NAVAL FORCES #10: Evolution of European Naval Capabilities and the Hellenic Navy - Propositions to meet future needs

This is the introduction to the second article, written by me (D-Mitch) and fox2, about the Hellenic Navy (Πολεμικό Ναυτικό).  The first article titled ΝΑΥΤΙΚΕΣ ΕΞΕΛΙΞΕΙΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟ (English: Naval Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean), published on November 24, 2015, marked my cooperation with fox2 through his blog idbam.blogspot.gr. Enjoy a long article (in Greek) that describes in brief the evolution of European naval capabilities (based on the much detailed article The major surface combatants of the most powerful European Navies in 2030) as well as some propositions to the Hellenic Navy in order to meet future needs and to follow the rest European Navies. You can read the new article here!

Photoshopped image of a Hydra class frigate of the Hellenic Navy after an upgrade programme (minimum)

Jason class landing ships of the Hellenic Navy

Written by D-Mitch

Jason class tank landing ship of the Hellenic Navy

The Jason class Landing Ships Tank (LST) of the Hellenic Navy (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό) consists of five (5) ship in service. It is worth mentioning that all ships in the class were built and designed by the Greek Elefsis Shipyard in cooperation with the National Technical University of Athens and the Hellenic Navy. The class was ordered to Elefsis Shipyards in 1986. The keel for the first vessel, Chios (L173), was laid down in April 1987. It was launched in December 1988 and commissioned in May 1996. The second vessel, Samos (L174), was laid down in September 1987, launched in April 1989 and commissioned in May 1994, two years earlier than the first vessel in the class. Construction of all the ships was originally scheduled to be completed by September 1990. However, all the vessels, in particular the last three, were delayed due to a financial crisis faced by the shipyard. Privatization of the shipyard in October 1997 resulted in steady progress of the construction. A sixth ship was added to the programme in 2000, but cancelled before construction began.

Existing and Future Naval Analyses for 2017-18

In the following image, I have included all those warships or classes that I have analyzed until today (the image was updated in November 2017) (in black font), after approximately three years from the creation of this blog, as well as the articles I am currently working on (in blue font) in order to publish them this year and the next one. I just hope for one thing only: to have enough free time and therefore to be more productive than 2016 (which by the way I had very limited amount of time). This year my main goal is to analyze more Russian and Asian designs and also for the first time I am planning to write a detailed article about a battleship or a class of battleships. Of course, there will be posts about Fleets, Infographics, History, Facts & Trivia and Photo Galleries, etc. too. So, go ahead, take a careful look at the following picture and feel free to propose adjustments and suggestions or even anything you would like to read about such as your favorite class or warship of the past! I thank you all for your constant support!

Existing and future analyses for 2017-18. High resolution image here.

INFOGRAPHICS #23: U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group (CSG)

Ships from the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group simulate
a strait transit in the Atlantic Ocean on Dec 10, 2013. Photo
by Justin Wolpert, U.S. Navy

A carrier strike group (CSG) is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, a nuclear-powered super-carrier (Nimitz class), which is the centerpiece of the strike group and also serves as the flagship for the CSG Commander and respective staff, at least one cruiser (Ticonderoga class), a destroyer squadron of at least two-three destroyers (Arleigh Burke class) and/or two-three frigates (currently the U.S. Navy does not operate any frigates, thus more destroyers in the group), a carrier air wing of about 70 aircraft (typically up to nine squadrons) and up to two nuclear-powered attack submarines (Los Angeles class, Virginia class), used to screen the strike group against hostile surface ships and submarines, but which also carry cruise missiles for long-range strike capability. A carrier strike group also, on occasion, includes attached logistics ships and a supply ship. CSGs are not restricted to a specific composition and can be modified depending on expected threats, roles, or missions expected during a deployment, and one may be different from another. The Navy states that "there really is no real definition of a strike group. Strike groups are formed and disestablished on an as needed basis, and one may be different from another. However, they all are comprised of similar types of ships."

WARSHIPS OF THE PAST: Elli cruiser of the Royal Hellenic Navy

 Written by D-Mitch

Elli, cruiser of the Royal Hellenic Navy (1951)

In 1947, Greece accepted from Italy the cruiser Eugenio di Savoia, a Condottieri class light cruiser of the Italian Navy (Regia Marina,  the Navy of the Kingdom of Italy) as a World War II reparation for Greece. The new warship renamed Elli, to honor the Elli light cruiser that was sunk by the Italian submarine Delfino while the cruiser sat at anchor near the Greek island Tinos, before the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War on 15 August 1940. The ship was commissioned into the Royal Hellenic Navy (Βασιλικό Πολεμικό Ναυτικό) in 1951 and had a very short career. The 186-meter cruiser was the longest warship ever served with the Hellenic Navy and the largest surface combatant after WWII. However, the largest ever Greek warships were the two per-dreadnought battleships of the Mississippi class, Kilkis and Limnos, that had a full displacement approximately 14,500tons at full load. It should be mentioned that today's Hellenic Navy largest warship is the logistic support ship Prometheus that has a displacement of about 14,000tons and length of 146 meters.

