Fictional Warships - Novels

[Graham1973]

Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone, 1957

United Kingdom

HMS Sybaris
'Heavy Cruiser', class not specified
8 inch main battery
No other details provided

HMS Sirdar
S Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Described as "...His Majesty's latest S-class destroyer..."
Note: As noted above the author explicitly identifies the ship as an S Class Destroyer. The name clashes with that of an S Class Submarine.

HMS Wryneck (D21)
V & W Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service (1918 - 1941)

Slamat
Transport Ship (Converted merchant ship?)
No other details provided
Note: Appears in a characters backstory.

Unnamed
MTB
No other details provided

Germany

Unnamed
Armed Caique
Armament: 1 x 40mm Gun, 2 x Machine guns, either MG-34 or MG-42s, author simply refers to them as 'Spandaus' a term which could fit either gun.
Crew: 6(+)

Battery Naverone

2 x 280mm (11 inch) Krupp K5 guns in modified mountings.

Note: The author gives three different sizes for the two guns that make up the battery in the novel. In the opening briefing scene the characters are told that the best intelligence information indicates the guns are either 8 inch or 9 inch weapons. When the characters reach the battery one of them identifies the weapons as being 12 inch guns. In the 1961 film, the size of the weapons is unspecified. However the depicted carriages are clearly based on the carriages used for the Krupp K5 11 inch guns. After discussion with Hood, I've decided to go with what the film depicts for this German Army installation. Both book and film indicate the guns are radar controlled.

Plot summary: The year is 1943, the British attempt to occupy the Dodecanese islands following the Italian surrender has failed in the face of a determined German counterattack. The garrison of the last island still under British control needs to be evacuated, but the clear routes to the island are blocked by the powerful German battery on the island of Navarone. Well protected, it has proven impossible to neutralize the guns by conventional attack so SOE is ordered to provide a team of experts to infiltrate the island of Navarone and destroy the guns.

Note: This is Alistair MacLean's second novel and in 1961 became the first to be filmed, the success of this film led directly to the classic war film (and Novel) 'Where Eagles Dare' (1967) and several other adaptions well into the 1970s. I have covered several of the authors other novels in this thread, they are: 'HMS Ulysses' (1955), 'South by Java Head' (1958), 'Night Without End' (1959), 'San Andreas' (1984) and 'Santorini' (1986)

The first of the two covers attached is from the 50th printing of the novel in October 1985. The artist is not identified. Like some other covers used for the novels it depicts three guns, rather than two, but does show all of them mounted on a turntable so they can be aimed. The second attached cover is from the 1993 printing of the novel and appears to be the last artwork cover created for the novel prior to the advent of CGI/Photomanipulated covers. As with the 1985 cover the artist who depicts the battery firing on a King George V Class Battleship (Thanks to Hood for the class identification.) is unidentified.

 

[Graham1973]

Dale Brown & Jim DeFelice, Dreamland: Strike Zone, 2004

Australia

HMAS Maryborough (FFG-??)
Adelaide Class Frigate (7th member of class)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The Adelaide Class is a modified version of the Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate. At the time the novel (Which is set in 1997) was written there was no ship of that name in the RAN, from 2007 the name clashes with a member of the Armidale Class of patrol boats. Had the ship existed it would have been numbered FFG-07, but this is not stated in the novel.

Unnamed
'Cruiser', class not specified
No other details provided

Japan

Yūbari (DE-227)
Yūbari Class Destroyer Escort
Real ship, details as in service.

Non State (Spoilers)

Dragon Prince
UAV Carrier/Control Ship (Converted oil tanker)
Described as a 'small' oil tanker.
Fitted with a catapult and control equipment to allow 'Dragon' UAVs to be launched from it.
Equipped with sophisticated ELINT systems capable of intercepting military grade communications.
Note: Owned by an unnamed Taiwanese consortium controlled by one Chen Lee, a gentleman opposed to Taiwan coming to terms with China under any circumstances save those where the Peoples Republic surrenders to Taiwan.

And for the aircraft mavens...

Brunei

Tu-16 'Badger'
Details as per the real planes. Navigation and search radar have been updated to 'modern' (eg 1990s) standards.
Nose gun has been removed, other weapons have been retained.
Note: Nominally part of and marked for the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF), actually the personal property of a nephew of the Sultan of Brunei. The backstory for the plane is that it was one of the planes supplied to Indonesia in the 60s which was purchased as scrap (By the nephew with his 'pocket money'.) and then restored to more or less as new condition. At the conclusion of the novel it is noted that the RBAF has annnounced it intends to purchase 12 x F-15 'Eagle' and 6 x EB-52 'Megafortress' aircraft from the United States (Subject to approval...)

Non-State (Spoilers)

'Dragon'
Stealth UAV
Described as being similar in appearance to the Boeing X-45.
Wingspan: 10ft (3.05m)
Speed: Around 450knots (833kph, 0.67mach)
Range: 1500 miles (2414km)
Armament: 2 x 'Cannon' type unspecified, Unspecified missile or an enhanced radiation bomb (Yield is unspecified, but stated one such bomb could take out the population of Beijing.)
Controls: Can be controlled remotely from either the Dragon Prince or a modified Boeing 767, when in this mode the control signals are camoflaged by a system that rebroadcasts intercepted signals to mask the control transmissions. The UAVs also have an autonomous mode in which they operate like a cruise missile homing in on a specified target.
Note: 2 of these UAVs exist, they have been constructed by the same unnamed Taiwanese consortium that owns the Dragon Prince. They can either be catapult launched from the ship or air launched from a modified Boeing 767

Boeing 767 (Modified)
Details as per the real aircraft.
Note: Owned by the same unnamed Taiwanese consortium that owns the Dragon Prince. The plane has been modified to act as a launch/control vehicle for the UAVs as a backup for the Dragon Prince.

Plot summary: The year is 1997 (The story runs between 3 September - 15 September of that year.) In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian clashes (Covered in the novel 'Dreamland: Pirahna' (2003)) that the United States succeeded in preventing from becoming a nuclear war, one mystery remains, the identity of the third party who seemed to be trying to manipulate events in the opposite direction. A chance sighting of an unidentified but sophisticated UAV suggests the unthinkable, that Dreamlands security has been penetrated again...

 

[Graham1973]

Steven Wilson, Armada, 2007

United States

USS Jeremiah B. Southern
'Destroyer Escort', class not specified
No other class specific details provided

PT Boat Squadron 142.2
Six PT Boats with pennants 122, 134, 140, 144, 155 & 168. All of which fall into the range of numbers allocated to PT boats in service.

United Kingdom

HMS Firedancer
F Class Destroyer (Modified)
Armament: 'A' turret has been replaced with a Hedgehog launcher. The main battery guns are 4.5 inch guns rather than 4.7 inch. Other armament appears typical of the ships of the E & F Classes at this point in the war.
Other details as per the real ships.

HMS Huston
Hunt Class Destroyer (Subtype not specified)
Details as per the real ships
Explicitly stated to be a Hunt Class Destroyer by the author.

Germany

S-204
S-Boat
Details as per the real ships

S-205
S-Boat (Modified)
The ship has been converted into a hydrofoil and now has a top speed of 60knots
Armament has been modified by the removal of the torpedo tubes and the original forward gun. The gun in question has been replaced with a gyrostabilized mount holding a tracer firing 20mm cannon (Used for aiming) and three 110mm recoilless guns firing shaped charge warheads. All other armament is unchanged.
The codename for this conversion is 'Seeadler'.

S-209
Same details as S-205

S-317
Same details as S-205

S-492
Same details as S-205

S-756
Same details as S-205

S-788
Same details as S-205

T-22
Type 39 Torpedo Boat
Real ship, details as in service
Note: In the novel the ship is sunk on July 6, 1944, in real life the ship was sunk on August 18, 1944

T-29
Type 39 Torpedo Boat
Real ship, details as in service
Note: In the novel the ship is sunk on July 6, 1944, in real life the ship was sunk on April 26, 1944

Plot summary: As D-Day draws ever closer evidence emerges that the Germans have come up with something new and incredibly dangerous in the war at sea.

Note: This is one of a series of three books by the same author, as far as I can tell it's the second of the books in the series, taking place before D-Day.

 

[Graham1973]

Continuing on with obscure WWII set fiction...

Patrick O'Hara, The Wohldorf Shipment, 1978

Germany

U-207
Type IXC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: The pennant is that of a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk in September 1941. Surface armament is given as 2 x 2 20mm, 1 x 37mm.

U-353
U-Boat, type unspecified
No other details provided
Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk in October 1942

U-443
U-Boat, type unspecified
No other details provided
Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk in February 1943.

Note: Both submarines are implied to still be in service in late 1944/early 1945.

U-501
Type IXC U-Boat
Real ship, details as in service (1940 - 1941)
Note: In real life the submarine was sunk on the 10th of September 1941. In the novel the submarine was launched in October 1941 and is still in service at wars end having served as a training ship since construction. Surface armament is given as 1 x 88mmm, 2 x 2 20mm, the submarine is only carrying 3 x G7es 'Zaunkönig' torpedoes for this operation.

Nordhorn
Oiler
Described as an 'Auxiliary Oiler'
Armed with at least 1 x 2 MGs of unspecified type (Mounted Abaft the bridge)
No other details provided

Unnamed
2 Type XIV U-Boats
Details as per the real ships. The author does not give pennant numbers when referring to these submarines, simply the commanders names.

Santa Elvira
Armed Merchant Ship
Displacement: 2000 tons
Diesel Powered
Armament: 1 x 2 20mm Oerlikons (Bow), 40mm Bofors Gun (Stern, the mount is described as being a multiple mount.) (All guns are concealed.)
Note: Vessel is registered in Argentina, crewed by former members of the crew of the Admiral Graf Spee on behalf of the Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen (ODESSA).

United Kingdom

HMS Andromeda
Warship of unspecified class
No other details provided.
Note: A modified Leander Class Cruiser of the same name appears in Douglas Reeman's 1979 novel 'A Ship Must Die', which I've covered earlier in this thread.

Various Unnamed warships.

Plot summary: It is the last days of the Second World War in Europe, a U-Boat leaves Germany carrying 'Shipment N°.11372' one in a series that have been sent to South America over the past few years (e.g. Since 1943.). The crew's orders are quite explicit, deliver the cargo, whatever the cost.

Note: Cover has been added along with some additional material from the book.

 

[Graham1973]

With thanks to TomS, for making the first run at this novel, shortly after the thread started.

