Fictional Warships - Novels

[Graham1973]

Fisher T. Samuels, The Shores of Tripoli, 2014

United States (2014)

USS Dauntless (PC-??)
Patrol Boat, class not mentioned
Length: 85ft (26m)
Displacement: 185,000 pounds (84 tonnes)
Armament: 2 x 25mm Mk.38 Machine Gun (Fwd and stern)
Experimental non-lethal weapon (Code name "November Lima")
Speed: 35 knots (Electric engines, power is supplied either by Diesel engines or Hydrogen fuel cells)
Power from the engines when running under diesel mode can be used to generate additional hydrogen for the fuel cells via electrolysis.
Note: Stated to be newly built

USS Mauler (PC-??)
Patrol Boat, class not mentioned
20 years older than USS Dauntless
Diesel Engines.

United States (1803)

USS Philadelpia
Sailing Frigate
Real ship, details as in service

Plot summary: The United States newest patrol boat suddenly finds itself at a critical moment in US history when the test of a new non-lethal weapon produces a strange side effect.

Note: Both of the patrol ships seem to be loosely based on the US Cyclone Class Patrol Boat (First examples launched 1993, still in service), with USS Dauntless (PC-??) conceivably representing a replacement class.

The conflict the author uses as the background is the First Barbary War (1801-1805), the second major conflict the United States engaged in after Independance (The first was the 1798-1800 Quasi-War with the French over the XYZ Affair.), it is also the origin of the second part of the opening line of the US Marine Corps Hymn.

Plot-wise this novel is not too much different from the 1980 film "The Final Countdown" which is probably the most well known military time-displacement story at present. The basic idea was first used by author Dean McLaughlin in the novella "Hawk Among The Sparrows" published in Analog magazine in the July 1968 issue, however as that involves a single-seat fighter version of the SR-71, that is outside the scope of the list.

 

[Graham1973]

Yet another 'Self-published on Amazon' thriller...

S.T. Mastroianni, Interceptor, 2017

United States

Coast Guard

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753)
Legend Class Cutter
Real ship, details as in service.

USCGC Wahoo (WPB-87345)
Marine Protector Class Patrol Boat
Real ship, details as in service.

Customs & Border Patrol

Invincible
High speed interception craft
Real ship, details as in service (link)
Armament: Two 'machine guns', type not specified, most likely the current US Service weapon

Interceptor
High speed interception craft
Same details as Invincible

Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic)

Avenger
Infiltration craft (Converted Motor Yacht.)
Exact dimensions are not given.
Comprehensive electronics fit (Very high end civilian equipment.)
Registered to a Hong Kong based front company
Crew are Chinese born North Korean operatives.
Armament: AK-47s and unspecified handguns for all crew.

Plot summary: A US/Chinese Yacht Building partnership has just completed their first major boat (A 120ft motor yacht called 'Reunion') and plan to have it delivered to their US customer. However the passage crew do not realize that the North Koreans have managed to modify the boat to carry something into US waters that will, if it is delivered successfully make the Great Leader very happy.

 

[Graham1973]

Dan Foley, Intruder, 2015

Germany (1944)

U-533
U-Boat of unspecified class
No other details provided.
Note: Pennant matches that of a Type IXC/40 Class U-Boat that was sunk in the Gulf of Oman in October of 1943. The submarine in the novel is sunk in the Atlantic in August of 1944.

United States

USS John Hancock (SSBN-???)
Class not specified
Details would match any of the pre-Ohio Class Submarine classes
Stated that at some point after the events of the novel the submarine is updated to carry Trident Missiles, this suggests she is either a member of the James Madison or Benjamin Franklin Classes.
Note: Name clashes with a Spruance Class Destroyer in service 1977 - 2007.

Russia

Unnamed
Nuclear submarine
Class not specified


Plot summary: The year is 1970. The Ballistic Missile submarine USS John Hancock is on another routine patrol. For the Gold Crew, this means another long patrol filled with films, pranks, poker and ghost stories, this time however the ghost is real and has unfinished business dating back to World War Two...

 

[Graham1973]

Returning to classic war fiction after spending some time on Amazon...

Alexander Fullerton, Band of Brothers, 1996

United Kingdom

MTB-545
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-559
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-560
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-561
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-562
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-563
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MTB-564
Motor torpedo boat, make not specified
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in British service.

MGB-864
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships

MGB-866
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships

MGB-870
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships

MGB-874
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships

MGB-875
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships

Note: I am not sufficiently familiar with British MTB/MGB numbering to determine if the pennants above are real pennants or fictional.

Unnamed
Hunt Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Hunt Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

Germany

Heilbronne
Armed Merchant Ship (U-Boat Supply ship)
4,500 tons
Two Funnels
Speed: 17 knots
Converted pre-war Banana Boat
Ship is armed, but no specific details are provided.

Unnamed
Several R-Boats (Small minesweepers)
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Several M-Class Minesweepers
Details as per the real ships.

Unnamed
Several Elbing Class Torpedo Boats
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author refers to these ships as T-Class Torpedo boats, but the limited details he provides suggest that he had the Elbing Class in mind.

Unnamed
Several Armed Trawlers
No specific details provided

Plot summary: It is October 1943, a German U-Boat supply ship is attempting to break out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Note: The authors introduction states that the engagement which forms the heart of the novel is loosely based on several wartime 'After Action' reports involving the British Coastal forces.

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, On The Edge of Darkness, 2013

United Kingdom

HMS Nishga
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

MTB-34
Torpedo Boat
Exact make/type not specified

MTB-35
Torpedo Boat
Exact make/type not specified

Note: I do not have a good source for MTB Pennant numbers so these may be real pennants used fictionally.

Germany

Nienburg
Heavy Cruiser, class not specified
6 x 8 inch guns (Armament is not described in much detail however clues from the combat sequence in which she appears imply the layout of the main armament is A & B (Twin Turrets), X & Y (Single Turrets).)
12 x 4 inch guns
6000 tons
30 knots
"...double mounted torpedo tubes and the usual Ack-Ack stuff."

Wagner
Type 1934 Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ship
Note: Author refers to this ship as a Maas Class Destroyer. Name does not fit the class all of which were named after German Navy personnel killed in WWI.

Unnamed
S-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Captured by the crew of HMS Nishga, taken into RN service as HMS Edward

Unnamed
S-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Captured by the crew of HMS Edward, taken into RN service as HMS Ethelred

Unnamed
F-Class Escort Ship (Frigate)
Details as per the real ships

Plot summary: The crew of a British destroyer fight an unorthodox campaign during the German invasion of Norway and after, causing chaos amongst the German invaders, initiative that catches the eye of Winston Churchill.

Note: This is the first book of a 29 novel series and the plot covers fictional events during the Norwegian Campaign, Battle of Boulogne (1940) and the evacuation from Dunkirk. The novel reads like a 'Boys Own Adventure' story of the type written in the 50s and 60s (See for example 'Mettle at Woomera' (1962?) or 'Jimmy-The-One: A Submariner Sinclair Story' (1960), on the list for examples of such stories from that period, more recent examples of this type of story to be found on this listing are 'HMS Vengeful' (2015) and 'The Cauldron' (2013)). The authors afterward, claims that he based several of the exploits featured in the story on actual events that took place in the Norwegian theater of WWII, a move that makes me think of the forwards W.E. Johns used to write for the Biggles short story collections. He also has one of his characters comment that following one daring operation the after action report "...reads like a Boy's Own adventure story.", which shows he's not taking himself completely seriously.

 

[Graham1973]

Alexander Fullerton, Into The Fire, 1995

United Kingdom

MGB-318
Fairmille C Motor Gun Boat
Real ship, details as in service.

MGB-600
Fairmille D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: I have checked an online source and this appears to be a fictional pennant, however further research is needed to confirm this.

Germany

Unnamed
2 Armed Trawlers

Plot summary: It is summer of 1943. A female SOE agent, in love with a crew-member of an MGB, is transported to France to take part in the dangerous task of spying on the Germans.

