

image: N. C. Wyeth – The Viking Ship, 1922 (via F Yeah Norsemen)

Extracts from Hydrograph: The tidal currents are weak in this small inland sea. No high sea except the local one which rises from shore to shore and is bad, in fact, when the wind is strong. (French Navy Records)

The German Fleet at Scapa Flow; 28 Nov 1918 – (full size)

Following the German defeat in the First World War, 74 ships of the Kaiserliche Marine’s High Seas Fleet were interned in Gutter Sound at Scapa Flow pending a decision on their future in the peace Treaty of Versailles.

On 21 June 1919, after nine months of waiting, the German officer in command at Scapa Flow made the decision to scuttle the fleet because the negotiation period for the treaty had lapsed with no word of a settlement (he had not been informed that there had been a last-minute extension to finalize the details).

After waiting for the bulk of the British fleet to leave on exercises, he gave the order to scuttle the ships to prevent their falling into British hands. The Royal Navy made desperate efforts to board the ships to prevent the sinking, but the German crews had spent theie idle months preparing for the order; welding bulkhead doors open, laying charges in vulnerable parts of the ships, and quietly dropping important keys and tools overboard so valves could not be shut.

Of the 74 German ships in Scapa Flow, 15 of the 16 capital ships, 5 of the 8 cruisers, and 32 of the 50 destroyers were sunk. (list of ships)

A Spectacle of Horror – The Burning of the General Slocum

This week on Smithsonian magazine:

Eleven-year-old Willie Keppler had joined the excursion without his parents’ permission but made it through the flailing of non-swimmers who dragged fellow passengers down with them; he was too scared of punishment to return home until he saw his name among the dead in the next day’s newspaper. “I thought I’d come home and git the licking instead of breaking me mudder’s heart,” Keppler was quoted as saying. “So I’m home, and me mudder only kissed me and me fadder gave me half a dollar for being a good swimmer.”

keep reading
(photo: NY Times; Disaster Fatigue Slideshow)

HMS Carmania (card reads “RMS Carmania of the Cunard Line”)
royalmarinesonline.com

right: Cap Trafalgar 1899

14 September 1914: The Cap Trafalgar was discovered by the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Carmania, a liner belonging to the Cunard Line which had been converted to a convoy escort and raider designed to flush out German colliers and small warships that might be using the inhospitable island as a base against British merchant shipping.

Carmania spotted Cap Trafalgar’s smoke early in the morning and some hours later was able to surprise the German ship with two colliers in the island’s only harbour.

By ironic coincidence the Cap Trafalgar was disguised as the Carmania; while the Carmania was disguised as the Cap Trafalgar

more on wiki:

SMS Cap Trafalgar – RMS Carmania

On 14 October 1939, Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47. Of Royal Oak’s complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The loss of the old ship — the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in the Second World War — little affected the numerical superiority enjoyed by the British navy and its Allies, but the effect on wartime morale was considerable.

more on wiki

Sonar image of HMS Royal Oak; sunk while at anchor in 1939
- image via pistonheads -
More images

A war hero who survived a German U-boat attack that claimed 833 British lives has had his dying wish granted, after his ashes were laid to rest on the hull of his sunken ship…

Navy divers placed a casket containing Fernleigh Judge’s remains 90ft beneath the North Sea on the wreck of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, Orkney, on Monday. The battleship went down after being torpedoed in 1939. Mr Judge, 88, had wanted to return to the site, but was unable to make the journey from his home in Peterborough, Cambs.

Survivor Kenneth Toop, 85, carried his ashes: “I was honoured to fulfill his wishes.”

from the Mirror
(by way of The Daily Undertaker)

‘Plan tres exact et vüe de la ville, baye, et des nouvelles
fortifications de Gibraltar..’ by Albert C Suetter, 1760

“Spain formally recognized British rule of Gibraltar in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) but, throughout the 18th century, periodically sought to reassert its territorial claims. The cartouche presents a graphic argument for an end to hostilities by featuring Mercury with his caduceus (the staff of entwined serpents, which symbolized commerce) and a cornucopia (horn of plenty). Whatever is decided by the human arbiters of destiny, the sea (Neptune) will continue to determine the fate of ships sailing through the Pillars of Hercules.”

‘Going for Baroque – The Iconography of the Ornamental Map’ –on Bibliodyssey

Windows on the War: Soviet TASS Posters at Home and Abroad, 1941–1945

Pavel Petrovich Sokolov-Skalia – Russian, 1899-1961
Fascist Reports, False Reports, August 17, 1942

During World War II, the Soviet Union’s news agency, TASS, enlisted artists and writers to bolster support for the nation’s war effort. Working from Moscow, this studio produced hundreds of storefront window posters, one for nearly every day of the war. Windows on the War: Soviet TASS Posters at Home and Abroad, 1941–1945 is a monumental exhibition centered on these posters, which have not been seen in the United States since the Second World War.

