BOOK REVIEW #6: Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy

Welcome to my sixth book review, Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy, by Norman Polmar, Thomas A Brooks, and George E Federoff.

Admiral Gorshkov:
The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy

In October 2005 the Russian MoD placed an order with Severnaya Verf for the construction of the lead ship of a new class of high-tech frigates. That stealth frigate was the first large surface combatant being built for the Russian Navy in 15 years, years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The launching of this new combatant as well as some years later the launching of the first Borei class ballistic missile submarine, marked the Russian determination to restore Russia to great power status. The name that was given to the lead ship, and thus to the whole class, was Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov (Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov). Who was Gorshkov? Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (Russian: Серге́й Георгиевич Горшков; 26 February 1910 – 13 May 1988) was an admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the expansion of the Soviet Navy into a global force during the Cold War. He is one of the most famous Russian and Soviet commanders who will be remembered as the man who designed and built a potent high-seas fleet that could challenge the supremacy of the U.S. Navy during the Cold War!

PHOTO GALLERY #30: Admiral Makarov, Admiral Grogorovich class frigate of the Russian Navy

Photos by Γ.Μ.

Admiral Makarov, an Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate

In this post you will enjoy some very good photos of Admiral Makarov, the latest Admiral Grigorovich-class (pr. 11356M) multi-mission frigate of the Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet, during her visit in Kerkyra (Corfu), as part of the 17th Hellenic -Russian Week in the Ionian Islands. Admiral Makarov was commissioned in December 27, 2017 and she is the third and morel likely the final vessel in the class, as the two incomplete vessels (4th and 5th) will be purchased by India for completion while the future of the 6th vessel is not known. The general characteristics of the class is a displacement of approximately 4,000t at full load, length of 124.8m, beam of 15.2m, maximum speed of 30 knots and a range of 4,850n.m. with the speed of 14 knots. Because some systems are not visible, it should be mentioned that the ship is equipped with among others a bow sonar (MGK-335EM-03) and a towed sonar array (Vignette-EM). The crew is 180-200. Enjoy photos of this quite heavily armed frigate!

With the destroyer USS Deyo in BALTOPS '93 exercise and at Kiel Naval Base

The destroyer USS Deyo,
BALTOPS 93 Phase I June 8-10

The following photos were taken by Buddy Stewart and Nathan Jones aboard the Spruance-class destroyer USS Deyo (DD-989) during the exercise BALTOPS 1993. In the summer of 1993, USS Deyo deployed to the Baltic Sea and served as flagship for the exercise commander of BALTOPS. BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. For the first time in the 22-year history of BALTOPS, the Eastern European countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia were invited to participate in the non-military phases of the exercise. This was the first (and the only?) time Russia participated, at least in the non-military portion of the exercises. Enjoy this unique photo collection of.. a different BALTOPS! A big thank to Buddy Stewart for the provided photos!

USS Deyo, BALTOPS 1993 Phase I Jun 11-13, anchored at Karlskrona Sweeden

INFOGRAPHICS #45: United States Navy aircraft carriers, cruisers and Task Force One

The following images are created by Steve Freeman (sfreeman421 for deviantart) and depict all the classes of aircraft carriers and cruisers that were/are in service with the United States Navy as well as the famous (nuclear) Task Force One . Enjoy this great artwork! 

United States Navy Aircraft Carriers. Original artwork and illustration: Steve Freeman. In high resolution here

Hellenic Navy – Brief analysis of the current situation of the Fleet and its future

Written by D-Mitch

Photos by Nick Thodos 

The Hellenic Navy in exercise

Today, the Hellenic Navy maintains a large number of surface combatants and submarines in its inventory. However, the shortfalls suffered by the Navy over the last several years from the severe economic recession that began in mid-2008, are significant. Τhe economic crisis hit hard the country and Greece tried to recover via spending cuts including a high proportion of the defence budget. The vast majority of the warships in active service today are very old and should had been replaced by modern designs at least a decade ago. Having been held back by the pressures of the global economic crisis, the Hellenic Navy is now racing to catch up with its neighbors (source). Greece is a country with vast coastline, archipelagos and enclaves, heavily depended on trade and on the exploitation of maritime resource. However, trade and economic issues depend considerably on the free use of the sea, on the security of the sea lines of communication and the sustainable exploitation of marine resources. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and has been a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times. Today, shipping is the country's most important industry worth $21.9 billion in 2018. (source) The responsibility of the Hellenic Navy in this respect is certainly huge. To a large extent, the future of Greece depends on the control exercised on the sea. To continue being effective, the Fleet must be a powerful, balanced and flexible instrument at the service of Greece in this uncertain and ever-changing geostrategic environment. It is vital for the Navy to continue having the necessary means to solve the most complex and demanding situations and constantly protecting and surveilling the maritime domains of national interest. In this article the most important facts about the current situation of the Fleet and its (possible) future are reported. Finally, one graph depict the current fleet composition and its future composition by 2030 in two scenarios, optimistic (O) and pessimistic (P). A second graph depicts the years of active service of the newest and oldest vessel per warship type.