Note: This novel is the first in a series of five focusing on the career of the SOE agent in WWII. The novel 'Band of Brothers' which I have covered previously takes place in the same 'universe', the link being the navigator of the MGB who is transferred following the events of this novel to one of the ships taking part in the events of 'Band of Brothers'. As with the later novel the authors afterward reveals he based some of the incidents in the novel on after action reports.

 

[Graham1973]

With a small apology to Hood, I had hoped not to run across any more fictional Hipper Class Cruisers...

Charles Whiting (Pen name: Duncan Harding), Flotilla Attack, 1976

United Kingdom (WW I)

HMS Attack
Heavy Cruiser, class not specified
8 inch main battery.
No other details provided.

HMS Scarborough
Town Class Cruiser?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment solely based on the name.

United Kingdom (WW II)

HMS Blackamore
B Class Destroyer?
Details as as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment solely based on the name.

HMS Defiance
Tribal Class Destroyer?
Constructed as Destroyer Leader.
Note: Described in the novel as a being a Tribal "...of the "D" Class." in the novel

HMS Daring
Tribal Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Described in the novel as a being a Tribal "...of the "D" Class." in the novel. Name clashes with the D Class Destroyer of the same name.

HMS Destruction
Tribal Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Described in the novel as a being a Tribal "...of the "D" Class." in the novel.

HMS Darling
Tribal Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Described in the novel as a being a Tribal "...of the "D" Class." in the novel.

HMS Rose
Destroyer, class not specified
Launched 1920
Single funnel
Speed: 31 knots ("A good five knots behind the Tribals at least")
Twin turrets (A, B & X), Original 4.7 inch? main battery replaced with a 5 inch main battery in 1940.


Germany (WWI)

SMS Koeln
Battlship, class not specified

SMS Koblenz
Battlship, class not specified

SMS Kassell
Battlship, class not specified

Germany (WWII)

Braunschweig
Hipper Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as such in the novel.

Unnamed
Ten S-Boats
Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: The year is 1940, an officer trying to overcome a family disgrace dating back to the Battle of Jutland, finds himself given command of a destroyer with a reputation as a hoodoo ship and thence into a desperate struggle during the German invasion of Norway.

 

[Hood]

I have a duo of Great War novels to add to the listing.

A Sub and a Submarine: The Story of H.M. Submarine R19 in the Great War, by Percy F. Westerman, 1918

Great Britain
HMS R-19
A fictional R Class submarine; 300ft long, 25ft beam, armed with four 12pdr AA guns on disappearing mounts, four 21in torpedo tubes (two in the bows and two beam tubes in the lower central compartment, these were trained fore-aft for loading and then turned outboard to fire to either beam via waterproof connections to the outer hull, a very novel layout), also features a 20ft whaler recessed into the upper deck, 80 crew.

HMS Barnacle
An obsolete cruiser used as a submarine depot ship

Talisman
Armed tramp steamer

Germany
Unnamed
Battleship

SMS V201
Torpedo boat destroyer, class unspecified, note German destroyer pennants never got as far as the 200s

SMS S19
Real ship

U-129
Submarine, class unspecified, sunk by HMS R-19

SMS Kormoran
Armed steamer, bringing prisoners back from the South Atlantic

L67
Zeppelin airship

Denmark
Havornen
Torpedo boat, real ship

Imperial Russia
Zabiyaka
Destroyer, class unspecified

Kuptchino
Destroyer, class unspecified

Plot: One of the leading naval fiction writers of the Great War, Westerman this time sets the action in the Baltic during the 1918, after the Bolshevik November revolution but before the March armistice with Germany. The novel is the usual 'Boys-Own' style action and like many Westerman novels features land-based adventures and German spies (this time a Bolshevik Russian German spy!) and is probably one of the first of many West Vs. Soviet Union adventures. It also features the usual Teutonic villein, this time the Captain of the V201 who won the Pour le Merite for his brutal actions as a POW camp commandant. The R-19 successfully sneaks into the Baltic Sea, destroying the airship L67 en-route and evades the V201 at a submarine net despite German claims they sunk her. The author evidently supports the former Imperial Russian Navy, who despite the chaos around them prove to still be loyal and effective. The Germans attempt a fleet action in Moon Sound and successful trap the Russians but the R-19 sinks a German battleship with two torpedoes and the Germans withdraw. After the land-based action unmasking spy's and more daring-do, the R-19 sails back to Blighty to escape the forthcoming Russian peace with Germany and the winter ice. They come across a convoy en-route and cause more havoc for the Germans, sinking the V201 too, before breaking back into the North Sea and home.


Dave Darrin and the German Submarines Or Making a Clean-up of the Hun Sea Monsters, by H. Irving Hancock, published USA, 1919

United States
USS John J. Logan (DD-?)
Destroyer, class unspecified, armed with two 3in guns, 1pdr QF guns, 30kts

USS John Adams (DD-?)
Destroyer, class unspecified, armed with two 3in guns, 1pdr QF guns, 30kts

USS Asa Grigsby (DD-?)
Destroyer, described as being one of the new war classes so probably a Wickes or Clemson Class destroyer

USS Joseph Reed (DD-?)
Destroyer, described as being one of the new war classes so probably a Wickes or Clemson Class destroyer

Prince
An armed tramp Q-ship, armed with six concealed beam guns (calibre unspecified)

Germany
U-193
Submarine, class unspecified

Unnamed
Various submarines, some have 5in or 6in deck guns.

Plot: This American novel was aimed at the children's market so to say its a 'Boys-Own' type adventure is probably an understatement. Dave Darrin's ship, the USS John J. Logan is an extremely effective U-boat killer. At one stage it manages to shoot down a German Zeppelin and sinks a U-boat by ramming at the same time! The story features an obligatory German spy but he gets dealt with in time. Dave then serves aboard the Prince, a Q-ship which lures submarines towards her before using her six concealed guns to sink them. Dave and his best friend Dan Dalzell then get given a new class of destroyer to play with, the USS Asa Grigsby with which they sink more U-boats. Dave's wife is aboard a sunken liner but they manage to rescue her and she survives. So good are Dave and Dan that at the end of the story they get transferred to the Royal Navy to teach them how to sink submarines!

 

[Graham1973]

Good finds Hood!

I've noticed over the last few months that other publishers (Thunderchild Publishing, Canelo Digital Publishing) seem to be following the lead of Endeavour press and releasing more 60s - 90s era action fiction in E-book form, but this seems largely to be confined to British authors, hopefully someone will do the same with American mass market fiction as well.

 

[Graham1973]

A "Self-published on Amazon" short story.

R. W. Scott, The Displaced, 2017

United States

USS Eldridge (DE-173)
Cannon Class Destroyer Escort
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Author referrers to this ship as a 'Destroyer'.

USS Lancaster
Destroyer, class not specified
No details provided

Germany

U-420 (Named by the crew 'Valhalla'.)
Type VIIC Class U-boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant number matches that of a Type VIIC Class U-boat launched in 1942 that disappeared some time after the 20th of October 1943. The short story however states that this U-Boat was launched in mid-1943, so it cannot be that one.

Plot Summary: The year is 1943. A German U-Boat is sent to investigate rumors that the US have found a way to make a ship invisible.

Note: This short story is inspired by the tale known as the Philadelphia Experiment. I have covered another story inspired by this, 'Thin Air' which came out in the 1970s.

 

[Graham1973]

One more in the long line of "Self-published on Amazon" novels...

Thomas D. Wilson, Whisper, 2010

United States (1800)

USS Insurgent (ex-Insurgente)
Sémillante Class Sailing Frigate
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: French warship, captured by the USS Constellation during the 1799-1800 Quasi-War with France.

United States (2010)

USS Whisper (CG-86)
Cruiser, class not specified
Nuclear powered, fitted with a "...twin cooled (cored?) nuclear reactor..."
Armament: Gun/Missile (Only specific weapon mentioned is the RIM-67 missile, also stated that depth charges (A very obsolete weapon by the 2000s.) were to form part of the armament but not equipped.)
Speed: 38 knots (+)
Authors description: "She was big, sleek and beautiful. She had lines more reminiscent of the old World War II cruisers."
Has been painted in World War I/II era 'Dazzle Pattern' camouflage rather than standard US Navy Grey.
Fitted with a invisibility device called a 'Phase Shifter' which works by placing the ship slightly out-of-sync with normal space/time.
Note: Correct pennant number should be CGN-86.