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Scapa Flow; 21 June 1919 (marine artist Bernard Finnigan Gribble)

Southern Railway – Plan of Southampton Docks, 1930

A detailed plan of the ‘old’ Docks at Southampton, c1930, with the wharves and docks clustered around the old town at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen. At this date the new Western Docks were under construction that would radically increase the port’s facilities.

–posted by mikeyashworth

(4800 x 6204) – cover

Souvenir: (4666 x 5904) – Empire Docks: (3882 x 5256)

panoramic view c1930 – (5982 x 4728)

Photo of the Month on National Geographic
top: Red Sea Reefs by Thomas P. Peschak
from the March 2012 story “The Seas of Arabia”

left: A huge water-themed resort rises on Dubai’s coast
right: A relic of the Iran-Iraq war, this oil tanker was scuttled near the Kuwait-Iraq border on Saddam Hussein’s orders, to block access by sea to southern Iraq. Kuwaiti authorities are reluctant to remove the vessel for fear of damaging the wetlands of nearby Bubiyan Island, an important fish nursery and seabird breeding ground.

London, Greenwich Pier Area showing a Paddle Ship; circa 1890
Old Photos of Greenwich in the City of London, England

…Take high abstracted man alone; and he seems a wonder, a grandeur, and a woe. But from the same point, take mankind in mass, and for the most part, they seem a mob of unnecessary duplicates, both contemporary and hereditary…
— Moby-Dick, Herman Melville

via drtuesdaygjohnson

LIFE magazine, October 9, 1944 – *see also (via thegildedcentury)
- Byron Thomas (artist 1902-1978) article, front page -
- Byron Thomas on AskArt.com — LIFE, Jun 23, 1941 article -

Construction of the Churchill Barrier, Scapa Flow

The Churchill Barriers are a series of four causeways in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, totaling1.5 miles (2.3 km) in length. They link the Orkney Mainland in the north to the island of South Ronaldsay via Burray and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.

The barriers were built in the 1940s primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow, but now serve as road links, carrying the A961 road from Kirkwall to Burwick.

On 14 October 1939, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk at her moorings within the natural harbour of Scapa Flow in a nighttime attack by the German U-boat U-47. Shortly before midnight on the 13 October the U-47 had entered Scapa Flow through Kirk Sound, then launched a surprise torpedo attack on the unsuspecting Royal Navy battleship while it was at anchor.

In response, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill ordered the construction of several permanent barriers to prevent any further attacks. Work began in May 1940 and was completed by September 1944. However the barriers were not officially opened until 12 May 1945, four days after the end of World War II in Europe.

more on wiki

RMS Campania on the Mersey – Old Photos of Liverpool

RMS Campania was a British ocean liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Line Shipping Company, built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland, and launched on Thursday, 8 September 1891.

Campania and her sister ship Lucania were partly financed by the British Admiralty. The deal was that Cunard would receive money from the Government in return for constructing vessels to admiralty specifications and also on condition that the vessels go on the naval reserve list to serve as armed merchant cruisers when required by the government.

Sunk in a collision with HMS Glorious 5 November 1918. Wreckage at 56°02′N 03°13′W

more on wikipedia

St Clement’s Church, Rodel, Isle of Harris, Western Isles

St Clement’s Church at Rodel on Harris dates from the 16th-century and it is one of the finest examples of a late medieval church in the Western Isles. Built into one of the walls inside the church is a tomb dedicated to Alexander MacLeod (known in Gaelic as Alasdair Crotach of Dunvegan).

It was built in 1528, 20 years before he died, and it contains some of the best examples of late medieval sculpture in Scotland. There are many examples of carvings of galleys on, for example, grave slabs but not many showing the ship in such a detail as this one…

more on Scotland’s Favourite Archive Images

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne. Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873

The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumours which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America, naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several States on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.

For some time past vessels had been met by “an enormous thing,” a long object, spindle-shaped, occasionally phosphorescent, and infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale. –Part One, Chapter One

This is the true American first edition. This Osgood edition, although dated 1873, was actually published in November 1872, the same month as Sampson Low’s British edition.

more on book-aesthete

Telegraph UK: The Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue

A runaway success when published in 1811 by soldier Francis Grose, but now the Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue can be viewed online. Here is our round up of the best words:

FLASH THE HASH: Vomit

GOSPEL SHOP: Church

PIECE: Wench. A girl who is more or less active and skilful in the amorous congress

QUEER PLUNGERS: Cheats who throw themselves into the water in order that they may be taken up by their accomplices, who carry them to one of the houses appointed by the Humane Society for the recovery of drowned persons, where they are rewarded by the society with a guinea

SHOOT THE CAT: Vomit from excess of liquor

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(image source) — (article via mabelmoments)

Fairey Swordfish (via coldisthesea)

It was a large, slow biplane with a low wing loading, ideal for actions off carrier decks. The structure was largely metal, covered with fabric. The first machine was powered by a Bristol Pegasus IIM air-cooled, nine cylinder radial, developing 635 hp. These were severely underpowered. The next, much improved, prototype used a Pegasus IIIM3 with 775 hp. First flown in 1934, this aircraft exceeded the governments demands, so an order was placed for the first 86 production examples in 1935. The first deliveries were made in the following year, further orders continuing well after the beginning of the war.

more on Dieselpunk

Ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco’s financial district

The Niantic was one of many ships that brought eager gold-seekers from around the world into Yerba Buena Cove (now San Francisco) during the frenzied times of 1848-1849.

