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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 origins of the American battlecruiser – part 3: Jutland lessons

America’s only battlecruisers,[1] the Lexington class, emerged from ideas flowing through the Naval War College, General Board and other US Navy circles before and during the First World War.[2] As we saw in the previous article, this thinking finally came together...

The First Soviet Nuclear Submarines

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

The origins of the Washington Treaty of 1922

It is a century since the world’s leading powers negotiated the ‘Washington Treaty’. This agreement of 6 February 1922 – called the ‘Five Power Treaty’ at the time[1] – required signatories to scrap numerous ships, including some as yet unfinished, dictated strict...

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...

Stories from the Navy with Buddy Stewart

In our latest stories from the navy segment , we talk to Buddy Stewart. You might know him as the gallant captain of the Navy General Board Facebook Group. He agreed to share some stories from his time in the Navy. From service aboard USS Deyo to his time as an...

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...

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....

Why HMS New Zealand’s debt wasn’t cancelled until 1944-45

One of the many myths about the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand – the ship built as a gift from New Zealand to Britain in 1909 - is that she was unaffordable for a small Dominion of just under a million people. In the previous article I showed that this was simply not...

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...

Battleship Evolution : From the first Dreadnought to the Last

This series on battleships originally began on the Navy General Board Facebook page. It got to be so popular that we combined all of the posts into one article on battleship evolution. In this article we will see how each Navy's first dreadnought differed compared to...

The origins of the American battlecruiser, part 4: British infusion

Designs for the first American battlecruisers, the Lexington class, were developed across several major incarnations during and soon after the First World War. We traced the origins of the American battlecruiser – first as concept, then as designs flowing from the...

The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse – Part 3: the 70-year mystery

The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse off the Malayan coast on 10 December 1941 – described in the previous two articles - set alarm bells going in Britain. It marked the first time heavy ships had been lost to air attack, while fully operational and manoeuvering at...

Was ‘cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’ a naval phrase?

The unprecedented cold that swept parts of the United States in early 2019 could be called 'brass monkey weather', though with the temperatures reported, that might be an understatement. According to legend, the term - in full, 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a...

The Soviets Troubled first generation SSBN

Like most of the first generation boats the Hotels had their issues

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...

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

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...

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...

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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