Fictional Warships - Novels

[Graham1973]

Some Gung-Ho nonsense...

Mack Maloney, The Pirate Hunters, 2010

United States

USS Robert J. Messia (CG-??)
Guided Missile Cruiser, class not specified...
No other details provided.

India

INS Vidynut
1800 tons
180ft (54.9m)
20 crew
1 x 4 inch gun
6 x 'missile launchers' (4x 'short range missiles' 2 x 'long range missiles')
Highly automated.
No other details provided

Iran

Jamaran (P331)
Guided Missile Destroyer, class not specified (Author also refers to the ship as a Cruiser at one point...)
5,800 tons
No other details provided.
Note: Name clash with Moudge Class Frigate Jamaran (76)

Non-State

Pasha
Ensdorf Class (Type 352) Minesweeper (Modified)
1 x 5 inch gun
'Missiles'
'Machine Guns'
Helipad fitted
Note: This armament has little resemblance to that of the actual ships (Wikipedia).
Ex Indonesian Naval ship, now owned by a Shanghai Triad

Dustboat
Armed Merchantmen
Length: 120ft (36.6 m)
Beam: 24ft (7.3 m)
1 x105mm M102 Howitzer, later replaced with a 105mm M198 Howitzer
.50 inch Browning Machine guns (Exact numbers not specified)
Helipad
Launched 1960
Dual propulsion system, Twin Diesels driving separate screws (18 knots) or Gas Turbine driven pump-jet system (40 knots)
Owned by Kilos Shipping

Plot summary: As Somali piracy starts to spiral out of control, a private shipping company hires some ex-Delta Force soldiers to take a hard line approach to dealing with them.

Note: This is the first of a series featuring the same characters.

 

[proditor]

Mack Maloney, that's the guy who wrote the gloriously absurd Wingman series. The one with the F-16 that had like 20 hard points, and 6, yes 6, 20mm Vulcans crammed into it.

 

[Graham1973]

Mack Maloney, that's the guy who wrote the gloriously absurd Wingman series. The one with the F-16 that had like 20 hard points, and 6, yes 6, 20mm Vulcans crammed into it.

Well I won't be reading those books...

 

[Graham1973]

Back to the Second World War...

J. E. MacDonnell, Big Bill The Bastard, 1976

Australia

HMAS Whippet
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Explicitly stated to be a member of the V & W Class (Hero compares this ship to HMAS Wanderer.)
Name clash with V & W Class Destroyer HMS Whippet which was canceled on the slips in November 1918.
Note: Not explicitly stated to be an Australian ship, but as it was the first command of the hero, this is a safe bet.

HMAS Wanderer
V & W Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Explicitly stated to be a member of the V & W Class
Name clash with V & W Class Destroyer HMS Wanderer (D74) which was scrapped in 1946.

HMAS Verity (D44)
J Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Name clash with V & W Class Destroyer HMS Verity (D63) which was scrapped in 1947. Pennant number clashes with that of HMS Imogen, an I Class Destroyer sunk in 1940 and the later Battle Class Destroyer HMS Lagos.
Note: Author specifically identifies HMAS Verity as being a member of the 'Javelin Class' (e.g. J Class) in the novel 'Confirmed in Command' which is the immediate sequel to this book.

HMAS Scourge
N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Name clash with S Class Destroyer (WWII) in launched in December 1942 and in service from July 1943 to February 1946.

Unnamed
Frigate, class not specified.
No other details provided.

SS Loreto
Armed Freighter
4000 Tons
15½ Knots
1 x 4 inch gun (Aft)
No other details.
Note: Technically not a warship, but she does sink a submarine.

United States

Unnamed
Destroyer, class not specified.
No other details provided

Unnamed
Aircraft Carrier, class not specified.
No other details provided

Japan

Unnamed
Cruiser, class not specified.
No other details provided

Unnamed
Submarine, class not specified.
No other details provided.

Plot summary: For Commander William "Bill" Mallett, getting busted for being 'drunk-in-charge' of a destroyer (Which took place in the novel: 'Gimme the boats!'.) was only the beginning. Narrowly avoiding being drummed out of the service, he's been handed every menial task his superiors can come up with, training sailors to put on gas masks, training gunners on a freighter and so on. But now he's got the chance for redemption he's been desperately hoping for, he's been handed command of a rundown destroyer with a 'bad apple' crew and given orders to get her into fighting trim for the invasion of Tarawa (Operation Galvanic).

Note: The authors introduction reveals that this story was partly written in response to many years of queries about this character and partly to tie in with a re-release of the novel he first appeared in. This story continues in the novel 'Confirmed in Command'.

 

[Graham1973]

Anonty Trew, Yashimoto's Last Dive, 1986

United Kingdom

HMS Restless
Destroyer, class not specified.

HMS Resister
Destroyer, class not specified.

HMS Rampage
Destroyer, class not specified.

Japan

I-357
I Class Submarine (Fictional, details do not match any specific class as far as I can tell.)
1 x 4 inch gun (Fwd)
1 x 25mm AA Gun (Twin Mount, on rear of conning tower.)
Unspecified number of 21 inch Torpedo Tubes
1600 tons
21 knots (Surfaced)/9 knots (Submerged)

I-362
I Class Submarine (Fictional, details do not match any specific class as far as I can tell.)
Details presumably the same as I-357

Plot summary: Japanese submarines have started to wreak havoc on coastal shipping off Mozambique.

 

[Graham1973]

Clive Cussler & Paul Kemprecos, Medusa, 2012

United States

USS Concord (CG-??? or CGN-???)
Guided Missile Cruiser, class not specified.
Has Helipad.
No other details provided.
Note: Name clash with USNS Concord (T-AFS-5) a Mars Class Combat Stores Ship disposed of in 2009.

Non-State
Unnamed
Typhoon Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Ex-Russian Typhoon Class SSBN sold to Pyramid Trading (A Chinese Triad front-operation) for conversion to a cargo ship.

Plot summary: As an influenza-like disease starts to ravage China, an undersea lab involved in researching the possible use of jellyfish venom as a cure for the disease suddenly disappears at the same time as a recreation of William Beebe's famous 1934 dive is attacked, but why.

 

[Graham1973]

Stephen Coonts, America, 2001

United States

USS United States (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.

