Fictional Warships - Novels

[uk 75]

William Katz, North Star Crusade, 1976

United States

USS John Hay (SSBN-???)
Ethan Allen Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as this class by the author.

Russia

Unnamed (K-343)
Delta Class Submarine
Launched: 1971
Details as per the real ships.

Dostoyny
Krivak (Pr.1135) Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Referred to as a 'Destroyer' in the novel. Name in novel is close to that of a real member of the Krivak Class named Dostoynyy.

Svirepy
Krivak (Pr.1135) Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Referred to as a 'Destroyer' in the novel. Name in novel is close to that of a real member of the Krivak Class named Svirepyy.

Plot summary: A US submarine is hijacked by a group that believes starting World War III will save the world from the Soviet Union.

Note: While the novel includes a large number of real ships, there are three Los Angeles Class Submarines that appear in the novel, USS Indianapolis (SSN-697) (Launched: 1977, Commissioned: 1980), USS Boston (SSN-703) (Launched: 1980, Commissioned: 1982) & USS Houston (SSN-713) (Launched: 1981, Commissioned: 1982) that are the keys to pinning down just when this one is set.

Given that the story cannot take place before the USS Boston & USS Houston were commissioned, the story is set no earlier than October 1982. The author guessed wrong when he missed out on predicting the fall of the Shah of Iran but got it right when he guessed that Yuri Andropov would become the leader of the Soviet Union. And that is what makes novels from this period interesting, seeing just how close authors predictions came to reality. Other novels exhibiting this 'future of the past' quality are 'Thirty-Four East' (1974) & 'The Hastings Conspiracy' (1980) (Both by Alfred Coppel) , along with what is probably the most well known 'alternative history' sequence, 'Raise the Titanic' (1976), 'Vixen 03' (1978), 'Night Probe' (1981) & 'Deep Six' (1984) (All by Clive Cussler) which are set in an alternative 1980s (The novels are set between 1987 ('Raise the Titanic') & 1989 ('Deep Six').) with many differences from what actually happened, most notably Canada being absorbed by the United States, or the scrapping of the Iowa Class Battleships, which is also referenced as a planned US action in 'North Star Crusade'.

I have covered in this thread a number of novels covering this kind of plot (Government loses control of a nuclear missile submarine.), 'Two Hours to Darkness' (1963), 'The Triton Ultimatum' (1977), 'Poseidon's Shadow' (1979), 'Sons of God' (2008), 'Warhead' (2011) & 'Merlin's War' (2016). The cover is by sci-fi artist Chris Foss.

The ship to ship actions in this book are described well and it includes the old US flagship missile cruisers.

 

[Graham1973]

With thanks to Hood, for help with checking out one piece of equipment.

Mack Tanner, Target: Intruder, 1990

United States

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service 1986 - Ongoing

USS Miami (SSN-755)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1990 - 2014
Equipped with a BLD-1 Magnetic Anomaly Detector
Note: Author gives the pennant as SSN-722, that of USS Key West.

USS Chicago (SSN-721)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1984 - Ongoing

USS Helena (SSN-725)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1987 - Ongoing

USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23)
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service 1982 - 1998.

USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190)
Henry J. Kaiser Class Oiler
Real ship, details as in service 1987 - 1996, to Chile 2009.

USS McNamara
Oliver Hazzard Perry Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as such by the author, although he refers to it as the 'FFG-7 Class'. Name sake is probably Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defence 1961 - 1968.

USS Bonita
Sturgeon Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Fitted to carry a DSRV, in the novel she is carrying USS Mystic (DSRV-1)
Note: Explicitly referred to as a member of the Sturgeon Class by the author. The name was last used for a Barracuda (Cold War) Class Submarine in service 1952 - 1958.

USS Kentucky
'Cruiser' (CG or CGN), class not specified
No other details provided
Note: There would have been no clash with the name of any other ship in service when the novel came out, but after 1991 clashes with an Ohio Class Submarine.

Fictional Electronic system

BLD-1

An 'electromagnetic interferometer' designed to give US submarines the same capacity to detect magnetic anomolies as aircraft fitted with magnetic anomaly detectors. In the novel it is being fitted to Los Angeles Class Submarines either as they are being built or when they are refitted.

Norway

HNoMS Stavanger (F303)
Oslo Class Frigate
Real ship, details as in service, 1967 - 1998.

United Kingdom

HMS York (D98)
Type 42 (Batch III) Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 1985 - 2012

HMS Cardiff (D108)
Type 42 (Batch I) Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 1979 - 2005

Russia

Admiral Gorshkov
Typhoon (Pr.941) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships

Leninskaya Pobeda (Eng: Lenin Victory)
Sierra (Pr.945) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ship.
Note: Russian name obtained by running the English language name the author gave through Google Translate.