James H. Cobb, Choosers of the Slain, 1996

Argentina

ARA Nueve de Julio
Animoso (Durande de la Penne Class Destroyer) Class Destroyer (Modified)
Details as per the real ships in regards dimensions
Armament: 1 x 5 inch gun, 3 x 76mm OTO Melara, Aster SAM, 2 x TT B-515 launchers 1 x 8 cell Exocet launcher.
Modifications include an expanded hangar to carry either 2 (EH-101) helicopters or 4 (Lynx) helicopters and flagship facilities.
Note: The Argentines have three ships in this class, the other two are configured, like the Italian originals as AAW ships. The Argentine class name is not given in the novel.

ARA Heroina
Almirante Brown Class Destroyer (German MEKO 360H2)
Real ship, details as in service.

ARA Catamarca
Sparviero Class Corvette (Hydrofoil)
Displacement: 1200 tons
Length: "...less than three hundred feet long..."
Speed: 60knots(+)
Armament: 1 x 76mm OTO Melara (Fwd), 1 x 2 Breda 40mm (Aft), 4 x Exocet missiles (amidships), explicitly stated the ship does not have torpedo armament.
Propulsion: Hydrojet
Note: The Sparviero Class Patrol Boat was a 60 ton hydrofoil that served in the Italian and Japanese navies between the 1970s and the early 2000s. This appears to be a fictional design, unless someone on the forum knows of one appearing in the late 1980s to early/mid 1990s timeframe. The Argentines have two of ships of this type in service. What the Argentines call the class is not given in the novel.

ARA Luis A. Huergo
'Fleet Oiler'
No other details provided.

ARA Piedrabuena
'Tank Landing Ship'
No other details provided

ARA Alferez Macinlay
'Antarctic Operations Ship'
No other details provided

ARA Presidente Sarmiento
Icebreaker
Armament: 1 x 40mm gun (Turret mount, fwd) is the only specific armament mentioned.
No other details, beyond an explicit statement the ship is an Argentine Navy Vessel.

Unnamed
Three Thyssen 1700 Submarines
Two Kokums 471-B Submarines

United States

USS Cunningham (DDG-79)
Cunningham Class Destroyer
Length: 580ft (176.8m)
Weight: 8000 tons
Armament: 2 x 1 76mm OTO Melara (Fore and Aft), ?x Advanced Phalanx (1x4 25mm & 2x quad RAM), 10 x TT (10 x Mk. 50 Torpedoes (5 tubes a side, no reloads.)), 1x VLS (Divided into three arrays.) (36x Harpoon 2, 12x Standard HARM, 12x Sea SLAM, 12x Strategic Cruise Missiles, 36x VL ASROC, 4x Aquahawks (ASW Tomahawk), 148x LORAIN, 28x4 ESSM (total 112), 1x Zenith anti-satellite round (Takes up four cells in the VLS);
Aircraft carried: 4x BRAVE 2000 drones & 2x SAH-66 Sea Commanche (Initially only one is carried, a second is transferred from the USS Boone (FFG-28) before deployment south.)
Electronics: AN/SPY-2A Augmented AEGIS, ECM system called 'Wetball' which makes use of the microscopic iron spheres in the ships paint to distort radar signals.
Engines: Rafted gas turbines driving 2x 45,000hp electric motors in podded propulsors (30knots(+) (Official Speed.), 42 knots (Fastest speed reached in novel.)
Hullform: Stealth design with clipper bow and well deck. Radar signature that of a "...small cabin cruiser..." when operating under maximum stealth.
Note: Pennant clashes with that of the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79). The author repeatedly refers to the ship in this novel and the next as being a 'Cunningham Class Destroyer' thus indicating that it is the lead ship in a series of vessels. Going by remarks in the authors afterward to 'Target Lock' (2002) it would appear that this was a freelanced extrapolation of the planned successor to the Arleigh Burkes, unless someone is more familar with what was being discussed in that regards during the late 1980s/early 1990s knows otherwise.

USS John Allen Price (DDG-68)
Arliegh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant clashes with that of USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), appears in a characters backstory only.

USS Sea Serpent
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
No other details provided

USS Coral Sea
'Sea Control Ship', class not specified
Stated to be in the 3rd week of a shakedown cruise in March of 2006, this suggests the ship commissioned earlier in the year.
No other details are provided.

USS Thomas L. Clancy (DDG-???)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Only named USS Clancy in the novel, but I'm willing to guess this was what the author intended.

USS Dale Brown (DDG-???)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Only named USS Brown in the novel, but I'm willing to guess this was what the author intended.

USS Louisville (SSN-724)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service (Still in commission as of the date of this post.)

USS Boone (FFG-28)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service. (In commission 1982 - 2012.)
Note: In the novel the ship is carrying a SAH-66 'Sea Commanche' helicopter instead of an SH-60, this aircraft and it's operating detachment is transferred over to USS Cunningham (DDG-79), prior to that ship deploying south.

USS Shenandoah (AD-44)
Yellowstone Class Destroyer Tender
Real ship, details as in service (In commission 1983 - 1996.)
Note: Appears in a characters backstory only.

USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905)
Famous Class Cutter
Real ship, details as in service (Still in commission as of the date of this post.)
Note: Appears in a characters backstory only.

USS Piegan
'Fleet Ocean Tug', class not specified
No other details provided
Note: Appears in a characters backstory only.

United Kingdom

HMS Victorix
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Ark Royal
Aircraft Carrier
Possibly the Invincible Class Carrier, but no class specific details are mentioned.

RFA Polar Circle
Ice Patrol Ship, class not specified
No other details provided beyond the fact it has a helipad and a helicopter of unspecified type, one that is large enough for casualty evacuation.
Note: The author refers to the ship as 'HMS Polar Circle', but historically ice patrol ships have been part of the Royal Fleet Auxilliary, like the RFA Engadine which had played a role in the Falklands War (1982), so I've used editorial discrection in this case.

For the aircraft mavens.

Argentina

The Argentine Air Force, out of a force of 350 aircraft only has 150 combat ready aircaft, of these 40 are Dassault Rafele E Fighters and 2 are 737-400 AEW planes fitted with Elta Phalcon Radar.

The Argentine Navy, having been unable to purchase an aircraft carrier has purchased ex-Kriegsmarine Tornados. These have been rebuilt to 'as new' condition in Italy.

United States

SAH-66 'Sea Commanche' (LAMPS IV)
Manufacturer: Boeing/Sikorsky
Crew: 2
Equipment: Nose-mounted APG-65 radar (Covers 270 degrees forward arc.)
Weapons carried (Mission Dependent): Sidewinder X (AIM-9X Sidewinder?) (12 miles range, 25pds warhead), AGM-114 Hellfire, AGM-119 Penguin, Gunpods (Most likely fitted with a version of the XM-301 20mm gatling gun planned for the RAH-66.), Air droppable torpedoes (Most likely either Mk.46 or Mk.50 torpedoes, the Mk.54 torpedo did not start development until 1999, several years after this book was published.)
Other equipment carried (Mission Dependent): SQR/A1 Dunking Sonar Pod, Clearwater III AEW Radar Pod, Magnetic Anomaly Detector Pod, Sonobuoys, External Fuel Tanks (110 gallons (416.4 litres))
Speed: 195 mph
The helicopter is fitted with an internal weapons bay and can be fitted with stub wings (With two hardpoints on each wing.) similar to those on the AH-64 'Apache'. These can be removed in situations where maximum stealth is required. (This capability was part of the original design for the RAH-66.). In addition, the helicopter has attachment points for underslung cargo and RAST (Recovery Assistence Securing and Traversing) gear.
Note: LAMPS refers to the 'Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System' which is the USNs anti-submarine helicopter system. In real life there exist LAMPS I (Kaman Seasprite, now removed from service.) LAMPS II (Cancelled in favour of LAMPS III), LAMPS III (Sikorski Seahawk) and LAMPS III Mk II (Sikorski Seahawk).

Below are some of the weapon/equipment fit outs mentioned in this novel.

ASW: 1 x SQR/A1 Dunking Sonar Pod, 1 x Magnetic Anomaly Detector, 2 x ASW Torpedoes
Short range Air-to-Air: 2 x Gunpods (20mm gatlings), 2 x AIM-9X Sidewinders (12 mile range, 25pds warhead)
Long range Air-to-Air: 2 x 110 gallon external fuel tanks, 2 x AIM-9X Sidewinders (12 mile range, 25pds warhead)
Anti-Shipping: 4 x AGM-119 'Penguin' missiles (Wing mounts), 6 x AGM-114 'Hellfire' missiles (Internal mounts)

Going by the remarks the author gives his characters it would seem he believed that the RAH-66 would have entered service in 2004 (The RAH-66 program was actually cancelled that year.) with the SAH-66 version coming into service towards the end of 2005 most likely around November/December of that year, going by what is said.

Plot summary: The year is 2006 (The novel runs between the 19th of March and 7th of April of that year.). The Republic of Agentina as in the 1980s makes the mistake of trying to use an invasion, this time of the Antarctic Peninsula (Historically there are overlapping claims by Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom.) to shift world opinon in their favour. While better planned than the Falkands Invasion, this scheme again makes the mistake of assuming that the major powers will not fight. Events come down to one revolutionary ship and the determined woman in command of it.

Note: Like the novel 'Flight of the Old Dog' (1987) for Dale Brown, this is where it all started for James H. Cobb (1953 - 2014). The novel was followed by three more, 'Stormdragon' (1997), 'Seafighter' (1999) and 'Target Lock' (2002) all following the career of Amanda Garret. The fourth novel (Spoilers) ends with a clear indication that the fifth novel (Which never materialized as far as I am able to tell.) would have been a continuation of the plotline of the fourth novel. He also wrote a number of short stories, one of which 'Cav' published in the antholgy 'Combat' (2001) appears to be set in the same universe as the 'Amanda Garret' stories but about 12 or so years after the events of the final novel in the series. In 2007 he wrote the novel 'Robert Ludlum's The Arctic Event ' part of the 'Covert One' series (Covered in this thread), a book that if nothing else, showed that his skill as a writer had not diminished.

Attached is the are two covers, one is the 1997 cover used for the US Paperback release, and which may the the only time Amanda Garrett herself appeared on a series cover, it also has a very interesting deptiction of USS Cunningham (DDG-79). The other cover features a CGI image created for the 2021 Silvertail Books edition of the novel, unlike most CGI covers nowadays the images used on the covers for these books are at least appropriate for the subject, I just wish whoever had created this cover had paid attention to the authors description of the ship, as it bears no resemblance to the Zumwalt Class Destroyer depicted on the cover.

 

[Graham1973]

David Hagberg, High Flight, 1995

United States

USS Thorn (DD-988)
Spruance Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service (1980 - 2004)

USS Cook (FF-1083)
Knox Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service (1971-1992)
Note: In the novel the ship is still in US service as of 1997/98, in real life it was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1995.

USS Barbey (FF-1088)
Knox Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service (1972-1992)
Note: In the novel the ship is still in US service as of 1997/98, in real life it was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1995.

