Fictional Warships - Novels

J. E. MacDonnell, Caribbean Striker (Mark Hood: 6), 1967

United States

USS Thomas F. Brewster
'Destroyer' (DDGN), class not specified
Engines: Nuclear (1 Reactor powerplant)
Length: 400ft (121.92m)
No other details

Unnamed
Prototype Surface Effect Ship
Armament: Sufficient M-1 Carbines to equip the crew.
Description: "It was a flat circular vessel with a rounded bow."
Speed: "She's a hydrofoil Mark. Moves on a cushion of air, something the same principle as a hovercraft. Hover! Brother... In that bulb of a hull are gas and turbine engines. They'll take her from New York to England in less than a day and a half. What do you think of that?"
Notes: Little information beyond the above is provided. The craft is also described as the prototype for a series of high-speed ASW ships. I have discussed with Hood the possibility that the author is describing some form of Wing-In-Ground effect craft, but there is not enough detail to make a call one way or the other. The author simply refers to the ship as a 'hydrofoil' after it's introduction.

Plot Summary: Someone is manipulating ships guidance systems in the Caribbean causing collisions at sea and groundings, sounds like a job for Mark Hood...

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), 'The Frogman' (1958), 'Night Encounter' (1958), 'The Surgeon' (1959), 'The Secret Weapon' (1959), 'Subsmash' (1960), 'The Coxswain' (1960), 'Sainsbury VC' (1962), 'U-Boat' (1962), 'Not Under Command' (1963), 'Killer Group' (1964), 'The Snake Boats' (1967), 'Approved to Scrap' (1968), 'The Hammer of God' (1968), 'Petty Officer Brady' (1968), 'Hunter-Killer' (1968), 'The Last Stand' (1970), 'The Kill', (1974), 'Breaking Point' (1979), 'Jim Brady, Able Seaman' (1985) & '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).
 
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Peter Leslie, Silent Squadron, 1972

Germany

The 'Secret Base' is an underground U-Boat base located in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, like the facility created by Hammond Innes in 'Wreckers Must Breathe' (1940) the author never gives the name of the facility. The base is fitted with a dry dock. However all the location names given ("...Auchnaferris, not far from Rosapenna, in Northwest Donegal...") are fictional.

U-937
U-Boat, type not specified
No other details provided.
Note: The pennant number is that of a Type VIIC/42 U-Boat whose construction was cancelled in November 1943

United Kingdom

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: It has been discovered that the Germans have established a U-Boat base in the Republic of Ireland without the knowledge of the Republic's government. The threat to the Atlantic convoys is obvious. A special team is sent to take it out.
 
1Big Rich said:
Has anyone brought up the fictional Leander-class cruiser HMS Antigone (nicknamed Aunty Gone) from Warren Tute's novel The Cruiser?

Regards,
Click to expand...
I think that book was on the fictional ships thread on the old Warship Discussion 3.0 site for sure, but it is one of the classic naval novels.
 
Irving A. Greenfield, Barracuda, 1978

United States

USS Barracuda (SSBN-???)
Poseidon IV Class Submarine (Fictional Class)
Crew: 140
Fitted with 'hydrothermal sensors' mounted in a blister on the sail. The sensors allow detailed monitoring of the surrounding water temperature profiles.
No other specifics provided by the author, beyond the fact that it is an SSBN.

USS Bluefin (SSBN-???)
Poseidon IV Class Submarine (Fictional Class)
Details identical to USS Barracuda

USS Sting Ray
Submarine (SSN), Class not specified.
No other details provided.

USS Saratoga
'Aircraft Carrier', Class not specified.
No other details provided.

USS Shark
Gato Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Name clashes with a Porpoise Class Submarine lost in 1942, a Balao Class Submarine lost in 1944 and with a Skipjack Class Submarine decomissioned in September 1990. The submarine in the novel is notionally sold to Chile, but instead modified to resemble the USS Barracuda and used to fake that submarines sinking.

Russia

Tupolev
'Missile Frigate', class not specified.
Displacement: 7,500 tons
Armament: "Three batteries of surface-to-surface missiles and two ASW batteries plus four surface-to-air batteries. Two of these are new and fire heat-seeking missiles..."
No other details provided

Kaskori
'Missile Frigate', class not specified.
Displacement: 10,000 tons
Armament: 3 x Batteries Surface-to-Surface missiles, 4 x Batteries ASW missiles, 4 x Batteries Surface-to-Air missiles.
No other details provided.
Note: Clearly not the same fictional class as Tupolev.

Plot summary: A search for the crew of a freighter lost at sea turns up a conspiracy instead...

Note: Like William Katz's 'North Star Crusade' (1976), this story is built around the idea of a right-wing conspiracy to launch a pre-emptive strike on the Soviet Union.
 
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Robert Radcliffe, Upon Dark Waters, 2003

United Kingdom

HMS Vehement
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Daisy
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Lily
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The name had last been used for an Acacia Class Sloop launched in 1915 and after being converted into a depot ship and renamed Adamant II sold for scrapping in 1930.

HMS Fuschia
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Hornbeam
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Hornbeam is a flowering tree of the birch family.