Krasnyy Urozhay (Eng: Red Harvest)
Alfa (Pr.705) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Russian name obtained by running the English language name the author gave through Google Translate. In real life the members of the Alfa Class were unnamed.

Plot summary: It is the 1990s, individual crew members on ships of several navies on both sides of the Iron Curtain have gone berserk causing serious damage before they die. The only clues, all have Scandinavian ancestors and all carved runes spelling the word 'Ragnarok' into the weapons they used. Maybe the US Navy shouldn't have codenamed their latest plan to prevent a first strike Operation Thor's Hammer as they seem to have inadvertantly unleashed forces they little understand...

Note: The author seems to have been inspired by the US Navy's original report into the explosion aboard the USS Iowa in 1989 (It's referenced several times in the opening chapters.), one which was retracted the year after this story came out when it was determined that the claims a crewman had deliberately caused the explosion had little to stand on.

 

[Graham1973]

Richard P. Henrick, Ice Wolf, 1994

United States

USS Springfield (SSN-761)
Los Angeles Class Submarine (688i Sub-class)
Real ship, details as in service 1993 - Ongoing

United Kingdom

HMS Turbulent (S87)
Trafalgar Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1984 - 2012

HMS Spartan (S105)
Swiftsure Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1979 - 2006
Note: Does not take part in the story. Stated that the Captain of HMS Turbulent in the story was aboard her during the Falklands War during which she clashed with an unidentified submarine.

Germany (WWII)

Ice Wolf (ex U-????)
Type XXI
Launched/Commissioned: January 1945
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Since escaping Germany at the end of WWII the submarine has been stored in a secret facility in Antarctic waters codenamed 'Thule'. The submarine has been updated where possible with modern (1990s) systems, for example the original batteries have been replaced with fuel cells. In the 1990s the submarine is controlled by the Thule Society a group dedicated to reviving the Third Reich by exotic means...

Thule Base (aka 'Ice Lair')
Underground Submarine pens and attached accommodation facilities located on Thule Island (also known as Morrell Island).

Plot summary: A joint USN/RN exercise stumbles across an attempt to turn the recent reunification of Germany in an appalling direction.

Note: This is the second of Richard P. Henrick's novels to be published by HarperCollins prior to his involvment in the film 'Crimson Tide'. While it's likely that, like the preceeding novel 'Ecowar' (1993) it was originally intended to be published by Zebra Books, the authors previous publisher, HarperCollins went to town and chose SF artist John Berkey to supply the striking cover. For further details on the authors history see the entry for 'The Phoenix Odyssey' (1986).

 

[Graham1973]

I've updated the entires for the four novels in the 'Amanda Garrett Quartet' ('Choosers of the Slain' (1996), 'Stormdragon' (1997), 'Seafighter' (1999) & 'Target Lock' (2002)) by James H. Cobb with the better-than-average CGI covers provided for them by UK Ebook publisher Silvertail Books. I have recently learned that this publisher has obtained the rights to issue the fifth volume in the series 'Phantom Force' which was never published in English while the author was alive.

 

[Graham1973]

Tom Willard, Strike Fighters , 1990

United States

USS Valiant (CVN-85)
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author explicitly identifies the ship as being of the Nimitz Class. Certain refrences in the novel indicate it was involved in one of the Gulf of Sidra incidents, of which there were three, one in 1981, one in 1986 and one in 1989 (Most likely it's the last of the incidents the author is referring to as it took place closest to the novel coming out.) as well as an action in the Persian Gulf, most likely Operation Praying Mantis which took place in 1988.

Russia

Kiev
Kiev (Pr.1143) Class Aircraft Carrier
Real ship, details as in service 1975 - 1993
Note: Author identifies the ship as a 'Minsk Class' Aircraft Carrier for reasons unknown. There is no such class.

Plot summary: Terrorists seize a ship owned by the United Nations and make demands that no one could say 'yes' to.

Notes: This is the first novel in a nine book action novel series about which I've been able to find out little. Published between 1990 and 1992, the series rode the boundary between action novel and techno-thriller. The striking aviation based covers used for the series were all by artist Attila Hejja. The seventh book in the series 1991s 'Strike Fighters: Blood River' is covered earlier in the thread.

 

[Dilandu]

Note: Author identifies the ship as a 'Minsk Class' Aircraft Carrier for reasons unknown. There is no such class.

Purely technically, "Minsk" was Project 1143.2 carrier-cruiser - a subclass of basic Project 1143 "Kiev"-class. Truth is, that each of "Kiev"-class ships was different from each other, so they could be, in theory, considered as different classes.

 

[Graham1973]

Note: Author identifies the ship as a 'Minsk Class' Aircraft Carrier for reasons unknown. There is no such class.