Japan

Samisho
Yūshio Class Submarine (Modified)
Length: 250ft (76.2m)
Displacement: 2,200 tons (Surfaced, submerged displacement is not given)
Diesel powered.
Speed (Submerged): 25knots(+) (Surfaced speed unspecified)
Safe Depth: 1000ft (305m)
Armament: Type 89 Torpedo (Referred to in the novel by it's alternate name of G-RX2.) UGM-84 Harpoon (Modified warhead described as "...seven hundred fifty pounds of high explosives jacketed in a high-carbon-steel case designed to penetrate well within the bowels of a ship before it blew.")
Electronics (All supplied by Hitachi): ZPS-8 (Mast mounted radar, possibly a fictional system.), Sonar and ECM, one ECM system is designed to lock onto an incoming radar signal and transmit a signal so strong that the radar receiver at the other end burns out.
Crew: 60

Note: In the novel it is stated that the JMSDF is having an SSN constructed in secret, with a planned completion date in 1998.

Murakamo (DD-118)
Minegumo Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service (1970 - 2000)

Russia

Menshinsky
Krivak III (Pr.11351) Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.
Note: There is a real Krivak III Class Frigate named Menzhinskiy that was in service between 1982 and 1998. It is possible the name used is a different transliteration of the ships name.

Strelka
Sierra Class Submarine (Not specified if Sierra I or Sierra II Class)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Has been fitted with a receiver for Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) signals.

Sovremenny
Sovremenny (Pr.956) Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service (1980 - 1998)
Note (Spoiler): This ship is sunk during the course of the novel.

Plot summary: It is the late 1990s (The novel starts in 'Winter 1997' and runs into the early part of 1998.). A retired CIA agent is hired by one of the major manufacturers of aircraft in the United States. Having entered a critical phase in the development of the worlds first hypersonic commercial airliner the company is afraid that a Japanese firm is trying to damage their reputation and drive the company into bankruptcy. This would give the Japanese the chance to obtain the companies research at 'fire sale' prices. Unfortunately someone else has worked out the Japanese plan and hopes to co-opt it for their own ends.

Note: David Hagberg started off his writing career in the 1970s as a contributor to the long running (1964 - 1990) series of 'Nick Carter: Killmaster' James Bond knock offs as well as other novels under various pseudonyms. This book is the fifth in the 'Kirk McGarvey' series, which appears to have been the first series published under his own name. This novel and the one that precedes it ('Critical Mass' (1992)) are both firmly in the category of 'Yellow Peril (Japan)' (Other novels I've covered in this sub-genre are 'Dragon' (1990) and 'The War in 2020' (1991))

 

[Graham1973]

Keith Douglass (Pseud.), SEAL Team Seven: Battleground, 1998

United States

USS Roy Turner (FFG-68)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.

USS Monroe (CVN-81)
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: It is the late 1990s (The story runs between Saturday, July 18 and Friday, July 23 of an unspecified year, the first date falls in 1998, the second in 1999. However the story clearly takes place over a six day period.). A disaffected Kenyan army officer has overthrown the government, captured a US warship tied up in Mombasa on a goodwill visit and put the US Embassy in Nairobi under siege, looks like a job for the CIAs private SEAL Team...

Note: This is the sixth book in a series of 'gung ho' action tales about a SEAL team assigned to work with the CIA by the author of the equally 'gung ho', 'Carrier' series which focuses on a fictional carrier group of the US Navy built around the USS Thomas Jefferson. From that series, I have covered the novels 'Carrier: Typhoon Season' (2000), 'Carrier: Enemies' (2000) & 'Carrier: Joint Operations' (2000), the last of which is a crossover novel with 'SEAL Team Seven'. I am assuming that the reason the author chose Kenya, one of the better run African nations, for this little exercise was the 1998 Nairobi Embassy Bombing which took place in August of that year. I am wondering if the author may have originally planned to set this in a West African country such as Liberia, which was undergoing a period of profound instability in the 1990s and relocated it after the bombing in Kenya.

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, Conqueror of the Oceans, 2013

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. See the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

HMS Edward
S-boat
Details as per the real ships

HMS Egbert
S-Boat (Copy)
Details as per the real ships as to dimensions and external appearance.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for the details on this ship.

HMS Antler (ex-U-491)
Type VIIC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for her backstory.

Germany

U-646
Type IIB U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the submarine as being a Type IIB U-Boat. The pennant is that of a Type VIIC U-Boat commissioned in May of 1942 and sunk in October of 1943.

U-648
Type IXD1 U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant clashes with a Type VIIC U-Boat commissioned in November 1942 and reported missing in November 1943. In this novel the submarine is captured by HMS Egbert on the 7th of June 1943 and put into service as HMS Absolute. The author J. E. Macdonnell used the same pennant number for a U-Boat of unspecified type in his 1962 novel 'U-Boat' which I have also covered in this thread.

Eroberer der Ozeane (Eng: 'Conqueror of the Oceans') (ex-U-?)
Type IXD U-Boat (Modified)
Vessels details as to dimensions as the same as the Type IXD. Has been extensively modified to serve as a test-bed for systems to be used on the Type XXI U-Boats.
Retains torpedo armament, if the surface armament has been changed, it is not stated.
No other specifics provided.

Habicht (Eng: 'Hawk')
Type 23 Torpedo Boat
Details as per the real ships

Forderung (Eng: 'Demand')
F-class Escort Ship (Frigate)
Details as per the real ships
Note: None of the class were named, see the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for the class history.

M-486
M1935 Class Minesweeper(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author simply refers to the ship as a minesweeper throughout. Pennant appears to be in the range of the M1940 Class minesweepers, but no specific details are given.

Languste
Warship of unspecified class, referred to as a 'Vorpostenboot' (Eng: 'Outpost Boat')
No specific details provided.

Plot summary: The year is 1943 (The story runs between June and July of that year.). Evidence has emerged that the Germans are planning to put a revolutionary new form of U-Boat (Type XXI) into service and in an attempt to work out the issues before mass production begins have modified a Type IXD U-boat for use as a systems trials boat. The destruction of this ship could set their program back by months, combined with the bombing offensive against the U-Boat factories, it could keep the new designs out of service until Germany is defeated. The problem for the 31st Escort Group is that they've already hit the research facility in question and are still licking their wounds. Surprise has to be obtained, but how...

 

[Graham1973]

James H. Cobb, Stormdragon, 1997

China (Peoples Republic)

Unnamed
3 x Xia Class SSBNs
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
2 x Han Class SSNs
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Various destroyers and frigates

516
Type 025 Class Torpedo Boat
Details as per the real ships

519
Type 025 Class Torpedo Boat
Details as per the real ships

Note: All Type 025s mentioned in the novel are hydrofoils. Also I have not been able to find a good source for PLAN pennant numbers, these may be real pennants.

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Unnamed
Cheng Kung Class Frigate (Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate)
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
'Frigate', class not specified.
Main battery: At least one 5 inch gun, no other armament is specified.
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Several Hai Ou Fast Attack Craft (Missile)
Details as per the real ships
Note: A Taiwanese version of the Israeli Dvora FAC.

United States

USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
Enterprise Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service (1961 - 2017)
Airgroup includes F/A-18 'Hornets' & F/A-22 'Sea Raptors'

USS Cunningham (DDG-79)
Cunningham Class Destroyer
See the entry for 'Choosers of the Slain' (1996) for the major details for this ship. As noted previously the author identifies this ship as the lead vessel of a class of post-Arleigh Burke Class of stealth destroyers.

Note: In this novel the author also reveals the identity of the ships namesake, Randall "Duke" Cunningham, a Vietnam-era US Navy air ace and later politician. At the time this novel and the other known entries in the series were published (1996 - 2002), this would not have been an issue. In 2004 he was arrested, charged and convicted (2005) of multiple counts of corruption and tax evasion. This may explain why the series terminated at five? novels (In 2005, a novel was published in German under a title which translates as 'Duel in Foreign Waters'. The blurb claims the book is the fifth novel in the 'Amanda Garret' series.).

For the aircraft mavens.

United States

F/A-22 'Sea Raptor'
This appears to be a navalized version of the F-22B, a proposed two seat version of the F-22 whose development was cancelled in 1996.

SAH-66 'Sea Comanche' (LAMPS IV)
See the entry for 'Choosers of the Slain' (1996) for the major details for this aircraft.

Plot summary: The year is 2006 (The novel runs between the 16th of July and the 30th of August of that year.). The two year old civil war between pro-Democracy and pro-Communist forces in China has reached a near stalemate with neither force able to expand outside their heartlands and the rest of the country falling into chaos. Then a force long forgotten enters the conflict, the Nationalists in Taiwan. The United States dispatches covert assets to watch the expanding conflict and come to realize that for the Communists, the only chance to avoid defeat may be to resort to nuclear weapons, something that cannot be allowed to happen.

Note: The timeline for the conflict in China stretches back to the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, with increasing unrest from that point until open fighting breaks out in 2004.

The attached cover is that of the 2021 Silvertail Books edition which makes use of the novels alternative title.

 

[Graham1973]

Harry Rubin, Narco Sub, 2009

United States

USS Penguin (MHC-63)
AMCU-7 Class Minesweeper (Converted LCI(L)-351 Class Landing Craft)
Details as per the real ships. One of the 20mm gun mounts has been relocated from the stern to the top of the superstructure (Which has been reinforced to take the vibration from the guns firing.) to allow space at the stern for the FQM-151s to be launched/retrieved. Modern sonar equipment has been fitted.
Note: Name clashes with that of USS Penguin (ASR-12) a tugboat converted into a submarine rescue ship while under construction. It was launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1970. All members of the ACMU-7 Class were retired from US service in the early 1960s and disposed of shortly thereafter. This fictional member was mothballed and restored to service in 2009. Carries three FQM-151 'Pointer' UAVs and the necessary support equipment. The pennant number is one past the series (MHC-51 to MHC-62) assigned to the Osprey Class which came into service in the 1990s. The pennants for the ACMU-7 Class ran MHC-7 to MHC-11 and MHC-15 to MHC-42.

USCGC Cape Fear
Coast Guard Cutter, class not specified
No other details provided.

USS Corpus Christi
Supply ship, class not specified
No other details provided

Plot summary: It is the early 21st Century (No specific dating information is provided, but the story is clearly set after the previous novels in the series.). Evidence has emerged that the Columbian Cartels have constructed not one, but five true submarines each capable of carrying 8tons of cocaine. The launch point is known, but for obvious reasons intercept at sea is critical. An old ship is pulled from the reserve, refurbished and given a crew whose senior officers have proven themselves in covert operations in the past. Will it be enough to catch the Narco Subs?

