Fictional Warships - Novels

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Dive in the Sun, 1961 & Surface with Daring, 1976

HMS XE-16 (Surface with Daring)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships. Save dimensions (L: 54ft (16m), B: 6ft (1.8m), D: 5.3 ft (1.60m))

HMS XE-17 (Surface with Daring)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships.

HMS XE-18 (Surface with Daring)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships.

HMS XE-19 (Surface with Daring)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships.

HMS XE-26 (Surface with Daring)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships.

HMS XE-51 (Dive in the Sun)
XE-Class Minisub
Details as per the real ships. Pennant number conflicts with the first Stickleback Class Minisub.

HMS Cephalus (Surface with Daring)
Submarine Depot Ship for XE-Craft.
No other details provided.

Plot Summary: (Dive in the Sun) Prior to the invasion of Italy an XE-Class Submarine is sent to destroy a floating dock. (Surface with Daring) XE-Class Submarines are sent to destroy the launch site of a missile larger than the V-2.

 

[Graham1973]

Austin Ferguson, Random Track, 1979

USS Valiant (CVN-??)
Class not specified.
Speed: 49 knots
Length: 1200ft (370m)
Main flight deck length: 1080ft (330m)
Angled flight deck length: 800ft (240m)
Launched 1978
No other details provided

USS Wakefield (CG-?? or CGN-??)
Guided missile crusier
No other details provided

Plot Summary: The first non-stop flight between the United States and China suffers an uncontained engine failure, leaving the flight crew with the choice of ditching or attempting to land a DC-10 on the deck of the worlds largest aircraft carrier.

 

[Graham1973]

From the pages of another obscure Technothriller...

Ian Slater, Deep Chill, 1989

United States

USS New York (SSBN-921)
'Trident' Class SSBN (Different from the 'Trident' class in Innoculate!, probably the authors chosen term for the Ohio Class.)

Details as per Ohio Class. Submarine is renamed USS Alaska (SSBN-926) at the end of the novel.

USS Boise (FFG-218)
Guided Missile Frigate, class not specified

Speed: 35 knots
Armament: Mk 13 launchers fore and aft, Harpoon box launchers fore and aft (16 missiles?). Only missile type mentioned other than Harpoon are 'Mk13b' heat-seeking Anti-missile missiles, but presumably the mix includes RIM-66 & RIM-24 AAMs. Only gun armament specifially mentioned is Phalanx, but there is probably another heavier gun weapon carried.
Helicopter Facilities: Hangar and landing pad for a LAMPS Helicopter, novel does not specify if this is a Seasprite or a Seahawk.

Russia

Amur
Victor Class SSN

Novograd & Leningrad
'Cruisers'. Leningrad is implied to be either a Chapayev or Sverdlosk class. No details are given for the Novograd.

Karpaty-II
Submarine Rescue Ship

Plot Summary: An American SSBN sinks to the bottom of the Barents sea after being crippled by free floating drift nets. Both Russia and the United States race to find the sub and rescue the crew.

Note: In attempting to reconstruct the USS Boise the best image that comes to my mind is that of a double-ended design similar to the OHP class, which would probably mean that the unspecified main gun is a 76mm.

 

[Hood]

Some fictional ships from a different era. These come from the 1906 book, 'The Invasion of 1910' by William Le Queux with the naval chapters written by H.W. Wilson.
The book is available to read online at: https://archive.org/details/invasionof1910wi00lequ

HMS Vanguard, Thunderer, Devastation, Bellerophon
Dreadnoughts, description matches HMS Dreadnought but with three funnels. These are the only four British dreadnoughts mentioned in the book, Dreadnought herself is not mentioned.

HMS Indefatigable
Not a dreadnought, but described as second most powerful battleship after Dreadnought, has anti-torpedo bulkheads.

HMS Resistance
May be sistership to Indefatigable

HMS Sultan, Defiance, Active, Redoubtable, Malta, Excellence, Courageous, Valiant, Glasgow
Battleships, all two-funnelled, Sultan has 7.5in secondary battery

HMS Londonderry
Armoured Cruiser, armament of 7.5in guns with at least two turrets fore and aft, and 3pdr pom-poms

HMS Olympia
Armoured Cruiser, armament of 2x2 9.2in turrets and 7.5in guns

HMS Polyphemus, Achates
Armoured Cruisers, armament of 9.2in guns, at least two turrets fore and aft, and UW torpedo tubes including a stern tube

HMS Iphigenia, Orion
Armoured Cruisers, 4x 12in, 8x 9.2in guns, 23kts. Note the real HMS Iphigenia was an Apollo Class protected cruiser.