Purely technically, "Minsk" was Project 1143.2 carrier-cruiser - a subclass of basic Project 1143 "Kiev"-class. Truth is, that each of "Kiev"-class ships was different from each other, so they could be, in theory, considered as different classes.

Thanks for the clarification, it's just I've never enountered the Kiev Class Carriers being referred to as 'Minsk Class Carriers' before and going by the second novel the author thinks biological & chemical warfare are the same thing...

 

[Graham1973]

A return to 'self-published on Amazon' fiction.

Lewis Norris, Evil Intent, 2020

United Kingdom

HMS Calliope
Three Decked Ship of the Line (Sail)
Details as per typical members of that type of ship in RN service.
Note: There was a sixth-rate HMS Calliope in RN Service which was converted into a chapel ship in 1860. The authors description makes it quite clear that this is not that ship. She is identified as the flagship of the RN Channel Squadron.

HMS Rattler
Steam Sloop
Real Ship, details as in service 1842 - 1856
Note: The author provides sufficient detail to confirm it's the 1842 HMS Rattler, most famous for her tug-of-war with HMS Alecto, that the author is refering to. The ships service is fictionally extended into 1859. Historically her successor commissioned in 1862.

Note: Both of these ships feature in scenes set in 1859.

HMS Thunderer
Ironclad Frigate
Details identical to HMS Warrior (1860).
Note: It appears that this ship is a fictional replacement for HMS Warrior as the first ironclad warship constructed for the Royal Navy.

France

La Gloire
Ironclad
Real ship, details as in service (1859 - 1879)

Plot summary: The story takes place between the years 1859 and 1860. The plot covers various intrigues surrounding the opening phases of the ironclad era.

Note: I'm not sure what the author was trying to do with this novel. All the elements of a good thriller are there, but it feels more like a period melodrama. This is a pity as the section covering the attempt by HMS Calliope & HMS Rattler to spy upon the La Gloire in Brest leads to a fairly effective naval action sequence.

 

[Graham1973]

The entry for the novel 'Shadow Hunter' (1989) by Geoffrey Archer has been updated with details of the fictional naval weapons that appear in it.

 

[Graham1973]

Chet Cunningham (Pen name: Keith Douglass), SEAL Team Seven: Payback, 2002

United States

Unnamed
Pegasus Class MKV (SOC/PBF) (Fictional Class)
Length: 85ft
Beam: 17ft
Engines: 2 x 4500hp TE94 Diesels (Uses water jets instead of propellors.)
Speed: 45knots (Max)
Crew: 2 + 1 x 8man USN SEAL Squad
Note: A militarized version of the 'go-fast' boats often used by drug smugglers. In the novel it's stated that 28 such vessels are in service with the US Navy at the time the novel is set, which appears to be around 2002 the year it was published. The US Navy uses them for covert insertions into hostile territory. In the scene the ship appears in it's being used to intercept pirates off the coast of Puerto Rico.

USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615)
Reliance Class Cutter
Real ship, details as in service 1964 - Ongoing.

Korea (Peoples Democratic Republic of)

Nanjin 531
Nanjin Class Frigate (Modified)
Length: 334ft (104.8fm)
Armament: 2 x 100mm guns, 4 x 57mm guns, 16 x quad mount 12.7mm mgs (Most likely a North Korean copy of the DShK.), 6 x SSM-1 missiles (Most likely copies of the SS-N-2 'Styx' missile) and 9 x navalized SCUD Missiles.
Other details as per the real ship.
Note: This is an actual member of the Nanjin Class, a photograph of the ship can be found on Wikipedia. In the novel it is disgused as a freighter. The ship as described in the novel is 16ft (4.87m) longer than the standard members of the class and this may be connected to the missile fit out.

Plot summary: Two years previously the North Koreans tried and failed to absorb South Korea, to regain lost 'Face' a plan is put into motion to attack the nation most responsible for that failure...

Note: As I've mentioned in previous entries, this series and the 'Carrier' series were created by J. Andrew Keith who with his brother William H. Keith, are both well known in Science Fiction Gaming circles for their work on the Traveller RP-G. There's strong evidence that both shared the 'Keith Douglass' pen name for these series. Also linked to the two series was Chet Cunningham, a career pulp action fiction writer with dozens of novels under his own name and various pennames stretching back to the 1960s. This is the first novel I've read in either series that his name can be conclusively linked to. The 'A' plot is competent, but the 'B' plot in which a member of the team is blackmailed by the owners of a crooked casino into smuggling drugs for them and desperately struggles to find a way out of the mess with his position on the team intact is more interesting.

 

[Graham1973]

An update. Several of the Douglas Reeman entries have been updated with the bizarre covers created for the 2022 eBook re-issues.