Originally a whaling ship, the amount of money to be made ferrying gold hungry hopefuls to Yerba Buena Cove was staggering, and the Niantic made over 38,000 dollars – over a million dollars in today’s money – on its single trip bringing gold seekers to California. Upon arrival in Yerba Buena, the aspiring miners would abandon the ships, stock up on supplies, and race out to take their chances panning for gold in the foothills…

more on Atlas Obscura
see also: Pratt Institute Engine Room; A Haven for Steampunks and Archie the Giant Squid

Ship Janson Cut Through by Texel River Ice by Jan Mooy

This artist took a serial approach in a single scene presenting three different views of a merchant ship sinking off the wintry coast of Holland. –Peabody Essex Museum (via thingsihappentolike)

Air raid on Scapa Flow kills first civilian in Britain

James Isbister, 27, an Orkney resident became the first British civilian to be killed in an air raid on March 16th 1940. Fourteen Ju-88 Luftwaffe bombers attacked the British fleet at Scapa Flow and hit HMS Norfolk but some bombs hit cottages on the Mainland.

more on World War II Today; Follow the War as it Happened

Sentinels of Scapa Flow; St. Margaret’s Hope
- photo by Norman Bews -

Scapa Flow Today

Scapa Flow is one of the transfer and processing points for North Sea oil. The Scapa Flow visitor centre, at Lyness on the island of Hoy, is located in the former naval fuel pumping station and a converted storage tank. Exhibits include a large, three-dimensional representation of the island and of the German ships as they were prior to scuttling. The island is accessible by local ferry several times daily from Houton.

Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum
Scapa Flow Marine Archaeology Project

Broken British Navy teacup — German pottery shard

Mardi Gras Designs: Mistick Krewe of Comus 1873
‘Missing Links’ Parade Costume Designs
- on Bibliodyssey -

England 19th century, mysterious object with twelve different views of painted boats, one in ivory bas-relief. Unidentified hallmark. *see image below, middle shelf
Wunderkammer Objects (via bluewaterblackheart)

Domenico Remps, Cabinet of Curiosities, detail, 1690-99
(via theshipthatflew)

Netherlands; 1650 nautilus shell, copper-gilt
- more curiosities -

sailorjunkers

(Source: olderoticart)

Monkey Fist

Monkey Fist is a smack-talking, potty mouthed, Yankee hating, Red Sox fan in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to compiling Maritime Monday, she blogs about nautical art, history, and marine science on Adventures of the Blackgang.

Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com. She can also out-belch any man.

Daring and Dauntless, the Royal Navy’s Next Generation Puts to Sea

Tim Ruttledge — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:48:33 +0000

HMS Daring, a D-Class or Type 45 Royal Navy Destroyer

HMS Daring (D32) is currently deployed to the Persian Gulf and the latest news is HMS Dauntless (D33) will be headed south to the Falkland Islands to relieve HMS Montrose. She was still at Plymouth last week when the below photo was taken.

As a seagoing mariner around the coast of the UK and Northern Europe you come across a few of these grey funnel ships from time to time, however these D-Class jobs are quite the picture of a modern fighting ship, menacing and sleek. Probably sent off to parts foreign to quieten down the sabre-rattling of the Argentinians and chase a few pirates in the Persian Gulf, while keeping an eye on the Straits of Hormuz no doubt. I don’t know if the RN might be stretching themselves a bit thin across the globe, but one of these boys is supposedly worth 5 of the old Type-42′s.

HMS Dauntless

A third D-Class called Diamond is due to be commissioned this summer in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee celebrations. I’ve heard whispers from the London pilots on the Thames that it will be too big to get up to the party. There might be a few red faces if it doesn’t make it up the river. Time will tell.

Have a good watch!

DSME Wins £452M Contract to Build 4 Royal Navy Fleet Auxiliary Tankers

gCaptain Staff — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:52:16 +0000

A new generation of 37,000-tonne tankers have been ordered for the Royal Navy fleet, the Ministry of Defense announced today. The new Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers will maintain the Royal Navy’s ability to refuel at sea and will provide fuel to warships and task groups.

They will support deployed amphibious, land and air forces close to the shore, will be able to operate helicopters and are planned to enter service from 2016, replacing existing Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) single hulled tankers.

At over 200 metres long, the four tankers will be approximately the same length as 14 double decker buses and can pump enough fuel to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools in an hour.

Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology, Peter Luff, announced that Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) is the government’s choice for the deal. This represents the best value for taxpayers’ money, with £452 Million to be spent on the four new vessels to support the Royal Navy on operations around the world.