HMS Gloucester
Armoured Cruiser, 6in belt armour, four funnels

HMS Lion
Armoured Cruiser, 2x 9.2in and 8x 6in guns

HMS Kincardineshire, Selkirk, Southampton, Lincoln
Armoured Cruisers, 6in guns including fore and aft twin turrets

HMS Terrific
Armoured Cruiser, 14,000 tons, 9.2in and 6in guns

HMS Andromache, Sirius
Protected Cruisers, 11,000 tons, 6in guns, 19kts. Note the real Andromache and Sirius were Apollo Class protected cruisers which had 6in guns and 19kts speed but only displaced 3,700 tons.

HMS Leicestershire
'Fast Cruiser', probably an armoured cruiser, at least 4x 7.5in and 3pdr pom-poms

Sachsen, Grosser Kurfuersfs [possibly meant to be Grosser Kurfürst] +2 others unnamed
Battleship, described as a ‘monster battleship’ in response to Dreadnought, 12x 11in ‘new pattern 46ft long guns) turrets, 24x 4in QF guns, 10x pom-poms, the gun layout is described as “End-on she showed her four 11-in. turrets, each bristling with a pair of muzzles. She brought two more heavy guns to bear ahead and on the broadside than did the Dreadnought, while her stern fire was incomparably more powerful, delivered from eight 11 -in. guns. This suggests perhaps a superfiring layout was used?

Waldersee, Caprivi, Moltke
Armoured Cruisers, 16,000 tons, 2x2 11in turrets, 10x 9.4in, four funnels

Manteuffel
Armoured Cruiser, given the list of all the other historical German armoured cruisers, including Yorck and Roon, and the date of the book it would appear this ship might be based on the Scharnhorst or Gneisenau then under construction in 1906.

 

[Graham1973]

Welcome again to the thread Hood, now for something I think started life as a failed script for "You Only Live Twice"...

Geoffrey Jenkins, Hunter-Killer, 1966

Britain

HMS Teaser
Aircraft Carrier

No other details provided.

HMS Loch Vennachar
Loch Class Missile Cruiser

No other details provided.

HMS Loch Torridon
Loch Class Missle Cruiser

No other details provided.

HMS Amirante
Fleet Destroyer

Speed: 35 knots
No other details provided.

HMS Devastation
Devestation Class SSBN

Armament: Polaris A-4 (Number not specified), 6 Bow torpedo tubes, no mention of aft torpedo tubes.
Maxium diving depth: 1000ft (300m)

United States

USN Springfield (CV-?? or CVN-??)
Aircraft Carrier

No other details provided.

USN Rio Grand (CV-?? or CVN-??)
Aircraft Carrier

No other details provided.

USN Willowtrack (SSBN-???)
Shenandoah Class SSBN (?)

Armament: Polaris (Number not specified), probably four bow tubes if usual SSBN practice followed, though see above.
Speed: 40 knots (Not clear if this is surfaced or submerged speed)

No other details provided.

USN Shenandoah (SSBN-???)
Shenandoah Class SSBN

Armament: Polaris (Number not specified), probably four bow tubes if usual SSBN practice followed.
Speed: 40 knots (Not clear if this is surfaced or submerged speed)

No other details provided other than that the Shenandoah Class is the replacement for the George Washinton Class SSBN.

Plot Summary: When the US Air Force sends two men to the Moon but does not bring them back alive. The US & Royal Navy decide to upstage them by putting the United States Vice-President into orbit using a modified Polaris.

Note: Author uses the term 'USN' rather than 'USS' for the American ships in this novel. All US ships are part of the Seventh Fleet.

 

[Graham1973]

Geoffrey Archer, Shadow Hunter, 1989

Britain

HMS Tenby (I)
T-Class Submarine (SS)
Details as per the real ships. Sunk 1962.

HMS Truculent (S.37)
Trafalgar Class Submarine (SSN)
Details as per the real ships

HMS Tribune
Trafalgar Class Submarine (SSN)
Details as per the real ships

HMS Tenby (II)
Trafalgar Class Submarine (SSN)
Details as per the real ships

Fictional Naval Weapons

Hammerfish
Torpedo
Dimensions: Not Stated, presumably similar to the dimensions of other submarine torpedos in RN service
Guidance: Wire guidance with terminal sonar targeting
Sonar: Unspecified primary sonar, the terminal guidance sonar is described as being of a "...a high-frequency, high-definition..." type.
Speed: 75 knots (139kph)
Warhead: Not specified, presumably similar to the Tigerfish's heaviest warhead or the warhead fitted to the Spearfish.
Note: The torpedos have been fitted to HMS Tenby for operational trials purposes.

Quote:

'They're like Tigerfish, in that they're controlled from the submarine by wire. Guided either by the boat's sonar or by the torpedo's. But there are two big difference. First, they're much faster. Seventy-five knots they can do! And second they have a high-frequency, high-definition sonar that turns on two-hundred meters from the target.'