USS Essex
Warship, possibly a cruiser, type not specified
Speed: 38 knots (+), slightly slower than USS Whisper (CG-86)

USS Hopper (DDG-???)
Destroyer, class not specified

USS Wasp (FFG-???)
'Missile Frigate', class not specified
No other details provided

USS Dark Horse
Covert operations craft
Stealth design
Can submerge. Rated Maximum Operating depth: 150ft (46m)
No other details provided.

USS Poseidon
Submersible Aircraft Carrier
Armament includes ICBMs/Aircraft/Torpedoes?
No other details provided.

Germany (1944)

Unnamed
Several U-Boats

Plot summary: A test of a radical form of stealth device goes badly wrong.

Note: This is not the best of stories and feels like it could have done with more editing and fact checking. The Author includes an account of what is clearly the WWI 'Paris Gun' but mistakenly attributes it to WWII. He also at one point has a character mention a specific Wikipedia page and and then quotes the entire page, in a situation where a quick summary would have been more effective. The novel was apparently intended as the first in a series, but the other novels (Save a sample chapter from the second book.) have not appeared yet. This, like the preceding short story ('The Displaced'), is inspired by the tale of the Philadelphia Experiment, other books I have covered in this thread which draw inspiration from it include 'Thin Air' (1977), 'Thunderfish' (1999) and 'Deadly Apparition' (2014)

 

[Graham1973]

Brian Callison, Ferry Down: A Voyage to Disaster, 1998

United States (WWII)

USS Thompson (DD-???)
Fletcher Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: This appears in the backstory of one of the novels characters, who survived the sinking of this ship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944), the description of the sinking matches details of the history of the USS Johnston (DD-557) a member of the Fletcher Class of Destroyers. The reason for using a fictional name in this case is to allow the setting up of a revenge based subplot involving former members of the crew over actions dating back to the sinking.

Germany

Vorderst
Warship, class/type not specified.
No other details provided.

Plot summary: A fictionalized version of the 1990 MS Scandanavian Star disaster.

Note: In this novel, the author uses a technique similar to that he used in 'The Dawn Attack', contrasting the bland wording of an official report (In this case the official report into the MS Scandanavian Star fire.) with the harrowing reality of the events those words describe.

 

[Graham1973]

Charles Whiting (Pen name: Duncan Harding), Convoy of Death, 2005

United Kingdom

HMS Black Swan
Minesweeper, class not specified
Armament: Bren Machine Guns, Lewis Machine Guns, Oerlikon guns (20mm), Bofors Guns (40mm), Parachute and Cable Rockets, Holman Projectors
Two funnels
Triple Expansion Steam Engine, power 1200ph
Described as "...old tube of a minesweeper which should have been scrapped years ago."
No other details provided.
Note: Name clashes with the name ship of the Black Swan Class Sloops.

Unnamed
Corvette, class not specified
Armament: 4.5 inch guns, .5 Machine guns

Germany

U-222
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant number matches that of a Type VIIc Class U-Boat sunk in the Baltic in 1942

U-332
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant number matches that of a Type VIIc Class U-Boat sunk in the Atlantic in 1943. In the novel the submarine sinks in 1942

Unnamed
Several U-Boats, S-Boats

Plot summary: The year is 1942. Another convoy makes it's way to Russia.

Note: The cover by Paul Dickinson, while a nice piece of 'action' artwork, does not fit the action of the novel at all, nor does the minesweeper depicted match the ship in the novel.

 

[Graham1973]

We now go from WWII to the 24th Century...

Bob Shaw, Medusa's Children, 1977

Kingdom of South NewZealand

HMSNZS Trilby
Research Ship
No other details provided

HMSNZS Dalton
Corvette
Armament: 'Seafire' Nuclear Torpedoes (Speed: 47 knots)
No other weapons or details mentioned

Unnamed
Two Destroyers

Note: The total strength of the Royal South NewZealand Navy is 10 ships.

Republic of Queensland

Unnamed
Destroyer

Plot summary: It is the 24th Century, as the Earth recovers from the effects of global warming, one mystery remains, why did the seas not rise...

Note: While set in the distant future, the effects of global warming, the collapse of nations, etc have prevented technology from being improved from that of the late 20th/early 21st Century. Indeed, the small nations that remain have great trouble keeping the technology they have working, dealing as they often are with copies of copies of copies...

 

[Graham1973]

...and back to "Self-published on Amazon" fiction.

Dave Snow, Raven's Nest, 2000

United States (WWII)

USS Sea Stallion (SSN-477)
"Fleet Class", either Gato or Balao Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant number clashes with that of the Tench Class Submarine USS Conger (SSN-477) in service 1945 - 1963. Novel states that the submarine was commissioned in August 1943 and the first Tench Class Submarines did not start commissioning until late in 1944, therefore it must be a member of one of the earlier two classes.

Becomes...

Non-State

Griffin (ex-USS Sea Stallion (SSN-477))
"Fleet Class", either Gato or Balao Class Submarine (Modified)
Has undergone a modernization similar to the US GUPPY program (E.g. Hull has been streamlined)
Original engines have been replaced with a "...steam turbine with a small atomic reactor...", underwater speed is now 40 knots.
Highly automated, crew has been reduced to 20.
Torpedo armament includes a mix of full and reduced charge warheads.
Operated by the McFallen Clan (Pirates...)

Breeze
Armed Trawler
'Old' 1940s/50s/60s?
Typical fishing vessel of the type operated in Alaskan waters?
Australian registered? (Note: Author does not specifically state this, but the heroine notes an Australian flag flying at the stern when she goes aboard.)
Armament: 1 x M60 Machine gun (Deck mounted fwd, the gun is normally kept dismounted in a locker on deck.)
Operated by the McFallen Clan (Pirates...)

United States (1983)

Coast Guard

Unnamed
Cutter

Navy

Unnamed
Two Destroyers

Plot summary: The year is 1983, a young woman receives a mysterious inheritance and finds herself caught up in a vicious struggle over the legacy of the worlds last pirate.

Note: This novel is not an action novel in the normal sense, but rather a Gothic Romance in action novel trappings. While the author does not list his inspirations, I get the feeling that the two Jules Verne 'Captain Nemo' tales "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" & "The Mysterious Island" (As filtered through Hollywood.) especially the latter were amongst them. As with some other tales of post Age-of-Sail pirates ('The Stolen Cruiser' (1913) & 'The Third Officer' (1921)) the novel is incredibly vague on just how the loot is disposed of and never explains just who did the updates on the Griffin, updates that would require access to a fairly substantial shipyard to perform. Other novels I've covered with highly-automated submarines on this list are 'The Saturn Experiment' (1988) and 'Thunderfish' (1999).

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Killer Group, 1964

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Also appears in several other of the authors many novels.

Unnamed
Four Destroyers, class not specified

Note: These five ships are probably the authors RAN '5th Destroyer Flotilla' (HMAS Wind Rode, Witch, Whelp, Swift & Sabre).

United States

USS Barracuda (SS-???)
Pike Class Submarine (Fictional Class)
Length: 300ft (91.4 m)
Range: 10,000 miles (16093.44 km)
No other details provided
Note: The author identifies this ship as being a member of the 'Pike Class', USS Pike (SS-173) was a member of the Porpoise Class, however the details he gives do not quite fit the actual Porpoise Class. The name clashes with USS Barracuda (SS-163), name ship of the Barracuda Class which was used operationally in the Pacific after Pearl Harbour before being assigned to training operations in 1942 for the rest of the war.

Unnamed
Escort Carrier, class not specified
Airgroup includes F4U Corsairs and TBF Avengers
No other details provided

Unnamed
Six Attack Transports

Japan

Myōkō
Myōkō Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service
Note: In real life this ship survived the war and was scuttled in 1946. In the novel it is sunk by the RAN 5th Destroyer Flotilla.