A number of British companies took part in the competition, but none submitted a final bid for the build contract. In light of this, the best option for Defence and value for money for taxpayers is for the tankers to be constructed in South Korea by DSME.

UK companies will however benefit from £150m of associated contracts comprising:

£90m on UK contracts for the provision of key equipment, systems, design and support services. The winning design is being provided by UK company BMT Defence Services;
£60m investment in the UK from customisation, trials and specialist engineering support.

The tankers are part of a multi-billion pound investment programme for the Royal Navy, which includes Type 45 destroyers, Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and Astute Class attack submarines, employing thousands of people in the UK.

Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff, said:

“Over the next decade, the Government will be investing billions of pounds in our Maritime capabilities to ensure that our Royal Navy remains a formidable fighting force.

“This project will inject up to £150 million into UK industry and support and maintenance will also be carried out in the UK. The Government remains committed to building complex warships in UK shipyards.”

Commodore Bill Walworth, Head of the RFA, said:

“We are delighted the RFA will be able to operate these world class vessels.

“These fleet replenishment tankers will be flexible ships, able to operate with the Royal Navy and Armed Forces in conflict, and are designed to allow for upgrades and emerging technologies meaning that they have been designed with the future in mind.”

Chief of Defence Materiel, Bernard Gray, said:

“The competition for the contract sought to engage shipbuilders from across the globe. I believe the winning bidder’s solution will offer the UK the best value for money.

“The MARS tanker is an exceptionally versatile platform; able to simultaneously refuel an aircraft carrier and destroyer whilst undertaking helicopter resupply of other vessels.

“I am looking forward to the award of the contract and the work that will follow in the lead up to the delivery of the ships.”

Maritime Monday for February 20, 2012: Alas Poor Yorck; The Raid on Scarborough

Monkey Fist — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:41:55 +0000

What is naval power for?

There is no permanent answer. Unlike land-based military might – designed for the conquest of human-occupied territory – sea power has had different functions at different times. In the 19th century, the purpose of “gunboat diplomacy” was to offer a mobile deterrent….

In the first world war (and in the second) the aim was to prevent or deliver invasions, and to starve the enemy through a blockade. Yet at no time during the 1914-18 conflict did either the general staff of the German army or the German naval staff, as Robert Massie puts it, “ever seriously discuss or plan an invasion of England on any scale”.

What Massie’s brilliant, exhaustive study of naval policy and action during the so-called “great war” shows is that it was also something else – a form of testosterone. Not only in war, but also in the preceding peace, big, expensive sea fortresses, with the ability to lob high-explosive artillery shells over distances of 12 miles or more, were as much about national prestige as about serviceable power…

Guardian.co.uk Review of Castles of Steel by historian Ben Pimlott

1915: English war ships in storms – The Great War by air and sea – 25 fotos

brochure issued by North Eastern Railway, c1912

A charming – if slightly menacing – pierrot drawing attention to the north east coast of England as a holiday playground – the area served by the North Eastern Railway and stretching down from Northumberland to Yorkshire. The bracing resorts such as Whitley Bay, Scarborough and Filey were heavily promoted by the NER. –posted by mikeyashworth

Grand Hotel, Scarborough, Yorkshire, England
full size‎ (3,512 × 2,582 pixels)

Scarborough is a large town on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire, England. The modern town lies between 3 – 70 m (10 – 230 ft) above sea level, rising steeply northward and westward from the harbour onto limestone cliffs. The older part of the town lies around the harbour and is protected by a rocky headland.

The most striking feature of the town’s geography is a high rocky promontory pointing eastward into the North Sea. The promontory supports the 11th century ruins of Scarborough Castle and separates the sea front into a North Bay and a South Bay. The South Bay was the site of the original early medieval settlement and the harbour, which form the current Old Town district. This remains the main focus for tourism, with a sandy beach, cafes, amusements, arcades, theatres and entertainment facilities.

more on wikipedia

English Railway Travel Poster: produced for British Railways (BR) to promote rail travel to the coastal resort of Scarborough in Yorkshire. Artwork by Frank Henry Mason (1876-1965), who was educated at HMS Conway and spent time at sea. He painted marine and coastal subjects and was involved in engineering and shipbuilding.

print available from Travel Posters Online

Scarborough, England 5 huge-ass glass negatives on skyscrapercity: Lost Britain – posted by hoogbouw010

The German Raid on Scarborough

Published 1915 by E. T. W. Dennis & sons, ltd., London & Scarborough
on Open Library *Read online

Three German ships appeared off the defenseless town of Scarborough just before 0800, battlecruisers Derfflinger and Von der Tann opened fire, while light cruiser Kolberg went to lay mines off Flamborough Head.

Yorkshire, Flamborough, North Landing – (see full size)

Flamborough Head Lighthouse

Flamborough Head is a chalk promontory of 8 miles (13 km) on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. The Flamborough Head Lighthouse has 4 white flashes every 15 seconds.

