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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!

The story behind Britain’s ‘G3’ class battlecruisers

In 1920 the British Admiralty proposed a £75 million capital ship programme, revolving around four battlecruisers and four battleships of unprecedented size and power, embodying all the lessons Britain had learned from the First World War and post-war firing tests.[1]...

The largest class of battleships ever built: the Majestics. Part 1.

Britain's Majestic class of the 1890s was the largest class of battleships ever built. In many ways the nine-strong class symbolised the age. The names selected for them were redolent of the period, particularly the neo-classical revival that had become a British...

Room 40 : Cryptanalysis during World War I

The sailor in Room 53 has never, it's true, been to sea but though not in a boat he has served afloat — in a bath in the Admiralty' Dillwyn ‘Dilly’ Knox, Cryptographer Room 40 . BEGINNINGS In London there is a building that has stood on its site since 1726. A two...

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...

Warship Terminology: Naval Gunnery Dispersion for Dummies

I wanted to talk about a term that is often tossed around when talking about naval gunnery but is not completely understood. Since It had also been a while since we had a technical article, I think the time has come to discuss the topic of naval gunnery dispersion....

A decisive episode: the strategic stakes of the Bismarck sortie

The events surrounding the brief Atlantic sortie of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, have been told many times. Analysis often focuses on engineering and combat performance,[1] or on the tactical issues associated with finding a lone warship in the North...

The origins of the American battlecruiser – part 2: the road to the Lexington

In 1916 the United States authorised the construction of six battlecruisers of significant size, fire-power and speed. They were the first such ships ordered for US Navy service and remain the only battlecruisers the US Navy ever ordered.[1] None were completed as...

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Fleet that keeps the navy moving

Britain’s Majestic class battleships, part 2 – the politics

Britain’s nine Majestic class battleships of the 1890s were the largest single class of battleships ever built. As we saw in the previous article, the class introduced a range of key technologies, and the Admiralty wanted them in order to maintain the ‘two power...

Ersatz Yorck vs. HMS Hood

‘WHAT-IF?’ The winter of 1918/19 was finally loosening its grip on the cold waters of the North Sea, and then after a long season, the dawn of a new spring was finally in the offering to the war weary continent. It would be the fifth year of The Great War, (the "War...

A look at British B.VIII naval gun machinery and variants

By the early twentieth century one of the problems the British had with their heavy naval guns was that existing gun machinery could not elevate or depress the guns quickly enough to compensate for the roll of the ship. In some conditions the turntables could not...

F4U Corsair vs P-51 Mustang

In the first of a new series of posts, we will begin to examine various carrier aircraft and see how they compare to other aircraft. And what better way to start the series off than to examine two of the most famous American fighter aircraft of the Second World War....

CSS Manassas : A Hellish Machine

From the very onset of the Civil War, the Confederacy knew they were overmatched by the industrial might of the Union. The Union Navy operated with near impunity along the shores of Confederate territory. Seeking a way to challenge this mighty foe, the Confederacy...

The slow death of the Lion class – Britain’s never-built battleships

As war clouds loomed over Europe in the late 1930s, Britain’s last generation of battleships were well in hand. By 1938 the five King George V class were under construction and the first two examples of their successors, the Lions, were due to be laid down in 1939.[1]...

Best Battleship: What battleship had the best guns

The battleship was built around its guns. After our last article looking at the anti-aircraft firepower of various battleships from World War II and onward, we decided to continue our journey to discover the best battleship. In this article, we will examine how each...

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. 

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...

Canada’s Next Generation Submarine

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

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...

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...

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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