USS America (ex-USS Virginia) (SSN-???)
Virginia Class (Fictional)
Length: 377ft
Diameter: 34ft
134 crew
Exact number of Torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles carried is not specified, neither is the number of tubes/launchers.
All of the Tomahawks are fitted with non-nuclear warheads. Ten of them are fitted with non-nuclear EMP warheads codenamed 'Flashlight'. Guidance system is similar to the GPS based system introduced in 2004
Carries a mini-sub for use by Navy SEALS & other special warfare types behind the conning tower.
Note: Author states that this submarine is a fictional version of the Virginia Class combining what was known at the time of writing (1999/2000?) with the authors imagination. In the novel it is stated that this submarine was going to be called USS Virginia, but the name was changed by Congress after the scrapping of the Kitty Hawk Class carrier USS America (CV-66) which had been decommissioned in 1996 (In real life the ship was used as a live fire target in 2005 and then scuttled.).

USS Colorado Springs (SSN-???)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.

USS La Jolla (SSN-701)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service.
Sunk during the course of the novel.

Plot summary: Following the failed launch of a ABM satellite, someone hijacks the United States latest nuclear submarine and starts targeting major financial centers with EMP warheads, are the two events linked?

Note: I am assuming this one is set either the year it came out or the 'Day after Tomorrow'. The striking cover image is uncredited, but from the style I am going to assign it to Chris Moore, an artist more well known for his science-fiction artwork, although he has supplied covers to techno-thrillers from time to time.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Night Trap, 1999

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.

USS Lifter (T-ARS-??)
Salvage Ship, class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Name suggests that it might be a fictional member of the Safeguard Class.

United Kingdom

HMS Agile
Frigate, class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Name was given to a Amphion Class Submarine that was cancelled at the end of WWII before construction started.

Russia

Unnamed
Victor II Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: The novel takes place between the years 1990 & 1994. A chance encounter in Mombasa leads a US Navy pilot to realize that the death of his father during a strike against Iran in 1990 was the result of sabotage rather than an accident of war. The hunt for answers leads to the discovery of a long running spy ring within the United States Navy.

Note: The spy ring in the novel is clearly based on the Walker Spy Ring that operated 1968-1985. Another novel drawing inspiration from the Walker Spy Ring affair is David Poyer's, The Passage which is set in the 1980s. The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team.

 

[Graham1973]

Craig Thomas, Emerald Decision, 1980

United Kingdom

HMS Bisley
Minesweeper, class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Knap Hill
Minesweeper, class not specified
No other details provided

Unnamed
5 Minesweepers, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Palmerston
Minelayer, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Gladstone
Minelayer, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Saundersfoot
Frigate, class not specified
No other details provided.

Unnamed
D Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships.

Germany

U-99
U-Boat, class not specified, stated to be 'large' (Type IX?)
Modified to be used as an underwater minesweeper, possibly later modified to act as a troop transport.
Note: Pennant clash with a Type VIIB U-Boat sunk in 1941

U-101
U-Boat, class not specified, stated to be 'large' (Type IX?)
Modified to be used as an underwater minesweeper, possibly later modified to act as a troop transport.
Note: Pennant clash with a Type VIIB U-Boat decommissioned in 1943 and then destroyed at the end of WWII.

Unnamed
S-Boats & U-Boats
Some of the U-Boats, possibly including the two above have been modified for use as troop transports.

United States

Unnamed
Cruiser, class not specified
No other details provided.

Plot summary: In the early 1980s, an American history writer stumbles onto information about one of WWIIs most tightly kept secrets and the link between it and the death of his father in mysterious circumstances in November 1940.
Note: The novel was first published in 1980 under the pseudonym of 'David Grant' there are apparently some differences between the two versions.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Peacemaker, 2000

United States

USS Andrew Jackson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Air group consists of VF-22 (F-14), VFA-132,149,161 (F-18C), VAQ-6 (EA-6B), VAW-6 (E-2C), VS-49 (SB-3)

USS James Madison (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Name clash with the lead ship of the James Madison Class of Ballistic Missile Submarines which was decommissioned in 1992 and scrapped in 1997

USS Rangoon
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified.
Insufficient details provided to determine specific class, what is given fits either the Tarawa Class or the Wasp Class.

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

USS Stephen Decatur (DDG-??)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Note: There is a USS Decatur (DDG-73) (Launched 1996) named in his honor, previously the name was held by a Charles F. Adams class destroyer.

USS John P. Melward (DD-??? or DDG-??)
Destroyer, class not specified, possibly a Spruance.
No other details provided

USS Lawrence (FFG-???)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.
Name clashes with a Charles F. Adams class destroyer that was decommissioned in 1994.

USS Isaac Hull (FFG-??)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.

USS Ajax
Oiler, class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: There was a Vulcan Class Repair ship called USS Ajax (AR-6) but this was decommissioned in 1986 and scrapped in 1997.

USNS Grace Orbis
"...scientific research and launch support vessel..."
Only detail provided is that it is a smaller ship than the USNS Philadelphia

USNS Philadelphia
"...scientific research and launch support vessel..."

Russia

Akula
Akula Class Submarine
Real Ship, details as in service.

Poltava
Sovremennyy Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

Okrylennyy
Sovremennyy Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service. Decomissioned in 1998, scrapped in 1999.

Borozdin
Udaloy Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Two 'Auxiliaries'
No other details provided.

Libya

Unnamed
Nanuchka Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.

Plot summary: The year is 1996 (The Prologue takes place in 1994, the Coda in June 1997, most of the novel takes place between February & December 1996.) As the US prepares to test a new quick launch spy satellite that can be launched at sea, evidence emerges that a man wanted over war crimes in Bosnia has escaped to Africa.

Note: The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Hostile Contact, 2003

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.

USS Yellowjacket
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified.
Insufficient details provided to determine specific class, what is given fits either the Tarawa Class or the Wasp Class.

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

USS Jackson Baldwin
Frigate, class not specified.
No other details provided.

USS Esek Hopkins (FFG-??)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.

USS Fort Stanwix
Warship, class not specified.
No other details provided.

China

Admiral Po
Nuclear Submarine (SSN), class not specified.
No other details provided.

Chairman Mao
Nuclear Submarine (SSN), class not specified.
No other details provided.

Plot summary: Following the death of Chinese controlled mole in the CIA (Which takes place in the novel 'Top Hook', which is on my 'to find' list.), the Chinese government decides to take action to punish those responsible.