'What's the point of that?'

'Gives us a precise outline of the target, on this display here. It means the weapon operator has a couple of seconds to chose the precise spot where the torpedo will strike. Soviet subs are well protected, but if you can hit the right place on the hull...'

Moray
Torpedo Tube Launched CAPTOR Mines
Dimensions, capable of fitting in the standard tubes used on RN and USN submarines.
Uses an underwater missile rather than a torpedo as the fired weapon.
Can be laid unactivated for later activation via a coded sonar pulse.
Notes: A British/American project. HMS Truculent is the test boat for them, in the same way HMS Tenby is the test boat for the Hammerfish torpedos.

Quote:

'You know the new Moray mines...'

'Of course. Remotely programmable microprocessors, incredibly clever target selectivity - laid in deep water they launch an underwater guided-missile that can penerate even the heaviest Soviet double-hull.'

Norway

Storm
Kobben Class Submarine (SS)
Details as per the real ships

Russia

Ametyst
Sierra Class Submarine (SSN)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Not specified in text if it is a Sierra I or Sierra II.

Ladny
Victor III Class Submarine (SSN)
Details as per the real ships

Plot Summary: The year is 1992. When the commander of a British submarine discovers that one of his wifes lovers is a Russian spy, he decides to start his own little war....

Note: The 1990 cover by Mike Adams appears to depict a scene from the novels climactic chapters.

 

[Graham1973]

Stephen Coonts, Final Flight, 1988

USS United States (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class

Details as per real ships. Assuming novel is set in the year it was published the ship was launched in 1988.

Plot Summary: Terrorists try to steal nuclear weapons from an American carrier.

 

[Graham1973]

Brian Callison, A Plague of Sailors, 1971

MS British Commander
Armed Merchant Cruiser operated by the Royal Navy's covert operations wing, the BMSNC (British Mutual Steam Navigation Company).
Armament: 4.7 inch Guns. 21 inch torpedos. Ikarara missile. Sunk 1971

Plot: With the whole Middle East coming together to deal with an outbreak of the plague, someone plans to bring an end to the peace by releasing a genetic altered version of anthrax.

For those who are interested here are all the ships owned by the British Mutual Steam Navigation Company mentioned in 'A Plague of Sailors' and 'A Frenzy of Merchantmen'. Those noted with a '*' have a 50-Mt nuclear bomb concealed in one of the fuel tanks.

MS British Allegiance
MS British Commander (Sunk 1971)
MS British Regiment *
MS British Sailor
MS British Venturer * (Sunk 1977)

Armament in all cases varies depending on mission, but can include guns, missiles, torpedos & mines.

The first novel states that the company owns nine ships with two more under construction.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Stephen Coonts, Final Flight, 1988

USS United States (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class

Details as per real ships. Assuming novel is set in the year it was published the ship was launched in 1988.

Plot Summary: Terrorists try to steal nuclear weapons from an American carrier.

CVN-75, it was the original name of the then (1988) planned 8th in class (kneel was finally laid down in 1993) before the name was changed during construction to USS Harry S. Truman. Given the 4 year build time (including commissioning) for the Theodore Roosevelt subclass, that would probably put the setting of the novel around 1992.

 

[Graham1973]

Stephen Coonts, Final Flight, 1988

USS United States (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class

Details as per real ships. Assuming novel is set in the year it was published the ship was launched in 1988.

Plot Summary: Terrorists try to steal nuclear weapons from an American carrier.

CVN-75, it was the original name of the then (1988) planned 8th in class (kneel was finally laid down in 1993) before the name was changed during construction to USS Harry S. Truman. Given the 4 year build time (including commissioning) for the Theodore Roosevelt subclass, that would probably put the setting of the novel around 1992.

Thanks, just for clarification, my usual rule-of-thumb for dating stories in novels, is that if it is not clearly set in the past relative to the publication/copyright date and the author has not clearly specified either a year or that the story is set in the future relative to the publication/copyright date then the story is set contemporous to the publication/copyright date.

Obviously in this case, a little more double checking was in order.

 

[Hood]

Another older story today. Percy F. Westerman wrote a series of naval war books for children during the First World War. This one is a 1920 book, 'The Mystery Ship: A Story of the "Q" Ships During the Great War'. The book is set during the last few months of the war and includes a German spy and a plot to outwit and uncover him, a sailor's Red mutiny aboard U-247, the armistice and the arrival of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow and its eventual scuttling. Written with hindsight this is probably one of the more realistic tales!

