In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were originally conceived in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. The use of Q-ships contributed to the abandonment of cruiser rules restricting attacks on unarmed merchant ships and to the shift to unrestricted submarine warfare in the 20th century.
The Trafalgar class is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSNs) in service with the Royal Navy, and the successor to the Swiftsure class. Like the majority of Royal Navy nuclear submarines, all seven boats were constructed at Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, Cumbria. With only one boat remaining active and in commission and six retired from the seven originally in service, the class makes up part of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered ‘hunter-killer’ submarine force. The Trafalgar class has nearly been replaced by the larger and more capable Astute class, of which five are commissioned.
Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and mine countermeasures.
The history of the submarine spans the entire history of human endeavour as mankind has since early civilisation sought to explore and travel under the sea. Humanity has employed a variety of methods to travel underwater for exploration, recreation, research and significantly, warfare. While early attempts, such as those by Alexander the Great, were rudimentary, the advent of new propulsion systems, fuels, and sonar, propelled an increase in submarine technology. The introduction of the diesel engine, then the nuclear submarine, saw great expansion in submarine use – and specifically military use – during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. The Second World War use of the U-Boat by the Kriegsmarine against the Royal Navy and commercial shipping, and the Cold War's use of submarines by the United States and Russia, helped solidify the submarine's place in popular culture. The latter conflicts also saw an increasing role for the military submarine as a tool of subterfuge, hidden warfare, and nuclear deterrent. The military use of submarines continues to this day, predominantly by North Korea, China, the United States and Russia.
The British H-class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Royal Navy. The submarines constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British waters and sank coastal shipping with ease owing to their small size. The H class was created to perform similar operations in German waters, and to attack German submarines operating in British waters.
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vickers aircraft operations in November 1944.
The Russian submarine AG-12 was an AG-class submarine, designed by the American Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company, built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. The submarine was fabricated in Canada, shipped to Russia and reassembled for service with the Baltic Fleet. She was scuttled by the Russians at Hanko in April 1918.
The AG-16 was an AG-class submarine, designed by the American Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company, built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. The submarine was fabricated in Canada, shipped to Russia and reassembled for service with the Baltic Fleet. The boat was originally named AG-13, but was redesignated AG-16 after AG-15 sank and later repaired in 1917. She was scuttled by the Russians at Hanko in April 1918.
HMS H1 was a H-class submarine built by Canadian Vickers Co., Montreal for the British Royal Navy. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 26 May 1915. H1 crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. She was accompanied by H2, H3 and H4. H1 mistakenly sank the Italian submarine H5 off Cattaro on 15 April 1918. H1 was sold on 7 March 1921 in Malta.
HMS H2 was a British H-class submarine built by Canadian Vickers, Montreal. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 4 June 1915. After commissioning, H2 crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. She was accompanied by H1, H3 and H4. H2 was sold in Malta on 7 March 1921.
HMS H3 was a British H-class submarine built by Canadian Vickers Co, Montreal. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 3 June 1915. After commissioning she crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. She was accompanied by H1, H2 and H4. H3 was mined in the Gulf of Cattaro, Adriatic on 15 July 1916.
HMS H4 was a British H-class submarine built by the Canadian Vickers Co., Montreal. She was laid down on 11 January 1915 and was commissioned on 5 June 1915. After her commissioning, HMS H4 and sister ships H1, H2 and H3 crossed the Atlantic from St. John's, Newfoundland to Gibraltar being escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Calgarian. H4 sank the U-boat UB-52 in the Adriatic on 23 May 1918. She was sold on 30 November 1921 in Malta.
HMS H11 was a British H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was laid down on an unknown date and was commissioned in 1915. H11 along with HMS H12 to HMS H20 were all built in America but were interned by the United States government until the United States entered World War I. H11 was sold on 20 October 1920 in Dover and lost on tow to the breaker's yard. The wreck was identified 2007.
HMS H12 was a British H-class submarine built by Fore River Yard, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was laid down on an unknown date and commissioned in 1915. HMS H12 along with HMS H11 and HMS H13 to HMS H20 were all built in America but were interned by the United States government until the United States entered World War I. HMS H12 was sold in April 1920 in Dover.
The United States H-class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the United States Navy.
The American Holland-class submarines, also AG class or A class, were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Imperial Russian and Soviet Navies in the early 20th century. The small submarines participated in the World War I Baltic Sea and Black Sea theatres and a handful of them also saw action during World War II.
The Russian submarine AG-11 was an AG-class submarine, designed by the American Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company, built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. The submarine was fabricated in Canada, shipped to Russia and reassembled for service with the Baltic Fleet.
The Russian submarine AG-22 was an AG-class submarine, designed by the American Holland Torpedo Boat Company/Electric Boat Company, built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. The submarine was fabricated in Canada, shipped to Russia and reassembled for service with the Black Sea Fleet. Her reassembly was completed in 1919 by the White Movement during the Russian Civil War, and she joined Wrangel's fleet as it evacuated the Crimea in 1920 and was interned in Bizerte, Tunisia in 1921. AG-22 was abandoned there and subsequently scrapped.