Note: The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team. The novel unlike the first two in the series ('Night Trap', 'Peacemaker') does not mention what year it is set in, nor which months it takes place in. The preview of 'Top Hook' the third novel in the series which is available on Kindle implies that novel takes place in 1999, which would imply these events are taking place either in 1999 or 2000.

 

[Arjen]

'Top Hook' on Bookfinder
http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&ref=bf_s2_a1_t1_1&qi=BN5NjW7LYKKfRjlfexM3yY.8hbc_1488105768_1:2:3&bq=author%3Dgordon%2520kent%26title%3Dtop%2520hook

 

[Graham1973]

'Top Hook' on Bookfinder

Thanks, found it today at a second hand bookshop.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Damage Control, 2006

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.

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

USS Lawrence (FFG-???)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.
Name clashes with a Charles F. Adams class destroyer that was decommissioned in 1994.

USS Mindanao
Amphibious assault ship, class not specified
No other details provided.

Canada

HMCS Picton (FFH-???)
Halifax Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.

India

INS Vishnapatingham
Light Aircraft Carrier, class not specified
No other details provided.

INS Betwa
Brahmaputra Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service.

INS Nehru
Sindhughosh (Kilo) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
In addition to the standard armament the submarine has been fitted with a Surface to air missile launcher mounted in conning tower. It can only be fired when the submarine is surfaced.
Later fitted with three torpedo tube launched nuclear missiles described as clones of the US Tomahawk Missile.

Unnamed
Various warships

Plot summary: A joint US/Indian Navy exercise descends into chaos when an environmentalist suicide cult launches a coup attempt in India.

Note: The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team. The story takes place over four days of an unspecified year. Specific mention of Windows XP/2000 in the story without mention of later versions suggests that it can take place no later than the first half of the month of January 2007. The suicide cult in the novel was inspired by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Top Hook, 2002

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.

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

Unnamed
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.

India

Unnamed
Various Warships

China

Unnamed
Various Warships

Plot summary: A Chinese controlled mole steals something very important from the US Government and the chase is on to catch him before it can be passed on, even as the Chinese Government starts making moves that could lead to WWIII.

Note: The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team. The story takes place over an unspecified period in 1999. The novel that follows, "Hostile Contact" appears to start shortly after the end of this novel so it is also set in 1999.

 

[Graham1973]

Douglas Reeman, The White Guns, 1989

United Kingdom

MGB-801
Fairmile D Motor Gun Boat
Details as per a typical member of the class

HMS Sea Harvester
Salvage Ship
No other details provided.

Russia

Unnamed
Torpedo Boat, class not specified
Fitted with radar.
No other details provided.

Unnamed
'Woikow' Class Destroyer
Stated to be a WWI era ship
No other details provided.

Plot summary: WWII in Europe has just ended. For those who fought in it, peace-time proves to be just as dangerous as the wartime alliance starts to break down.
Note: The cover by Brian Sweet, depicts the opening sequence of the novel as MGB-801 makes her way into Kiel Harbor just after the German Surrender.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud.), Force Protection, 2004

United States

USS Thomas Jefferson (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVN-??)
Nimitz Class
Details as per the real ships.
Note: There is a Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer named USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) in honor of Franklin & Elanor Roosevelt's honor, which was launched in 1999. The last ship to use the name USS Franklin D. Roosevelt was a Midway class carrier (CV-42) scrapped in 1978.

USS Yellowjacket (LHD-??)
Wasp Class amphibious assault ship
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly states that the ship is of this class. The name is that of a species of Wasp common to North America.

USS Esek Hopkins (FFG-??)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships.

USNS Jonathan Harker
Supply ship, class not specified
Greater than 600ft (183m) in length.
No other details provided.

Plot summary: It is August 1999 (The plot covers the dates 16 - 20 August 1999). Terrorists associated with Osama Bin Laden attack a US warship docked in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, or at least that is what it seems to be at first, but something does not seem quite right...

Note: The authors name is actually the pseudonym of a father/son writing team.

 

[Graham1973]

John Margerison, Destroyer Doings, 1918

United Kingdom

17th Destroyer Flotilla

HMS Poignard
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. Flotilla leader

HMS Dagger
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer.

HMS Foil
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer.

HMS Rapier
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer.

HMS Stiletto
Destroyer, class not specified, possibly an Laforey Class Destroyer, from the armament details.
4 inch guns, twin torpedo tubes
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer.

Note: As mentioned above, some of the dialog implies that all the ships have been together since the start of WWI, which would imply that they are all Pre-war classes.

Germany

U-34
Type U 31 Class Submarine
Real ship, recorded as disappeared around the 18th of October 1918. In collection captured by HMS Stiletto and then scuttled when the ship is attacked by U-35

U-35
Type U 31 Class Submarine
Real ship, surrendered to Allies on 11th of November 1918. In collection sunk by ramming after it attacks HMS Stiletto

Unnamed
Various submarines, battleships, cruisers, blockade runners & armed trawlers.

Plot summary: A collection of 'Boys Own Adventure' type stories based around the destroyer HMS Stiletto, unlike R.H. Andrews 2015 efforts, these have the saving grace of giving the impression that the author was not taking himself all that seriously.

 

[robunos]

Gordon Kent (Pseud), Force Protection, 2004

United States


USNS Jonathan Harker
Supply ship, class not specified
Greater than 600ft (183m) in length.
No other details provided.

Interesting choice of name, given that Johnathon Harker is, of course, the protagonist in Bram Stoker's original 'Dracula'. I'm making the assumption that the name has something to do with the book's plot . . .

cheers,
robin.

 

[Graham1973]

Gordon Kent (Pseud), Force Protection, 2004

United States


USNS Jonathan Harker
Supply ship, class not specified
Greater than 600ft (183m) in length.
No other details provided.

Interesting choice of name, given that Johnathon Harker is, of course, the protagonist in Bram Stoker's original 'Dracula'. I'm making the assumption that the name has something to do with the book's plot . . .

cheers,
robin.

That's what I thought too, when I started reading the book, but it turned out to simply be a random choice. That said there is an odd reference to Patrick O'Brien in the very first book in the series which makes me wonder if the authors are Brits.

