Illustrated Directory Of Submarines Of The World (Illustrated Directory)
Takeshi Krueger
2. Since the outbreak of war the Division of Naval Intelligence has issued a considerable number of publications dealing with the appearance of our own naval vessels, with those of allied and neutral nations and the fleets of our opponents. Written and illustrated by the officers and civilian personnel who have prepared material for 0. N. I. Standard Navy Manuals, O. N. I. 223 represents an effort to simplify ship recognition for personnel in training and for the fighting forces.
Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World (Illustrated Directory)
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3. The first section of this publication may be regarded as a primer for thosewhose knowledge of the elements that constitute a fighting fleet is limited. This section describes briefly the functions of the more important combatant types and auxiliaries and their characteristics. It also contains a glossary of common marine terminology and illustrates the salient elements of war- ship design, with their names and common variations.
4. Additional sections of 0. N. I.223 will he published as material is com-pleted, and will deal with the national characteristics of the major navies, with the distinctive characteristics of individual fleets and with methods and techniques of ship identification.
Combatants in the present war have consistantly bombed and shot at their own ships and those of their allies. A large body of opinion maintains that the Italians, for instance, would he obliging enough to eliminate their fleet from the Mediterranean if left to their own devices.
While the objective of all seagoing personnel should be to recognize important ships or types at a glance, familiarity with the details of naval design illustrated in the following pages may prove of value to the student of ship identification. Determination of a ship's type must constitute a primary step in identification in combat areas. Since accurate estimation of a ship's size is extremely difficult at sea, an observer may have occasion to resort to certain rules of thumb to differentiate various types of fighting ships. A discussion of the factors that may be employed to distinguish these types, and of the common variants that occur within the types themselves, will be found in this section of 0. N. I. 223.
Of all fighting ships, the old Monitor must have been about the easiest to identify. She had a single turret and a single stack on a wide flat hull, and that was all that could be said about her. Modern warships have become a good deal more complex. In fact there are no two warships in the world that look precisely alike. An expert can tell even sister ships apart by minor
differences in their masts or superstructures. All ships share in some degree the essential characteristics of their type, and as one becomes familiar with ships one also becomes increasingly aware of the peculiar national character that distinguishes ships of the world's navies.
"Spot" identification of ships at sea is not always possible or desirable. The appearance of individual warships is constantly undergoing alteration in time of war and consideration must be given, for purposes of identification, to ele ments of structure that are least subject to change, such as main armament and hull proportions. "Progressive" identification, or identification through observation of detail, will often constitute the basis for a more dependable check on a ship's identity than the general impression of an observer. For this reason, variations in structural elements that appear in all fighting ships are illustrated in this section, aswell as those which serve to differentiate types, with terms commonly applied to them. The progressive method is considered especially well suited to descriptive reporting of ships' appearance. A method of reporting such data appears in 0. N. I. 223-K, Warships in Code, recently published by the Division of Naval Intelligence.
The student of ship identification should first of all familiarize himself with the types of ship that make up a modern fleet. On these pages appear the more important types of fighting ship that make up the United States Navy. On this page are shown the major combatant units th at form the Battle Fleet or make up the task forces that have assumed such an important role in the Pacific area. Each of these ships has been designed to play an aggressive role in combat. Each has its place and function in the disposition of the Fleet when at sea. Not all of these ships, however, are intended solely for operation with others. A cruiser or lighter vessel may execute an independent combat mission, preying upon commerce or clearing the sea of raiders and other enemy naval units. Generally speaking, the number of ships of each type in a well-balanced navy will vary inversely with size. Thus, for every battleship, approximately Two heavy cruisers, Two Light cruisers and five destroyers will be built. The relative proportion of our e xisting carriers or of carriers building or contemplated cannot b e expressed in similar terms and is therefore omitted. It will
suffice to say that the proportion of ships of this type in our Na v y will be greatly increased over the pre-war level. For every ship that is built t o meet an opponent in battle, a dozen are built to perform prosaic but necessary jobs for the maintenance, supply, and protection of t he Fleet and its shore establishments. Many types of repair, supply and transport vessels are constantly engaged in supplying and. maintaining our two-ocean fleet. Extended naval operations would often be impossible without these ships. In waters where adequate docking, repair and fuel facilities do not exist, the crippling of an enemy repair ship or oiler may require modification or abandonment of an important operation. The destruction of an enemy's auxiliaries must , therefore, be regarded as a n objective of major importance.