Unnamed
Four Destroyers, class not specified.

Unnamed
Submarine, class not specified

Plot summary: It is sometime in 1943, an American submarine races to ensure a VIP joins a trans-Pacific convoy in mid-ocean, only to find the Japanese got there first.

Note: The author as with all his stories is more interested in creating a backdrop for whatever action packed tale he is spinning than tying the story to specific historic events, however, the reference to the F4U Corsair, means that the story cannot be set earlier than the aircraft's introduction into service in 1942. This is the third novel of his that I've encountered built around the idea of a IJN surface action group being tasked with interdicting Allied convoys in the Pacific (The others are 'Operational Immediate' (1975), which featured a surface action group built around an aircraft carrier and 'Breaking Point' (1979) where the surface action group as in this novel was built around a Myōkō Class Cruiser.). This one is unique however in that the author used a real warship for fictional purposes, rather than simply mentioning the name, so far it's the only time I've seen him do this. There are a lot of similarities between this novel and the later 'Breaking Point', and it is quite possible that he reworked material from this novel for the later one.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, The Surgeon, 1959

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Also appears in several other of the authors many novels.

United Kingdom

HMS Pathfinder (G10)
P Class Destroyer (WWII)
Real ship, details as in service (April'42 - February '45, scrapped November '48)

Japan

Unnamed
Various submarines

Plot summary: The newly enlisted ships doctor expected to find himself dealing with combat injuries and the excuses/scams of malingerers, but war has a way of throwing up the unexpected...

Note: I said in the previous entry that the author was mainly concerned with creating a backdrop for his stories without tying them to actual events, this early story is an exception, one of the major events of the novel is a fictionalized version of Operation Cockpit, the attack on the port of Sabang which took place on the 19th of April 1944, with the Wind Rode taking the place of HMS Tactician (A T-Class Submarine.) in making a daring rescue of a downed airman, as is depicted on the cover. Another novel where the author ties the story to a particular identifiable wartime operation is 'Repel Boarders' (1963).

The two covers attached are the cover to the last known Horwitz printing which was Nº. 18 in the 'J. E. MacDonnell Collector's Series' (aka the Gold Cover Books), the second is the cover to the 2023 reprinting of the novel by Piccadilly Publishing, whoever did this tried to replicate the cover image from the last printing, but was pretty lazy as they appear to have reworked a photograph of a US Farragut Class Destroyer to create the scene.

 

[Graham1973]

John McKinna (Pen name: John Mannock), The Sen-Toku Raid, 2005

United States

USS Mayhew (APD-??)
High Speed Transport
Details as per the real ships
Note: A converted Destroyer Escort of either the Buckley or Rudderow Classes of Destroyer Escort. The author does not provide sufficient information to determine which of these was the case.

USS Reuben Grant (DD-???)
Destroyer, class not specified
Has served in the Atlantic since 1942

Unnamed
Destroyer, class not specified.
No other details provided

Unnamed
PT Boat
Details as per the real ships.

Japan

I-403
I-400 Class Submarine (Modified)
Details as to dimensions/propulsion as per the real ships.
Added to the armament/planes carried by the real ships are:
One Yokosuka MXY-7 'Ohka' Model 43a Ko(?) (This is the jet engined folding wing version designed to be launched from submarines, none were built in real life. Logically this would be the correct version, but the author appears to be describing the Model 11 air launched version.)
Three Kaiten (2 mounted on the bow either side of the launching ramp, 1 at the stern after the 5 inch gun.)
Stated in the novel to be the first completed of the class, launched/commissioned in early 1943 (Before the assasination of Yamamoto on the 18th of April 1943, the novel states he inspected the submarine and it's concealed basing facility in the Phillipines on the 12th of April of that year.)
Note: The submarines three Aichi M6A 'Seiran' floatplanes have been painted in fake US Navy markings.

I-404
I-400 Class Submarine (Modified)
Same details as I-403 (Save the construction/launch date which is not given.)

Unnamed
Several Shin'yō Class Suicide Motorboats
Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: It is October of 1944, a group of stranded Allied personnel, stumble across the long concealed base of one of the largest submarines in the world and launch a desperate attack to stop it from carrying out it's mission.

Note: The I-400s (I-400, 401 & 402) were the largest submarines built in World War II, it had been planned to build 18 of the class (I-400 to I-417) but this number was reduced to five as Japanese industry collapsed and by wars end only three had been completed.

Despite their impressive statistics, they've only made it into fiction a few times as far as I can tell. Pulp action author J. E. MacDonnell who featured modified versions in his novels 'Hunter-Killer' (1968) and 'Confirmed in Command' (1976), appears to have been the first author I know of to do so. The other is Clive Cussler, with one salvaged by criminals appearing in his debut novel 'Mayday!' (1973), two more members of the class are mentioned in 'Black Wind' (2004).

 

[Graham1973]

Charles Whiting (Pen name: Duncan Harding), Operation Chariot, 1977

United Kingdom

HMS Rose
Flower Class Destroyer (Fictional Class)
Launched 1920
Single funnel
Speed: 31 knots
Twin turrets (A, B & X), Original 4.7 inch? main battery replaced with a 5 inch main battery in 1940.
Stated to be the only class member completed.
Note: The actual World War I Flower Class were the sloops of the Acacia, Arabis, Anchusa, Aubretia & Azalia Classes.

Germany

U-102
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant number is that of a Type VIIb Class U-Boat that was sunk in 1940 by HMS Vansittart. In the novel, it is sunk by Coastal Command while engaging HMS Rose following the St Nazaire Raid. This same pennant was also used by Alexander Fullerton in his 'Everard Chronicle' novel 'The Torch Bearers' (1983).

Plot summary: A fictionalized version of the St Nazaire Raid and it's aftermath.

Note: This is the second novel by this author featuring HMS Rose, the first 'Flotilla Attack,' (1976) has been covered earlier in the list. Another fictional account of the St Nazaire Raid covered in this list is 'Deed of Glory' (1984) by Alan Evans. Other authors on this list created fictional follow-up raids, Douglas Reeman based the climactic sequences of 'The Destroyers' (1974) around a fictional follow up attack on St Nazaire in 1943, while Philip McCutchan created a fictional follow-up raid on Brest in the novel 'Against All Odds' (First published as 'Cameron's Raid', 1986).

 

[Graham1973]

Alexander Fullerton, The Blooding of the Guns, 1976

United Kingdom

HMS Nile
Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship (Sixth member of class.)
Details as per the real ships
Described as being "...brand new..." in May of 1916, which might imply she commissioned that year, probably sometime between the commissioning of HMS Malaya (The last completed member of the class.) in February 1916 and May 1916, most likely being commissioned at the start of May. This would also imply that HMS Nile started construction ahead of the never built Queen Elizabeth Class HMS Agincourt (HMS Malaya started construction in October of 1913, so Nile may have started construction in January 1914.).
Role at Jutland: Member of the 5th Battle Squadron
Note: Explicitly identified as a Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship by the author.

HMS Bantry
Minotaur Class Cruiser (Fourth member of class.)
Details as per the real ships
Role at Jutland: Member of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron initially, but acts under the command of the 1st Cruiser Squadron at Jutland.
Note: Explicitly identified as a Minotaur Class Cruiser by the author.

HMS Lanyard
L Class (WWI) Destroyer
Details as per the Two funnel members of the class (HMS Landrail, Lavelock, Laurel, Liberty, & Linnet.)
Role at Jutland: Member of the 13th Destroyer Flotilla
Note: Explicitly identified as an L Class Destroyer by the author.

Germany

Unnamed
Königsberg Class Cruiser (1905)
Details as per the real ships
Torpedoed by HMS Lanyard during the night action at Jutland.
Note: Referred to as a 'Stettin Class Cruiser' in the novel. Historically both surviving Königsberg Class Cruisers survived Jutland with minimal damage, therefore this must be a fictional fifth member of the class. It is possible that this ship is in fact the SMS Rostock (Karlsruhe class) which was torpedoed during the night action and scuttled the next day, however what the author describes does not conform to that specific incident.