Germany

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: Torpedoed in the night the crew of a Flower Class Corvette struggle to survive until rescued.
 
Winston S. Churchill, Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania, 1898.

Yes, its that Winston S. Churchill! He made one foray into the world of fiction as a young man, writing a serialised story that in 1900 was published as a book.
The book is a set in Savola, a fictional European state in which unrest against the dictatorial government of president Antonio Molara turns into a violent revolution.
The main naval action concerns the government fleet subduing the revolutionary-held forts protecting the river estuary leading to the capital Laurania. This may have been inspired by the Royal Navy’s bombardment of Zanzibar on 27th August 1896.

Fortuna
A battleship, armed with 2x2 ?in turrets and 8x1 ?in casemates, severely damaged by the coastal defence forts

Petrach
A cruiser sunk by the coastal defence forts

Reinzi
A gunboat

Saldanho
A battleship, damaged by by rebel-held coastal defence forts protecting the capital Laurania

Sorato
A cruiser

There is a nice excerpt of the action here: https://wargamingmiscellanybackup.w...astal-defence-artillery-in-action-in-fiction/
 
Hood said:
The main naval action concerns the government fleet subduing the revolutionary-held forts protecting the river estuary leading to the capital Laurania. This may have been inspired by the Royal Navy’s bombardment of Zanzibar on 27th August 1896.
Click to expand...

Hm, I think that Brazilian civil war of 1893 might be closer.
 
D. McLeod Smith (Pen name: David Mariner), The Chatham Rats, 1969

United Kingdom

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

Italy

Scorpio
'Destroyer', class not specified
Armament: 3 x Twin 4.7 inch turrets (A, B & Y) 8 x TT (2 X 4 tube launchers), 20mm AA (Number and position unspecified), depth charge racks (Exact number of depth charges unspecified)
Twin Funnels, described as being "...pulled rakishly to the rear..."
Description: "In common with most destroyers of her day, she had a built-up forecastle... tripod foremast... the main deck, which was low and close to the sea..."
Note: Captured by HMS Wildcat during the night action of the Battle of Cape Matapan (27-29 March, 1941).

Plot summary: In the chaotic night action of the Battle of Cape Matapan an Italian destroyer is captured intact opening up an opportunity to strike a blow against a new weapon under development, the Fritz-X. But to do it the crew will have to pretend to be Italian with all the attendant risks...
 
J. E. MacDonnell, Chain of Violence, 1972

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: In the novel 'Petty Officer Brady' (1968) the author features a V & W Class Destroyer of the same name in service with the 'Scrap Iron Flotilla'. This is that ships replacement, that with the same crew as the former ship goes on to serve in the Pacific Theater.

United Kingdom

HMS Avenger
A Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined from name only. Name clashes with the name ship of Avenger Class Escort Carrier which was in service between March and November of 1942. The ship in question was undergoing her commissioning process during the time period the novel is set (May - December 1941).

Germany

U-44
Type IX U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of this Type. The actual U-44 was sunk in March 1940 by a mine off the coast of Netherlands. In this novel the submarine survives until 1941 when it is sunk by HMAS Wind Rode.

Plot summary: During 1941, the convoy war, both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranian continues to heat up.

Note: Unlike a lot of the authors fiction the time frame can be tied down by the two events that bookend the action, the Battle of Denmark Strait (24 May 1941) and the Sinking of Force Z (10 December 1941). HMAS Wind Rode departs Singapore for Australia on the 6th of December, 1941.
 
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Charles W. Rush, Striker's Men, 1994

United States

USS Striker
'Submarine' (SS), class not specified.
At start of the novel the submarines surface armament is 1 x 3inch gun and 3 x 20mm guns. Part way through the novel the 3inch unch is replaced with a 5inch gun. (24 Torpedoes)

USS Seabat
'Submarine' (SS), class not specified.
No other details provided

USS Surgeonfish
Balao Class Submarine(?)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: 'Surgeonfish' is an alternate name for the species of fish known as Tang. USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao Class Submarine.

USS Saberfish
'Submarine' (SS), class not specified.
No other details provided

USS Seatiger
'Submarine' (SS), class not specified.
No other details provided

USS Sea Hawk
'Submarine' (SS), class not specified.
No other details provided

USS Orca
Balao Class Submarine(?)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: USS Orca was the original planned name of the submarine USS Sand Lance (SS-381).

Japan

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: The lives and loves of the crew of USS Striker during WWII.

Note: Like the 2019 novel 'A Terrible Loyalty' by William Roskey, the problems with the Mark 14 torpedo dominate the early part of the novel
 
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A chance Op-shop find...

Jack Terral, SEALS: Rolling Thunder, 2007

United States

USS Combs
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Has been modified to serve as a covert special operations command ship. The author simply refers to the ship as a 'DDG' without specifying class, however a reference to a CH-53 landing on the Combs strongly suggests it's not a Zumwalt Class.

