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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.

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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!

Triple Turrets vs. Three-Gun Turrets : Quick Read

Perhaps one of the most common simplifications when discussing warships occurs when discussing their turret styles. For instance, a battleship might be described as having twin turrets, triple turrets, or even quadruple turrets. This of course refers to the number of...

How do Torpedoes Damage a Ship?

Nothing shook warship designers so much as the arrival of the torpedo. Striking the ship below the water line, torpedoes could deliver an incredible amount of explosive power to a part of the warship that is not easily protected. Designers would learn that there was...

Battleship showdown: King George V vs. North Carolina

King George V vs. North Carolina, a question that reveals a lot about the design and intentions behind the first modern post-treaty battleships of the United Kingdom and United States. In this article, we will examine some of the features behind both ships and see how...

The Last Naval Battle of World War 2

  What was the last naval battle of World War 2 ? When was the last battle between sailing ships? When was the last time that the United States boarded an enemy ship in combat? Would you be surprised if all three of those things occurred simultaneously? In...

Battleship showdown: Vanguard vs. Tirpitz – what might have happened

In the previous article we looked at HMS Vanguard, Britain’s last battleship. She was completed too late for the Second World War.[1] But what if she had been able to join that conflict, as originally intended when she was first planned in 1939? Could we have had...

Rise of the United States Navy Part One: The Virginius Affair

Following the Civil War, the United States Navy had languished as funding was diverted to efforts aimed at rebuilding a wounded nation. Only a small handful of ships were kept to serve as a coastal defense force. Elsewhere, nations had observed the power of Ironclads...

HMS Collingwood and the ‘Admirals’– shining lights in the Royal Navy’s ‘dark ages’?

During the early 1880s, Britain laid down six battleships of the Admiral class in several distinct sub-classes, all but one bearing the names of prominent admirals from the Royal Navy’s long history. The prototype was HMS Collingwood, a heavy warship laid down in 1880...

David and Goliath in the Solomons: the ‘pocket corvettes’ Kiwi and Moa vs I-1

By early 1943 the battle for Guadalcanal was in full swing. Japan was supplying its forces on the island by night, often by submarine. United States forces were supported by New Zealand and Australian ground, air and naval units, which included the three Bird-class...

HMS Dreadnought – revolution or evolution?

In early 1907, the battleship HMS Dreadnought sailed on her shake-down cruise to the Caribbean under Captain Reginald Bacon. She was a remarkable vessel in many ways, one whose name became synonymous with all battleships during the First World War period, and whose...

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...

HMAS Sydney : The Pre-War Years (1913-1914)

Special thanks to Andy South for sharing a snippet from his books detailing the career and design of HMAS Sydney. Andy has delved deep into the history of this ship and produced an entire series. If you enjoy the article, you will definitely love his book. You can...

The Q-ship hero – William Sanders, VC

The story of William Sanders (1883-1917) remains one of the most intriguing personal sea experiences of the First World War. His career, though brief, can best be described as outstanding: in quick succession he won first the Victoria Cross and then the Distinguished...

The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse, Part 2: the air attack

At 5.35 pm on 8 December 1941 the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse, with supporting destroyers, left Singapore to attack a Japanese seaborne invasion force that was landing in Malaya. By the early afternoon of 10 December, both ships had been sunk,...

THE TEGETTHOFF CLASS: Austria-Hungary’s Dreadnoughts

Foreword - Andy South has revised his book on the Tegetthoff class dreadnought. He was kind enough to share some information about the Tegetthoff class, giving you a small taste of what's in store. Enjoy his examination of one of the First World War's least known...

Navy General Board Naval History Questions: Volume 1

Over the years, I have been asked a great many naval history questions by curious readers. It's actually quite an honor to have people reach out to me and I love getting to chat to people and answering the questions that I can. Even those that escape me are no problem...

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. 

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