 

[Graham1973]

John Margerison, Turret and Torpedo, 1917

United Kingdom

HMS M39
Submarine, class not specified.
Armament:1 x 4 inch gun, 2 x Torpedo tubes (Bow) arranged one above the other. (2 in tubes, 12 reloads.)
Crew: 22
Note: The first British submarine class to carry a 4 inch gun was the J Class of 1916, the first class to have a gun was the D class of 1907, further dialog in the stories imply that whatever class M39 is, the ship had not gone further than 20 miles off shore for most of it's wartime career. Some aspects of the submarines back history suggest that the author may have been thinking of the D Class when he wrote these stories, though the actual details of the D Class are not a perfect fit.

HMS Y31
Submarine, class not specified.
No other details provided.

HMS Queen Anne
Battleship, class not specified
15 inch guns in twin turrets, two of which are 'P' & 'Q' turrets
6 inch guns, exact number unspecified
Torpedo tubes
Crew: 1049
No other details provided.
Note: Possible turret layouts are A,P,Q & X (Invincible Class Battlecruisers), A,B,P,Q,X & Y (Ise Class Battleships), A,B,P,Q,X,Y & Z (HMS Agincourt). Crew size is larger than the smallest crew size known for the Queen Elizabeth Class, suggesting some kind of 'Super Queen Elizabeth' design. This one might be illustrateable (sic).

Unnamed
Various warships.

Germany

Unnamed
Submarine supply ship, converted trawler

Unnamed
Submarine supply ship, converted trawler

Unnamed
U-Boat, class not specified
2 x Deck Guns

S367
Torpedo Boat, class not specified.
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Various battleships, cruisers, etc.

Plot summary: Another collection of WWI 'Boys Own Adventure' stories. Several of which feature a fictional British submarine, including one adventure that seems to be inspired by HMS B11s penetration of the Dardanelles in 1915.

 

[Graham1973]

Hood's list has been updated and can be read at the link below:

http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5756&start=40#p164196

 

[Graham1973]

David E. Meadows, Final Run, 2008

United States

USS Squallfish (SS-???)
Submarine, class not mentioned
6 Torpedo Tubes forward. Aft tubes mentioned, stated that there are banks of aft tubes but only tubes one & two mentioned, most likely there are four aft tubes as that was standard for the wartime classes from the Balao Class onwards.
Length: 350ft (106.7m)
Crew: 100
Two shafts driving separate propellers.
Has undergone GUPPY conversion (eg Streamlined and modernised WWII Class.)

USS John J. Stevens (DE-??)
Destroyer Escort, class not specified
Has undergone radar picket conversion.
No other details provided.

Russia

Whale/Kit (K-2)
Prototype Nuclear Submarine
Forward and aft torpedo rooms (Number/size of tubes not mentioned.), as the November Class had all tubes forward she cannot be to that design.
No other details provided.
Note: The first Soviet nuclear submarine was the November Class K-3 which was launched in 1958. Ships name is unofficial.

Razyarenny
Destroyer, class not specified
Launched 1941
No other details provided.

Bolshevik
Torpedo Boat, class not specified
Length: 25m
Speed: 40 knots(+)
Wooden hull

Soznatelnyy
Kotlin Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service

Byvalvyy
Kotlin Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service

Plot Summary: The year is 1956 (The story takes place between 14 November & 7 December of that year.). The United States have heard rumors that the Soviets have completed a prototype nuclear submarine so a ship is sent to investigate.

 

[Graham1973]

Another 'Boys own Adventure' story...

James R. Driscoll (Lt.), The Brighton Boys in the Submarine Treasure Ship, 1920

United States

USS Monadnock (DD-???)
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Name clashes with USS Monadnock (BM-3) an Amphitrite Class Monitor, which served in the Pacific from the Spanish-American War until decommissioned in 1919 and scrapped in 1923

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

Plot summary: Two friends returning the United States after WWI become involved in salvaging treasure from a ship sunk during the war.

 

[Graham1973]

Another 'Self-published on Amazon' technothriller

Stephen Makk, Beneath Sunless Waters, 2016

United Kingdom

HMS Sultan
Swiftsure Class Submarine(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Name clashes with the Royal Navies Engineering Training Establishment (Established 1956). Class has been determined solely by the ships name as no other details are provided.

HMS Chester
Type 42 Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

HMS Otter (S15)
Oberon Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

HMS Conqueror (S48)
Churchill Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

Russia

Okean Glaz (Ocean Eye)
'Trawler', AGI, class not specified
Optimized for ELINT operations.
No other details provided.

Groznyy
Kynda Class Cruiser
Real ship, details as in service

Arkhangelsk (K-525)
Oscar Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

K-446
Yankee Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

United States

USS Spadefish (SSN-668)
Sturgeon Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service

Uruguay

Comodoro Coe
Vigilante Class Patrol Boat
Real ship, details as in service
Note: Referred to as a 'Corvette' in the novel.

Plot summary: During the Falklands War a ship carrying four nuclear weapons is sunk by the Argentine Air Force. The race is on to recover the weapons before they fall into the wrong hands. The situation is complicated as something causes the Soviet Navies communication system to issue false orders to it's ships, leading to a dangerous confrontation off the South American coast.

Note: The novel is the first in a series of three. The second appears to be based on some of the old KAL007 conspiracy theories. The author also makes as can be seen above large scale use of real ships in fictional ways.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, The Hammer of God, 1968

United States

Unnamed
Several PT Boats

USS Kenyon (DD-??)
Somers Class Destroyer (6th member of class.)
Details as per the real ships.

USS Blake (DD-??)
Sampson Class Destroyer (7th member of class, referred to as Allen Class in novel.)
Details regards armament and equipment, probably identical to those of USS Allen (DD-66) the only member of the class to serve in WWII.
The engines have been modified by replacing the original turbines (Curtis 17,500 shp) with Westinghouse turbines producing 27,500 shp giving 35knots speed.

Japan

Unnamed
Several Otori Class Torpedo Boats
Details as per the real ships

Unnamed
Kuma Class Light Cruiser (Referred to as Kitakami Class in novel)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Despite several scenes from the point of view of this ships crew the author oddly, never gives the ships name.

Plot summary: The year is 1945. The Japanese navy attempt a strike on an American torpedo boat base that has been causing them a lot of trouble.
Note: The only clue as to when the story is set is a brief reference to the Mindanao campaign (March - August 1945).

 

[Tzoli]

Kitakami class? Could be that in this novel those 2 (Kitakami and Oi) or 3 (with Kiso) or all 5 Kima class was converted to torpedo cruiser and stayed in that conversion until the wars end?