Q 171
The Q-ship of the book is disguised as a U-Boot 'U-251', draught is only 7ft 6in allowing torpedoes to pass underneath, capable of 38kts, armament consists of fore and aft QF guns, a hidden retractable AA gun and the entire 'conning tower' slides forwards to reveal a triple 14in torpedo mount. Its method is to lure German submarines to the surface, pretend to be a friendly and then use its torpedoes to sink the enemy sub. Enemy aircraft and Zeppelins are lured the same way and then shot down by the hidden AA gun (special identification signals are deployed when the RAF spots them). At the end of the book, Q 171 takes on a whole flotilla of German destroyers and is crippled but towed home.

Motor Launches
ML 1071, ML 1499, ML 1497; ML 1071 is armed with a 6pdr gun

Hesperus
An old 2nd Class cruiser in use as a motor launch tender

Pompey
Cruiser, no description but sabotaged and sunk in harbour by German spies

Inattentive
Light cruiser, no description

Pylos
Destroyer, no description

Polyxo
Destroyer, no description

U-247
The main German protagonist of the book, gun armament consists of two 6in guns [5.9in?]. The real U-247 was ordered in June 1918 but never laid down.

V-199
German torpedo-boat destroyer. Rammed by Q 171 and later sunk by Pylos and Polyxo, 1918. There never was a real V-199, but there was a planned V-170 Class ship H-199.

 

[Graham1973]

Welcome back again Hood, looking forward to when you next update Shipbuckets list, though I hope I've not provided too much to date.

Anyway, onto my next contribution.

Robin White, Typhoon, 2003 & Hunters in the Sea, 2006

United States

USS Portland (SSN-773)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Details as per real ships.
Stated to be the last of her class.
Pennant number clashes with that of USS Cheyenne (SSN-773), the real last member of the Los Angeles Class

Russia

Baikal (TK-19) (Typhoon)
Typhoon Class SSBN

Details as per the real ships.

China

Hangzhou (ex-Vazhnyy) (Typhoon)
Ex-Russian Sovremenny Class Destroyer
Real Ship, details as in service.

Fuzhou (ex-Vdumchivyy) (Typhoon)
Ex-Russian Sovremenny Class Destroyer
Real Ship, details as in service.

Lin San Liu (Typhoon)
Ex-Russian Kilo Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

The novel 'Typhoon' also contains the following fictional Russian sonar system:

Avacha Sea Monster

When the Sea Monster roared, it emitted a rich deep bellow powerful enough to boil seawater. ...a sound able to cross whole oceans, loud enough to deafen whales. A sound able to penetrate and dissect the oceans many layers and reveal every object, natural or unnatural, Russian or American, hidden within them.

Typhoon by Robin White, pg 344

Plot Summary: (Typhoon) The USS Portland is tasked with stopping the transfer of a fully armed Typhoon-class SSBN to the Chinese. (Hunters in the Sea). A Russian scientist mistakenly sells a batch of smallpox engineered to be incurable to those who would release it and let Allah decide who lives and who dies. USS Portland finds herself caught up in the hunt for the ship carrying the disease.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, To Risks Unknown, 1969

Britain

HMS Thistle
Flower Class Corvette

Armament: 1 x 4 inch gun, 5 x 20mm Oerlikons (Two twin mounts port and starboard. Single mount abaft the funnel), 1 x 40mm QF 2-pounder naval gun above the quarterdeck. Rest of armament as per the actual ships.

Other details as per the actual ships. Sunk February 1945

Germany

Nashorn (Formerly SS Morava)
Armed Merchant Cruiser?, Panzerschff?

Main armament: 2 x 5.9 inch guns mounted fore and aft.
Secondary armament: Mines, other unspecified guns.
Speed: Somewhere between 10 to 12 knots.

This converted freighter is probably best described in the authors own words:

Her hull was heavy and businesslike and he guessed that she had once been a sizeable cargo or passenger vessel.

...

But above the level of her main deck she bore no resemblance to any ship he had ever seen. The bridge and superstructure had been completely enclosed in steel plating , each piece angled in such a way as to make a direct hit almost an impossibility.

...

Two tall funnels jutted from the steel canopy abaft the bridge, and the smoke which poured busily astern gave the only visible sign of life. She was like some remotely controlled juggernaut which might at any second change to a submarine or take to the air.

To Risks Unknown by Douglas Reeman, pg 189

Now the author has a character think of the USS Monitor, however I suspect that the CSS Virginia might be a better guide to how this thing looks. I remember that someone on the old Warship Projects 3.0 board was planning to try and model this ship, but I've no idea how far he got.

Plot Summary: HMS Thistle is sent to support the Yugoslavian Partizans in the lead up to the invasion of Italy, her task is complicated by the heavily armoured creation of an unothodox German naval officer sent there to 'keep him out of the way'.

Note: Attached is the cover to the 2022 eBook edition of the novel. The image does not reflect the contents of the novel.