Note: This is the final published volume (The book ends with the promise of a further adventure that never materialized.) in a series of six novels focusing on small scale covert actions by the US Navy. The other books, all of which have been covered with this thread are: 'Chasing Pirates' (2006), 'Counterfeit War' (2007), 'The Missing Bomb' (2008), 'U-Boat Secret Mission' (2008) & 'Sunken Treasure' (2009).

 

[Graham1973]

Jamie Campbell (Pseud.), Total Germany: A 1,120 ton short story of the sea, published in The Mean Season and other stories of the sea, 2019

United Kingdom

HMS Audacious
Ark Royal (1938) Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Note: The author explicitly states in the story notes that the ship is a fictional second Ark Royal Class Aircraft Carrier.

HMS Eager
E Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined by name only.

HMS Exemplar
E Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: The same ship appears in the 1940 set 'The Terrible Aspect: A 1,370 ton short story of the sea' (2016) by the same author.

HMS Faithful
F Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined by name only.

HMS Watchkeeper
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as a member of the V & W Class by the author. In the story it is indicated that the ship served in the Baltic during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.

Germany

Unnamed
U-Boat, type not specified
No other details provided.

Plot summary: The outbreak of WWII (The title refers to the signal sent to the Royal Navy announcing the outbreak of war.) has left the British merchant marine scattered and vunerable to enemy action. The Royal Navy has to scramble to bring as many ships to safety as they can.

Note: Earlier in this thread I covered two other early WWII set short stories, 'The Mean Season: A 5,150 ton short story of the sea' and 'The Terrible Aspect: A 1,370 ton short story of the sea' by the same pseudonymous author published in 2016. In 2019 this story and the other two have been issued in a single volume.

 

[Graham1973]

Some more WWII fiction 'Self-Published on Amazon'.

Paul Telgedi, Remembering PT-927: World War II in the Pacific, 2014

United States.

PT-733
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant was assigned to a block of Elco 80ft PT-Boats cancelled shortly after the end of the war and scrapped.

PT-882
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-892
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-893
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-904
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-908
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-912
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-914
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-927
PT boat (78ft Higgins)
Details as per the real ships.

PT-941
PT boat (80ft Elco)
Details as per the real ships.

PT-933
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-944
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

PT-988
PT boat
Details as per the real ships.

Note: Most of these pennant numbers are well outside those assigned to actual PT boats.

Japan

Various unnamed warships.

Plot summary: The story covers the last year or so of the war and presents a 'worms eye' view of the conflict and the aftermath from the point of view of the crewman on one PT boat.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Abandon Ship, 1963

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: See the entry for 'Repel Boarders' (1963) for additional details on the pennant number.

HMAS Scimitar (G42)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships.
Name clash with S Class (WWI) Destroyer HMS Scimitar which served in WWII and was scrapped in 1947. The pennant clashes with that of HMS Lincoln (ex-USS Yarnall (DD-143)), a Town Class Destroyer.
Note: See the entry for 'Sainsbury, VC' (1962) for additional details on the ship. The author explicitly confirms that these two novels are in the same 'Universe', however by the time the novel is set she is no longer under the same commander.

HMAS Swallow
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as a destroyer. The name clashes with an S Class (WWI) Destroyer sold for scrap in 1936 (It was one of 24 old destroyers traded to the scrapyard for the former RMS Majestic (ex-SS Bismark.)) and with a C Class (WWII) Destroyer that was renamed HMS Caprice while under construction.

Unnamed
'Destroyer', class not specified
No other details provided

United States

Unnamed
A task force comprising 1 Cruiser and 6 Destroyers.

Japan

Various Unnamed submarines and cruisers.

Plot summary: It is the last years of World War II in the Pacific (A precise date is not given, but the story appears to be set during the Philippines Campaign (October 1944 to the end of the War.)). An Allied convoy makes it's way north, for one ship, it's reputation damaged by Japanese propaganda, this may be the last chance to put the record straight...

Note: J. E. MacDonnell was a prolific Australian writer of action fiction for newsstand paperbacks. Some of the novels by him covered in this thread include, 'Gimme the boats!' (1953), 'Wings Off The Sea' (1953), 'The Frogman' (1958), 'Night Encounter' (1958), 'The Surgeon' (1959), 'The Secret Weapon' (1959), 'Subsmash' (1960), 'The Coxswain' (1960), 'U-Boat' (1962), 'Not Under Command' (1963), 'Killer Group' (1964), 'The Snake Boats' (1967), 'Approved to Scrap' (1968), 'The Hammer of God' (1968), 'Hunter-Killer' (1968), 'Petty Officer Brady' (1968), 'The Last Stand' (1970), '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]

Anthony Molloy, Ring On Main Engines, 2013

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. See the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

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

HMS Cornovii
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Sunk in August 1943 by U-623.

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

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

Note: It is implied in this novel that all the Tribals associated with the 31st Escort Group (aka Special Force Orca.) have been refitted with 4 inch high angle guns replacing the 4.7 inch guns and a Squid mortar replacing Y Turret.

HMS Edward
S-boat
Details as per the real ships

HMS Egbert
S-Boat (Copy)
Details as per the real ships as to dimensions and external appearance.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for the details on this ship.

HMS Freshet
Escort Carrier, class not specified
Airgroup includes Sea Hurricanes
No other details provided.

HMS Sunderland Point
Submarine Depot Ship (Modified)
Weight: 8900 tons
No other details provided
Note: Ship has been run ashore on the main island of the Shetland Islands (Called Mainland...), following being torpedoed and modified to serve as a new headquarters for Special Force Orca (aka the 31st Escort Group.)

HMS Antler (ex-U-491)
Type VIIC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for her backstory.

HMS Absolute (ex-U-648)
Type IXD1 U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'Conqueror of the Oceans' (2013) for her backstory. Modified with temporary equipment to allow the transport of a Welman minisub.

X-531
X Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships
Note: The pennant is well out of the actual range for the X Class which ran X-3 to X-10 and X-20 to X-25. Fictional X Class Minisubs have appeared in the novels 'The Gatecrashers' (1984) by Alexander Fullerton and 'The Volunteers' (1985) by Douglas Reeman.

Unnamed
Welman (Minisub)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'By Night's Dark Shadow' (2013) for details on this class of mini-sub. This one is described as being an improved version of the original.

Germany

U-623
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-boat commissioned in May 1942 and sunk in February 1943. The submarine in the novel is captured in August 1943 by the 31st Escort Group.

U-640
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-boat commissioned in May 1942 and sunk in May 1943. The submarine in the novel is sunk on the 31st of July 1943.

M-486
M1935 Class Minesweeper(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author simply refers to the ship as a minesweeper throughout. Pennant appears to be in the range of the M1940 Class minesweepers, but no class specific details are given. This ship also appears in the preceeding novel 'Conqueror of the Oceans' (2013)

Georg von Roeder (Z-76)
Type 1936B Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The author explicitly identifies the ship as a Type 1936B Destroyer. In real life all members of this class were unnamed and only three were ever completed before the end of the war.

Neele
Oiler
No other details provided

Thüringen
Oiler
No other details provided

Unnamed
Oiler
No other details provided

Gruppe Würger

Karl Galster (Z-20)
Type 1936A Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service

At least eleven other Unnamed destroyers.

Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst Class Battleship
Real ship details as in service

Gneisenau
Scharnhorst Class Battleship
Real ship details as in service
Note: In real life this ship never deployed to Norway. While undergoing repair to damage sustained during Operation Cerebrus (aka The Channel Dash) the ship was hit by a British bomb causing so much damage that it was decided to convert the ship to an armament of 6 x 15 inch guns rather than repair the ship. This conversion was never completed and the ship was scrapped post-war. The author explicitly mentions this ship as taking part in the operation described in the novel.

Lützow (ex-Deutschland)
Deutschland Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service.

Tirpitz
Bismark Class Battleship
Real ship, details as in service

Plot summary: As July 1943 moves into August, Adolf Hitler having mused on the success of Operation Cerberus (aka 'The Channel Dash', 11-13 February 1942) decides that what worked once will work again and comes up with a bold scheme that he is sure will win control of the Atlantic for Germany and the war at a stroke. All that stands in the Germans way are few British destroyers in the wrong place, but perhaps at the right time...

Note: For any readers of an artistic bent 'Gruppe Würger' would make the perfect subject for a book cover in the style of Chris Mayger or Geoffrey Huband...

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, Rejoin With All Speed, 2014

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. See the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

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

HMS Caledones
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

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

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

Note: It is implied in previous novel that all the Tribals associated with the 31st Escort Group (aka Special Force Orca.) have been refitted with 4 inch high angle guns replacing the 4.7 inch guns and a Squid mortar replacing Y Turret. It is not made clear if the newly arrived HMS Caledones has been so modified.

HMS Edward
S-boat
Details as per the real ships

HMS Egbert
S-Boat (Copy)
Details as per the real ships as to dimensions and external appearance.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for the details on this ship. This ship is sunk in September 1943 while taking part in operations to support the Salerno Bridgehead.

HMS Chatham
Town Class Cruiser (Subclass not specified)
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Imperial
'Cruiser', class not specified
Main battery: 6 inch guns.
No other details provided
Note: Name clashes with an I Class Destroyer sunk on the 29th of May 1941. Author explicitly describes the ship as a cruiser with a 6 inch main armament.

HMS Freshet
Escort Carrier, class not specified
Airgroup includes Sea Hurricanes
No other details provided.

Italy

Monte Gaurus (Eng: Mount Gaurus)
Littorio Class Battleship
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Named after the Battle of Mount Gaurus that occurred in 342BC in which the Roman Republic defeated the Samnites.

Rigil Kentaurus
Spica Class Torpedo Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: The name is that of one of the three stars that make up Alpha Centauri.

Germany

U-649
Type VII U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant matches that of a Type VIIC U-Boat commissioned on the 19th of November, 1942 and sunk in a training accident on the 24th of February, 1943. The submarine in the novel is extant in August 1943.

Plot summary: The year is 1943 (The story runs from August 27th to early September 1943). Following their exploits in northern waters the 31st Escort Group (aka 'Special Force Orca') is ordered south, a critical convoy of LSTs needs to reach Malta prior to the landings on the Italian mainland. And, there are one or two other matters that need the havok raising talents of the men of 'Orca' applied to them.

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, Deadly Intent, 2014

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. See the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

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

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

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

Note: See the entry for 'Rejoin With All Speed ' (2014) for details of the ships armament.