FACTS & TRIVIA #3: HMS Hood, HMS Agincourt, Jean Bart, Gorz and surpercarriers

Enjoy the third part of a new category of articles where all the significant and interesting facts in naval history as well as "strange" and unique features of naval combattants' equipment, are described in brief. 

1. HMS Hood, the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy

HMS Hood, 17 March 1924

HMS Hood

HMS Hood

HMS Hood was a fast and very beautiful warship, a steel giant of 262m, about 47,000tons displacement and armed with eight 15in guns, but with serious design limitations. She was the pride of Royal Navy for more than two decades. As one of the largest and most powerful warships in the world, her prestige was reflected in her nickname ‘The Mighty Hood’. On 24 May, 1941 Hood with the newly commissioned Prince of Wales intercepted the German battleship Bismarck, one of the largest battleships ever built, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait. The pride of Royal Navy was lost quickly that day. The fifth salvo of the German battleship Bismarck sank the mighty Hood splitting the ship in two; the ship sank in three minutes! In only eight minutes of firing, Hood had disappeared, taking all but three of her crew of 1,419 men with her...

FACTS & TRIVIA #2: 21st century cruisers, Ise class hybrid battleship-carriers, British 18in naval gun, Valmy and HS Vasilissa Olga

Written by D-Mitch

This is the second part of a new category of articles where all the significant and interesting facts in naval history as well as "strange" and unique features of naval combattants' equipment, will be described in brief. Enjoy!

1.  21st century cruisers

There are very few navies in the world today that have cruisers in their inventories. Two of the world's superpowers, as somebody could expected, the USA and Russia, have such warships in their fleets, ships that exceed the 10,000tons displacement and of length greater than 170 meters.

• Ticonderoga class cruisers of the United States Navy

USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser

FACTS & TRIVIA #1: Modern torpedo launchers, USS Hull, HMS Victoria, Mississippi class and HMS Vanguard

Written by D-Mitch

This is the first of a new category of articles where all the significant and interesting facts in naval history as well as "strange" and unique features of naval combattants' equipment, will be described in brief. Enjoy the first part of my collection!

1. Non-trainable torpedo launchers in unusual positions on modern surface combatants

There are various torpedo launchers on modern large warships; some of them are trainable such as the popular US Mk32 triple/twin torpedo launcher, the B515 (ILAS-3) and the Russian ChTA-53, and some are not such as the US Mk32 Mod 9 twin launcher, the SEA TLS or the Cray Marine twin launcher. What do all these launchers have in common? They are located mainly amidships on large warships and on small vessels across the deck (Pauk class, torpedo craft etc.) or at the stern in a two-single torpedo launchers configuration (Combattante class etc.). But there are some large warships in modern era that had/have torpedo launchers in fixed position in quite unusual positions and configuration. Such ships are the following:

• Hamburg class destroyers and Deutschland training cruiser of the German Navy

Hamburg class destroyers of the German Navy with the initial triple torpedo launcher at the bow.

FLEETS #16: Combined Naval Fleets of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Navy and the Admiral Benelux (ABNL)

The flag of ABNL

The Dutch and Belgian Navies have been working together since 1948. In that year, the two countries agreed that their navies would operate under single command during times of war. The Admiral Benelux (ABNL) is the Commanding Officer of the combined military staff of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. The Benelux union, is the politico-economic union of three neighbouring states: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The position of ABNL, a result of developing naval cooperation between the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Belgian Navy, was created together with the combination of the Staffs of the two contributing navies on March 28, 1995 in the BENESAM Accord (from the Belgisch-Nederlandse Samenwerking, English: Netherlands Cooperation Accord). This cooperation was first geared at mutual battlefield cooperation and later at mutual defense in the Cold War as part of NATO's Allied Command Channel. After the end of the Cold War the focus of the Dutch-Belgian cooperation turned more and more to the efficient use of equipment and personnel (also driven by cutbacks in military spending after the collapse of the Soviet Union). The ABNL is responsible for the combined operations of the Dutch and Belgian Navies and can be tasked with the responsibility for the operational readiness and deployment of the combined fleets in joint operations, both in war- and peacetime operations. Most of all the ABNL is responsible for the efficient use of joint material and personnel and oversees the joint training programs of the two navies. That is the reason why the two navies use the same types of ships and helicopters. Recently, the two countries signed an agreement to replace their four (4) modernized Karel Doorman class frigates with new vessels under a joint programme as well as their twelve (12) Tripartite class mine countermeasure vessels with new ones (source).