Identification of such units is important. An observer must be able to distinguish enemy ships of these types from corresponding vessels of his own navy and of his allies'. Accurate reporting of minor enemy ship types present in an operating area is an important factor in anticipating an opponent's plans and in the formation of strategic as well as tactical decisions. It is not enough, therefore, simply to know your own and the enemy's major combatant ships. Fliers especially should become familiar with such minor vessels in order to report accurately the types of the m any ships that will be observed in theaters of war.
A ship, to be classed as a fighting ship, must be capable of inflicting damage and of sustaining or avoiding damage. She must possess sufficient speed and maneuverability to execute her mission and the capacity to proceed independently to a scene of action. The type of a warship is determined by the degree to which each of these qualities has been stressed in her design.
A fighting ship must also be able to "take it." A ship may be designed to absorb punishment, to mitigate its effect, or to avoid it. She may be provided with armor: heavy steel plate around vital parts t o defeat shells, bombs, and torpedoes. Her bull will be subdivided into separate spaces, or provided with bulges or blisters, to confine the effects of flooding and explosion. This is called compartmentation. Damage control systems consisting of provisions for counterflooding, fire fighting, etc., arc developed in varying degrees in all types. Speed and
maneuverability in themselves constitute factors of protection in smaller types in which armament and protection have b een sacrificed for these qualities, while submarines depend for protection largely on their ability to make themselves invisible by submerging.
Most fighting ships are propelled by highpressure steam boilers and geared turbine engines, although Diesel or reciprocating engines are sometimes used in smaller types. Diesels are used in submarines when operating on the surface, electric storage battery motors when submerged.
To bring an enemy to action is the battleship's primary function, and these ships must carry crews and provisions necessary to take them into battle with enough shells and fuel and food aboard to permit them to fight and return. Since cruisers are often required to perform independent missions at great distances, sea keeping capacity is a vital consideration in their design. Carriers must also be designed to accommodate provision for extended operations and fuel for their aircraft. Destroyers, as they often operate with battle fleets or in convoy, must also carry provision for such work, subject to limitations of size, while submarines are required to remain in enemy waters for extended periods. It will, therefore, be seen that sea keeping is a very important factor in the design of all more important types of fighting ships.
Modern battleships of four major navies are here illustrated. Examination of these ships will disclose peculiarities characteristic of each nation. Hulls, main battery arrangements, stacks, masts, and bridges are as characteristic of national developments in engineering and design as are the types of architecture that are associated with various countries and nationalities.
Tirpitz is the latest example of German capital ship design. Unusual beam makes for great stability and permits extensive compartmentation. Speed, underwater protection, and endurance take precedence over gun power and armor. She is a ship better designed for ocean raiding than for fleet action.
As the largest and most powerful of fighting ships, battleships combine gun power and protection in the highest degree. The speed of modern battleships now approaches that of most fast surface types, and with a few exceptions, their endurance is very great. These ships constitute the Line of Battle. They are mobile fortresses whose principal duty is to meet an enemy's heavy ships and to destroy them; while in combined operations and warfare on commerce they may act as heavy support for other types.
USS SOUTH DAKOTA First and last a heavy lighter, designed to give and receive the heaviest blows. High mobility and endurance fit her for extended operation. This ship marks a new era in the design of U. S. capital ships and embodies the spirit of the offensive.
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