Unnamed
Karlsruhe Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: The incident in which this ship appears may also be based on the sinking of SMS Rostock, however the specifics do not match.

Plot summary: The Battle of Jutland, as seen from three different ships, each bearing a member of the Everard family.

Note: This is the first novel in the nine book 'Everard Chronicles' series, other members of the series I've covered in this list to date are 'Patrol to the Goldern Horn' (3rd book, 1978), 'All the Drowning Seas' (6th Book, 1981), 'The Torch Bearers' (8th Book, 1983) & 'The Gatecrashers' (9th Book, 1984).

Another author whose books I have covered on this list to have made use of Jutland in his fiction is John Margerison, who wrote just after World War I.

Later: The attached picture is the cover of the original hardcover release. It is identifed on the inside cover as being:

H.M.S LION leads cruisers WARRIOR and DEFIANCE into action, painted by W. WYLLIE RA (reproduced by permission of Earl Beatty).

 

[Graham1973]

Alexander Fullerton, Sixty Minutes for Saint George, 1977

United Kingdom

HMS Mackerel
M Class (WWI) Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Explicitly stated to be a member of the M Class by the author.

HMS Moloch
M Class (WWI) Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Explicitly stated to be a member of the M Class by the author.

HMS Musician
M Class (WWI) Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Explicitly stated to be a member of the M Class by the author.

HMS Bravo
D Class (WWI) Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Has two funnels rather than three.
Launched 1897 or 1898. (Author gives both years in dialog.)
Explicitly stated to be a member of the D Class by the author.

HMS Grebe
'30 Knotter' (1890s Destroyer), class not specified.
The late 1890s '30 Knotters' were gathered into the A, B, C, D & E Class Destroyers in 1913, not enough details are provided to show which class the ship was.

Germany

Unnamed
Four Destroyers of unspecified class.
Stated to be 'Large' ships building for Argentina, taken into German service at the start of WWI.

Unnamed
Four Destroyers of unspecified class.
Standard German Destroyer Classes.

Plot summary: The post-Jutland career of Nicholas Everard in the Dover Patrol culminating in the Zeebrugge Raid.

Note: This is the second of the novels in Alexander Fullerton's 'Everard Chronicles', see the previous post for a list of the books in this nine book series I have covered in this thread. I have added covers for the 1982 and 2017 editions of the 6th 'Everard Chronicles' novel to the post on that book.

 

[Graham1973]

For my last post in this thread for 2017, let's move forward from World War I to the modern era.

Stephen Coonts, The Disciple, 2009

United States

USS Columbia (CVN-??)
Enterprise Class?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Described as a 'sister carrier' to the USS United States, however the first members of the Nimitz class did not enter service until 1976. If this is the same ship as the USS Columbia that appeared in the authors earlier novel 'The Intruders' (1994) which was set in 1973, then she must be a member of the earlier Enterprise Class.

USS United States (CVN-???)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Original name of 8th Nimitz Class Carrier. This ship launched as USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in September 1996. See also the entry for 'Final Flight' (1988) and the post by Grey Havoc that follows for more details.

USS Hué City (CGN-??)
Nuclear powered cruiser, class not specified.
Fitted with Aegis
Note: Name clashes with a member of the Ticonderoga Class, in my notes on the earlier novel 'Cuba' (1999) I misidentified this ship as being the USS Hué City (CG-65) based on the details the author provided. However in this novel he explicitly states that the ship is nuclear powered, and therefore cannot be the Ticonderoga Class ship, unless it is a nuclear powered variant of the class.

USS Guildford Courthouse (CG-??)
Ticonderoga Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships.
Carrying RIM-161 SM3s (Real anti-ballistic missile.)

USS Stones River (CG-??)
Ticonderoga Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships.

Unnamed
Several Destroyers and Frigates.

Iran

Unnamed
3 Gunboats, class not specified
1 x 37mm gun mounted amidships.
40 knots
No other details provided.


Fictional Electronic Equipment

ALQ-198: Active Stealth Device (1st Generation) - Designation is actually for a countermeasures device (type unspecified) fitted to EC-130Hs.
ALQ-199: Active Stealth Device (2nd Generation) - Designation is actually that of a Pulse Doppler Missile Warning System fitted to F-16Ds. In the novel the system is fitted to F/A-18s aboard the USS United States and to USAF F-15Ds.

Plot summary: The United States uncovers evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons and plans to remove Israel from the map using them (Any Palestinians killed during these strikes will be automatically declared 'Martyrs', as will any Iranians killed during the inevitable retaliation.) as the first step of a global jihad. A desperate plan is conceived to stop them.

Note: Another novel in this listing featuring the idea of Iran getting their hands on the kind of firepower that would make them a serious threat to world peace is 'Shadows of Steel (1996) by Dale Brown. Another novel on this theme in my collection, but not on this list as it does not make use of fictional warships is 'Stealth Bomber' (1990) by Barnaby Williams, a novel that has Iran manipulating the United States and Russia to the brink of nuclear exchange in the hope of being able to rule the world in the aftermath.

 

[Tzoli]

That USS Hué City might be of the Strike Cruiser design which was described sometimes as the Nuclear variant of the Ticonderoga

 

[Graham1973]

Returning to World War II...

Douglas Reeman, Winged Escort, 1975

United Kingdom

HMS Camilla
C Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Sunk prior to the start of the novel.

HMS Kirkwall
Cruiser, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Growler
Avenger Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Airgroup contains Seafires and Swordfish.

HMS Hustler
Avenger Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Airgroup contains Seafires and Swordfish.

HMS Pathan
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

HMS Turnstone
Sloop, class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Woodlark
Frigate, class not specified
No other details provided

HMT Cornelian
Tugboat of unspecified class
No other details provided

Unnamed
C Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships modified as AA Cruisers.

Unnamed
Several Tribal Class Destroyers
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Sloops of unspecified class
No other details provided.

France

Spartiate
Algérie Class Cruiser? (Second member of class.)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author does not explicitly state this however the details he does provide strongly hint that it is a second Algérie Class Cruiser. Still has three seaplanes in 1944, stated to have been recaptured from the Germans following the Normandy Landings.

South Africa

Unnamed
Two destroyers, class not specified.
No other details provided.

Australia

Unnamed
Four Destroyers, class not specified
No other details provided

Germany

Admiral Hipper?
Hipper Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service
Note: Ship is never identified explicitly, it is however implied that this is the Admiral Hipper.

Unnamed
Oiler, class not specified
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Several U-Boats

Unnamed
Two Type 1936 Class Destroyers
Note: Referred to as Karl Galster Class Destroyers in the novel. Karl Galster (Z20) was the fourth member of the Type 1936 Class launched and the only one to survive World War II, the other four were sunk at Narvik. The Type 1936 Class had several subclasses Type 1936/1936A (Narvik)/1936A (Mob)/1936B/1936C/1936D, the C & D Subclasses were planned but never built.

Plot summary: It is July of 1943, the war at sea is beginning to swing in the Allies favour but much hard work still needs to be done.

Note: This novel is reasonably well tied into the war. The opening convoy sequence concludes with reference to Operation Source (The X-Craft attack on the Tirpitz, 20-22 September, 1943.) and just prior to the ships the novel focuses on being transferred to the Far East, reference is made to the sinking of the Scharnhorst (26 December 1943).

 

[Graham1973]

Some "Self-published on Amazon" horror fiction with a naval setting...

G. Elmer Munson, Under A Sea Of Red Foam, 2017

United States

USS Alexandria (SSN-757)
Los Angeles Class Submarine (688i subclass)
Real ship, details as in service.

USS Annapolis (SSN-760)
Los Angeles Class Submarine (688i subclass)
Real ship, details as in service.

USS Nicholas (FFG-47)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Ship was decommissioned in 2014.

India

INS Lahore (D60)
Delhi Class Destroyer? (Fourth member of class.)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Lahore is a city in Pakistan, therefore the Indian Navy would never use this name for a warship. Pennant clashes with the Delhi Class Destroyer INS Mysore (D60). Ship is only referred to as a 'Destroyer' in the novel. Class is based on the pennant number only.