Battle of Flamborough Head:

A Franco-American squadron fought the Battle of Flamborough Head with a pair of Royal Navy frigates in the American Revolutionary War on 23 September 1779. In the engagement, USS Bonhomme Richard and Pallas, with USS Alliance, captured HMS Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, the best-known incident of Capt. John Paul Jones’s naval career. The toposcope at the lighthouse commemorates the 180th anniversary of the battle.

more on wikipedia
Flamborough Head Lighthouse on Old UK Photos

The Mining of Flamborough

EAST COAST MINESWEEPING OPERATIONS:

The following Memorandum has been furnished by the Admiral Commanding the East Coast Minesweepers, detailing the recent mine-sweeping operations off Scarborough:

–From the 19th to the 31st December sweeping operations were conducted by the East Coast Mine sweepers with the object of clearing the minefield which had been laid by the enemy off Scarborough.

–At the beginning there was no indication of the position of the mines, although owing to losses of passing merchant ships it was known that a minefield had been laid.

–In order to ascertain how the mines lay it was necessary to work at all times of tide with a consequent large increase in the element of danger

Their next target was a naval wireless station just outside the suburb of Falsgrave (now the site of GCHQ Scarborough). The wireless station was undamaged, but some shells fell short. The two German battlecruisers then sailed north past the town, still firing, before heading around the coast to Whitby. –(historyofwar.org)

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk.

Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the earliest English poet, lived. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages and developed important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship.

*The ancient Penny Hedge ceremony is performed on the eve of Ascension Day commemorating a penance imposed by the abbot on miscreant hunters in the Middle Ages. The hunters using a knife costing a penny had to cut wood in Eskdaleside and take it to Whitby harbour where it was made into a hedge that would survive three tides. This tradition is carried out annually on the east side of the upper harbour.

more on wikipedia

Yorkshire, Whitby; Old UK Photos

The two battlecruisers then headed north for Whitby, and opened fire on this equally defenseless port just after 0900, departing after 10 minutes and ignoring two tramp steamers passing to the south. Four fishing vessels were damaged in Scarborough during the bombardment. (navalhistory.net)

The attack on the east coast caused outrage in Britain. Part of this was due to the failure of the navy to intercept the German raiders, but much was made of the attack on an open town. Despite a bombardment lasting half an hour, only eighteen people were killed in Scarborough. Further north Hartlepool was much harder hit. –(historyofwar)

The German raid on the Yorkshire coast of 15-16 December 1914 saw the first civilian casualties on British soil since the French Revolutionary Wars. It was the product of a failure of the German naval strategy at the start of the First World War. This had relied on the British coming into German home waters where they would have been vulnerable to attack by submarines.

Meanwhile the High Seas Fleet would avoid taking risks that might expose the north German coast to invasion. Indeed, on 28 August 1914 elements of the British fleet had done just that (battle of Heligoland Bight), but the resulting battle had seen the Germans loose four ships without sinking a single British ship. –(historyofwar.org)

The Players:

Scarborough and Whitby Group

SMS Derfflinger, (named after Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger who fought in the Thirty Years’ War) was the nameship of the Derfflinger class of battlecruisers, widely considered to be the best battlecruisers of the First World War. She later fought at Dogger Bank and at Jutland, where she was badly damaged but survived. Her stubborn resistance led to the British nicknaming her “Iron Dog”.

The ship was partially responsible for the sinking of two British battlecruisers at Jutland; Derfflinger and Seydlitz destroyed Queen Mary, and Lützow assisted her elder sister in the sinking of Invincible.

Derfflinger was interned with the rest of the High Seas fleet at Scapa Flow following the armistice in November 1918. Under the orders of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the interned ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919; Derfflinger sank at 14:45.

more on wikipedia
more on historyofwar.org
image source: vintage postcard on akpool.co.uk

SMS Kolberg was a light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) during the First World War, the lead ship ofher class. She had three sister ships, SMS Mainz, Cöln, and Augsburg. She was built by the Schichau-Werke; her hull was laid down in early 1908 and she was launched later that year, in November. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in June 1910. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns and had a top speed of 25.5 kn (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph).

Kolberg saw action in several engagements with the British during the war, including the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank the following month. She also saw action against the Russians on two occasions, during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915 and Operation Albion in November 1917. After the end of the war, she was ceded to France as a war prize and renamed Colmar. She served only briefly in the French Navy, including a deployment to Asia in 1924. She was stricken in 1927 and broken up two years later.

(image source)

SMS Von der Tann was well received as Germany’s first major turbine-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought-type warship afloat, capable of reaching speeds of more than 27 knots. Built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Von der Tann was the workhorse of the High Seas Fleet Scouting Squadron, and was designed in response to the British Invincible class.