 

[Graham1973]

Kitakami class? Could be that in this novel those 2 (Kitakami and Oi) or 3 (with Kiso) or all 5 Kima class was converted to torpedo cruiser and stayed in that conversion until the wars end?

No, going by the armament details the author provides the ship is unmodified. I suspect that the author was pulling the details out of Janes or possibly wartime ID books. The real mystery is why he left it unnamed even though there are scenes from the captains POV in the story, every other time he's done that he named the ship.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Come Die With Me, 1965

United States

USS Endeavour (CVN-??)
Aircraft carrier, class not specified.
Quote: "...one of the latest nuclear-powered carriers in the U.S. Fleet; bigger even than Enterprise..."
No other details provided

Unnamed
Torpedo Boat, class not specified. Referred to in the book as a 'PT Boat'
Only armament mentioned are 'Tritium Torpedoes', these are presumably 21 inch torpedoes (Diameter is not given in the novel.) with either boosted fission warheads or fusion warheads. No other details regarding them other than the fact that the guidance system is "...more valuable than all the atomic warheads put together..." are given.
No other details provided.
Note: The United States Navy stopped using torpedo boats effectively at the end of WWII according to my research.

Plot summary: Someone has stolen a US Navy torpedo boat armed with nuclear torpedoes while it was visiting Bermuda, sounds like a job for Hood... Mark Hood.
Note: As may be guessed from the above this book forms part of a series of James Bond knock-offs that appeared in the wake of 'Dr No'. Another book in the series which I have covered is 'Operation Octopus' (1968). While no specific year is given for the story, it cannot be set any earlier than 1961, the year the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was launched.

 

[Graham1973]

Richard Freeman, Operation Armageddon, 2017

United Kingdom

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

Germany

Unnamed
Modified Type IXD(?)
Referred to in the novel only as a 'Cargo U-Boat'
Two Deck Guns of unspecified type
250 ton explosive charge.
Described as being extremely worn out and requiring extensive dockyard attention in order to get the ship ready for it's mission.

Plot summary: The year is 1942, times are desperate for Germany and Hitler decides that desperate measures are called for.

 

[Graham1973]

John Margerison, Midshipman Rex Carew VC, 1933

United Kingdom

HMS Artemas
Arethusa Class Cruiser (WWI)
Details as per the real ships
Stated to have "...completed her steam and gunnery trials..." just before Britains entry into WWI, so probably launched in early 1914.
Note: Class determined by armament. (2 x 6 inch (Bow & Stern) 6 x 4 inch guns 2 x 4 inch HA guns, 4 x torpedo tubes.)

HMS Conflict
Arethusa Class Cruiser (WWI)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Described by the author as being the same class as HMS Artemas. Name clashes with the lead ship of the Conflict Class of destroyers.

HMS Stiletto
Light Cruiser
2 x 4 inch Anti-Aircraft Guns
4 Torpedo tubes (Two a side)
Rest of armament not mentioned, possibly identical to the cruisers above.
Note: The author uses the same name for a destroyer in the short story collection 'Destroyer Doings', presumably the two books do not share the same universe.

HMS Resource
Cruiser, class not specified
No other details

HMS Warwick
Cruiser, class not specified
Note: Name clash with V & W class destroyer of the same name launched in 1917.

HMS Wolf
Animal Class Battleruiser (Fictional)
Main battery is made up of 15 inch guns
No other details

HMS Hyena
Animal Class Battleruiser (Fictional)
Main battery is made up of 15 inch guns
No other details

HMS Princess Anne
Battlecruiser, class not specified
No other details

HMS Canada
Battlecruiser, class not specified
No other details
Note: Name clash with the Battleship HMS Canada (ex-Almirante Latorre).

HMS Burma
Battlecruiser(?), possibly the same unspecified class as HMS Canada above.
No other details.

HMS Invincible
Invincible Class Battlecruiser
Real ship, details as in service

HMS Manitou
Destroyer, class not specified
Main battery is made up of four inch guns.
Depth Charges

HMS Michigan
Armed Merchant Cruiser
No other details.

CMB 123
1 x 6 pdr semi-automatic gun (fwd)
1 x .303 inch Maxim Gun (aft)
2 x 14 inch torpedos
6 crew

CMB 282
Presumably the same details as HMS CMB 123.

HMS E-99
E Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Quarrrelsome
Warship
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Torpedo boat, class not specified
1x 6pdr gun, various mgs
Two funnels
No other details provided

Germany

U-553
U-Boat, class not specified
No other details provided.

SMS Koln
Light Cruiser, class not specified.
No other details
Note: Name clash with SMS Cöln, a Kolberg Class Cruiser sunk at the First Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914.

SMS Hellner
Light Cruiser, class not specified
No other details

SMS Metz
Light Cruiser, class not specified
No other details

SMS Bleucher
Battlecruiser, class not specified, text description of the opening of the engagement in which it is sunk implies either a Derfflinger or a repeat Seydlitz.
Note: Name is very close to that of SMS Blücher the armored cruiser sunk at the First Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915.

Essen
Armed Trawler
Gun of unspecified caliber mounted forward.
No other details.

Unnamed
Heavy Cruiser, class not specified
Main battery is made up of 2 x 9 inch guns forward and aft.
No other details.

Unnamed
Armed Trawler

Unnamed
Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Destroyers and U-Boats

Plot summary: A novel length 'Boys Own Adventure' tale covering the exploits of an English midshipman and his best friend an Irish petty officer over the entire length of the war from the opening shots of 1914 to a raid on Ostend in 1918.

Note: The novel, published about eight years after the authors death is an interesting example of the way's in which authors will 'play' with history to get a good story, this one features distorted versions of the battles of First Heligoland Bight & First Dogger Bank and culminates in a raid that combines elements of the First and Second raids on Ostend, along with lots of highly unlikely events...

 

[Graham1973]

John Margerison, Periscope and Propeller, 1917

United Kingdom

HMS Etna
Submarine Depot Ship
No other details provided

HMS M39
Submarine, class not specified.
Armament:1 x 4 inch gun, 2 x 21 inch Torpedo tubes (Bow) arranged one above the other. (2 in tubes, 12 reloads.)
Speed: 15 knots (Not clear if this is surfaced or submerged speed.)
Crew: 22
Note: The first British submarine class to carry a 4 inch gun was the J Class of 1916, the first class to have a gun was the D class of 1907, further dialog in the stories in 'Turret and Torpedo' imply that whatever class M39 is, the ship had not gone further than 20 miles off shore for most of it's wartime career. Some aspects of the submarines back history suggest that the author may have been thinking of the D Class when he wrote these stories, though the actual details of the D Class are not a perfect fit.