Plot summary: An American submarine on exercise in the Red Sea suffers a near collision with a badly damaged Indian Navy destroyer. The only survivor of it's crew has a bizarre tale to tell, but something has followed him aboard.

Note: The author does not provide a specific date for events, but the presence of the USS Nicholas (FFG-47) suggests that it takes place prior to 2014. The end of the story implies that a sequel featuring some of the characters from the novel is being considered.

 

[Graham1973]

James W. Huston, Balance of Power, 1998

United States

USS Constitution (CVN-77)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant clashes with USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). Stated in novel that this ship is the last member of the Nimitz Class to be built and that a special Act of Congress was required to use the name, as the original USS Constitution is nominally still in service.

Plot summary: Terrorists hijack an American freighter and after killing most of the crew take the captain of the ship hostage, when the President of the United States indicates that he will comply with all the terrorists demands, a Congressional Aide discovers that Congress can still make use of a very old procedure. And so a Letter of Marque is issued by Congress directing the nearest carrier group to take on the terrorists. Then comes the fallout, especially when it is discovered the 'terrorists' were just common pirates backed by the Chinese....

 

[Graham1973]

Harry Harrison, The QEII Is Missing, 1980

Peru

BAP Huascaran
Offshore Patrol Vessel (Ex British minesweeper of unspecified class.)
Steam powered turbines (So not the diesel powered Ton Class, the most likely fit would be the Algerine Class Minesweepers.)
Note: Ship belongs to the Peruvian Coast Guard. It is simply described as a 'Ship', no details provided to pin down just what former British class it would have been. Thanks to Hood I have been able to confirm this ship is fictional.

Plot summary: After being out of radio contact for several days, the Cunard Liner QE2 has been found drifting in the Pacific Ocean abandoned...

Note: Author Harry Harrison was a science fiction writer more well known for his 'Stainless Steel Rat' & 'Deathworld' series of novels, this is (As far as I know.) his only non-Science Fiction novel.

This may have been a film script that was turned into a novel after the film fell through. Other novels of this kind on this listing are 'Hunter-Killer' (1966, Geoffrey Jenkins) 'Thin Air' (1977), 'Siege of Superport' (1978) & 'Flight 902 Is Down!' (1982). The 1972 novel 'Ghostboat' which I've also covered is a rare case of a novel resulting from a failed film script actually being made into a film at a later date, with a British adaption, which appears to mix in elements of 'Send Down A Dove' (1968) by Charles MacHardy to move the original Pacific set scenario into the Baltic appearing in 2006.

 

[Graham1973]

David Poyer, The Weapon, 2008

United States

USNS John McDonnell (T-AGS-51)
Oceanographic Survey Ship
Real ship, details as in service (1991 - 2010).

USS San Francisco (SSN-711)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real Ship, details as in service.

France

Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Ship is about to enter service at the time the novel is set.

Foch
Clemenceau Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Ship is still in French service at the time the novel is set.

Iran

K-79
Juliet Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Modified to fire Shkval-K torpedoes, otherwise as per the real ships.
Note: Ex-Russian submarine, transfer not fully complete (Eg. The instructors are still aboard.) at the time the novel is set.

Unnamed
Two Alvand Class Frigates
Details as per the real ships.
Note: One is sunk during the course of the novel.

And one fictional weapon

Shkval-K
Supercavitating Torpedo
Length: 18ft (5.5m)
Diameter: 21in (533mm)
Speed/Propulsion: As per the real weapon
Guidance: Active magnetic system (Detection Range (Estimated): 500 - 1000m)
Warhead: Shaped charge combined with Depleted uranium penetration rods (Length of rods 2m). Capable of piercing 1m of steel/5m of reinforced concrete.
Operational use is to fire the torpedo on an unguided direct line trajectory towards the target, once detection range is reached the magnetic guidance system homes in on the target and determines the correct point at which to detonate the weapon.

Note: This weapon is totally fictional, the real VA-111 Shkval is a 26ft 11in (8.2m) torpedo. The author seems to have believed when he wrote the novel that the standard version was only 15ft (4.6m) long.

Plot Summary: Russia has just placed a version of it's supercavitating torpedo on the open market. As repeated attempts by the United States to obtain one so that they can work out countermeasures fail, increasingly desperate schemes are resorted to.

Note: The author does not state specifically when the story occurs, however various pieces of internal evidence suggest a 2000/2001 (Before the 11th of September 2001.) timeframe. He was likely inspired by the 2000 arrest of ex-USN Captain Edmond Pope in Russia on spying charges related to the VA-111 Shkval torpedo.

Previous novels by David Poyer covered in this thread include, 'The Gulf' (1990), 'The Circle' (1992), 'The Passage' (1995), 'China Sea' (2000), 'The Command' (2004) & 'The Cruiser' (2014).

 

[Graham1973]

Another 'Boys Own' short story...

Adrian Vincent, Depths of Fear, published in Anon. (ed.), Exciting Stories of Fantasy and the Future (1982)

United Kingdom

HMS Starlight
S Class Submarine?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment entirely based on name.

Unnamed
X Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships
Pennant number is never given.

Germany

Zeus
Battleship, class not specified
No other details provided.

Plot summary: An officer desperate to overcome the traumatic events surrounding the sinking of his last submarine volunteers for the X-Craft program in an attempt to exorcise his demons.

 

[Graham1973]

Alfred Coppel, Thirty-four East, 1974

Albania

Unnamed
Submarine, class not specified
No other details provided.

Russia

Allende (Named after Salvador Allende (President of Chile, 1970 - 1973).)
Guevara Class Guided Missile Destroyer (Fictional)
Nuclear Powered
Speed: 50 knots
Described as having "...a low, clean profile and flared bow, she hugged the water to make radar detection difficult."
Gun Armament: "...some forty-millimeter guns mounted on the bridge." (Russians do not use 40mm guns.)
Missile Armament: SAMs and SSMs (SSM Launchers are concealed below decks and only raised above deck to fire.)
Note: Specifically identified as the third member of the class (Lead ship is presumably named either Guevara or Che Guevara, this is not however specified in the text.). The small gun armament is the result of a need to keep the ships weight down.

Juan Bosch (Named after Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño (President of the Dominican Republic, 1963).)
Guevara Class Guided Missile Destroyer (Fictional)
Details same as Allende

Note: The members of the Guevara Class are all named after Latin American revolutionary leaders. Like the real world Mod-Kashins (The first of which entered service in 1973.), their function is to serve as 'tattletails' following the US carrier groups at the edge of radar range. In the event of hostilities, they will call down a strike on the carrier group and then fire every SSM they are armed with at the carrier before retreating at high speed.

Semenoff
Ballistic Missile Submarine of unspecified class.
No other details provided

United States

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service.
Air group in this novel includes Spectre fighter-bombers.

For the aircraft mavens, some fictional US aircraft.

Shrike
VTOL Fighter Aircraft
Mach 3 Capable
No other details.

Spectre
Fighter-bomber
Nuclear capable
No other details.
Note: An unrelated fighter-bomber called the F-120 'Spectre' appears in Clive Cussler's 1978 novel 'Vixen 03'.

Plot summary: It is the 'Day after Tomorrow' (and somewhat off to one side...), following the Yom Kippour War, the superpowers have faced each other across the line of 34 East running down the Sinai peninsula. As the US and Russian governments move to renew the treaty, Chinese backed terrorists strike, creating a situation that leads to the brink of World War III.

Note: The author does not provide any specific dating information beyond the presence of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) which means the events depicted cannot take place before May of 1975 when the Nimitz commissioned. While the novel only covers a few days, the events in question are most likely taking place somewhere between 1975 - 1990.

The author wrote that he started work on this novel in 1967 shortly after the Six-Day War, and when the Yom Kippour War occurred used it to replace a fictional conflict he had created for the purpose of the novel. This write-up was based on the Readers Digest edition of the novel. Should I locate a copy of the actual novel I will revisit this post.

 

[Graham1973]

A nautical classic...