USS Dan Daly (LHX-1)
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified
Length: 390ft (118.9m)
Beam: 55ft (16.8m)
Displacement: 20,000tons
Speed: 30knots
Has a floodable dock capable of handling one of the two LCM-6s the ship carries at a time.
Has internal space for 80 'vehicles' (The author does not clearly define what types of vehicles the ship can carry.)
Has deck space for 12 'helicopters'. (At the start of the novel the author mentions that three CV-22 'Osprey' tiltrotors are being carried, but no details are provided about what other aircraft are aboard.)
No other details are provided in regards, armament/sensors.
Note: Described as being "...designed and built in a concept so new and untried, the Navy couldn't decide whether to put an 'A' for general purpose or a 'D' for multipurpose on her designation." It would appear that the ship first appears in the series during the preceding novel 'SEALS: Battlecraft' which I have yet to locate a copy of.

Plot summary: The assignment to the Afghan border with Iran seemed like a make work project, but no one told the Iranian's that...

Note: This book is the fourth of a series of at least six 'gung-ho' action novels built around the US Navy SEALS. It's not clear if the author is a psudonym for someone else, but the books are copyright to the publisher rather than a specific author suggesting this may be the case. One odd thing is that the villains are treated with a bit more respect than the average reader would expect for novels of this type. The other item of note is that like Irving A. Greenfield's 'Depth Force' series each novel appears to be 'tied' to the one succeeding it. Unlike 'Depth Force', the novels storyline is completed before the hook is given. In the case of this novel the 'break point' is a natural lull in the action as both sides reinforce and lay their plans for the next round of clashes.
 
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Graham1973 said:
A chance Op-shop find...

Jack Terral, SEALS: Rolling Thunder, 2007

United States

USS Combs
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Has been modified to serve as a covert special operations command ship. The author simply refers to the ship as a 'DDG' without specifying class, however a reference to a CH-53 landing on the Combs strongly suggests it's not a Zumwalt Class.

USS Dan Daly (LHX-1)
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified
Length: 390ft (118.9m)
Beam: 55ft (16.8m)
Displacement: 20,000tons
Speed: 30knots
Has a floodable dock capable of handling one of the two LCM-6s the ship carries at a time.
Has internal space for 80 'vehicles' (The author does not clearly define what types of vehicles the ship can carry.)
Has deck space for 12 'helicopters'. (At the start of the novel the author mentions that three CV-22 'Osprey' tiltrotors are being carried, but no details are provided about what other aircraft are aboard.)
No other details are provided in regards, armament/sensors.
Note: Described as being "...designed and built in a concept so new and untried, the Navy couldn't decide whether to put an 'A' for general purpose or a 'D' for multipurpose on her designation." It would appear that the ship first appears in the series during the preceding novel 'SEALS: Battlecraft' which I have yet to locate a copy of.

Plot summary: The assignment to the Afghan border with Iran seemed like a make work project, but no one told the Iranian's that...

Note: This book is the fourth of a series of at least six 'gung-ho' action novels built around the US Navy SEALS. It's not clear if the author is a psudonym for someone else, but the books are copyright to the publisher rather than a specific author suggesting this may be the case. One odd thing is that the villains are treated with a bit more respect than the average reader would expect for novels of this type. The other item of note is that like Irving A. Greenfield's 'Depth Force' series each novel appears to be 'tied' to the one succeeding it. Unlike 'Depth Force', the novels storyline is completed before the hook is given. In the case of this novel the 'break point' is a natural lull in the action as both sides reinforce and lay their plans for the next round of clashes.
Click to expand...

390ft x 55ft seems a bit small for what she is said to be able to carry.
 
PMN1 said:
Graham1973 said:
USS Dan Daly (LHX-1)
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified
Length: 390ft (118.9m)
Beam: 55ft (16.8m)
Displacement: 20,000tons
Speed: 30knots
Has a floodable dock capable of handling one of the two LCM-6s the ship carries at a time.
Has internal space for 80 'vehicles' (The author does not clearly define what types of vehicles the ship can carry.)
Has deck space for 12 'helicopters'. (At the start of the novel the author mentions that three CV-22 'Osprey' tiltrotors are being carried, but no details are provided about what other aircraft are aboard.)
No other details are provided in regards, armament/sensors.
Note: Described as being "...designed and built in a concept so new and untried, the Navy couldn't decide whether to put an 'A' for general purpose or a 'D' for multipurpose on her designation." It would appear that the ship first appears in the series during the preceding novel 'SEALS: Battlecraft' which I have yet to locate a copy of.
Click to expand...

390ft x 55ft seems a bit small for what she is said to be able to carry.
Click to expand...

Well the author does describe the ship as being 'petite'... That's why I'm currently hunting down a copy of book three in the series in the hope that the author provides some more background...
 
Robert Westall, Fathom Five, 1979

United Kingdom

HMS Huddersfield
Town Class Cruiser(WWII)(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on name only.

HMS Virago
'Destroyer', class not specified
Displacement: 1500 tons
Armament: 4 x 4.7inch guns, 8 x TT, 4 x Depth Charge Throwers, 4 x Depth Charge Racks
Speed: 29knots
Launched: 1922 (Not clear from text if author meant launched or comissioned.)
Note: In 1943 the name would clash with a V Class Destroyer launched in February of that year and comissioned in November 1943.

