Select Page

Navy General Board

Home of Naval History and News

Welcome to the home page of the Navy General Board website! This is your portal to all things navy, whether it be current events or historical topics. You can find a wide range of news stories or historical articles on the website. You can also connect with fellow readers on the website forum.

We are working on creating the world’s greatest military website and eventually the world’s greatest military museum. We welcome you to join us on this incredible journey!

History Articles

Navy General Board was created to help share all aspects of naval history from throughout the ages. Here you will find our collection of history articles. It has come a long way and has something for everyone. Take your time and browse them all!

Warships of Mare Island Shipyard during World War 2

Of the many shipyards used by the United States Navy during the Second World War, few were as busy as the Mare Island Shipyard in California. Famous as the first United States Naval Base on the Pacific Ocean, Mare Island was a hive of activity during World War 2....

Japanese Attack on the United States Coast

Over the course of the Second World War, the continent of North America was largely spared the destruction seen elsewhere. Just as a moat protects a castle, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans protected the United States. American industry was able to support the war...

Best Battleship : Anti-Aircraft Guns

I'm working on a comprehensive ranking system to establish a hierarchy in the effectiveness of each class of battleship, basically finding what was the best battleship. This post will kick off the series by looking at the anti-aircraft guns of each battleship to...

Russia’s Oscar class & the Kursk Tragedy

Russia’s huge Oscar class and the tragic loss of Kursk

What the Second London Naval Treaty ‘escalator clause’ Really Meant

One of the common misconceptions in naval history is the idea that the so-called 'escalator clause' of the Second London Naval Treaty - which allowed main gun calibre to automatically revert to 16-inch if any signatory failed to ratify the treaty - also enabled agreed...

The origins of the American battlecruiser – 1902-1910

The United States Navy’s only planned battlecruisers, six Lexington class ships authorised by the Naval Act 1916,[1] were cancelled by the Five Power (‘Washington’) Treaty of 1922.[2] Two – Lexington and Saratoga - were completed as aircraft carriers instead.[3] The...

Were Britain’s battleships eggshells? Investigating the loss of HMS Victoria in 1893

The loss of the battleship HMS Victoria to a ramming accident in June 1893 sent shock waves across the British Empire. As we saw in the last article, she went down remarkably quickly after a collision with the battleship HMS Camperdown. There was very heavy loss of...

Eggshells and hammers: Fisher’s last battlecruisers

In 1919 an embittered Admiral Sir John Fisher published a trenchant criticism of the British Admiralty’s latest heavy warship. He did not name her, but he didn’t have to: there was only one. To Fisher, HMS Hood had too much weight devoted to armour. ‘And so bang went...

The First Soviet Nuclear Submarines

With the USA leading the way in submarines the Soviet Union had to catch up

Designing Britain’s oddest looking battleships

In the mid-1880s the British began building two new battleships as part of the so-called ‘Northbrook’ programme, a massive burst of naval expenditure to which government reluctantly agreed in early December 1884. What then emerged from the drawing boards of the...

How the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand was paid for

One of the many mythologies surrounding the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand – the gift that the New Zealand government made to Britain in April 1909 – is that she was unaffordable. According to legend, New Zealand was too small to afford her, had no money and the ship...

Yamato Class Armor – Battleship Examination

Based on popular perception, the Yamato class battleships might be associated with a sledgehammer. A tool conveying power, weight, size, and simplicity. Today, the Yamato class are remembered for their large naval guns, tremendous size, and singular purpose of...

The origins of ASDIC and underwater submarine detection

One of the major challenges faced by the combatants of both sides during the First World War was finding submarines underwater. The issue was particularly important for the Allies because Germany turned to U-boats as an equaliser. If they could whittle down British...

Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and the Battle of Jutland

It is easy to declare that the Battle of Jutland – to the Germans, the battle of the Skagerrak[1] - fought over a hectic afternoon and night on 31 May-1 June 1916, was a tactical German victory and a strategic British one.  The idea has become a trope in historical...

Aircraft Launching Devices of the Imperial Japanese Navy: Vol 1B – Flying-Off Platforms on Wakamiya and Yamashiro

By Joseph Ed. Low, and Sander Kingsepp. This is the second of a series of articles that explores the history of aircraft launching devices used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) that will be featured on the NGB (Naval General Board) website. The series started with...

News and Current Events

A relatively new addition to the Navy General Board website. While we remain focused on sharing history, we also want to examine naval current events that are occuring across the world. This section is still new, but more articles are coming. 

Canada’s Next Generation Submarine

My own opinion and hypothesis on what class of submarine could become Canada’s next generation submarine

China’s Newest Warship : The Type 55 Destroyer

At a time when the United States Navy is struggling to determine the future of its Navy, China has been quietly building up its naval forces. The People’s Liberation Army Navy has risen to be the second largest navy in the world by tonnage. It’s not just quantity that...

Why China’s Island Bases are Not a Big Deal

Over the past few years, the media has made a big deal of the artificial island bases that China has built in the South China Sea. Several of these islands are well fortified, featuring harbors, airstrips, and formidable land-based weaponry. Some in the media have...

The Navy’s FFG(X) Program : Foreign and Domestic Options

The Navy has all but admitted that the Littoral Combat Ships are a flop. Therefore, they have started looking at potential ships to fulfill requirements for a new frigate design known as the FFG(X) Program. Make makes things interesting is that this time the US Navy...

Want to go a little bit further than simply reading an aritcle? Interesting in writing your own and sharing it with Navy General Board? Check out our about us page for information on becoming a guest writer for the Navy General Board website! We are looking for both historical pieces and current events happening with navies across the World. 

Shares
Share This