HMS X17
Submarine, class not specified
Armament: 1 x 4 inch gun. Other armament not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Nonesuch
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided.

Unnamed
Various Destroyers & Monitors

Austria-Hungary

SMS Veritas Unitas
Battleship, class not specified
Note: Name close to that of the Tegetthoff Class Battleship SMS Viribus Unitis which the Italians sank in 1918. This may mean that she is a member of the Tegetthoff Class.

Unnamed
ASW Ship, class not specified
6 x 6 inch guns
8 x Torpedo tubes
No other details provided
Note: I think it best to quote the authors description at this point:

...at first took for a gigantic submarine. Seen in the dim starlight though a spray soaked periscope, it was as big as a destroyer, though instead of funnels and masts and guns being in view on its upper deck, these were all covered by a curving structure of steel.

John Margerison

In the following sequence it is made clear that this "...submersible-torpedo boat-submarine hunter..." (To quote the author.) is indeed submersible.

Germany

U 96
Type U 93 Class U-Boat
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: In real life surrendered to Allies on the 20th of November 1918. In the novel captured by HMS M39 prior to the end of the war.

SMS Von Kluck
Battlecruiser, class not specified
No other details provided
Note: Ship may be named after General Alexander Von Kluck, commander of the German 1st Army during the opening phases of WWI.

Unnamed
Armed Merchant Cruiser (Commerce Raider)
6 x 6 inch guns (3 a side)
No other details

Unnamed
Armed Merchant Cruiser (Commerce Raider)
6 x 6 inch guns (3 a side)
No other details

Unnamed
Various Destroyers, U-Boats, Patrol Boats, Armed Trawlers, Transports and the like...

Turkey

Yavuz Sultan Selim (ex-SMS Goeben)
Battlecruiser
Real ship, details as in service.
Note: In real life scrapped in 1973. In novel torpedoed by HMS M39 and scrapped shortly thereafter as unrepairable.

Unnamed
Cruiser
8 inch guns

Plot summary: The further adventures of HM Submarine M39 and her crew.

Note: While still essentially a collection of 'Boys Own Adventure' stories the author seems to have been feeling his way towards a novel with this one. The stories form a complete chronological sequence (e.g The later stories are set after the first ones.) There are also clear look backs in later stories to the events of previous ones and also to previous stories published in the collection 'Turret and Torpedo'.

 

[Graham1973]

Alan Scholfield, The Alpha Raid, 1976

United Kingdom

HMS Alpha
Armed Launch
Armament: 1 x 3pdr Gun (Fwd), 1 x .303 inch Maxim gun (Aft)
Engines: 2 x 100hp petrol engines (Petrol tanks are armored against rifle fire and shrapnel.)
Length: 40 ft (12.2 m)
Speed: 16 knots

HMS Beta
Same details as HMS Alpha

HMS Gadfly
Warship, type unspecified
Note: Name clash with a Fly Class Gunboat launched in 1915 and which spent the entire war serving in Mesopotamia. The ship in the book is implied to be something larger and served in the South Atlantic during 1916/17.

Belgium

de Haan
Armed Barge
Armament: 1 x 75mm Gun (Fwd)
Length: 60ft (18.3m)
Speed: 5 knots

Germany

SMS Afrika
Armed Paddle Steamer (Stern-Wheeler)
Armament: 1 x 4.1 inch gun, Various MGs of unspecified type/number
800 tons
Speed: 10 knots
No other details provided.

Plot summary: The year is 1917, it has become clear to the Allies that the only way to defeat the German forces in East Africa is to take out the ship that dominates Lake Tanganyika.

Note: This novel is very loosely based on the 1915/16 Lake Tanganyika campaign (Wikipedia) which also inspired authors C.S. Forester ('The African Queen') and John Margerison ('A Little War').

 

[Graham1973]

Continuing my investigations of the fiction of 'Boys Own Adventure' author John Margerison.

John Margerison, Action!, 1917

United Kingdom

HMS Blusterer
Pre-Dreadnought Battleship, class not specified
Secondary armament 9.2 inch guns
Crew: "...about a thousand..."

HMS Splendacious
Battleship
Main battery 15 inch guns in twin turrets
No other details

HMS Prince of Wales
Formidable Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship
Real ship, details as in service (1902-1920)

HMS Wraith
Motor Patrol Boat
1 x 6pdr gun (As described in 'Vengeance is Mine')
1 x 3pdr gun (As described in 'Seeing Life')
No other details
Note: Author features this ship in two different stories with different forward armament, could be accounted for by repairs.

HMS Resource
Armed Yacht
Steam Powered
Used as an examination vessel.
No other details.
Note: During early service, the ships engineer of the volunteer crew was female, this of course ended once the regulars took over. Name clashes with an 1865 built yacht that was hired by the Royal Navy as a stores ship in 1915 and lost due to fire shortly thereafter.

HMS Bounder
Destroyer, class not specified
Armament: 1 x 12 pdr AA gun (fwd), 1 x 4 inch gun (aft)
No other details provided

HMS Dart
Destroyer, class not specified.
Armament: 1 x twin torpedo tube, gun armament not specified, most likely 4 inch guns.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. Appartently also part of the 17th Destroyer Flotilla which appears in the authors short story collection 'Destroyer Doings', but not mentioned in that book.

HMS Gnome (ex-HMS O27)
Destroyer
Armament: 2 x 6pdr guns (Fore and Aft), 1 x 18 inch torpedo tube (Amidships)
Engines: Steam reciprocating engine (Two boilers, one shaft, single funnel)
Speed: 10 knots (Max), 5 knots (Cruise)
Note: Ship was built as a torpedo boat, and it is stated in the story that the ship was going to be scrapped before being reconditioned to meet a need for warships.

HMS Ranger
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided
Name clash with an A Class (WWI) Destroyer built in 1895 and scrapped in 1920.

HMS Rapid
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided
Note: Name clash with an M Class (WWI) Destroyer launched in 1916

HMS Rapier
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. I am assuming this is the same ship of that name that appears in the authors short story collection 'Destroyer Doings'

HMS Reaper
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Restless
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Resolute
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided

HMS Rover
Destroyer, class not specified
No other details provided.