Herman Wouk, The 'Caine' Mutiny, 1951

United States

USS Caine (DMS-22)
Wickes Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion)
Built 1918 (Not clear if this means launched or commissioned.)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant Clashes with that of Gleaves Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion) USS Emmons (ex-DD-457) Wikipedia states (Without reference.) that the Caine is a converted Clemson.

USS Moulton (DMS-21)
Wickes Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant Clashes with that of Gleaves Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion) USS Rodman (ex-DD-456)

Note: Both of the preceding ships are simply identified in the novel as converted 'Four-Stackers' without a specific class being assigned.

USS Frobisher (DMS-??)
Wickes Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion)
Details as per the real ships

USS Jones (DMS-??)
Wickes Class Destroyer (Minesweeper Conversion)
Details as per the real ships

Note: The two ships preceding are simply identified as being as the same class as the Caine and Moulton.

USS Falk (DD-??)
Gleaves Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Referred to as a Bristol Class Destroyer in the novel.

USS Oaks (DD-??)
Benson or Gleaves Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Simply referred to as a "1650 tonner". That description fits both the Benson and Gleaves Classes, but insufficient information is provided to identify which class it is.

USS Harte (DD-??)
Allen M. Sumner Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Simply referred to as a "2200 tonner". Stated to be a new ship in 1944. The Allen M. Sumner Class is the best fit for these limited details.

USS Stanfield (DD-??)
Destroyer, class not specified
New ship in 1944
No other details provided.

USS George Black (DD-??)
Farragut Class Destroyer?
Sunk during Typhoon Cobra, the three destroyers sunk during this event were of the Fletcher and Farragut Classes. The number of survivors from the ship is closest to that of the USS Monaghan (DD-354) a Farragut Class Destroyer, therefore I am tentatively identifying the George Black as member of the Farragut Class.

USS Mercy (AH-8)
Comfort Class Hospital Ship
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Author has launched/commissioned the ship much earlier than she was in real life (August 1944) to transport the POV character to Hawaii in July of 1943.

USS Brandywine Creek (CVL-??)
Independence Class Aircraft Carrier?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined from name only. The Battle of Brandywine Creek (11th of September, 1777), was the largest and longest battle of the American Revolution in which British forces under General William Howe defeated Colonial forces under George Washington. This makes it an unlikely name for a US Carrier.

USS Arnold Bay (CVE-???)
Commencement Bay Class Escort Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined from name only.

USS Pluto
Destroyer Tender, class not specified
No other details provided.

Plot summary: The increasingly erratic behavior of a minesweepers Captain leads to him being removed from command, but did he fall or was he pushed...

Note: The author crafted his story partly out of his own wartime experiences and reports of what had happened aboard the USS Hull (DD-350) before her sinking during Typhoon Cobra. Filmed in 1954, the novel inspired later authors. There are definite parallels between what happens to Captain Queeg and what occurs to the captain of HMS Retaliate in Antony Trew's 1963 novel 'Two Hours to Darkness', with the concluding wardroom scene being the equivalent of the post-Court Martial party in 'The 'Caine' Mutiny'. Douglas Reeman drew on Wouk's novel and a curious Vietnam War incident known as the 'Arnheiter Affair' to craft 'The Greatest Enemy' (1970). Most recently David Poyer's 2000 novel 'China Sea' has more than a few echoes of 'The 'Caine' Mutiny' within it's pages.

My own copy of the novel is a printing that predates the 1954 film and includes in the end-papers a map showing the various movements of the USS Caine (DMS-22) under the command of Captain Queeg, which is linked below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5oo79vrdhuslhp2/Caine_Mutiny_Map_1953.png?dl=0

 

[Hood]

Something different, a short-story from the Sci-Fi journal If dating from 1954.
Way of a Rebel, by Walter Miller Jr.

United States
SW-90: one-man nuclear-powered submarine; armed with at least 2x torpedo tubes, a retractable launcher for ?x nuclear missiles and depth-charges dispensed from the stern. Nuclear powerplant, speed 60kts (surfaced), 6 months endurance (including rations to last almost as long). Equipped with a computer for navigation, fire-control (including working out targeting solutions for the missiles) and sonar/radar scanning, other equipment includes sonar and a retractable radar (parabolic antenna ). When travelling on the surface it is described as leaving a V-shape wake like an MTB, which suggests some form of planing hull surface, the depth-charges are used against submarines when running on the surface.

Soviet Union
Unnamed: Soviet equivalent to SW-90, has similar armament but also has a deck gun.

Plot
The story is set in the undetermined future when the Cold War finally turns hot. The USSR has overrun Western Europe and is now described as the Eurasian Soviet. The USA and this enlarged Eurasian Soviet are trading aerial attacks with "non-rigged nuclear weapons (presumably A-Bombs) and have refrained from using their more deadly Cobalt-cased nuclear warheads and bacteriological weapons. Eventually however the US President issues an ultimatum for the Soviets to cease or the Americans will unleash all their arsenal. The main protagonist, Mitch Laskell, operates a one-man nuclear submarine. Despairing of war and the end of civilisation he refuses to obey orders to return home for re-arming with cobalt-jacketed warheads and instead flees to escape war. The Navy then begins hunting for him as a defector. While wrestling with his demons and setting course for Africa, he runs into five Soviet submarines on their way to attack the USA. He then destroys himself and the submarines using one of his nuclear missiles to prevent them starting war.

The story is of course largely a moral story around the effects of nuclear war on civilisation but it also touches on command and control issues. Laskell is alone operating a nuclear submarine, at one point he refers to himself as being like a fighter pilot, but he is largely outside the control of the shore-based commanders who only have contact with him via radio. His nuclear weapons are not under central control, indeed he can arm them whenever he wishes. Although the submarine has a powerful computer to assist the crewman there is no sense of AI here, the submarine seems incapable of automatic operation.

The description of the submarine versus submarine action is archaic even by 1950s standards. Laskell closes in to prevent torpedo attack and surfaces to use his high speed (60kts!) but there is danger from deck-mounted guns so he submerges. Each side takes turns using depth-charges while running on the surface when the other side submerges in this odd chase. The Americans (and presumably the Soviets) have a "P-charge", which I assume is a nuclear depth-charge but its not used during the story. The submarine is a mid-50s description of what we would call an SSBN but in this case its still archaic. The missile launcher is retractable and the story assumes the submarine has to be surfaced to launch the missiles.

 

[Graham1973]

Good finds Hood, now onto the next in my irregular non-state actor series...

Clive Cussler & Jack Du Brul, Dark Watch, 2005

Non-State

'Cabrillo Corporation'

Oregon (II)
Armed Merchant Ship (Converted 1960s cargo liner)
Length: 560ft (171m)
Beam: 75ft (23m)
11,585 tons
Propulsion: MHD Engines
Speed: 50 knots(+)
Armament: 120mm Cannon (Exact number not specified) 3 x 20mm Gatling cannon 4 x Exocet Missiles (Concealed in forward hold) 2 x Land Attack Missiles (Russian, type not specified.) 2 x 21 inch Torpedo Tubes (Bow), Machine Guns. Note: All weapons are concealed.
2 x Minisubs
1 x Helicopter
Note: Conversion was done at a Russian shipyard, but paid for by US Govt 'Black Budget' money. The below-water hull has been heavily modified to allow safe transit at high speeds. Mercenary ship, owned by the 'Cabrillo Corporation'. Registered in Iran (Carries flags for every maritime nation.) Performs intelligence gathering on behalf of the United States Government and other related work on behalf of friendly nations. This is the replacement for the ship of the same name that appeared in 'Flood Tide' (1997)

Karamita Breakers (Pirates, cover is a shipbreaking firm.)

Kra IV
Armed Trawler
Length: 73ft (22.25m)
Armament: Hand held weapons including Rocket Propelled Grenades and AK-47 Assault Rifles

Note: Karamita Breakers operate many armed trawlers, this is the only one named.

Maus (ex-??)
Drydock
Length: 800ft (244m)
Beam: 240ft (73.1)
Note: Built by Russian Government to service Oscar II Class Submarines, sold to private interests following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Souri (ex-??)
Drydock
Same details as Maus

Note: Neither dry dock is self propelled.

