Kriegsmarine Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin

Kriegsmarine Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin (Bundesarchiv, RM 25 Bild-27 CC-BY-SA 3.0) Graf Zeppelin, being launched on 8 Dec 1938. The Graf Zeppelin represented part of the Kriegsmarine’s attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of projecting German naval power far beyond the narrow confines of the Baltic and North Seas.  The carrier would have … Read more

Kriegsmarine Battleships: Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and Tirpitz

Kriegsmarine Battleships of the Second World War: Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and Tirpitz (Kriegsmarine Photo) Kriegsmarine Battleship Tirpitz firing from one of its main battery of eight 38-centimetre (15 in) guns in four twin turrets. This was a practice shooting on the Baltic Sea, shortly after the ship’s commissioning. Battlecruisers In 1935, the German government negotiated … Read more

Kriegsmarine E-boats

German E-boats (IWM Photo, A 28558) The German Schnellboot (E-boat) S 204 flying a white flag of surrender at the coastal forces base HMS Beehive, Felixstowe, Suffolk, UK, on 13 May 1945. The two German E-Boats S 204 and S 205 from the 4th Schnellboot-Flotilla were escorted in by ten British MTBs. On board S … Read more

Kriegsmarine heavy cruisers: Admiral Hipper, Blücher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz/Lützow, Admiral Scheer, Admiral Graf Spee

Kriegsmarine Heavy Cruisers: Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen, Lützow, Admiral Scheer, Admiral Graf Spee Admiral Hipper-class (14,000 tons, 8 × 203 mm guns) The Admiral Hipper class was a group of five heavy cruisers built by Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine beginning in the mid-1930s. The class comprised Admiral Hipper, the lead ship, Blücher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz, and … Read more

Kriegsmarine Light Cruisers: Emden, Karlsruhe, Köln, Königsberg, Leipzig, Nürnberg

Kriegsmarine Light Cruisers: Emden, Karlsruhe, Köln, Königsberg, Leipzig, Nürnberg The Treaty of Versailles allowed Germany to replace its old First World War cruisers, and the first such new vessel, Emden, was built in the early 1920s to a design based on the last wartime classes. A new approach was taken in the five members of … Read more

Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in Manchukuo (Manchuria), and Mengjiang (Inner Mongolia)

Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in Manchukuo (Manchuria), and Mengjiang (Inner Mongolia) Empire of Japan Puppet State Air Forces of Manchukuo (Manchuria), and Mengjiang (Inner Mongolia) The government of the Empire of Japan viewed all the lands of Asia to be the rightful property of the Imperial Japanese Government and the Emperor.  The … Read more

Marine nationale aircraft carrier Béarn and seaplane tender Commandant Teste

Marine nationale aircraft carrier Béarn and seaplane tender Commandant Teste Between the World Wars, the Marine nationale modernized and expanded significantly, even in the face of limitations set by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. New additions included the heavy and fast Fantasque class “super-destroyers”, the Richelieu class battleships, and the submarine Surcouf which was the … Read more

Marine nationale battleships: Courbet, Jean Bart, Paris, France, Bretagne, Lorraine, Provence, Dunkerque, Strasbourg, Richelieu

Marine nationale Courbet-class battleships Marine nationale battleship Courbet (Histoire de la Marine française illustrée, Larousse, 1934) Marine nationale battleship Courbet was the lead ship of her class of four dreadnought battleships, the first ones built for the Marine nationale. She was completed shortly before the start of the First World War in August 1914. She … Read more