The ship met her end when the fleet was scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1919. The wreck of Von der Tann was raised in 1930, then scrapped at Rosyth from 1931 to 1934. (image source)

more on wiki
SMS Von der Tann on historyofwar.org
photo: SMS Von Der Tann in drydock

crew and interior; SMS Von Der Tann

Hartlepool Group

While Derfflinger, Von der Tann and Kolberg approached Scarborough, Seydlitz, Blücher and Moltke proceeded toward Hartlepool

(image source: above) — (image source: below)

SMS Seydlitz was the fourth German battlecruiser, and was essentially an enlarged version of the previous Moltke class ships. She was 46 feet longer but 3 feet narrower, carried the same main armament of ten 11.1in guns, and had a designed speed one knot faster (although her actual top speed of 28.1kts was lower than that achieved by the Moltke).

The Seydlitz was Admiral Hipper’s flagship from June 1914 until October 1917. She took part in the Gorleston Raid (Raid on Yarmouth) of 2-4 November 1914, (the first attack on the British coast during the First World War) and then the attack on Hartlepool on 16 December, where she was hit by three 6 in shells from the coastal guns.

She was named after Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, a Prussian general during the reign of King Frederick the Great and the Seven Years’ War. As with the rest of the German battlecruisers that survived the war, Seydlitz was interned then scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1918.

more on wiki

SMS Seydlitz on historyofwar.org

SMS Seydlitz on Naval Warfare blog

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy. The ship was named for the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Documents from the German naval archives generally indicate satisfaction with Blücher′s minor pitch and gentle motion at sea. However, she suffered from severe roll, and with the rudder hard over, she heeled over up to 10° from the vertical and lost up to 55% of her speed. As with other German capital ships of the period, Blücher was equipped with Krupp cemented armor. The armored deck was between 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) in thickness; more important areas of the ship were protected with thicker armor, while less critical portions of the deck used the thinner form.

Upon reaching the British coast, Hipper′s battlecruisers split into two groups. Seydlitz, Moltke, and Blücher went north to shell Hartlepool, while Von der Tann and Derfflinger went south to shell Scarborough and Whitby. Of the three towns, only Hartlepool was defended by coastal artillery batteries. During the bombardment of Hartlepool, Seydlitz was hit three times and Blücher was hit six times by the coastal battery. Blücher suffered minimal damage, but nine men were killed and another three were wounded. By 09:45 on the 16th, the two groups had reassembled, and they began to retreat eastward.

Blücher was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel between 1907 and 1909, and was sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915. The number of casualties is unknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000.

more on wiki
image source on zeno.org

SMS Moltke was the nameship of the Moltke class of battlecruisers, the second general of battlecruisers built for the German navy. She was a distinctive improvement on the already impressive von der Tann, carrying ten guns and reasonably heavy armour but still able to reach high speeds. She was commissioned for trials on 30 September 1911, and achieved a top speed of 28.4kts on the measured mile.

Named after the 19th century German field marshal Helmuth von Moltke. Commissioned on 30 September 1911, the ship was the second battlecruiser commissioned into the Imperial Navy. Compared to her British rivals— the Indefatigable class— Moltke and her sister Goeben were significantly larger and better armored.

At 03:20 on 15 December, Moltke, Seydlitz, Von der Tann, Derfflinger, and Blücher, along with the light cruisers Kolberg, Strassburg, Stralsund, and Graudenz, and two squadrons of torpedo boats left the Jade. The ships sailed north past the island of Heligoland, until they reached the Horns Reef lighthouse, at which point the ships turned west towards Scarborough. Twelve hours after Hipper left the Jade, the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 14 dreadnoughts and 8 pre-dreadnoughts and a screening force of 2 armored cruisers, 7 light cruisers, and 54 torpedo boats, departed to provide distant cover.

During the bombardment of Hartlepool, Moltke was struck by a 6 in (15.2 cm) shell from a coastal battery, which caused minor damage between decks, but no casualties. Scuttled 21 June 1919 at Scapa Flow. The wreck of Moltke was raised in 1927 and scrapped at Rosyth from 1927 to 1929.

SM U-17 – The German Navy had been seeking opportunities to draw out small sections of the British fleet which it could trap and destroy. U-17 was sent to investigate the area near Scarborough and Hartlepool for coastal defenses. The submarine reported little onshore defense, no mines within 12 mi (10 nmi; 19 km) of the shore and a steady stream of shipping. (wiki)

On 20 October, 1914 this boat was the first to sink a merchant vessel. U-17 stopped the 866 ton British steamer SS Glitra (uboat.net) off the Norwegian coast, and having searched her cargo, ordered the crew to the lifeboats before scuttling the vessel.

More on wikipedia
image source (Naval pictures of the great war)

Armored cruiser Yorck – The big warship blundered into a German minefield while returning from the Scarborough raid on December 15, and foundered in sight of land.
-City of Art

The ship had a short career; she served with the fleet for the first seven years, after which she was decommissioned and placed in reserve. After the outbreak of World War I, she was reactivated and returned to front-line service.