HMS Edward
S-boat
Details as per the real ships

HMS Upstanding
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

HMS Guppy (ex-?)
Marconi Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as being a Marconi Class Submarine by the author. The only member of the class to the survive the war was the I-504 (ex-Luigi Torelli) which was taken over by the German navy following the Italian surrender and then the Japanese navy following the German surrender, all the others were sunk prior to the Italian surrender. The submarine in the novel has been handed over to the Allies following the surrender of Italy and thence to 'Special Force Orca' for their use. (Spoiler) The submarine is scuttled on the 22nd of September, 1943, when it suffers a major failure during it's post capture sea trials. The authors decision to not give the pre-surrender identity is a bit odd, firstly he's done that for every other submarine that has been in this situation to date. Secondly, it just does not make sense, the ship was handed to the characters and that information would have been provided.

(ex-U-623)
U-Boat, type not specified
Note: Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-boat commissioned in May 1942 and sunk in February 1943. See the novel 'Ring On Main Engines ' (2013) for details of her backstory. In 'Rejoin With All Speed ' (2014) it is noted she was undergoing post-capture sea trials. In this novel it is stated she is in service with the RN, but the name under which she is in service is not given in this novel, but may be given in a later novel. Information in this novel indicates the submarine was on her first operational tour when she was captured.

Germany

U-341
Type VII U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-Boat commissioned on the 10th of October, 1942 and sunk on the 28th of November in the same year. The submarine in the novel is still extant in September 1943.

U-640
Type VII U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant clashes with that of a Type VIIC U-Boat commissioned on the 17th of September, 1942 and sunk on the 13th of May, 1943. The submarine in the novel is still extant in September 1943.

Plot Summary: As the Salerno campaign continues (The story runs between the 14th of September, 1943 and the 31st of October of the same year.), the 31st Escort Group (aka 'Special Force Orca') finds itself split between raising havok in the German rear and conventional escort duties, while not an unusual situation in northern waters, in the confines of the Mediterranean and the maze of post-surrender Italian politics, will they be able to adapt.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, The Misfit, 1967

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: See the entry for 'Repel Boarders' (1963) for additional details on the pennant number.

HMAS Swallow
J, K & N Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'Abandon Ship' (1963) for additional details. The ship is not specifically named in the novel, but her captain is, in a context that makes it quite clear both he and his ship are present.

Unnamed
Three Destroyers

HMAS Bundarra
'Supply ship'
No other details provided

HMAS Shropshire
County Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Transferred to the RAN in 1942 following the loss of HMAS Canberra at the First Battle of Savo Island.

Japan

Unnamed
Eight destroyers of unspecified class,.

Plot summary: A temporary replacement for an injured first officer has a hard time fitting in on his new ship.

Note: J. E. MacDonnell was a prolific Australian writer of action fiction for newsstand paperbacks. Some of the novels by him covered in this thread include, 'Gimme the boats!' (1953), 'Wings Off The Sea' (1953), 'The Frogman' (1958), 'Night Encounter' (1958), 'The Surgeon' (1959), 'The Secret Weapon' (1959), 'Subsmash' (1960), 'The Coxswain' (1960), 'U-Boat' (1962), 'Abandon Ship' (1963), 'Not Under Command' (1963), 'Killer Group' (1964), 'The Snake Boats' (1967), 'Approved to Scrap' (1968), 'The Hammer of God' (1968), 'Hunter-Killer' (1968), 'Petty Officer Brady' (1968), 'The Last Stand' (1970), '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 one of those unexpected finds...

Charles W. Bailey II & Fletcher Knebel, Seven Days in May, 1962

United States

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-??) (Most likely in the range CVN-66 to CVN-69)
Enterprise Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: As planned the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was intended as the lead ship of a class of six identical carriers, five of which were cancelled due to costs. The authors do not explicitly state the ships class identity, but the limited details provided suggest that this was their intent. The ship is the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet

Plot summary: The year is 1974 (The story takes place between Sunday, 12th of May and Monday, 20th of May in that year.). A new disarmament deal between the US and Soviet is causing a certain amount of unrest in the US. When the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff finds his superior running a book on a horse race, he has no idea where that discovery is going to lead him.

Note: Dating this one was pretty easy, events in 1972 (Notably the Soviet occupation of northern Iran.) are described in the past tense, while the US Federal Election of 1976 is described as a future event. A check with calendar software showed that 1974 was the only year between those two that the dates matched.

The novel is clearly inspired by the events that led to Charles De Gaulle becoming President of France in May 1958. The resulting novel was highly popular and was first filmed in 1964, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as the major protagonists, Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone fame, supplied the script, with legendary director John Frankenheimer at the helm. A made-for-TV remake with Jason Robards and Forrest Whittaker standing in for Lancaster and Douglas entitled 'The Enemy Within' appeared in 1994.

This novel, like several others I have covered exhibits a 'Future of the Past' quality. This quality at least in technothrillers seems to have been most common in the period between the late 1960s and the early 1990s. The other novels exhibiting this 'future of the past' quality I've covered are 'Thirty-Four East' (1974), 'The Hastings Conspiracy' (1980) (Both by Alfred Coppel), 'North Star Crusade' (1976) (William Katz), 'Side-Wall' (1982) (David Graham), 'CV' (1985) by Damon Knight, 'The Phoenix Odyssey' (1986) (Richard P. Henrick), 'Rites of War' (1998) (Cyn Mobley ) and 'End Game', 2011 (Matthew Glass), along with what is probably the most well known 'alternative history' sequence, 'Raise the Titanic' (1976), 'Vixen 03' (1978), 'Night Probe' (1981) & 'Deep Six' (1984) (All by Clive Cussler) which are set in an alternative 1980s (The novels are set between 1987 ('Raise the Titanic') & 1989 ('Deep Six').) with many differences from what actually happened, most notably Canada being absorbed by the United States (Something Cussler quietly dropped in later novels.).

 

[Graham1973]

Richard Townsend Bickers, The Desert Falcons, 1978

HMS Nasturtium
Flower Class Submarine (Fictional Class)
Safe Depth: 200ft (61m), Do-not-exceed Depth: 250ft (76.2m)
No other details provided
Note: The Flower Class in WWII were corvettes, not submarines. This ship is explicitly described as a submarine. Another fictional 'Flower Class', this time a destroyer class appears in the 1976 novel 'Flotilla Attack' and it's 1977 sequel 'Operation Chariot' by Charles Whiting, which I've covered earlier in the thread.

Plot summary: The year is 1942, Rommel has been held at Gazala, now comes the time to wreak havoc in his rear areas.

 

[Graham1973]

David Hagberg, Countdown, 1990

Russia

MV Stephos
Hydrofoil
Speed: 50 knots (Max)
Armament: Small arms for the crew, 1 x BGM-109 Tomahawk Missile (Stolen) in a custom designed mount (Forward). The missile is concealed by crates labelled as 'medical aid'
Note: Owned by a legitimate charity (UN Approved) that is in fact a KGB front. Crew is made up of KGB operatives.

Plot summary: It is the 'Gorbachev era' in Russia, the KGBs new head has determined to destroy Glasnost, his best agent has been dispatched to the West to cause havoc and discredit the leadership of the Soviet Union.

Note; There is no specific dating information in the novel, so it's probably set either slightly before the year it was first published or the year it was published.

 

[Graham1973]

James Pattinson, The Silent Voyage (Orig: The Mystery of the Gregory Kotovsky) , 1958

Russia

SS Gregory Kotovsky
Freighter (Covert supply ship)
Weight: 8000 tons (gross)
Flush decked with five holds (Three ahead of the bridge, two aft.)
Steam powered, burns diesel oil.
Speed: 15 knots
Ice Reinforced Bow
Still painted wartime camouflage grey, even though the Second World War has been over for some time.
Cargo includes, torpedoes and other naval stores

Unnamed
'Oil Tanker'
No other details provided.

Unnamed
12 Submarines, class not specified
No other details provided

United States

Unnamed
'Cruiser', class not specified
No other details provided.

Non Ship

Grinkov's Tomb (Fictional)
A small Sub-Antarctic island and former volcano, whose breached caldera is being used by the Soviets as a base for submarines in the Southern Oceans.

Plot summary: Two survivors of a collision at sea find themselves in an even more dangerous situation when they are rescued.

 

[Graham1973]

Tom Clancy, Debt of Honour, 1994

United States

All real ships. The following real Ohio Class SSBNs are converted to SSNs during the course of the story, USS Maryland (SSBN-738), USS Nevada (SSBN-733), USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735), USS Tenneessee (SSBN-734) & USS West Virginia (SSBN-736), having been inactivated and prepared for disposal following the collapse of the Soviet Union. By co-incidence or design four of the submarine names (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tenneesee & West Virginia) were also those of battleships present at the Battle of Suriago Strait.

Japan

Mutsu
Kongo Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Stated to be the newest member of the class at the time the novel is set.

Kurushio
Submarine (SSK), class not specified.
Crew: 70 (10 Officers, 60 Enlisted)
Armament: 14 x Type 89 (Mod C) Torpedoes, 6 x Harpoon Missiles

MV Orchid Ace
Troop Transport (Improvised)
Commercial Car Transporter
Details as per an average member of the actual ship type.
Note (Spoiler): One of several car transporters converted to a troop ship for the occupation of the Mariana Islands and Guam.

For the rocketry mavens:

Japan

H-II (Fictional version)
Space Launch Vehicle
Details as per the Soviet SS-19 'Stiletto' (aka UR-100N) ICBM. The civilian configuration, while not stated in the novel would probably add the SRBs used with the real H-II. Even without them it can put 5 metric tons into low Earth orbit. (The UR-100N when used as a launch vehicle can put 4.3 metric tons into low Earth orbit,)
Note: In real life, the H-II rocket is a home grown/designed Japanese launch vehicle, similarly the Russians have used surplus UR-100Ns as space launch vehicles under the brand name 'Rokot' (Eng: 'Rumble'). In the novel the Japanese purchased the full plans from the Russians and modified them slightly, using modern (1990s) materials and electronics and 'tweaked' fuel (Stated to be nothing more than improved quality control over the fuels components.) to reduce the launch vehicles weight by 1,200kg and increasing the performance by 17% over the original while, (spoiler) retaining the ability to use them as ICBMs if need be.

Plot summary: The Cold War is over, surely that means that everyone can relax...

Note: This novel falls firmly into the category of 'Yellow Peril (Japan)' (Other novels I've covered in this sub-genre are 'Dragon' (1990), 'The War in 2020' (1991) & 'High Flight' (1995)), with a Japanese businessman who plans to 'Make Japan Great Again' cutting deals with India and China to tie down American forces and allies (Including a unified Korea (As far as I can tell the only time Korea was described this way in a Tom Clancy novel...)) who decides to take advantage of a crisis that starts with some poor quality-control by a Japanese-owned company that sells cars (Under the brand name 'Cresta') assembled in America from parts made in Japan to bring his plans forward.

