Top 10: Warships

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Top 10: Warships

Ever since man started exploring the world’s oceans, we also started fighting for them. Ships made the difference in many of the earliest conflicts, but only a select few warships stood among the rest to be christened the greatest of all time. These warships not only saw battle, but in many cases they also had such an impact on the course of a conflict that they either meant the difference between victory and defeat. The warships on our top 10 list either helped define a country’s naval superiority over another or they meant a technological milestone in the very way modern wars are fought.

Number 10

The Yamato

Launched: August 8, 1940

More than 60 years after it was built, Japan’s legendary battleship still legitimately competes for the title of being the biggest warship of all time with a displacement of 72,800 tons. Its nine guns in three turrets were the largest to ever adorn a warship in its day and they were put to their greatest use during the Battle off Samar, taking out several U.S. warships, including the USS Gambier Bay and the USS Hoel. Its one weakness, and the main reason it isn’t rated higher on this list of top 10 warships, is its inability to withstand an air strike. Still, in this warship’s final moments she was dispatched to take on more than 1,000 U.S. ships; Yamato never reached her destination as she was sunk by an aircraft. Nonetheless, she still stands as a symbol of Japan’s strength -- as well as her defeat.

Number 9

Santisma Trinidad

Launched: March 3, 1769

Santisma Trinidad is famous for being one of two four-deck ships ever built and for being one of the largest warships in the world. The story of the full-capacity, 140-gun ship is one of resilience. Sure, she led the Spanish fleet in capturing 51 English ships during the American War of Independence, but when her back was truly up against the wall and half her crew was either dead or wounded, when she was engaged by five British ships during the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, she still managed to evade capture after a timely assist. If that weren’t enough, on her way back to Spain for repairs, she was again engaged by another British frigate and slipped through the fingers of the Royal Navy once again.

Number 8

USS Arizona

Launched: June 19, 1915

The symbol of the U.S. Navy for the first half of the 20th century, the USS Arizona served honorably in WWI and even transporting President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference after the signing of the Armistice. However, the true heroism on the Arizona came in not how it served, but how it sank. The USS Arizona was the chief target in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the first volleys from the bombers overhead devastated the forward part of the ship. Even though the 1,177 that went down with the ship made up half the casualties of the entire fleet, there were survivors. Many who were spared that day owe their lives to those who remained calm and got people off the ship. Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh was seen defending his ship right up until the crippling bombs fell. Number 7

Number 7

USS Monitor

Launched: January 30, 1862

It was the first ironclad battleship ever commissioned by the U.S. Navy and the first step in modern warship design. It was also battle tested when it locked horns with the Confederate States Navy’s own ironclad, the CSS Virginia, in the battle of Hampton Roads. Though the battle ended in a stalemate, the Monitor was able to stop the CSS Virginia from finishing its mission of breaking the union blockade. More than that, it showed that the ironclads could work in battle. Although it was not the first ironclad ever built (that honor goes to the French, La Gloire), it did prove that ironclads were viable in battle, inspiring a long line of monitor-class battleships that saw service right up until the end of the WWII, changing the very nature of naval warfare in the process.

Number 6

HMS Dreadnought

Launched: February 10, 1906

When the British HMS Dreadnought hit the water in 1906, it not only solidified English dominance of the seas, but it also revolutionized warfare so thoroughly that it sparked an arms race with the rest of the world. What was everyone going crazy over? It seems like a basic concept now, but the Dreadnought was the first to have a main battery of big guns, instead of a few large guns supported by a heavy secondary battery of smaller weapons. The fact that it was the first major naval ship to get full support from a steam turbine engine made it the fastest ship in the water at 21 kt. The Dreadnought didn’t just inspire a fleet, but a whole generation of battleships.

Number 5

The Battleship Bismarck

Launched: February 14, 1939

The Bismarck was the German Death Star of the high seas; at 50,900 tons fully loaded, she was the largest ship commissioned at the time and the lead in her class. Her top speed of 30.12 kt could beat any allied ship without much effort and her eight 15-inch guns could decimate any fleet it encountered. This was proved when the Bismarck faced the pride of the British navy, HMS Hood, and her sister ship, the Prince of Whales, during the Battle of Denmark Strait. Less than 10 minutes into the battle, one 15-inch shell from about 19,000 yards away sank the Hood and damaged The Prince of Wales. A feat so unprecedented in British naval history that the Brits launched a special inquiry and Churchill screamed, “Sink the Bismarck!”

Number 4

USS Enterprise

Launched: October 3, 1936

The “Big E” was probably in the nightmares of many in the Japanese forces during WWII. She served in almost every major operation against the Japanese from Iwo Jima to Okinawa and Midway. She had been mistakenly reported as sunk by the Japanese three times, but while she did suffer casualties at the hands of kamikaze fighters that only meant she’d go in for repairs and be ready to support the next major battle right away. She is arguably the most decorated naval ship in U.S. history, receiving 20 battle stars, a Navy Unit Commendation and a Presidential Unit Citation for shooting down 185 Japanese aircraft and sinking 35 of that country’s vessels.

Number 3

HMS Bounty

Launch: 1787

Before labor unions were conceived, there was the infamous mutiny on the Bounty. Fletcher Christian and the remaining crew got tired of picking breadfruit plants and wanted to “make connections” with the sexy Tahitian women instead, so they ousted their boss, Captain William Bligh, from his post, along with 22 loyalist, and sent him adrift in nothing but his nightshirt. They then commandeered the vessel and went back to settle on the island with their women. It’s arguably the most famous moment in naval history and has been recreated several times. Bligh survived the mutiny and became Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy while Christian and the others started an island community. Most of them were plagued with bad karma and died in the process.

Number 2
USS Constitution

Launched: October 21, 1797

“Old Ironsides” is the longest serving battleship still afloat. During her heyday she was considered larger and more heavily armed than your standard frigate. Her most famous action was during the War of 1812 when she tangled with the HMS Guerriere. Taking heavy fire, the Constitution’s captain waited until the two ships were a mere 25 yards apart before ordering a full broadside strike. Then the Guerriere’s bowsprit got strung up in the Constitution’s rigging, which sent shockwaves straight through the rigging of Guerriere when the two ships pulled apart. By the end of the battle, Guerriere was hardly worth towing back to port. Since those bygone days, the Constitution has served as a special ship of state and remains the penultimate symbol of U.S. Naval history.

Number 1

HMS Victory

Launched: May 7, 1765

She may be the oldest naval ship still in commission, but the HMS Victory was no slouch in her day. She tore through the Spaniards at The Battle of Cape St. Vincent and confounded the French despite being outnumbered and outgunned at the Battles of Ushant. She was commanded by arguably the greatest admiral ever to have lived, Lord Nelson, and even after he was shot and killed in the Battle of Trafalgar, the Victory held firm and no one could board her despite such grave casualties on her decks. The HMS Victory has seen more action than a 10-cent hooker and she drips with history.

get your sea legs

V is for Victory and the deserving HMS Victory took the crown, but what of the submarines? Don’t they deserve a place here? I’m sure they do, as many decisive attacks were launched under the sea, but we decided not to classify them as warships, since tradition says ships are best left above the water where they can have actual battles and not just launch torpedoes in hiding. In the interests of length and brevity, we also decided to limit our selections to the modern era of warfare, which to us is within the last 300 years.