After returning from the raid on Yarmouth on 3–4 November, the ship made a navigational error in heavy fog and accidentally sailed into a German defensive minefield. The ship sank quickly with heavy loss of life, though sources disagree on the exact number of fatalities. Her commander was subsequently brought before a court martial and convicted of negligence. Yorck was broken up incrementally, with work occurring in 1929–30, 1965, being finally completed in 1982.

more on wiki

The Results:

Damage to the lighthouse on Vincent’s Pier, Scarborough, caused by shells from the German battlecruisers SMS DERFFLINGER and SMS VON DER TANN when the town was bombarded on the morning of 16 December 1914

During the bombardment by Hipper’s battlecruisers the lighthouse was hit twice, once in the tower and once in the harbourmasters quarters. The damage to the lighthouse tower was considered so severe that the structure was considered unsafe and was demolished three days after the bombardment. Reconstruction of the tower was undertaken in 1931.

-wikimedia commons

A Devil of a Do in Scarborough – Contemporary postcard mailed 21st December

“Dear Bert, Lizzie and Freddie, Just a line to let you know I’m going to be alright. There will be no leave this Christmas… Well we shall soon have Christmas here now. It was a bit of a devil about that Scarboro do wasn’t it. Well ta ta for present. Warmest regards, Alb”.

Whilst a cruiser laid a minefield out to sea, German battlecruisers opened fire on a coastguard station and yeomanry barracks in the town. They also fired on the old castle and the Grand Hotel which they seemingly mistook for a gun battery

Scarborough Damage becomes enlistment poster

WWI recruitment poster referring to the German bombardment of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, in 1915. “Men of Britain! Will you stand this? 78 women & children were killed and 228 women & children were wounded by the German raiders. Enlist now.”

Caption: “No. 2 Wykeham Street, Scarborough, after the German bombardment on Dec. 16th. It was the home of a working man. Four people were killed in this house including the wife, aged 58, and two children, the youngest aged 5.”

original photo full size – poster full size

WW1 propaganda posters – posted by Paul Malon

Albert Edward Dock – 14th September 1917
(Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums’ photostream)

RMS Aquitania in the Gladstone Graving Dock, Liverpool – 1914

The Gladstone graving dock was completed in 1913. At the outbreak of the First World War, the liner RMS Aquitania was undergoing repairs in the dock. As a result, she was immediately converted in-situ for war service. (source)

Gladstone Dock is located on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. The dock is connected to the Royal Seaforth Dock to the north and what remains of Hornby Dock to the south. Part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

The dock is named for Robert Gladstone, a merchant from Liverpool and second cousin of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. Designed in the first decade of the twentieth century, construction was eventually completed in 1927 and consisted of three miles (5 km) of quays and extensive warehouse space.

The graving dock was completed in 1913, before the rest of the dock became operational. At 1,050 ft long and 120 ft (37 m) wide it was designed to take the largest trans-Atlantic steamers. During the Second World War, ASW ships, Atlantic convoy escorts and minesweepers were based there. (wiki)

On 25 January 1953, the liner RMS Empress of Canada (1928) caught fire and capsized in the Gladstone Number One Branch Dock.

In this shot the Empress of Canada has started to move from her watery grave and is about half way to being righted,you can clearly see the position of one of her funnels,everything other than her main superstructure has already been removed. –posted by Jibup

Original (2908 x 1933) – See also On her side

She was refloated the following year and towed to Gladstone Graving Dock and be made watertight, in preparation for being scrapped in Italy. Transatlantic passenger services continued to use the dock until all such services from Liverpool were discontinued in 1971

further reading:
The sinking of the Empress of Canada (1920) on Nineteen Keys and the Lure of a Furious Sea blog.

Gladstone Lock – The main line Gladstone Dock railway station closed to passengers on 7 July 1924 while the Liverpool Overhead Railway station Gladstone Dock (LOR) closed in 1956. As part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock’s principal uses are: importing coal for the adjacent Hornby Dock coal processing facility and exporting scrap metal to the Far East. (wiki)

Real photo card of the troopship USS Leviathan in drydock; Liverpool, England

1st World War British Navy

“It is almost inconceivable that any men calling themselves seamen, however frightened they might be, could spend twenty minutes bombarding a fleet of fishing boats without discovering the nature of their target.”
—on the Dogger Bank incident

The Dogger Bank incident (also known as the North Sea Incident, the Russian Outrage or the Incident of Hull) occurred when the Russian Baltic Fleet mistook some British trawlers at Dogger Bank for an Imperial Japanese Navy force.

Because of incorrect reports about the presence of Japanese torpedo boats, submarines and minefields in the North Sea, and the general nervousness of the Russian sailors, 48 harmless fishing vessels were attacked by the Russians, thousands of miles away from enemy waters.

The Russians attacked on the night of 21/22 October 1904. Three British fishermen died and a number were wounded. One sailor and a priest aboard a Russian cruiser caught in the crossfire were also killed. The incident almost led to war between Britain and Russia, but it was diplomatically defused.

The Russian fleet was barred from using the Suez Canal and British ports as a result of the incident. It thus proceeded around Africa to the Sea of Japan where it was defeated in the Battle of Tsushima.

(image source)

Miniature battles at Peasholme Park, Scarborough

Peasholm Park is an oriental themed municipal park located in the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1912 and became a favourite venue for galas, displays and exhibitions.