HMS Saturn
S Class Destroyer (WWI)?
Details as per the real ships

HMS Stiletto
Destroyer, class not specified, possibly an Laforey Class Destroyer, from the armament details.
4 inch guns, twin torpedo tubes
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. I am assuming this is the same ship of that name that appears in the authors short story collection 'Destroyer Doings'

HMS Scorpion
G Class (WWI) Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service (1910 - 1921)

HMS Fifi
Gunboat (Converted racing boat, manufacturer is a thinly disguised version of John I. Thornycroft & Company, shipbuilders)
Length: 40ft
Armament: 1 x Semi-automatic 3pdr (Fwd), 2 x 14 inch torpedoes (side mounted), 1 x .303 Maxim gun (Aft)
Equipment: 1 x 'Miniature searchlight'
Note: Name clashes with HMS Fifi (ex-Kingani), which was the name given to the first German ship on Lake Tanganyika to be captured by the Royal Navy.

HMS Pyramid
Warship of unspecified type.
No other details provided other than she is large enough to be used as an Admirals flagship during a punitive expedition.

HMS Cupid
Warship of unspecified type.

Germany

Kingani
Armed Steamer
3 x 'Moderately sized' guns (Either 6pdrs or 4.1 inch)
Single funnel
No other details.
Note: Name clashes with the Kingani that was captured by the British on Lake Tanganyika in 1915 and renamed HMS Fifi

Unnamed
Armed Trawler
1 x 12 pdr gun
No other details provided

Unnamed
Destroyer
6 x 4-inch guns

Unnamed
Various Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers & U-Boats.

Plot summary: This another collection of 'Tales of the navy' short stories, some of which appear to be set pre-war, while others clearly reflect wartime events, the first story ('The Sing-Song'), while it focuses on a ships concert party, contains a reference to a battle that sounds like Second Dover Strait (April 1917) re-dated to January 20 of an unspecified year. The thirteenth story ('A Little War') is to my knowledge the first fiction based on the 1915/16 Lake Tanganyika campaign (See the preceding entry for 'The Alpha Raid'). Two other stories are of interest for different reasons ('Vengeance is Mine') briefly touches on the idea of women serving in the armed forces and the final story ('Action!') is clearly inspired by the carnage of Jutland (31 May - 1 June 1916) and despite the flag waving ending has a somewhat disquieting feel, which perhaps reflects the controversies that have haunted that battle ever since it was fought.

 

[Hood]

The North Pacific: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War, Willis Boyd Allen, 1905

United States
USS Osprey: gunboat, 5x1 6pdr (one on forecastle and four casemates), 1x 4in (aft), ?x 3pdr, 15kts, built 1890s

USS Essex: gunboat, no details given

USS Lancaster: gunboat, no details given

USS Vicksburg (PG-11): gunboat, real ship

Japan
Kiku: destroyer, ?x 12pdr guns, ?x torpedo tubes, 26kts, built circa 1900-1903; described as a cross between the torpedo boat and the destroyer

Kushhiru: destroyer, 200ft long, 20ft beam, 6ft draught, 1x 12pdr (forward), 3x 6pdr (two sided on forecastle, one aft), 2x 18in torpedo tubes, 52 crew, 0.5in armour on conning tower, completed 1905; the description of the ship is within the ballpark of all early Japanese destroyer classes so no positive class identification is possible but based on the completion date it would seem the author had the Harusame Class in mind.

Octopus: submarine, 139 tons (submerged), 80ft long, 11ft beam, 2x torpedo tubes (5x torpedoes), steam boilers and triple expansion engines for 15kts (surfaced) with 12 hours endurance, batteries and electric motors for 8kts (submerged) for 6 hours, 25 crew, completed 1904; the description seems to be extrapolated from the Holland boats Japan was receiving at the time but the author decided to use steam power! In the book the Octopus sinks the Russian battleship Petropavlovsk, which in reality was sunk by mines.

Kinshiu Maru: transport

Plot: This book was obviously quickly published in the USA as a cash-in on the Russo-Japanese War. This is an in-depth tale of ships, spies and intrigues on the backdrop of the war stretching from the delivery of the Retvizan from Cramp & Sons in 1902 to the events around Port Arthur and the Battle of Tsushima. Even the Dogger Bank incident features, here though the Kiku is disguised as a North Sea fishing vessel and slips among the Hull fishermen unnoticed at night in a dastardly plot to attack the Russian Fleet.

 

[Graham1973]

John Margerison, Hunters of the U-Boat, 1918

United Kingdom

HMD Annie Laurie
Armed Drifter
Armament: 1 x 6pdr gun (Fwd), Anti-submarine explosive charges (Not depth charges) to quote the author: "a wire hawser... with a cunningly arranged loop beneath. This loop was intended to catch under the U-boats's hull, and, when hauled taut, would afford a guide and passage for an explosive charge..."
Engines: Steam powered, max speed not given.
No other details

HMS Southbeach Belle (ex-PS Southbeach Belle)
Salvage Ship(?), converted passenger ship (Sidewheel paddle steamer)
Armament: No gun armament. Wreck clearance work makes use of "...devilish-looking, red-painted, sixteen-and-a-quarter-pound tins of high-explosive..."
Equipment: 1 x 'Minature Searchlight' (Fwd), Diving suits fitted with self contained breathing apparatus (Described by the author as "...Fluess diving dress...".).
No other details.
Note: Salvage ship is the best term I could come up with, primary duty is wreck clearance.

HMS Puncher
Supply Ship
Carries Water, Food, Clothing, Printed matter, not ammunition or fuel.
No other details provided.

HMS Petroleum
Oiler
No other details provided.

HMS Mimi
Gunboat, converted racing boat
Armament: 1 x 3pdr semi-automatic gun (Fwd)
Crew: 6
Being used as a dispatch ship (eg carrying messages between different portions of the Grand Fleet)
No other details.
Note: Name clash with armed motor launch HMS Mimi that took part in the 1915/16 Lake Tanganykia campaign.

HMS Alceste (ex-SS Alceste)
Repair ship, converted passenger liner
Armament: 6 x 6 pdr guns (Single mounts 3 a side)
Fully equipped to carry out various ship board repairs, equipment aboard includes a foundry capable of casting propellers (And presumably cranes for heavy lifting, though these are not specifically mentioned.)
Conversion took place some time in 1908. The story the ship appears ('The Blessed Fog') in is set in February at a time when "...the war was now more than three years old..." e.g. February 1918.
No other details provided.