HMS Acanthus
Flower Class Corvette
Real ship, details as in service

HMS Arbutus
Flower Class Corvette
Real ship, details as in service
Note: In real life the ship was sunk in February 1942, in the novel the ship survives until at least 1943.

HMT Lord Coyne
Armed Trawler
Displacement: 200tons
Armament: 1 x 12pdr gun, other armament unspecified.

HMT Lord Grey
Armed Trawler
No other details provided.

HMS Kirkudbright (ex-USS Clarksburg)
Town Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: US name does not fit the US Navies destroyer naming scheme. Stated to have taken part in Operation Claymore (The Lofoten Islands Raid in 1941.). No specifics are provided to determine which of the classes involved in the 'Destroyers For Bases' deal this ship was.

Germany

Unnamed
Various U-Boats

Plot summary: The year is 1943. A group of teenagers come to realize that a hitherto undetected German spy is operating in their town.

Note: This is the sequel to the authors first novel 'The Machine Gunners' (1975) and like the first novel drew heavily on the authors wartime experiences for many of the background details.
 
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Andrew Wareham, The Earl's Other Son: The China Station, 2018

United Kingdom

HMS Bustard
Nymphe Class Sloop
Details as per the real ships. In 1897 the ships armament is upgraded with the 5inch Breach Loading Guns being replaced with 4.7inch Quick-Firing Guns.
Note: Historically this was a four ship class with the individual members being assigned to different geographical areas. The class member assigned to the China Station in the real world was HMS Daphne.

HMS Prince William
'Cruiser', class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: At the time the novel is set, there was no ship of that name in the Royal Navy, the last ship so named was scrapped in 1816.

HMS Gibraltar
Edgar Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service.

HMS Centurion
Centurion Class Battleship
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: This ship spent most of it's career (1894-1910) on the China Station.

HMS Shark
Rocket Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: Throughout it's career (1894-1911), this ship was attached to the Home Fleet and never served as part of the China Squadron as depicted in this novel.

HMS Magnificent
'Armoured Cruiser', class not specified
Armament: 2 x 9.2inch guns (Single mounts, fore and aft), 8 x 6inch guns, 10 x 4.7inch guns, unspecified numbers of 6pdr and 3pdr guns.
No other details provided
Note: Name clashes with a Majestic Class Battlship that entered service in 1894. Both Hood and I have attempted to link this to a specific class, but were unable to come up with a match.

Plot summary: The year is 1897. The second son of an Earl is sent to the Far East to get him away from an embarrassing scandal involving an Admiral's daughter.

Note: This is the first novel in a four book series that runs from 1897 until just after the Boxer Rebellion. The author as can be seen is making free use of real ships along with completely fictional ones.
 
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John Wingate, Go Deep, 1985

United Kingdom

HMS Urgent
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

All other RN and Allied ships mentioned in the novel are real.

Italy

All real ships.

Plot summary: Covering the years 1942-1943 the novel follows the crew of HMS Urgent as the Siege of Malta reaches it's climax.

Note: The ending references the first members of the Upholder Class as being in service suggesting that that part of the story is set in the early 1990s
 
Eric J. Collenette, Secret of the Kara Sea, 1987

United Kingdom

HMS Orca
S Class Submarine (Modified)
Details as per the real ships
Modifications: "...extra batteries, and some of her ballast-tanks have been converted to carry fuel to give her a surface range of nearly six thousand miles. She can travel one hundred and twenty-seven miles beneath the surface at two knots and nearly ninety miles at four..."
Note: Author explicitly identifies her as a modified member of the S Class.

HMS Scavenger
S Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class determined by name only. Appears only in the first novel in the series 'Ninety Feet To The Sun'.

Plot summary: A submarine sent to support the convoys to Russia is sent to find a missing ship from the last convoy.

Note: The novel covered in this entry is the third in a series of at least three novels centered on a character named Ben Grant ('Ninety Feet To The Sun', 'The Gemini Plot' & 'Secret of the Kara Sea') Only the second novel is on the Internet Archive along with the third. Back in 2016 I covered another of this authors novels 'The Talisman Deception' (1992) which is not part of this series.
 
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Eric J. Collenette, Eye Of The Eagle, 1986

HMS Cyclops
Centaur Class Aircraft Carrier(?)
Details as per the real ships as if they had been completed in WWII.
Note: Author only refers to her as a 'Light Fleet Carrier' and later states it's tonnage (24,000 tons) is that of the Centaur Class. This class of carrier was laid down in 1944 and did not enter service until after WWII was over. This ship has been commmisioned in 1944. Sunk prior to D-Day by an air attack. The sinking itself appears to be based off that of the USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Plot summary: The year is 1944, the survivors of a sunken air carrier join the French to destroy a German radar station.
 
Eric J. Collenette, The Gemini Plot, 1985

United Kingdom

H-?
H-Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Built: 1917 (Not clear if this means launched or comissioned.)
Note: Unofficially named 'Hobo' by the crew. Her actual identity is never given by the author.