The park is on the site of a medieval manor house of Northstead which was part of the Crown Estate from the 14th century. In 1911 Scarborough Corporation bought some land called Tuckers Field from the Duchy of Lancaster to create a public park. The park was used for aquatic displays, musical performances and evening fireworks.

The Naval Warfare event, The Battle of Peasholm, has been played out for half an hour three times a week during the summer season for over 80 years. The model boats used are mostly man powered earning the fleet the title of “The smallest manned navy in the world”.

All the boats were man powered until 1929, when electricity was introduced. Now, only the larger boats need to be steered by council employees. In the early days, the models were First World War battleships, called Dreadnoughts, and a U-boat. Then, after the Second World War, the fleet was replaced with new vessels and the battle that was recreated was the Battle of the River Plate.

Photo Gallery: Naval Warfare at Peasholm Park

This Week In Wrecks

1864: The USS Housatonic becomes the first ship in history to be sunk by a submarine when the Confederate vessel H.L. Hunley rams her with a spar torpedo. The Hunley is lost herself while retreating.

1944: The US Navy sinks over 30 ships in Operation Hailstone, a concerted attack on Japanese forces at Truk Island. Included among the lost ships is the Fujikawa Maru, now a dive site. (pictured full size)

- brought to you by fuckyeahwrecks -

Click here to view the embedded video.

OMD – Dazzle Ships / Stanlow, Live 2008 London

Dazzle Camouflage was first used on ships in World War One, designed to confuse and disrupt visual rangefinding, making it difficult to hit and sink a ship with artillery, which was very trendy at the time. If you’ve ever used an old film camera and focused until the two images line up correctly, you’ll understand how this worked on old military rangefinders.

Looking back on these ships today they seem almost like massive works of art, not giant machines dodging death and destruction on the high seas…

More Dazzle Ship images on Lost At Sea NYC

Dazzle Ships by OMD released in 1983, sleeve designed by Peter Saville – Inspired by a print by Edward Wadsworth, one of the artists that were charged with applying the dazzle designs created by Norman Wilkinson and his team.

also: OMD – Silent Running

Cats of War

Monkey Fist

Submit story ideas, news links, photographs, or items of interest to her at MM@gcaptain.com. She can also out-belch any man.

Royal Navy Hands Over Suspected Pirates to Face Prosecution in Seychelles

gCaptain Staff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:37:33 +0000

RFA Fort Victoria hands over 14 suspected pirates to the Seychelles for prosecution, image courtesy Royal Navy

A group of pirates caught by a Royal Navy operation in the Indian Ocean will face justice in the Seychelles.

RFA Fort Victoria – part of NATO’s counter piracy task force Operation Ocean Shield – has handed over 14 suspects to the islands’ authorities for prosecution.

The fourteen Somalis were captured on January 13 by Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel embarked on RFA Fort Victoria.

The suspected pirates, who were known to have been operating in the Indian Ocean, were intercepted on board a hijacked Yemeni fishing dhow.

They were found to have a variety of pirate paraphernalia and weapons on board, including rocket-propelled grenades and hand-grenades.

This is the culmination of four months of operations for the UK Counter-Piracy Task Group based on Fort Victoria and under the command of Captain Gerry Northwood.

“This has been a long four months of intensive counter-piracy operations during which time we have captured more than 30 pirates for prosecution and rescued 44 merchant mariners from the hands of the pirates.

“This success has been echoed by other NATO units engaged in counter-piracy operations and the handover of these 14 suspected pirates to the Seychelles authorities will contribute to ensuring the waters of the Indian Ocean become a safer place for all mariners.”

The "RHIB" with the suspected pirates is lowered on the RFA Fort Victoria. These suspected pirates face prosecution in the Seychelles for piracy. Image courtesy Royal Navy

Foreign Secretary William Hague said:

“We are very grateful to the Seychelles for their agreement to prosecute these suspected pirates. Their commitment to the fight against piracy has helped avoid a situation where these individuals were not held to account for their actions.

“In a few weeks time the London Conference on Somalia will discuss how the international community can tackle the many problems faced by Somalia, including piracy.

“Today’s agreement on the transfer of alleged pirates demonstrates what can be achieved through international co-operation and commitment.”

Danish ship HDMS Absalon, another NATO ship conducting counter piracy operations in the Indian ocean was also in the Seychelles, handing over four suspected pirates to the Seychelles authorities.

Royal Navy Stops Somali Pirates in their Tracks [VIDEO]

Mike Schuler — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:17:26 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

This dramatic video shows UK forces stopping a group of Somali pirates that were trolling for ships in the Indian Ocean on January 13. A total of thirteen Somali pirates were arrested by a boarding team of Royal Marines commandos following a concerted effort by RFA Fort Victoria and the U.S. destroyer USS Carney to stop the dhow. Despite repeated warning shots, the pirates continued on but eventually forced to give in.

Note to pirates: If the Royal Navy asks you to stop, you do it.

A full account of the operation can be found HERE.