Because of the fictional unification of Korea and the appearance of RAH-66 'Commanche' helicopters in a combat role, this novel also falls into the 'Future of the past' category. In the technothriller genre this seems to have been most common in the period between the late 1960s and the early 1990s. Other novels exhibiting this 'future of the past' quality I've covered are 'Seven Days in May' (1962) (Charles W. Bailey II & Fletcher Knebel), 'Thirty-Four East' (1974), 'The Hastings Conspiracy' (1980) (Both by Alfred Coppel), 'North Star Crusade' (1976) (William Katz), 'Side-Wall' (1982) (David Graham), 'CV' (1985) (Damon Knight), 'The Phoenix Odyssey' (1986) (Richard P. Henrick), 'Rites of War' (1998) (Cyn Mobley) and 'End Game', 2011 (Matthew Glass), along with what is probably the most well known 'alternative history' sequence, 'Raise the Titanic' (1976), 'Vixen 03' (1978), 'Night Probe' (1981) & 'Deep Six' (1984) (All by Clive Cussler) which are set in an alternative 1980s (The novels are set between 1987 ('Raise the Titanic') & 1989 ('Deep Six').) with many differences from what actually happened, most notably Canada being absorbed by the United States (Something Cussler quietly dropped in later novels.).

 

[Graham1973]

Antony Trew, The Sea Break, 1966

United Kingdom

HMS Northampton
'Cruiser' class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Cullington
'Destroyer', class not specifed.
No other details provided

HMS Carisbroke
'Destroyer', class not specified.
No other details provided.

HMS Vibrant
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class determined from name only.

HMS Whiteside
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class determined from name only.

HMS Peregrine
'A.A. Sloop', class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: During WWII, the name would have clashed with a Fleet Air Arm base that later became Ford Open Prison.

South Africa

HMSAS Nordhval
Former whaling ship converted into an ASW escort
No other details

HMSAS Southern Berg
Former whaling ship converted into an ASW escort
No other details

Germany

Köln
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
Displacement: 8000tons
Armament: 6 x 6 inch guns (3 a side), 6 x 21inch TT, unspecified secondary armament.
Aircraft: 2 x AR-196 Seaplanes
Aslo carries a motor launch armed with 2 x 14inch Torpedoes and 2 x 20mm guns.
Speed: 'about' 18 knots
Note: Name clashes with the lead ship of the Köln Class Light Cruisers.

Spreewald
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
Displacement: 4000tons
No other details provided.

Plot summary: The year is year is 1942 (The opening of the book specifically states the events take place in November of that year.) A plan has been put forward to the Admiralty to infiltrate a team into the Portugese colony of Mozambique to break out one of the German freighters interned there so that it can be captured by waiting British warships.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Torpedo Run, 1981

United Kingdom

'Parthian' Force

'Merlin'
Vosper Type II MTB
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Flotilla leader

'Harrier'
Vosper Type II MTB
Details as per the real ships.

'Buzzard'
Vosper Type II MTB
Details as per the real ships.

'Osprey'
Vosper Type II MTB
Details as per the real ships.

'Kestrel'
Vosper Type II MTB
Details as per the real ships.

Note: Note it is stated that the pennant numbers have been removed from all five MTBs that make up this force, each is given the code name of a bird-of-prey. All ships are described as being newly built and the crews specially chosen for this mission. Class has been determined based on armament description and the fact that the length described fits the Vosper Type II.

Russia

Various 'Unnamed' warships

Germany

Potsdam
S-Boat Depot Ship (Converted merchant ship)
Displacement: 20,000 tons
Former Cargo liner on the Hamburg - South America routes.
No other details provided
Note: Exactly how a German ship this size made it into the Black Sea after the outbreak of WWII is never explained.

Unnamed
S-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Captured by the British and taken into service under the code name 'Trojan'

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

Unnamed
Two Destroyers
No other details provided
Note: The author has the characters identify them as 'German' however it is more likely that these are Romanian ships, as the chances of the Germans or Italians getting ships of this size into the Black Sea was virtually nil at the time. The heaviest ships of the Bulgarian navy during WWII were torpedo boats.

Plot summary: The year is 1943 (Exact dates are not given but Operation Husky (9th July to 17th August, 1943) takes place partway through the story. The Soviet invasion of the Crimea which took place in November 1943 occurs near the end of the novel.), the British seeking to assist the Russians in mounting a credible threat to the Crimean peninsula dispatch a five ship flotilla of MTBs to assist the Black Sea Fleet in their operations. Initial success brings retaliation, with the Germans sending in their most effective and ruthless officer at the head of Gruppe Seeadler, a hand picked S-Boat force. What began as a struggle between nations starts to take on the characteristics of a private little war...

 

[Graham1973]

David Black, See You At The Bar, 2019

United Kingdom

HMS Ellan Vannin
Submarine Depot Ship (12th Submarine Flotilla (Fictional Version))
Converted passenger ship
Note: Ex-Isle of Man Steam Packet Company ferry boat. See the entry for 'The Bonny Boy' (2019) for further background details on this ship.

HMS Scourge
S Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'The Bonny Boy' (2019) for further background details on this ship.

HMS Subedar
S Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Tobermory
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Member of the 12th Submarine Flotilla (Fictional Version). See the entry for 'The Bonny Boy' (2019) for further background details on the fictional version of the 12th Submarine Flotilla.

HMS Tulwar
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Turbid
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Previously appeared in 'The Bonny Boy' (2019).

HMS Alconbury
Hunt Class Destroyer (Subtype not specified)
Details as per the real ships

HMS Howsham
Hunt Class Destroyer (Subtype not specified)
Details as per the real ships

Plot summary: The year is 1943, for the Captain of HMS Scourge, the feud with a former commander, dating back to the first year of the war continues, even as he finds himself facing the greatest test of his career yet in the ill-fated Dodecanese Campaign (September - November 1943).

Note: At the start of the novel the author said he 'tweaked' the Dodecanese Campaign a bit, another author who did this was Alistair MacLean, in his famous novel 'The Guns of Navarone' (1957) which I've also covered as a part of this thread.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Twelve Seconds To Live, 2002

United Kingdom

HMS Tornado
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Trojan
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Modified with a cradle to carry a captured German Neger Class Human Torpedo.

ML-366
Fairmile B Motor Launch
Details as per the real ships configured as MTBs
Note: Author does not explicitly state this. But the details provided perfectly matches this class.

ML-401
Fairmile B Motor Launch
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Not explicitly stated by author, but he does indicate it is identical to ML-366

ML-417
Fairmile B Motor Launch?
Details as per the real ships.

ML-436
Fairmile B Motor Launch?
Details as per the real ships.

HMT Quicksilver
Minesweeping Trawler
No other details provided.

HMS Firebrand
Experimental Fast Minelayer (Converted Fairmile D MGB)
Details as per length/beam/Draft as per the real ships.
Armament adds an unspecified number of mines, with unspecified modifications to the gun armament.
Engines: Four shaft Bristol engine powerplant (7000 Bhp)
Speed: 36 knots
No other details provided.

Germany

Unnamed
Neger Class Human Torpedo (Modified)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The Neger Class were the first German 'human torpedo' comprising a G7e torpedo modified with a rudimentary cockpit, which historically entered service in March of 1944. The standard armament was an unmodified G7e torpedo. This example has been fitted with a mine-laying container which holds an unspecified number of small photocell triggered mines. The author does not explicitly state the class (In the circumstances the characters would not know this information.), but the description of the craft and the equipment provided to the crewman fit this class of 'human torpedo'. The author had also had one featured briefly in his 1974 novel, 'The Destroyers'.

Unnamed
Neger Class Human Torpedo
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Unlike the previous example this one carries the standard armament.

Various Unnamed warships.

Plot summary: The year is 1943 (Operation Source (The X-craft attack on the Tirpitz & the Surrender of Italy are both referenced part way through the story.) a chance discovery has revealed that the Germans are also working on midget submarines, although the 'human torpedoes' are crude compared to the X-Craft, the fact that the first one found was equipped for minelaying reveals a new danger to the opening of the Second Front in Europe.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Killing Ground, 1991

United Kingdom

HMS Seeker
Escort Carrier, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Belleisle
B Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Blackwall
B Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Has been equipped with a Squid mortar.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Gladiator (H38)
G Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Built: 1936
Ships Crest: "An uplifted stabbing sword gripped by an armoured fist". Motto: Manu Forti
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the interwar G Class. Pennant clashes with that of D Class Destroyer HMS Delight.

HMS Ganymede
G Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the interwar G Class.

HMS Garnet
G Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the interwar G Class. Stated to be undergoing a Long Range Escort conversion similar to that carried out on the V & W Class Destroyers in 1944.

HMS Hector
H Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Kinsale
K Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the interwar K Class. A destroyer of the same name (possibly the same ship.) appears in the authors 2008 novel, 'The Glory Boys'.

HMS Lithgow
L Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Mediator
M Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Winsby
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the V & W Class.

HMS Cynara
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette.

HMS Malva
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette.

HMS Physalis
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette.

HMS Tacitcus
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette.

HMS Sanderling
Kingfisher Class Sloop?
Details as per the real ships.
Sunk: 1942
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Redwing
Kingfisher Class Sloop?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Tromp II
Armed Merchant Cruiser (AA ship)
Former Dutch ferry boat.
No other details provided.

RFA Black Watch
'Fleet Tanker'
No other details provided.

HMRT Bruiser
Tugboat
No other details provided.
Note: Name clashes with that of a Landing Ship Tank launched in October of 1942.

HMRT Tiberius
Salvage Tug
No other details provided.

Canada

HMCS Beothuck
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Tribal Class Destroyer.

Germany

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: The Battle of the Atlantic (1942 - 1944 (The story ends shortly after the D-Day landings.)) from the point of view of the crew of a British G Class Destroyer.

Note: The attached cover is that of the 2022 eBook edition, whoever made this cover appears to be making use of photographs of models, rather than CGI. The ships depicted also appear to be post-WWII Russian vessels rather than models of WWII era ships.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, For Valor, 2001

United Kingdom

HMS Dancer
Escort Carrier, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Durham
Town Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships.
Note: A County Class Cruiser (Kent Subclass) of the same name appears in the novel 'Cold War' (1982) by author Philip McCutchan.

HMS Firebrand
F Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: A prototype 'Fast minelayer' based on the Fairmile D MGB of the same name appeared in the authors 2002 novel 'Twelve Seconds To Live'. In this case, the author explicitly identifies the ship as being an F Class Destroyer.

HMS Falkland
F Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being an F Class Destroyer.

HMS Harlech
H Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Not explicitly stated by author, but details provided and the name given make this the most likely class.

HMS Java
J Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a J Class Destroyer. A J Class Destroyer of the same name appears in the authors 2008 novel 'The Glory Boys', however it is clear from what happens in this novel that these two stories are not linked in any way.

HMS Jester
J Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a J Class Destroyer.