HMS Avon
River Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author refers to the ship as a 'Thames Class' submarine in the novel. Had she existed in real life she would have been the fourth member of the class. Originally it had been intended to build twenty members of the class, but construction was stopped after three ships were completed due to costs.

Germany

Unnamed
Type VIIC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Has been modified as a test bed for the Walter Air Independant Propulsion System

Plot summary: It has been discovered that the Germans plan to test a revolutionary propulsion system in the Mediterranean Sea and a plan is put into motion to destroy the prototype before the tests can take place.

Note: This is the second in the authors 'Ben Grant' series and is followed by 'Secret of the Kara Sea' (1987) which I have covered earlier in this thread.
 
Eric J. Collenette, Atlantic Encounter, 1986

United Kingdom

HMS Peregrine
Kingfisher Class Sloop
Details as per the real ships
Built: 1938 (This would make her a member of the last batch ('Shearwater Group') of Kingfisher Class ordered.)
Note: After completion, but prior to WWII the ship forms part of the China Squadron. By the start of WWII she has returned to the United Kingdom.

HMS Vulcan
'Destroyer', class not specified
Armament: Main battery, 4.7inch guns ('A', 'B', 'X', 'Y', 'Z' Turrets, not specified if single or twin mounts.). 'B' turret is replaced with a Hedgehog Launcher in 1942.
Note: Name clashes with a purpose built depot ship of the same name (Renamed HMS Defiance III in 1931.) that was in RN service between 1899 and 1955. At one point the ship is described by a German character as "One of their new ones..."

HMS Gypsy
'Corvette', class not specified.
Main Battery: At least one 4inch gun.

Germany

Unnamed
Type VIIC U-Boat
Details as per the real ships
Note: Despite having scenes from the point of view of her commander the author does not name this submarine.

Plot summary: One incident during the Battle of the Atlantic...
 
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From an Amazon freebie...

Carrie Thorne, Six, 2020

United States (Coast Guard)

USCGC Valkyrie
Coast Guard Cutter, class not specified
Described as: "...one of the smaller cutters..."
No other class specific details provided.

Plot summary: When a mystery woman is hauled from the sea the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Valkyrie have no idea where it will lead them...

Note: This novel is 'paranormal romance' rather than naval action, the authors descriptions of the sex scenes (and there are several) contain much more detail than her description of the ship on which about half the novel takes place.
 
Jinx Schwartz, Troubled Sea, 2004 (Rev. 2014)

United States (Coast Guard)

USCGC Endeavor
Reliance Class Cutter
Details as per the real ships.

Mexico

Matamoros (P-04)
'Patrol Boat', class not specified
No other details provided.

Plot summary: When two friends on yacht find themselves see something they were not supposed to, all hell breaks loose.
 
Alexander Fullerton, A Share of Honor, 1982

United Kingdom

HMS Ultra
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

HMS Unslaked
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

HMS Sauerkraut (ex-S-?)
S-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Armament has been modified by replacing the 37mm gun with an additional 20mm weapon.
Additional armor has been added to the front and sides of the bridge.

HMS Gourock
Hunt Class Minesweeper (WWI)
Details as per the real ships
Launched: 1919

HMS Defiant
D Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships.
Completed 1922? (Stated to be "...twenty years old..." in 1942.)

United States

USS Sloan
Porter Class Destroyer (Referred to as Selfridge Class in 'All The Drowning Seas' (1981).)
Details as per the real ships
Launched "...around 1935..."

Germany

Vulkan
Tank Transporter (Converted Freighter?)
Displacement: 7300tons
No other details provided save that when sunk it was transporting Tiger I tanks to the Africa Korps in early 1942 (e.g. Between Operation Crusader and the Battle of Gazala.).

Plot summary: The year is 1942 and as the war rages on for two members of the Everard Family the chance comes for heroic action.

Note: This novel forms part of the authors nine-book 'Everard Chronicles' series of naval action novels and is the direct sequel to 'All The Drowning Seas' (1981).

Later: I've updated this entry to include one ship I had missed. The entry for 'The Guns of Navarone' (1957) has been updated with a scan of what I believe to be the final 'artwork' cover for the novel prior to the switch to CGI/Photomanipulated covers. As with so many covers from this era it is uncredited.
 
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Are there any books which was written by a naval enthusiast and actually depicts realistic warships or with more realistic data?
 
Patrick O'Brian - novels about an age that may not be your favourite. Good reads, though.
Nicholas Monsarrat. C.S. Forester.
 
J. E. MacDonnell, Eagles over Taranto, 1961

United Kingdom

HMS Eagle
Illustrious Class Aircraft Carrier/Imdomitable sub-group
Commissioned: 1940
Details as per the real ships
Air group includes Supermarine Seafires and Grumman Avengers
Note: Class assigment based on the author's description - "The carrier had been in salt water little more than one year. She was the latest and largest of her class, outfitted with fighters and torpedo-bombers and she carried 2000 men to service them and her own seamanship requirements." This description strongly suggests a fifth member of the class identical to HMS Imdomitable as do tonnage details provided later in the story. She also manages to equal HMS Furious's feat of using her 4.5inch AA battery against surface targets when during a convoy night action she uses them with devastating effect against German S-Boats. The ships name clashes that of the real HMS Eagle, a converted battleship sunk in 1942 during Operation Pedestal.