HMS Scabbard
S Class (WWI) Destroyer(?)
Details as per the real ships.

HMS Poignard
Destroyer, class not specified.
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. Flotilla leader 17th Destroyer Flotilla, also appears in 'Destroyer Doings'.

HMS Stiletto
Destroyer, class not specified, possibly an Laforey Class Destroyer, from the armament details.
4 inch guns, twin torpedo tubes
Note: Member of a Pre-WWI class of Destroyer. Member of the 17th Destroyer Flotilla, also appears in 'Destroyer Doings'.

HMS M39
Submarine, class not specified.
Armament:1 x 4 inch gun, 2 x 21 inch Torpedo tubes (Bow) arranged one above the other. (2 in tubes, 12 reloads.)
Speed: 15 knots (Not clear if this is surfaced or submerged speed.)
Crew: 22
Note: Also appears in the short story collection 'Turret and Torpedo' and the quasi-novel 'Periscope and Propellor'.

Unnamed
Light Cruiser, class not specified
No other details provided

Unnamed
Cruiser, class not specified
No other details provided

Unnamed
Three Minsweepers
No other details provided

Unnamed
Three Minelayers
No other details provided

Unnamed
Four Armed Drifters
No other details provided

Germany

Muller
Supply ship
No other details provided

U-33
U-Boat, class not specified
Note: Pennant clash with a Type U-31 Class U-Boat that served 1914-1918 (Surrendered at end of war).

U-45
U-Boat, class not specified
Note: Pennant clash with a Type U-43 Class U-Boat that served 1914-1917 (Sunk by HMS D7 on 12 September, 1917).

U-54
U-Boat, class not specified
Note: Pennant clash with a Type U-51 Class U-Boat that served 1914-1918 (Surrendered to Italy at end of war).

U-55
U-Boat, class not specified
Note: Pennant clash with a Type U-51 Class U-Boat that served 1914-1918 (Surrendered to Japan at end of war).

U-65
U-Boat, class not specified
Note: Pennant clash with a Type U-63 Class U-Boat that served 1914-1918 (Scuttled at Pola in October of 1918).

Unnamed
Cruiser, class not specified
Three funnels.
No other details.

Unnamed
Various U-Boats, Destroyers

Plot summary: A collection of stories featuring U-Boats being captured or sunk by some fairly unlikely ships, though some of the authors regular characters do get a look in towards the end of the book.

 

[Graham1973]

Geoffrey Jenkins, Fireprint, 1984

Russia

Grisha III
Grisha III (Pr. 1124M) Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Referred to as a 'Frigate' in the novel.

Mirka
Grisha III (Pr. 1124M) Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Referred to as a 'Frigate' in the novel.

Note: Regarding the two ships above. I have not located a good source listing the names of all members of this class, at least one of the names may turn out to be real.

Sovremennyy
Sovremennyy (Pr. 956) Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service.

Plot summary: The year is 1987 (The opening states that it's "...the year after Halley's Comet spread its tail across southern Africa's sky...") and personnel working on a South African geothermal energy project find themselves caught up in superpower intrigue. The cover by Chris Foss is not nautical, nor does it depict anything that happens in the novel save in the loosest sense, but it graphically shows the stakes being played for.

 

[Graham1973]

Continuing my break from WWI era fiction...

James Abel, White Plague, 2015

United States

USS Montana (SSN-794)
Virgina Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service
Armament: Includes fictional Mk 80 Torpedoes (Described as prototypes, no specific details given as to dimensions and performance (Simply "Best torpedo on Earth".), but presumably the same diameter as Mk 48 torpedoes (21 inch).)

USCGC Wilmington (WAGB-??)
Healy Class Icebreaker
Details as per the real ship(s).
Note: USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) is actually a 'one-off' but the authors introduction makes it clear that his fictional icebreaker is identical to the Healy.

China

Snow Dragon
Icebreaker, class not specified.
Stated to be the first Chinese Icebreaker.
No other details provided

Unnamed
Jin Class (Type 094) Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Like the Japanese Kuma Class Cruiser in 'The Hammer of God' this ship remains unnamed despite scenes being set from the point-of-view from her crew.

Plot summary: When a US submarine reports the outbreak of a mysterious disease on-board in the Arctic the race is on to save the crew.

Note: This is another 'Yellow Peril (China)' story (See also: 'Flood Tide' & 'Medusa' for other examples on this list.), despite being set in the Arctic the Russians do not appear at all.

 

[Graham1973]

Ted Bell, Hawke, 2003

Cuba

José Martí
Borzoi (Akula II) Class Submarine (Fictional)
Armament: 40 x SS-N-20 SLBMs, (Unspecified number of torpedoes/Unspecified number of torpedo tubes) Mark III torpedoes (Speed 60 knots, "...enough explosives to level a city block.")
Crew: 131
Speed not specified, simply described as "At least three times faster than anything we've got."
Note: I think it best to quote the authors description at this point:

"They'd gotten a hand on a lot of our stealth technology. And they'd developed some of their own. Plus a three-foot-thick coating of sonar-and-radar-absorptive material, advanced fuel-cell technology, and a virtually silent propulsion system.

...

The thing is huge. Shaped like a boomerang... Two airfoil-shaped hulls... ...form a V shape, twenty silos on each hull. Virtually invisible to detection. When she's running at speed, a single conning tower at the bow is retracted entirely within the hull.

Ted Bell

Plot summary: With the fall of the Soviet Union all kinds of things have become available to interested bidders, in this case the Cubans have got their hands on the worlds most advanced submarine...

 

[robunos]

Not sure if this really belongs here, as the ship is only incidental to the plot . . .

Arthur C. Clarke, 'A Meeting with Medusa, 1971

China?

Chairman Mao
Aircraft Carrier (Fictional)

The author states that :-

"So far, this first test flight had gone perfectly; ironically enough, the only problem had been the century old aircraft carrier Chairman Mao, borrowed from the San Diego Naval Museum for support operations.
Only one of Mao’s four nuclear reactors was still operating, and the old battle-wagon’s top speed was barely thirty knots."

Plot summary: For Howard Falcon, the test flight of the Super Airship 'Queen Elizabeth IV' would lead first to disaster, and then triumph . . .