Historic Naval Ships - Navies of the world, all eras

[davidedric]

100 years of history

This is the Russian cruiser Aurora, now a floating museum in St. Petersburg.
In November of 1917, in what was then Petrograd, a blank fired from the Imperial Navy's Aurora was the signal to storm the Tsar's Winter Palace. A crucial moment at the start of the Russian Revolution.
Almost exactly 50 years later, in August 1967, in what was then Leningrad, I was there and took this photo when the Soviet Navy ship was then a museum. (I'm afraid the years have not been kind to the photo).
Now, again, more than another 50 years later, the Russian ship is now in St. Petersburg, and from recent photos I've seen looking a bit more spruce.

What a century!

 

[TruckerDave]

Bremerton, Washington USA
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If this sail could only talk. We will probably never know the full extent of what she "didn't do"

 

[Mannyromano123]

Two replica movie ships that actually existed; the 1787 HMAV “Bounty”, infamous for its South Sea mutiny and HMS “Surprise”, a French corvette captured by the Royal Navy in 1796 and used to recapture another mutinied ship, HMS “Hermione”. Both photographed at San Diego Maritime Museum.

 

[Jeff USN Photog 72-76]

It was so sad to see the Bounty sink in Super Storm Sandy, they should have staying in port

both US Coast Guard photos

 

[Jeff USN Photog 72-76]

Here I am with my brothers in Florida with the Bounty I am in the red checked shirt and glasses.

 

[Trespassers W]

San Diego Maritime Museum is really nice, here are couple of my pictures from several years ago.

Star of India


B-39 - Soviet Foxtrot class submarine, unfortunately no longer there - it was sent to scrape in 2022.

 

[fotoi]

HMS Belfast, London

 

[Pantry42]

Italian Navy Maestrale-class anti-submarine frigate 'Grecale' F571 in Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta

 

[Mr Roboto]

The USS Constitution
Launched in 1797, she is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat.

 

[Mike_d]

USS Iowa (BB-61) Battleship, museum in Los Angeles.

 

[Mike_d]

USS Benfold (DDG-65), active duty destroyer, doing its best to blend into the overcast.

 

[ShipleyNW]

Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (SDRV).
Basically a submarine ambulance
In service from 1970-2008
Now on display at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington

 

[Cliff Hilbert]

The USS Constitution
Launched in 1797, she is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat.
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Like many other young boys I put together a plastic model of that ship when I was a kid.

 

[Capn Jack]

The USS Constitution
Launched in 1797, she is the world's oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat.
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This has nice symmetry.

 

[West Coast Birder]

USS Benfold (DDG-65), active duty destroyer, doing its best to blend into the overcast.

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Landlubber question - what do the streamers on the two long lines from the mast to the forecastle and the stern represent? Some of them at least seem to be country flags? Are they the countries the ship has visited? Some of them seem to not be country flags, so perhaps they mean something else?

 

[Capn Jack]

Landlubber question - what do the streamers on the two long lines from the last to the forecastle and the stern represent? Some of them at least seem to be country flags? Are they the countries the ship has visited? Some of them seem to not be country flags, so perhaps they mean something else?

I recognize most (all?) of them to be signal flags. Each flag represents a number or letter. But I can't read them.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags

Note that flags can also be used in a code for common words so they don't need to use so many. In addition to representing a letter/number, a flag might represent a common words such as "anchor", "tack", "lee", and others. One such shorthand still used is a red swallowtail indicating a ship is loading or discharging dangerous (explosive) goods. You'll likely see that flag on an oil or gasoline tanker.

 

[West Coast Birder]

Cool, thanks for that! I knew there were flags signalling different things but I didn't realize there were so many of them.

 

[Capn Jack]

Cool, thanks for that! I knew there were flags signalling different things but I didn't realize there were so many of them.

And someone on the ship has to memorize them, and the most commonly used codes! Probably midshipmen.

Note that some genius figured out rudimentary data compression with flag codes long before Claude Shannon did!