Plot summary: An investigation into a lucrative ship stealing racket uncovers evidence of a murderous people smuggling racket, but the victims do not seem to be heading to the usual locations people smugglers send their 'clients' to, so where are they...

 

[Graham1973]

Another foray into the 'future of the past', with thanks to Hood for help with clarifying some ideas.

Alfred Coppel, The Hastings Conspiracy, 1980

Russia

Moskva
Moskva (Pr. 1123) Class Helicopter Carrier
Real ship, details as in service
Note: Referred to as a 'Helicopter Assault Ship' in the novel.

Allende (Named after Salvador Allende (President of Chile, 1970 - 1973).)
Ivan Rogov Class Amphibious Assault Ship?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Referred to in the novel as a 'Amphibious Force Carrier'. Author uses the same name for a guided missile destroyer in his 1974 novel 'Thirty-four East'.

Togliatti (Named after Palmiro Togliatti (1893-1964), former leader of the Italian Communist Party.)
Ivan Rogov Class Amphibious Assault Ship?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Referred to in the novel as a 'Amphibious Force Carrier'.

Unnamed
Four Admiral Gorshkov Class (Fictional Class) Cruisers
Note: These unnamed ships may have been inspired by early reports of what eventually emerged as the Slava Class Cruisers.

Unnamed
Two Submarines of unspecified class

United States

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Real ship, details as in service.

Plot summary: It is the 'Day after Tomorrow' (and slightly off to one side...), following Margaret Thatcher's defeat in the 1983 British General Election, the British Labor Party has been making steady efforts to shift Britain into the Soviet Orbit. Impatient with the progress of this the Soviets decide to speed things up a bit with a carefully planned disinformation campaign.

Note: The author does not provide specific dating information, but from the complete lack of mobile phone technology (and personal computers), the timeframe 1985-1989 is probably the best fit. This novel really is a blast from the past. The future it envisages should be considered in that light, in 1980 the Tories had barely been in power for a year and it would be easy to guess that they might get removed from office at the next election. As to what he predicted the Labor would do once they got back into power, well their manifesto for the 1983 election is a pretty close fit.

 

[Triton]

Nice listing of fictional warships, Graham1973. I will use some of these names and classes in my Cyberpunk 2020, Rifts, and Twilight 2000 campaigns.

 

[Graham1973]

Nice listing of fictional warships, Graham1973. I will use some of these names and classes in my Cyberpunk 2020, Rifts, and Twilight 2000 campaigns.

What a co-incidence I'd suggested Hood's list to some Call of Cthulhu gamers, the finale to one classic campaign just calls out for fictional warships.

 

[Graham1973]

Iain Crawford, The Burning Sea, 1959

United Kingdom

HMRT Restless
Admiralty Rescue Tug
Built: Orange, Texas
Commissioned: 1943
Displacement: 750 tons.
Diesel-electric engines
Armament: 1 x 3 inch gun, 1 x 2 pdr (Pom-pom) gun, 2 x 20mm, 4 x Mgs

HMRT Rally
Admiralty Rescue Tug
No other details provided.

HMRT Beaver
Admiralty Rescue Tug
No other details provided.

HMRT Revere
Admiralty Rescue Tug
Steam turbine engines
20 knots
No other details provided.

HMS Godmin
Hunt Class Destroyer (Subclass not specified)
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Narcissus
Flower Class Corvette?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Calshott
Castle Class Corvette? (Referred to in the novel as a 'frigate'.)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only. A Castle Class Corvette named HMS Calsot Castle was canceled on the slips in 1943.

HMS Vulpine
Cruiser, class not specified
No other details provided

Unnamed
Battle Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

Germany

Various Unnamed vessels.

Plot summary: The novel covers the experiences of the second in command of a newly built admiralty tug in the Mediterranean Sea between 1943 and the end of the war in Europe.

Note: This novel is another example of a World War II veteran trying to deal with his wartime experiences by using them as the basis of fiction. Other books of this type covered in this thread include 'The 'Caine' Mutiny' (1951), 'Surface!' (1953), 'Proud Waters' (1954), 'HMS Ulysses' (1955) and 'Send Down a Dove' (1968).

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, The Secret Weapon, 1959

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Also appears in several other of the authors many novels.

United States

USS Lyall Moore (DD-??)
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Several destroyers of unspecified class.

And for the aircraft mavens.

Lockheed P2V-Neptune
Real aircraft, details as in service (Modified as to the technology available in late WWII).
Note: In real life the P2V was only accepted into US Service in 1947, with the first prototypes flying in May of 1945. Obviously in this 'universe' sufficient were completed to equip a squadron in late WWII.

Plot summary: An Australian destroyer is invited to join the American Fleet (Presumably the 5th Fleet) at Truk Atoll to train with a revolutionary new anti-submarine aircraft. The rivalry between Australian and American crews rapidly turns unfriendly, fueled by American arrogance and Australian resentment of American 'poaching' of British inventions (Sonobuoys) to fit their new planes. Relations hit a nadir in the form of a bar room brawl and the Australian captain keen to 'put one over' on the Yanks takes unnecessary risks in dangerous waters.

Note: This story can be dated to sometime after the establishment of the British Pacific Fleet (TF57/37) in November of 1944, since it is mentioned in the plot. Of note regarding this novel is that Truk Atoll was never taken by Allied forces during WWII it was one of several garrisons bypassed during the advance on the Philippines. The main US Fleet anchorage in the eastern Pacific in WWII was Ulithi Atoll. The cover of the 1961 edition depicts the climax of the novel.

J. E. MacDonnell was a prolific Australian writer of action fiction for newsstand paperbacks. Some of the World War II novels by him covered in this thread include, 'Gimme the boats!' (1953), 'The Frogman' (1958), 'The Surgeon' (1959), 'Subsmash' (1960), 'The Coxswain' (1960), 'Killer Group' (1964), 'The Hammer of God' (1968), 'The Kill,' (1974), 'Breaking Point' (1979) & 'The Glory Hunter' (c. 1980s) . He also wrote a series of 'James Bond' style superspy thrillers featuring an agent named Mark Hood, novels in this series that have appeared in the thread are 'Come Die With Me' (1965) and 'Operation Octopus' (1968).

 

[Graham1973]

Another short story

A.E. van Vogt, Dormant, 1948 (First published in Startling Stories, November 1948.)

United States

USS Coulson (DD-??)
Destroyer, class not specified.
5 Inch guns
No other details provided

Plot summary: The year is 1948, a US Destroyer on clean-up duty in the Pacific stumbles across a dangerously radioactive rock, but what have they really found...

 

[Graham1973]

Philip McCutchan, Sunstrike, 1979

United States

USS Cato E. Parnell
Minesweeper/hunter
Glass Fibre hull. (Glass reinforced plastic?)
Speed: 25 knots (Max)
No other details provided.

USS Hampton Roads (SSN or SSBN-???)
Nuclear submarine, class not specified.
No other details provided, beyond the fact that it carries 'missiles' it is not specified if these are cruise missiles or ballistic missiles.

Plot summary: The year is 1979. Someone has provided the Chinese with the means to open holes in the Ozone Layer on command, the possibilities for extortion on the grandest scale are obvious.

Note: This is only the second novel I've run across that makes use of the idea of weaponizing ozone depletion as a major plot element, the other being the horror novel 'SIGMET Active' (1978) by Thomas Page, which I've covered earlier in the thread. It's also a 'Yellow Peril (China)' novel, predating the resurgence of the genre in the late 1990s and early 2000s, other novels of this kind I have covered in the thread are 'Sky Masters' (1991), 'Flood Tide' (1997), 'Icefire' (1998), 'China Sea' (2000) and 'White Plague' (2015). Dating this story is not really possible as the author carefully avoids providing specific information that could tie things to a particular year, however one reference to the 'power' of the British Trade Union Council over the British Government suggests that it may take place prior to the May 3, 1979 British General Election (Which bought Margaret Thatcher into power...) or possibly shortly thereafter, see also the novel 'The Hastings Conspiracy' (1980) by Alfred Coppel.