All other ships mentioned are either historic units or unnamed.

Italy

Various unnamed warships.

Germany

Various unnamed warships.

For the aircraft mavens.

Amongst the other changes to history in this novel, the author has the Supermarine Seafire enter service some time prior to December 1941, when historically they entered service in 1942. Similarly the author has the TBM Avenger appear in Fleet Air Arm service by December 1941 when the plane did not become operational in the United States where it was developed until mid-1942.

Plot summary: It is December 1941, a string of Axis successes culminating in the successful attack on the Royal Navy in Alexandria harbour on the night of 19th December 1941 has pushed the Royal Navy to the brink. Only desperate action can buy time to rebuild.

Note: This novel takes considerable liberties with the November 1940 Battle of Taranto, the successful raid by the Royal Navy on the Italian Navies main fleet base. Aside from moving the event until after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (Which is not mentioned at any point in this novel.) the direction and timing of the attack are radically changed. To quote the novel: "In from the north, not the sea. Over the mountains and down. Down steep and fast and hit them just after first light." (Later adjusted during planning to approximately one hour before first light and the direction of attack is from the North-West off the sea.) In real life the first wave came from the west with a second wave from the north with the attack as a whole starting around 22:50 (e.g Ten to Eleven at night.). The authors note quoted below is quite amusing.

"Students of naval history may note a slight discrepancy in dates for the main actions of this book. But carrier Eagle is a fictional vessel, and I beg to claim an author's licence in shifting her about chronologically as well as geographically. Also although the sinking of the British battleships in Alexandria Harbour and the attack on the Italian battle-fleet in Taranto harbour are described mainly factually, I wish to stress that the seamen and airmen involved bear no actual relationship to the characters herin presented."
Click to expand...

J. E. MacDonnell, Eagles over Taranto, pg. I

The two covers attached are the one created for the 'J. E. MacDonnel Collectors Series', or as collectors refer to them the 'Gold Cover' series and that created for the Piccadilly Publishing eBook series that are referred to by collectors as the 'Blue Cover' series.
 

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J. E. MacDonnell, Behemoth, 1967

Australia

HMAS Fane (ex-HMS Jutland)
Battle Class Destroyer (1943)
Details as per real ships.
38 knots
Note: This is the name of the ship that replaces the HMAS Jackal that was scrapped due to battle damage at the end of the novel 'Approved to Scrap' (1968) an event dated as occuring on the 6th of November 1944. In the present novel which is set after the sinking of the Tirpitz on the 12th of November 1944 the author instead features the version of HMAS Jackal featured in 'Approved to Scrap'. I have therefore used editorial discretion in regards the identity of this ship.

HMAS Havoc
County Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Name is as spelled in the novel. Clash with HMS Havock an H Class Destroyer in service 1936 - 1942.

United Kingdom

Four unnamed cruisers, either County or York Class as they are described as having 8 inch main batteries.

Germany

Tiger
Deutschland Class Cruiser (Modified)
Details are identical to the real ships with the exception of the engines.
Engines: "...high-pressure water tube boilers which developed 90,000 horsepower..."
Speed: 32knots
Note: The German spelling of Tiger is identical to the English.

SS Hamburg (aka SS Bordeaux)
Armed Merchant Ship (Supply ship)
Armament includes 5.9inch guns
No other details provided
Note: Ship is operating under a false French identity. While not specified the armament is probably similar to the Armed Merchant Cruisers the Germans sent out during WWII (e.g. 6 x 5.9 inch guns arranged three a side, plus lighter weapons and torpedos.)

Plot summary: It is late 1944, Germany slips one last warship into the Allied supply lines.

Note: MacDonnell's stories are often hard to pin down to specific dates. In this case the author has a character specifically refer to the Tirpitz as having being sunk while thinking on past German battleship losses. This means the story is set after the 12th of November 1944. Given the somewhat hazy continuity between the various novels in the authors fictional universe, it is no surprise to find the occasional contradiction between novels. The plot itself is also broadly similar to a later novel by the same author entitled 'The Shadow' which dates from 1977.
 

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A slightly different twist (perhaps needs another thread) is to use real warships in a fictional setting.
In this novel by Neville Shute about a WW2 that never happened, HMS Victorious gets a starring role and other real ships are mentioned in a naval battle report.
en.m.wikipedia.org

What Happened to the Corbetts - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
No problem in this case, there are other instances of real ships being used in fictional naval actions in this thread.
 
The HMS Victorious in What Happened to the Corbetts could be fictional. The real Victorious was under construction at the the time the novel was written (laid down 1937, completed 1941), but several times in the book she is mentioned as looking very similar to the Courageous or Glorious, which suggests Shute might have had in mind a fictional member of that class.
 
Christopher Nicole, The Passion And The Glory, 1989

United States

USS Oregon
'Battleship', class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Sunk during the Attack on Pearl Harbour, 7th of December, 1941

USS Florida
South Dakota Class Battleship
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Stated to have been "...launched just before Pearl Harbour..." and not yet in commission by 1942.