HMS Kinsale
K Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a K Class Destroyer. A K Class Destroyer of the same name appears in the authors novels 'Killing Ground' (1991) & 'The Glory Boys' (2008), however it is clear from what happens in this novel that these three stories are not linked in any way.

HMS Kangaroo
K Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a K Class Destroyer.

HMS Hakka (G44)
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Ships crest: "...an exotic phoenix emerging from flames with Chinese characters in the background..." Motto: 'Is anything impossible?' (Motto rendered in English only by the author.)
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Tribal Class Destroyer. The Hakka are a minority subgroup of the Han Chinese, they were very prominent in the Tai-Ping revolt in the 1850s and 1860s.

HMS Inuit
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Tribal Class Destroyer.

HMS Zouave
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Tribal Class Destroyer.

HMS Levant
L & M Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined from name only. A L Class Destroyer of the same name appears in the authors 1985 novel 'The Volunteers'.

HMS Anthemis
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette.

HMS Cranesbill
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being a Flower Class Corvette. 'Cranesbill' is another name for the plant more commonly known as the Geranium.

HMS Grebe
Kingfisher Class Sloop?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMRT Goliath
Admiralty Tugboat
Speed: 15 knots (Max)
No other details provided.
Note: A tugboat of the same name appears in the authors novel 'HMS Saracen' (1965)

HMS Seasame
'Minesweeper', class not specified
No other details provided.

Germany

Dortmund
'Cruiser', class not specified, possibly a Hipper.
No other details provided.
Note: Identified as being a 'bigger' ship than the Lübek, the only larger class of cruiser in the German Navy was the Hipper Class. Author Philip McCutchan had a preference for naming his Hipper Class Cruisers after towns in Germany.

Lübek
Leipzig Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Another Leipzig Class Cruiser of the same name appears in the authors novel 'The Iron Pirate' (1986), however it is clear from what happens in this novel that these two stories are not linked in any way. Ship was present at the 1937 Spithead Review.

Unnamed
3 x Type 1936 Class Destroyers
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author identifies them as Hans Lüdemann Class Destroyers. The Hans Lüdemann (Z-18) was a member of the Type 1936 Class sunk during the 2nd Naval Battle of Narvik (13th April 1940).

Plot summary: It is the middle of WWII (Going by background events it would appear to be late 42 to early 1943.). A new captain has come to a proud ship, bringing with him a unique burden, the Victoria Cross.

Note; This story has the highest number of 'repeat' names I've seen in a book by this author. However it is quite clear that he regarded his modern naval fiction as a series of 'one-offs' rather than an interlocking tapestry.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, A Dawn Like Thunder, 1996

United Kingdom

HMS Endeavour
Abdiel Class Minelayer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Name clashes with a survey ship launched in 1912 and used as a depot ship from 1940 until it was scrapped in 1946. The author does not explicitly give the class, but the description of the ship makes it clear that it is a fictional member of the Abdiel Class.

HMS Turquoise
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Tybalt
T Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Built: Camell-Laird, 1939
Note: Class assignment based on name only.
Note (Spoiler): Superstructure modified during the course of the novel to make the submarine resemble a Type IXD U-Boat from a distance.

Netherlands

K XXI
K XIV Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: The K XIV Class was the last of the Dutch K Classes built prior to WWII, all the Dutch submarines in the Far East used Roman numerals in their identifier. This is the most likely class for the submarine, the author simply identifies her as the 'Dutch boat' K-21.

Germany

ex-Java Maru
Submarine Depot Ship (Converted freighter)
Has been converted specifically to support U-Boats.
Note: The author states the ship has been renamed by her new owners, but the new name is not given in the novel.

Various Unnamed U-Boats

Japan

Various Unnamed warships.

Plot summary: The story takes place between 1943 & 1944. Even as the first steps are taken in Europe to knock the Italians out of the war, evidence is found that the Germans are planning something in conjunction with the Japanese. When the truth is discovered, the only thing for it is to strike hard.

 

[Graham1973]

Edwin Corley, The Jesus Factor, 1970

United States

USS Edward White
'Communications Ship', class not specified
Described as looking like: "...a floating antenna farm..."
Helipad fitted aft.
No other details provided.
Note: This is most likely what is known as a 'Tracking Ship' a vessel specifically intended for use in the space program. However as noted there is insufficient detail to determine if the author had a specific real world prototype in mind.

Plot summary: It is the 'Day After Tomorrow' (The main plot takes place between August 2 to August 16 of an unspecified year, which cannot be later than 1974, the year BOAC became British Airways.), the world stands on the brink of World War III. A politician desperate to bring a peaceful end to the crisis discovers evidence that something does not quite add up, just what is 'Project JF'...

Note: Edwin Corley wrote a number of thrillers, one of which 'Sargasso' (1977) I have covered earlier in this thread.

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, Make Smoke, 2014

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. See the entry for 'Notice for Steam' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

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

HMS Gaul
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Sunk by U-563 in early November 1943

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

HMS Lugi
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

Note: See 'Ring On Main Engines' (2013) for details on the ships armament.

HMS Upstanding
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

HMS Imperative
'Escort Carrier', class not specified
No other details provided.

'Emily'
Italian Maiale Mk. I
Real ship, details as in service
Note: Made from spare parts stolen from the Olterra by the members of the British Gibraltar Underwater Working Party. In the real world it was lost during testing, in the novel it is lost during a mission for the 31st Escort Group (aka 'Special Force Orca')

Germany

U-401
U-Boat Type not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Pennant is that of a Type VIIC sunk in November 1941 off the coast of Ireland. This submarine is sunk in November 1943 in the Straits of Gibraltar

U-563
Type VII U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Pennant is that of a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk in October 1943 off the Coast of Spain by a Catalina. This submarine is sunk in early November 1943 by the 31st Escort Group.

U-583
Type IX U-Boat
Details as per the real ship
Note: Pennant is that of a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk in November of 1941. This submarine is in existence as of November 1943.

SS Espritu de Los Mares
Frieghter
5000 tons
Note: Modified to carry 14 of the Mk. II version of the Maiale, this improved version of the original Maiale human torpedo was never used during WWII due to the Italian surrender. The ship is owned by the Germans through a Spanish front company.

Plot summary: It is November 1943, while the men of the 31st Escort Group (Aka 'Special Force Orca') have managed to adapt to the confines of the Mediterranean, but the work gets harder.

Note: The author brings in quite a few 'real world' characters, with the men of Orca interacting with Lionel 'Buster' Crabb and his GUWP when they need some 'specialist' equipment.

 

[Graham1973]

Gavin Lyall, Uncle Target, 1988

United Kingdom

HMAV Alamein
Tank Landing Craft, class not specified
Fitted with a helipad amidships,
Engines: 2 x 2000hp diesels
Note: Ship belongs to the British Army, not the Royal Navy. HMAV stands for Her (or His) Majesties Army Vessel.

HMS Bellerophon
Type 22 Frigate?
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Mentioned in a characters backstory as being their ship during the Falklands War (April - June, 1982). Damage to the ship described in the backstory, is reminiscent of the damage suffered by HMS Broadsword during that conflict.

Plot summary: A prototype tank built 'on spec' has gone missing in Jordan after one of their tank brigades mutinied. A team is sent into Jordan to find the tank and destroy it before it's secrets fall into the wrong hands.

 

[Graham1973]

Larry Bond (With assistance from Chris Carlson), Dangerous Ground, 2005

United States

USS Memphis (SSN-691)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service (1977 - 2011)
Note: In the novels 2005 the submarine is facing decommissioning at the end of the current mission, in the real world this did not occur until 2011. Armament has been modified, two torpedo tubes (1 & 3) have been taken out of commission so that ROVs can be launched/retrieved from them. The submarine also carries a prototype UUV named 'Manta'

'Manta'
Prototype UUV
No specifics as to dimensions
Fitted with a "...imaging sonar...", described as a "...broadband high-frequency set..." (Range: 3000yards (2.74km)) and passive sonar. No cameras.
Carries deployable sonar decoys (These are non-moving sonar emitters.)
Power system is battery electric. At full speed (see below), the power lasts for 2hrs.
Speed: 20knots (Max)
Can both navigate autonomously and be remotely controlled by an acoustic modem which has a maximum range of 7.5miles (12.1km)
Carried in a faired housing mounted aft of the USS Memphis's conning tower.

The other ROVs carried aboard the Memphis are two civilian units built by Charles Draper Laboratories for the Department of the Environment.

Russia

Gepard (K-335)
Akula III (Pr. 971M) Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service.

Other Unnamed warships.

Plot summary: It is 2005 (And slightly off to one side...), the incoming US President (Based on Al Gore?) is convinced by one of his advisors that the Soviet era underwater nuclear waste dumps around Novaya Zemlya pose an immediate (as opposed to long term.) environmental threat. Seeking evidence that could be used to embarrass the Russians at a forthcoming summit on the environment, a hastily overhauled aging submarine is sent into northern waters to find the hard proof. What they find is a secret so dangerous that the Russians will stop at nothing to keep it from coming out.

 

[Graham1973]

Anthony Molloy, Deep and Silent, 2015

United Kingdom

HMS Regni
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Flagship 31st Escort Group. Scuttled on the 17th of January 1944 due to damage sustained after ramming a German U-Boat.

HMS Waterloo
Battle Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Succeeds HMS Regni as the flagship of the 31st Escort Group, the name is that of a Battle Class Destroyer that was broken up on the slips in 1945 without being completed.

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

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

HMS Lugi
Tribal Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

Note: See the entry for 'Rejoin With All Speed' (2014) for details of the ships listed above's armament, except HMS Waterloo.

HMS Antler (ex-U-491)
Type VIIC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: See the entry for 'Dead Reckoning' (2013) for her backstory.

Germany

U-2281
Type XXI U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: This pennant number is one that was not used by the German Navy. The Type XXIs did not become operational until 1945, this example is operational as of January 1944.

Plot summary: It is the end of 1943, as 1944 begins the men of the 31st Escort Group (aka 'Special Force Orca') find themselves staring at the blank unappealing face of 'Square One'...

 

[Graham1973]

William H. Lovejoy, SeaGhost, 1991

United States

USS Antelope
Antelope Class Gunboat
Speed: 'above' 40knots
No other details provided.
Note: At the time the novel came out, there was no ship of that name in the US Navy, the last ship so named being an Asheville Class Patrol Gunboat decommissioned in 1977 and transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency for use as a survey ship. It is conceivable that this class is identical in details to the real world Asheville Class, but this not specifically stated in the novel.

USS Preble (DDG-???)
Spruance Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Fitted with an experimental Anti-Stealth system that, like the system fitted to HMS Minotaur in 'By Stealth' (1992) makes use of multiple detection modes including LIDAR to defeat passive stealth measures.
Note: Author does not explicitly state the class, however the ships weapons fit out matches this class. The year the book came out the name clashed with a Farragut Class Destroyer that was decommissioned in November of that year. Her Arleigh Burke Class replacement did not enter service until 2001.