 

[Graham1973]

Alistair MacLean, Santorini, 1986

HMS Ariadne
Frigate - Class not specified

Propulsion: Diesel
Speed: 35 knots
Armament: Not specified

Electronics fit out has been enhanced for the purposes of intelligence gathering.

Plot Summary: When a C-141b Starlifter crashes in flames not far from where a yacht has sunk in flames, the crew of the HMS Ariadne coming to the rescue of the yacht's crew find themselves wondering if there is a connection between the two events.

 

[Graham1973]

What I suspect was probably a failed film script...

George E. Simpson & Neal R. Burger, Thin Air, 1977

USS Sturman (DE-166)
Cannon Class Destroyer Escort.

Pennant number is that of USS Barron.

Details as per other members of class.

Modified in 1955 by removal of forward gun for purposes of top secret experiments.

Officially disposed of in 1957.

Plot Summary: The Philadelphia Experiment meets Watergate...

Note:The authors wrote another script/novel called 'Ghostboat' which was eventually made into a mini-series by ITV in 2005. It is a rare (perhaps unique) case of the British taking something created by the Americans and re-working it to fit their country. In this case a story set in the Pacific is moved to the Baltic.

I really must remember to try and find a copy of the novel to see if they changed the name of the submarine...

 

[Graham1973]

Charles D. Taylor, Boomer, 1990

United States

USS Manchester (SSN-???)
Los Angeles Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships. Assuming the story is set in 1990 then she was launched in 1989.

Plot Summary: The Russians come up with a cunning plan, have a sleeper agent convince the crew of an American SSN that World War III has started and that the Russians have come up with a way to make their SSBNs sound just like American SSBNs...

Note: The ship above is the only fictional one in the novel. Even the Russian AGI used in the plot is a real ship (Lira (SSV-516), Balzam Class.)

 

[Graham1973]

Alistair MacLean, San Andreas, 1984

British

HMS Andover
Frigate, class not specified

HMHS San Andreas (Formerly SS Ocean Belle)
Hospital Ship (Converted Liberty Ship)
Details as per the real ships.

Unnamed
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

Unnamed
Kingfisher Class Sloop
Details as per the real ships

German

Unnamed
U-Boat, class not specified

Unnamed
U-Boat, class not specified

Plot Summary: The return from Russia of a newly commissioned hospital ship is complicated by sabotage and murder, but to what end...?

Later: Managed to find a copy of the first release (1984) and the last (1999) edition with an artwork as opposed to a CGI cover. The first edition cover by Paul Wright shows the ship just before the story begins. The uncredited cover for the 1999 edition appears to be based off the Paul Wright image, but has the scene set during daylight hours, presumably further before the start of the novel as the ships appearance changes somewhat during the course of the story.

 

[Graham1973]

Joe Webber, Shadow Flight, 1990

Cuba

General Abelardo Alvarez
Ex-Russian Foxtrot Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships.

Plot Summary: A Russian agent hijacks a B-2 bomber and flies it to Cuba.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

I seem to recall reading back in the 80s a novel about the RN in a WW3 North Atlantic battle with a fleet based around two fictional carriers. Thet were a Hermes VSTOL type and were called HM Ships Furious and Glorious (?). The books POV was the CO of a Leander class frigate with a suitability classical but fictional name (which I can't remember). I do recall the book being in the Tom Clancy vane but more technically realistic but bleaker. Can't recall the title.

 

[Graham1973]

I seem to recall reading back in the 80s a novel about the RN in a WW3 North Atlantic battle with a fleet based around two fictional carriers. Thet were a Hermes VSTOL type and were called HM Ships Furious and Glorious (?). The books POV was the CO of a Leander class frigate with a suitability classical but fictional name (which I can't remember). I do recall the book being in the Tom Clancy vane but more technically realistic but bleaker. Can't recall the title.

I used to own a novel called Submarine by John Wingate, which formed part of a WWIII series he had written. My copy disappeared in a move and I've never found another. A quick check of Amazon shows that he's not made it to Kindle yet. The book you remember might have been part of that series.

 

[Graham1973]

Stephen Coonts, The Intruders, 1994

United States

USS Columbia (CV-?? or CVN-??)
Aircraft Carrier, class not specified.

Russia

Reduktor
Spy Ship, class not specified

Gidrograf
Spy Ship, Pamir class (Pr.2030)

Details as per the real ships.

Plot Summary: The year is 1973 and following a bar room brawl a two tour Vietnam veteran pilot is offered the choice of dismissal from the Navy or teach a bunch of Marines to land on a carrier.

 

[Graham1973]

Another guilty pleasure...