INFOGRAPHICS #44: Adolf Hitler's Navy in 1936

"Adolf Hitler's Navy" is a two-page illustration from Life Magazine, Dec 7, 1936, and depicts all German navy ships afloat or under construction at the time. The image was originally posted by u/AspireAgain on www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn.

Adolf Hitler's Navy in 1936. High resolution image here.

INFOGRAPHICS #43: Future Surface Combatants

Written by D-Mitch

In this post, I include some of the infographics I made and published on social media, about new surface combatants that are under construction and about to enter service in the near future. I will update this post periodically with new designs.

1. Type 26 - City class frigate of the Royal Navy (8 ships) 

Type 26 - City class frigate of the Royal Navy. High resolution image here.

BOOK REVIEW #5: Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada

Welcome to my fifth book review, Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada, by Stephen M. Younger.

Silver State Dreadnought:
The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada

This book is not about a famous battleship that participated in naval battles in World Wars or had adventurous lives neither about the largest nor about the most powerful ever-built battleship. This book is about a battleship that served the United States Navy for almost 33 years in European and Pacific theaters. A revolutionary battleship of that time which features, made the first US Navy "standard-type" battleship; the USS Nevada (BB-36). The Standard-type battleship was a series of twelve battleships across five classes ordered for the United States Navy between 1911 and 1916 and commissioned between 1916 and 1923 before the construction moved on to the first fast battleship, the North Carolina, in the late 1930s. Nevada was the second United States Navy ship to be named after the 36th state, the lead ship of the two Nevada-class battleships. Launched in 1914, she was a leap forward in dreadnought technology. She was the first super-dreadnought of the United States; four of her new features would be included on almost every subsequent US battleship: triple gun turrets on the centerline in fore and aft turrets with no amidships guns, oil in place of coal for fuel, geared steam turbines for greater range, and the "all or nothing" armor principle (protection of the important elements only). She was the first in the world to adopt those features. An ambitious and risky design that would be either a brilliant success or a failed expensive experiment. History would vote for success, since Nevada became the first of a standard design battleship that navies around the world would copy. Nevada was America’s first modern battleship and a political symbol of an ascendant America to a global superpower. With her sister Oklahoma, the Nevada class represented a considerable evolution in battleship design that was well ahead of its time.

PHOTO GALLERY #29: Gokova, upgraded Gabya class frigate of the Turkish Navy and Generał Kazimierz Pułaski, O.H. Perry class frigate of the Polish Navy

Perrys! Turkish Gokova (left) and Polish Generał Kazimierz Pułaski frigates

In this post you will enjoy more than 90 photos of two frigates, Gokova, a Modernized Gabya (O. H. Perry) class frigate of the Turkish Navy and Generał Kazimierz Pułaski, an O.H. Perry class frigate of the Polish Navy. I took the photos during my visit to Kiel, on 21st and 22th of June, the first days of the 137th Kiel Week (see previous post about Kieler Woche). The two ships were some of the many visiting warships that had returned from the NATO BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) Exercise. Both ships are currently participating in the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1). The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of guided missile frigates named after the U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie. The 136-meter warships were designed in the United States in the mid-1970s as general-purpose escort vessels inexpensive enough to be bought in large quantities to replace World War II-era destroyers and complement 1960s-era Knox-class frigates. Fifty-five (55) ships were built in the United States: 51 for the United States Navy (US Navy) and four (4) for the Royal Australian Navy. In addition, eight (8) were built in Taiwan, six (6) in Spain, and two (2) in Australia for their navies. The last remaining in active service with the US Navy, USS Simpson, was decommissioned on 29 September 2015. Former U.S. Navy warships of this class have been sold or donated to the navies of Bahrain (1), Egypt (4), Poland (2), Pakistan (1), Taiwan (10), and Turkey (8).