XMC-22 'Sea Spectre'
Stealth Assault Boat (Class)
Manufacturer: Advanced Marine Development Inc. (Fictional Company.) Which has been working on this program since 1986.
Crew: 4
Length: 44ft (13.4m)
Beam: 14ft (4.3 m)
Engines: Hydrojets driven by a pair of 'rotary engines'. (Fuel tanks hold 880gallons (3331.6litres) of fuel. (Assuming the author meant US Gallons rather than Imperial.)), the engines have been thermally lagged to reduce the IR signature to the bare minimum.
Speed: 45knots (Cruise), 65knots (max)
Armament: 1 x M61 20mm Vulcan Cannon, 45 x Mini Harpoon Missiles (Launcher can only fire 4 at a time.). All weapons are concealed within the hull.
Description: "The bow was blunt, curving in abruptly on the lower side. Along the gunwale edges, the deck also curved downward to meet the sides of the hull, the stem and the bow. There wasn't a sharp angle visible. No railings, no safety lines. Chocks and bitts were countersunk into the deck, hidden when sliding doors were closed over them."
The radar signature is that of a seagull.

Note: Two prototypes have been built, with plans to build 20 more for the US Navy which intends to use them in the Persian Gulf as a counter to Iranian Boghammers (Presumably the in-service Class designation would be MC-22.). Like the two Chinese stealth ships in 'By Stealth' (1992), these vessels appear to have been inspired by the B-2 Bombers stealth techniques, rather than those of the Sea Shadow (IX-529), whose existence was not revealed until 1993. For a fictional stealth ship inspired by the Sea Shadow (IX-529), see my entry for ' Desert Fire ' (1993)

Non-State

Hormuz
Covert Operations Ship, (Modified Oil Tanker)
Cargo Capacity: 16,000 tons
Built: 1959
Engines: Steam Turbine
One cargo tank has been converted into a concealed hold.
Armament: Hand held small arms and FIM-92 'Stinger' missiles.
No other details provided.
Note: Nominally registered in Kuwait, controlled by a 'Generic Iranian Backed Terrorist Group' known as the Warriors of Allah. Exactly where the modifications to the cargo tanks were carried out is never specified.

Fictional Naval Weapon

United States

Mini-Harpoon
Length: 1.5m
Diameter: 15cm
Propulsion system is identical to the larger version of the Harpoon.
Warhead: 200pds (90.7kg) HE + a Depleted Uranium Penetrator
Radar/IR/Optical Guided (Has a camera mounted in the nose, which allows a member of a MC-22s crew to guide the missile to a specific target.) are the available options.
Description: "Four short, moveable fins were located at the rear and two stubby wings were fixed at midlength." Otherwise essentially a scaled down version of the Harpoon Missile.
Weight: Not specified.
Note: Whatever the Tri-Service designation for this weapon is, it is not given in the novel.

Plot summary: An ex-Navy SEAL has come to the conclusion that the only way to prove that the company developing the US Navy's new stealth ship stole his fathers design is to steal one of the prototypes, unbeknownst to him, he's not the only one interested in stealing these revolutionary ships.

 

[Graham1973]

John Harris, Cotton's War, 1979

United Kingdom

HMS Caernarvon
C Class Cruiser (Subtype not specified)
Details as per those members of the class not converted to AA ships prior to WWII.

HMS Claudia
Armed Motor Launch
Length: 73ft
Beam: 19ft
Displacement: 50tons
Engines: 2 x 1250hp Packard V12 Engines. (2 propellors)
Armament: 1 x 20mm (Captured Italian Weapon), 2 x Lewis Guns (One on either side of the bridge.)
Speed: 35-40 knots (Max)

HMS Loukia
Armed Motor Launch
Same details as Claudia

HMS Irene
Armed Motor Launch
Same details as Claudia

Note: All three ships belonged to a Cretan shipping magnate and have been requisitioned by the British. The books cover depicts the Claudia with a heavier armament than the authors description (1 x 20m 2 x 2 Lewis guns (Port/Starboard), in this case I choose to go with the author.

Various other ships that were actually involved in the Greek Campaign.

Germany

Unnamed
Two Caiques, each armed with small arms and an MG-34 at the stern.
No other details

Unnamed
Motor Launch, armed with small arms and a cannon of unspecified caliber at the stern.
No other details.

Plot summary: The year is 1941, as the Greek Campaign collapses a boat carrying weapons and currency intended to fund a Greek resistance movement goes missing. The Royal Navy dispatches a hastily assembled team to find out what happened to the ship and retrieve the money.

 

[Rickshaw]

John Harris, Cotton's War, 1979

United Kingdom

HMS Caernarvon
C Class Cruiser (Subtype not specified)
Details as per those members of the class not converted to AA ships prior to WWII.

HMS Claudia
Armed Motor Launch
Length: 73ft
Beam: 19ft
Displacement: 50tons
Engines: 2 x 1250hp Packard V12 Engines. (2 propellors)
Armament: 1 x 20mm (Captured Italian Weapon), 2 x Lewis Guns (One on either side of the bridge.)
Speed: 35-40 knots (Max)

HMS Claudia
Armed Motor Launch
Same details as Claudia

HMS Irene
Armed Motor Launch
Same details as Claudia

Note: All three ships belonged to a Cretan shipping magnate and have been requisitioned by the British. The books cover depicts the Claudia with a heavier armament than the authors description (1 x 20m 2 x 2 Lewis guns (Port/Starboard), in this case I choose to go with the author.

Various other ships that were actually involved in the Greek Campaign.

Germany

Unnamed
Two Caiques, each armed with small arms and an unspecified MG (Either the MG-34 or MG-42) at the stern
No other details

Unnamed
Motor Launch, armed with small arms and a cannon of unspecified caliber at the stern.
No other details.

Plot summary: The year is 1941, as the Greek Campaign collapses a boat carrying weapons and currency intended to fund a Greek resistance movement goes missing. The Royal Navy dispatches a hastily assembled team to find out what happened to the ship and retrieve the money.

Doubt it would have been an MG42 in 1941...

 

[Graham1973]

Doubt it would have been an MG42 in 1941...

Thanks for the correction. I've fixed it.

 

[Graham1973]

David Hagberg, White House, 1999

United States

USS Seawolf (SSN-21)
Seawolf Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

Japan

Kirishima (DDG-174)
Kongo Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.

Myōkō (DDG-175)
Kongo Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.

Sachishio (SS-582)
Yūshio Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

Hayshio (SS-585)
Harushio Class Submarine (SSK)
Real ship, details as in service

Natsushio (SS-584)
Harushio Class Submarine (SSK)
Real ship, details as in service

Fuyushio (SS-588)
Harushio Class Submarine (SSK)
Real ship, details as in service

China (Peoples Republic)

Tanjin (ex-?)
Sovremenny (Pr.956) Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

Fuzhou (ex-Vdumchivyy)
Sovremenny (Pr.956) Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.

For the rocketry mavens (Spoilers):

Japan

H-IIC
Space Launch Vehicle (Fictional)
Height (Including payload shroud): 230ft (70.1m)
Described as a 'fourth generation' launch vehicle, liquid fuelled core with solid fuel boosters
No other details provided.
Note: The H-II series of rockets as of the date of this post covers the H-II, H-IIA & H-IIB launch vehicles. A fictional H-II core rocket, described as an improved version of the Soviet UR-100N (SS-19 'Stiletto') ICBM based on purchased Russian plans appears in the Tom Clancy novel 'Debt of Honor' (1994).

Announced Payload:
Hagoromo II
Height: 40ft (12.2m)
Diameter (Solar panels stowed): 12ft (3.7m) (Each of the two solar panels the payload is fitted with have a full extension of 150ft (45.7m))
Mass: 10 metric tonnes
Description: "Hagoromo II, which was to dock with Freedom (e.g. The International Space Station) from where it would send a series of probes to the moon, ... Once it rendezvoused with Freedom, gigantic solar panels would extend like the wings of a butterfly... Narrow beam and compact satellite dishes would be uncovered, as would a dozen variously shaped probes that would be used to study everything from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetic field and the forces of micro-gravity created by the bulk of the international space station itself. Completely sheathed in gold foil for heat management in space..."
Note: The actual Japanese experiment module 'Kibo' (eng: Hope) was carried to the International Space Station on space shuttle missions STS-124, STS-124 & STS-127. The name given to the fictional module 'Hagoromo' refers to the feather mantle worn by the celestial being Hiten. In real life the name was used by a sub-satellite deployed by the Hiten lunar probe in 1990.

Actual Payload:
Asa no taiyō (eng: Morning Sun)
Orbital Missile Carrier Bus
Dimensions/Mass are identical to Hagoromo II payload with solar panels stowed.
Coated with black radar-absorbing tiles
Armament: 4 x MIRV fitted Orbit to surface nuclear missiles (Each missile has 3 independently targetable warheads, the yield of each warhead is not specified.)
No other details.

Plot summary: Even as Japan moves to join the world in the construction of the International Space Station (Referred to as 'Freedom' by the author.), evidence emerges that some of the figures involved in the plot against a leading American aircraft manufacturer (See the entry for the novel 'High Flight' (1995).) are planning something new.

Note: This is probably the last 'Yellow Peril (Japan)' novel (Other novels I've covered in this sub-genre are 'Dragon' (1990), 'The War in 2020' (1991), 'Debt of Honour' (1994) & 'High Flight' (1995)) written by a major author, by 1999 Japanese economic power was waning, slowly being replaced by China, a fact which the author acknowledges towards the end of the novel. While it is effectively a sequel to 'High Flight' being set around 2 years after the events of that novel (e.g. 1999/2000), some questions from that novel, such as what happened to the SSN the JMSDF was constructing in the previous novel remain unanswered.

 

[The Skipper]

John Winton, HMS Leviathan, 1967

HMS Leviathan
Third Audacious Class Aircraft Carrier ?
Details as per the real ships, circa 1960s.
Note: Name is that of a Majestic Class Carrier scrapped incomplete in 1968.

Plot Summary: A new captain has come to a troubled ship, can he turn things around?

Note: Two cover pictures are attached. The 1978 cover is from the first paperback release by Sphere Books which is clearly trying to present the novel as an action/adventure story, which it is not. However the 1984 cover is much more appropriate to the plot. Neither is credited.

In the book, H.M.S. Leviathan is described as having a flight deck of 900 feet. Therefore she is longer than an Audacious class, which had 808- foot flight decks. Her length is more akin to a Malta class; however, she cannot be a Malts class, because they were designed with single hangars, and the book describes Leviathan as having a double hangar. She must be, therefore a (fictitious) Leviathan class.