Clive Cussler, Raise the Titanic!, 1976

United States

USS Beecher's Island (CV-??, CVL-??, CVN-??, CVS-??)
Aircraft Carrier, class not specified

USS Juneau (CGN-?? or CGSN-??)
Nuclear Guided Missile Cruiser, class not specified.

Armament: 1 8-inch gun (Probably a Mk71), other weapons not specified.

Name conflicts with that of USS Juneau LPD-10

USS Dragonfish (SS-?? or SSN-??)
Submarine, class not specified.

USS Modoc
Salvage Ship(?)

Carries a minisub called Sea Slug

Sea Slug
DSRV

USS Thomas J. Morse
Salvage Tug, class not specified

Length: 250ft
Propulsion: 5000hp Diesel

USS Samuel R. Wallace
Salvage Tug, class not specified, but apparently the same as the USS Thomas J. Morse.

Russia

Mikhail Kurkov
Oceanic Research Vessel (Spy Ship?)

Britain

HMS Troy
Cruiser, class not specified.

Plot Summary: To complete a revolutionary missile defence system, the United States needs a rare element, but the only samples are locked in the holds of the Titanic...

Note: The novel takes place between July 1987 and August 1988.

 

[Graham1973]

Charles Ryan, The Panjang Incident, 1989

United States

USS Panjang (T-AKE-???)
Liberty Ship used by Military Sealift Comand

Details as per real ships. Stated to be 45 years old, if novel is set in 1989 then the ship was launched in 1944.

USS Claude Voorhees
Submarine Support Ship

Carries a minisub named Saran

USS Plymouth (SSN-???)
Sturgeon Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships

USS Greensboro (SSN-???)
Los Angeles Class Submarine (See note)

Details as per real ships.

USS Portland (SSBN-???)
Ohio Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships

USS Tempe (SSBN-???)
Class unspecified, armed with Polaris (number unspecified) and probably four bow tubes if usual SSBN practice followed.

Russia

E. R. Sabir
Delta Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships.

Plot Summary: What TV Tropes calls "Terrorists without a cause" steal Trident missiles.

Note: Part way through the novel, there are two scenes where someone is trying to track down just which missiles have been stolen. In those scenes the names of actual Los Angeles class submarines (USS Miami & USS Houston) are mentioned as the receipients of some of the traced missiles. The USS Portland is specifically identified as a member of the Ohio class. The assignment of USS Greensboro to the Los Angeles class seems logical to me but given some of the other nonsense this author included in his book, noteably that the yield of the nuclear weapons mounted on a Trident missile is 5000-Mt it could be anything.

 

[Graham1973]

David Poyer, The Gulf, 1990

USS Louis Strong (FF-1099)
Knox Class Frigate

Details as per the real ships.

USS Turner Van Zandt (FFG-91)
Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate

Details as per the real ships

USS Audacity (MSO-442)
Agile Class minesweeper

Penant number is that of USS Fearless

Details as per the real ships.

USS Resolute (MSO-???)
Agile Class minesweeper

Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: Fictionalised version of the events surrounding Operation: Earnest Will and Operation: Praying Mantis.

 

[observer144]

I seem to recall reading back in the 80s a novel about the RN in a WW3 North Atlantic battle with a fleet based around two fictional carriers. Thet were a Hermes VSTOL type and were called HM Ships Furious and Glorious (?). The books POV was the CO of a Leander class frigate with a suitability classical but fictional name (which I can't remember). I do recall the book being in the Tom Clancy vane but more technically realistic but bleaker. Can't recall the title.

I used to own a novel called Submarine by John Wingate, which formed part of a WWIII series he had written. My copy disappeared in a move and I've never found another. A quick check of Amazon shows that he's not made it to Kindle yet. The book you remember might have been part of that series.

The Wingate books came to my mind as well. The other two titles were Carrier and Frigate if I recall. And yes a little more bleak than Clancy.

 

[Graham1973]

I seem to recall reading back in the 80s a novel about the RN in a WW3 North Atlantic battle with a fleet based around two fictional carriers. Thet were a Hermes VSTOL type and were called HM Ships Furious and Glorious (?). The books POV was the CO of a Leander class frigate with a suitability classical but fictional name (which I can't remember). I do recall the book being in the Tom Clancy vane but more technically realistic but bleaker. Can't recall the title.

I used to own a novel called Submarine by John Wingate, which formed part of a WWIII series he had written. My copy disappeared in a move and I've never found another. A quick check of Amazon shows that he's not made it to Kindle yet. The book you remember might have been part of that series.

The Wingate books came to my mind as well. The other two titles were Carrier and Frigate if I recall. And yes a little more bleak than Clancy.

Thanks for all three titles. I'll have to keep my eyes out. I know of one second hand bookshop in my area that does orders, but I'm not sure I'll go there until I've exhausted all other options.