USS Tempest
Tambor Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Launched: "...spring of 1941."
Note: Explicitly identified as a member of the Tambor Class by the author. Name does not fit the US submarine naming scheme of the period.

USS Tecumsah
Tambor Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Explicitly identified as a member of the Tambor Class by the author. The name does not fit the US submarine naming scheme and is also misspelled. The correct spelling should have been USS Tecumseh, the name of Shawnee Indian chief and a noted opponent of the United States. At the time the name would have clashed with both USS Tecumseh (YT-24) a tugboat in service between 1898 - 1945 and USS Tecumseh (YT-273) a Pessacus Class Tugboat in service 1943 - 1975.

USS Sea Lion
Gato Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: No US submarine used the name in this form. However there was a Sargo Class USS Sealion (SS-195) which was lost during the opening of WWII and a later Balao Class Submarine USS Sealion (SS-315) that served between 1944 and 1970.

USS Leopard Ray
'Submarine', class not specified
No other details provided.

United Kingdom

HMS Barbados
Crown Colony Class Cruiser(?)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only. Name clashes with HMS Barbados (K504) (ex-USS Halsted (PF-76)) a Colony Class Frigate in UN Service between 1943 and 1947.

Japan

All ships mentioned in the novel are real ships.

Plot summary: The broad sweep of WWII as it affects the McGann family.

Note: The author wrote a number of 'family saga' series during their career. This novel is the final volume in a six book series following the McGann family, one that has branches in both the United States and England between the American Revolution and World War II.
 
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Christopher Nicole, Wind of Destiny, 1988

United States

USS Saint Paul
'Light Cruiser', class not specified
Note: Book implies a purpose built warship. During the actual Spanish-American war the US refitted a passenger liner of the same name as an Auxiliary Cruiser.

USS Dahlgren
'Torpedo Boat', class not specified
Length: 120ft
Displacement: 180tons
Speed: 28knots
Armament: 2 x 1.5inch QF Gun, 4 x 21inch TT
Crew: 40
Launched: 1896
Note: The specifications provided do not fit any of the US 19th Century Torpedo boat classes.

Spain

All ships mentioned in the novel are real.

Plot summary: The McGann family becomes involved in both the Cuban War of Independance and the subsequent Spanish-American War.

Note: This is the fourth book in the McGann family saga. A series that covers events between the American Revolution and World War II. Of interest in this book is the authors decision to lay the blame for the destruction of the USS Maine on Cuban rebels seeking to bring the US into conflict with Spain.
 
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From a 'Mills and Swoon' (aka Harlequin Mills & Boon) 'Romantic suspence' novel...

Karen Anders, At His Command, 2012

United States

USS James McCloud
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The author never explicity states the class, but details provided within the story match those of the Nimitz Class rather than the later Gerald R. Ford Class

Plot summary: Evidence has come to light that a death written off as accidental was in fact murder.
 
Keith Douglass (Pseud.), Carrier, 1991

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-74)
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers of the same name have appeared in the novels 'Nimitz Class' (1997) by Patrick Robinson and 'Night Trap' (1999), 'Top Hook' (2002), 'Hostile Contact' (2003), 'Force Protection' (2004) and 'Damage Control' (2006) by Gordon Kent (Pseud.). The Pennant number clashes with that of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). In this novel the carrier is identified as the "...newest of America's nuclear-powered carriers...". Explicitly identified as a member of the Nimitz Class by the author.

USS John A. Winslow
Spruance Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as a member of the Spruance Class by the author

USS Lawrence Kearney (DDG-59)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant clashes with that of the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, USS Russell (DDG-59). In this first novel the ship is simply identified as a 'destroyer'. In the second story the ship is identified as a 'DDG'. The ships class/pennant number are not revealed until the novel 'Flame Out' (1992).

USS Biddle
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate (?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Not explicitly identified as such by author. However, like the USS Gridley, a confirmed fictional member of the Oliver Hazzard Perry Class the name clashes with a Leahy Class Cruiser in service 1967 - 1994.

USS Gridley
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on armament. The name clashes with a Leahy Class Cruiser in service 1963 - 1994.

USS Chosin
Tarawa Class Amphibious Assault Ship
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The ship is explicitly identified as a member of the Tarawa Class by the author. Name clash with the Ticonderoga Class Cruiser USS Chosin (CG-65).

USS Little Rock
Landing Platform Dock (LPD), class not specified
No other details provided

USS Westmoreland County
Landing Ship Tank (LST), class not specified
No other details provided

USS Texas City
'Warship', class not specified
No other details provided beyond the implication that it is an amphibious warfare ship.