 

[Graham1973]

Charles Ryan, Track of the Bengal, 1999

USS Winston-Salem (SSN-???)
Los Angeles Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: Terrorists get their hands on a very dirty nuclear bomb and plan to set it off in the heart of a hurricane about to cross the US coast.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Rendezvous-South Atlantic, 1972

British

HMS Benbecula
Armed merchant cruiser

Armament: 6 x 6 inch guns, 1 x 12pdr gun, 6 x 20mm Oerlikons

Launched: 1919
Length: 500ft (150m)
Propulsion: Twin Screw
Speed: 16 knots

HMS Barra
Armed merchant cruiser

Details essentially the same as HMS Benbecula (Sister Ship)

Sunk 1941

HMS Loch Glendhu
Armed merchant cruiser

No other details provided

Sunk 1941

HMS Vengeur
V & W class destroyer

Details as per the real ships.

HMS Madagascar
Crown Colony-class cruiser (See Note)

Details as per the real ships.

HMS Merlin
L & M Class Destroyer?

Stated to be less than one year old in 1941.

No other details provided.

HMS Canopus
Cruiser

No other details provided.

United States

USS John P. Ashton (DD-???)
Wilkes Class Destroyer

Details as per the real ships

Germany

Nassau
Armed commerce raider
17,000 tons

Armament details as per the the other WWII ex merchant Commerce raiders.

Minden
Cruiser

Speed: 32/33 knots
Armament: 9 x 8 inch guns (A, B & Y triple turrets), 12 torpedo tubes, secondary and anti-aircraft armament not specified.
Carries 1 floatplane.

Novel is set in 1941/1942.

Plot Summary: A crew of a newly converted armed merchant cruiser find themselves dealing with the concequences of two decades of military neglect.

Note: Madagascar is a French Colony, but the details for HMS Madagascar fit a Crown Colony class cruiser best. Anyone wanting to do an image of the Minden, should look at the Scharnhorst Class battleships, as from what information is provided she seems to be a scaled down version of that class in the same way that the Admiral Hipper class cruisers were scaled down versions of the Bismark class battleships. The attached covers are the Christ Mayger cover to the 1984 paperback edition and the 2022 eBook cover.

 

[Graham1973]

Bart Davis, Full Fathom Five, 1987

United States

USS Aspen (SSN-???)
Los Angeles Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships.

Russia

Kirov
Victor III Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships.
Name clashes with the lead ship of the Kirov Class.

Plot Summary: Having asked the Russians for assistance and gotten a 'Nyet' in reply, the government of Nicaragua decides to steal it.

 

[Graham1973]

David Poyer, The Command, 2004

USS Thomas W. Horn (DDG-???)
Spruance Class Destroyer

Details as per the 24 Spruance class ships updated with VLS.

Plot Summary: The year is 1992. The former captain of the USS Oliver C. Gaddis has been given another 'hot potato' ship, this time with a fully integrated male/female crew.

 

[Graham1973]

Dominic Conlon, Silent Warpath, 2013

United States

Cetus
Experimental Submarine
Dimensions are not given.
Designed for low underwater detectability (Still detectable by the sensors aboard an Astute Class Submarine.)
Fully automated
Nuclear powered
Propulsion: Single Screw
Armament: Experimental Sonic Cannon (Uses resonant freqencies to 'shake' targets apart.)
Sensors: Towed Array Sonar
Endurance: Maximum one year between reactor refuling.

Russia

Kougar (TK-51)
Typhoon Class Submarine

Details as per the real ships

Plot Summary: A privately developed (Under a DARPA contract) automated submarine goes rogue on it's first test, now it must be found and stopped before it starts WWIII.

 

[Graham1973]

John Winton, HMS Leviathan, 1967

HMS Leviathan
Third Audacious Class Aircraft Carrier ? Possibly a fictional class.
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.

 

[Graham1973]

John Wingate, The Sea Above Them, 1975

British

HMS Termagant
T-Class Submarine

Name is that of a T-Class destroyer.

HMS Mars (S17)
SSN, class not specified, described as the first of a successor class to the Valiant class.
No other details provided other than the submarines are 'larger' than the Valiant class.
Stated to have been in service around 22 months at the time of the story. If the story is set in July 1975, then the submarine was launched in 1973. In the real world the first Swiftsure class submarine launched in 1971, though it is not clear if HMS Mars is a Swiftsure.

HMS Hector
SSN, class not specified, described as a member of the same class as HMS Mars

Russia

Gorgi Stalin
Nuclear Submarine
No other details provided.

Krakvilsk
'Kurov' class frigate

Kulmanov
'Kurov' class frigate

Kronstadt
Submarine Rescue Ship

United States

Lily-One
DSRV
US Navy developed mini-sub. Described as being similar in appearance to the diving saucers used by Jacques Cousteau, fitted with a manipulating arm. No dimensions provided.

Plot Summary: A collision at sea between a British submarine and a Russian frigate forces the superpowers together to affect a rescue of the surviors.

Note: The pennant number of HMS Mars is given as 'SSN-17' however this is US rather than British practice so I've taken an editorial decision and amended it to 'S17'. I have no idea what the author is referring to when he mentions 'Kurov' class frigates as there is insufficient detail in the book to match to any actual Soviet era frigate design. Perhaps someone with access to Pre-1975 copies of Janes Fighting ships can solve this one. A footnote in the book reveals that this story takes place in the same 'universe' as an earlier novel by John Wingate entitled "Below the Horizon" published in 1974.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, Path Of The Storm, 1966

United States

USS Hibiscus (PC-1647)
PC-461 Class Submarine Chaser

Pennant number is that of a canceled member of the class.

Details as per the real ships. Transferred to Taiwan.

USS Grampus (SSG-523) (Real ship)
Tench Class Submarine converted to carry Regulus missiles.

Details as per the Fleet Submarine Regulus conversions.

Britain

HMS Bosworth
Battle Class Destroyer

Details the same as that of the four members of the class (HMS Agincourt, Aisne, Barrosa and Corunna) that were given a 'Radar Picket' (DDG) conversion in the 1950s.

China (Peoples Republic)

Unnamed
Ex-Soviet Type 7 or Type 7U class destroyer (Referred to in the novel as 'Gordy' Class.)

Details as per the real ships.

Plot Summary: A ship being prepared for handover to the Taiwanese govement is suddenly given a new captain and sent off to survey an island held by Taiwan that might be a useful basing point for Polaris submarines.

 

[royabulgaf]

I remember a couple novels, don't recall the titles of the names of the ships.

1. A British cruiser that's either obsolete or in need of a refit patrols the coast of Chile during WWI

2. A British light carrier during WWII, operating with a Free French destroyer

 

[Abraham Gubler]

Yes this is them: Frigate, Carrier and Submarine by John Wingate. The frigate was called HMS Icarus.

 

[Graham1973]

I remember a couple novels, don't recall the titles of the names of the ships.

1. A British cruiser that's either obsolete or in need of a refit patrols the coast of Chile during WWI

2. A British light carrier during WWII, operating with a Free French destroyer

Not sure about the second one, but I have read the first which I think was titled Thunder at Dawn, not sure of the authors name though.

 

[Graham1973]

Raymond Harold Sawkins (Pen name: Colin Forbes), Target 5, 1973

United States

USS Elroy
6,500 ton icebreaker
Steam propulsion, single screw.
Helipad aft
No other details provided.

USS Exodus
Member of the same class as USS Elroy

Russia

Gorki
Moskva (Pr. 1123) Class Helicopter Carrier

Details as per the real ships.

Revolution/Revolyutsiya
16,000 ton Oceanographic 'research' ship (eg Spy ship..)
Diesel propulsion

No other details provided.

Plot summary: The year is 1972, a Russian oceanographer tries to defect with documents showing the locations of every underwater beacon the Soviets have placed in the Arctic.

I've attached a scan of the cover. I'm not sure what the artist was working from because if the helicopter on the cover is supposed to be a KA-25 they definitely got that wrong. Similarly if the icebreaker in the background is the USS Elroy then she should be much more battered than depicted. One of the key moments in the novel is a collision with an iceberg that takes out the Ellroys radar and the spotting mast, which takes place before the scene depicted.

 

[Graham1973]

J. Craig Wheeler, The Krone Experiment, 1986

USS Seamount (SSBN-???)
Ballistic Missile Submarine. Class not specified, best fit would be an Ethan Allen or a related class.

Armament: 16 missiles (type not specified, probably Polaris rather than Trident) and probably four bow tubes if usual SSBN practice followed.

USS Stinson (DDG-???)
Spruance Class Destroyer

Electronics fit out has been enhanced for the purposes of intelligence gathering.

USS Bradford (FF-??? or FFG-???)
Frigate, class not specified

Displacement: 1200 tons
Propulsion: Single shaft

Outfitted as a research ship.

Plot Summary: A poorly thought out experiment brings the Superpowers to the brink of war.

 

[Graham1973]

Edwin Corley, Sargasso, 1977

Akademik Knipovich
Oceanic 'research' ship (eg Spy ship..)

Several of the American characters refer to the ship as a 'Trawler', presumably the ship is built around a commercial fishing vessel hull.

Around 300ft long

Carries a minisub named Vanya

Plot summary: The returning crew of Apollo 19 the first American visit to a Salyut space station vanish from the command module when it splashes down in the Bermuda Triangle.