USS Chimera (ARL-42) (ex-LST-1156)
Electronic Intelligence Ship
Converted LST
Stated to be "...nearly fifty years..." old at the time the story is set. The ships history as given in the novel describes her as being laid down in 1945, converted into a light repair ship some time after that, a role in which she served until 1971. The ship was then mothballed until 1985 when she was converted into an AGI.
Diesel Engines
Speed: 11knots
Fully equipped for electronic intelligence gathering and preliminary analysis.
Note: The pennant number is that which was planned for the repair ship USS Aeolus whose conversion from LST-310 was cancelled shortly after the end of WWII. The ship's external appearance is identical to the WWII era repair ship conversions. The pennant of the ships former identity clashes with that of the lead ship of the Terrebonne Parish class of LSTs which was commissioned in 1952.

Russia

Tallinn
Kara (Pr.1134B) Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: The ship was renamed Vladivostok in 1992, the year after the novel was released. She was scrapped in 1994.

North Korea

Yeong-gwangseuleoun Hyeogmyeong (Eng: Glorious Revolution)
Najin Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Author gives name in English only, name in Korean was generated using Google Translate and may not be accurate.

Plot summary: The North Koreans attack and sieze another American intelligence gathering ship, creating a situation that brings the region to the brink of war.

Note: This is the 1st in a series of 'gung ho' action tales centered around the USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-74) and her crew published in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Like many such novels of this type the story does not provide specific dating information, however the presence of the Tallinn indicates that the novel cannot be set later than September 1992, which was when this ship was renamed Vladivostok. A reference to the 1991 Gulf War (aka 'Bush the Elders War'.) in the past tense indicates the story is taking place somewhere between February 1991 and September 1992.

Some novels in the series have been made available as eBooks, others are only available through the internet archive at present. To date I have covered the following novels, 'Flame-Out' (1992), 'Arctic Fire' (1997) 'Nuke Zone' (1998) 'Typhoon Season' (2000), 'Enemies' (2000) & 'Joint Operations' (2000). In addition one volume in the companion 'SEAL Team Seven' series, 'Battleground ' (1998) has been featured in the thread.
 
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Keith Douglass (Pseud.), Carrier: Viper Strike, 1991

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-74)
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers of the same name have appeared in the novels 'Nimitz Class' (1997) by Patrick Robinson and 'Night Trap' (1999), 'Top Hook' (2002), 'Hostile Contact' (2003), 'Force Protection' (2004) and 'Damage Control' (2006) by Gordon Kent (Pseud.). The Pennant number clashes with that of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). In the first novel of the series, which is set somewhere between February 1991 and September 1992, the carrier is identified as the "...newest of America's nuclear-powered carriers...". Explicitly identified as a member of the Nimitz Class by the author.

USS Vicksburg (CG-69)
Ticonderoga Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service 1992 - ongoing.
Note: At the time the novel was written she was laid down as the USS Port Royal, however during construction that name was changed to USS Vicksburg with the former name going to the final member of the class. While in real life the ship comissioned in 1992, in the novel the ship is in comission some time before the start of the series (e.g. Prior to the events of 'Carrier' (1991).)

USS John A. Winslow
Spruance Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as a member of the Spruance Class by the author

USS Lawrence Kearney (DDG-59)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Pennant clashes with that of the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, USS Russell (DDG-59). In this first novel the ship is simply identified as a 'destroyer'. In this novel the ship is identified as a 'DDG'. The ships class/pennant number are not revealed until the novel 'Flame Out' (1992).

USS Biddle
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate (?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Not explicitly identified as such by author. However, like the USS Gridley, a confirmed fictional member of the Oliver Hazzard Perry Class the name clashes with a Leahy Class Cruiser in service 1967 - 1994.

USS Gridley
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on armament. The name clashes with a Leahy Class Cruiser in service 1963 - 1994.

USS Chosin
Tarawa Class Amphibious Assault Ship
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The ship is explicitly identified as a member of the Tarawa Class by the author. Name clash with the Ticonderoga Class Cruiser USS Chosin (CG-65).

USS Little Rock
Landing Platform Dock (LPD), class not specified
No other details provided
Note: Also mentioned in the previous novel. No new details are provided in this novel.

Plot summary: A renegade Chinese general tries to overthrow the government of Thailand.

Note: This is the 2nd in a series of 'gung ho' action tales centered around the USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-74) and her crew published in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is set three months after the events of the first story in the series, which can be dated as having taken place somewhere between February 1991 and September 1992.

Some novels in the series have been made available as eBooks, others are only available through the internet archive at present. To date I have covered the following novels, 'Carrier' (1991), 'Flame-Out' (1992), 'Arctic Fire' (1997) 'Nuke Zone' (1998) 'Typhoon Season' (2000), 'Enemies' (2000) & 'Joint Operations' (2000). In addition one volume in the companion 'SEAL Team Seven' series, 'Battleground ' (1998) has been featured in the thread.
 
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J. E. MacDonnell, Battle Fire, 1961

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The author used this name for both a V & W Class Destroyer and what I refer to as a 'J, K & N' class destroyer in his fiction. As this story is set well before the earliest story featuring the latter he must be refering to the V & W Class version of the ship.

United Kingdom

HMS Leader
L Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment based on name only. Appears to be the DL version of the L Class.

France

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

Various unnamed and historic warships

Germany

Various unnamed warships

Plot summary: A low-level account of the events that led to Mers-el-Kebir and what came after.
 

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