 

[Graham1973]

Kate Dewar, The Lone Wolf, published as Commando Comics Nº.5343, 2020

Germany

U-1213
U-Boat, type not specified (Most likely a Type VII)
No other details provided.
Note: Mentioned in dialog, does not take part in the plot. The pennant number was not used by the Germans during WWII.

U-1215
Type VII U-Boat
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Class assignment is based on the illustration. The pennant number was not used by the Germans during WWII.

United States

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: As a U-Boat tries to return to base, strange things happen aboard and it becomes clear that someone is not who they say they are.

 

[Graham1973]

Dee Henderson, Undetected, 2014

United States (Navy)

USS Nevada (SSBN-733)
Ohio Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1986 - Ongoing.

USS Nebraska (SSBN-739)
Ohio Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1993 - Ongoing.

USS Ohio (SSGN-726)
Ohio Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1981 - Ongoing. The conversion to an SSGN occurred in 2003 with the work being completed in 2006.

USS Seawolf (SSN-21)
Seawolf Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1997 - Ongoing.

USS Connecticut (SSN-22)
Seawolf Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1998 - Ongoing.

United States (Coast Guard)

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

Fictional Naval Equipment

United States

Unnamed

A software package that enables 'Cross-Sonar' (From the description in the novel this appears to be an expansion of Bi-Static sonar techniques (See Wikipedia: Link.)) in submarines fitted with it. The process allows detection using disguised active sonar pulses to locate targets at distances of up to 200miles(322km) and in high noise environments.

Russia

Gepard (K-335)
Akula III (Pr. 971M) Class Submarine (Note: Novel misidentifies the submarine as an Akula II (Pr. 971U) Class Submarine.)
Real ship, details as in service 2001 - Ongoing.

Korea (Republic of)

Son Won-il (SS072)
Type 214 Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 2007 - Ongoing
Note: First member of a nine ship class, construction is split between Hyundai & Daewoo.

China (People's Republic of)

Unnamed
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
Crew: 87.
No other details.

Plot summary: One of many pieces of 'Christian Fiction' published in an attempt to get the target readership (In this case readers of 'Chick lit'.) to accept God. The story follows the relationship between a submarine commander and a genius who's ideas on submarine detection ultimately threaten to leave the submarine community facing the blank, unnappealing face of 'square one' even as North Korea creates a tense situation in the Korean Peninsula.

Note: In the background to the female romantic lead, reference is made to the 2005 collision between the USS San Francisco (SSN-711) and an uncharted seamount as one of the drivers for her quest to improve submarine detection capabilities. The same event is also used as the basis for the crisis event that concludes the novel in which a Chinese submarine trying to involve itself in the Korean Peninsula situation hits a seamount the Chinese didn't know about.

 

[Graham1973]

D. Clayton Matthews, Epitaph, 2019

United States

USS Miami (SSN-755)
Los Angeles Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service. (1990 - 2014)

USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81)
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service. (2001 - Ongoing.)

All other USN Vessels mentioned in the novel are real.

Russia

Vepr (K-157)
Akula II (Pr.971U) Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service. (1995 - Ongoing.)

Norway

HNoMS Uredd (S 305)
Ula Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service. (1990 - Ongoing.)

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

IRIS Faramarz
Alvand Class Frigate
Details as per the real ships
Note: Explicitly identified as this class by the author. The name used in the novel is the former name of the IRIS Sahand a member of the class sunk during Operation 'Preying Mantis' in 1988.

IRIS Simcer
Kilo (Pr. 877) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Sold to Iran in 1995.

Behzad Nabavi
Submarine Support Ship (Converted Oil Tanker)
Length: Around 900ft
Modification: The forward oil tanks have been converted into a moonpool large enough to hold a Kilo Class submarine along with the necessary equipment to keep the submarine powered across the Atlantic.
Note: This covert supply/support ship is pretending to be an ordinary merchant ship. Prior to conversion, it was used to smuggle weapons between Iran and Venezuela.

Fictional Naval Weapon

Russia

'May Harvest' (Codename)
Nuclear Mine
Warhead: 50kt
Command detonated
Diameter: 21inches
Length: 7.2m (24ft)
Description: The afterbody is that of the standard Type 53 torpedo (One of the models available in the late 1950s, the author does not specify which though.), the engines have been modified to give a lower speed after launch so as to increase the range. The forebody replaces the standard warhead with a stainless steel container holding the 50kt warhead and it's triggering mechanism. Powered by radiothermal decay the triggering mechanism is activated by a series of three coded sonar pulses.
Note: This is my reconstruction of the weapon based on the specifications for the Type 53 torpedo. The author as noted above does not specify what type of torpedo was used for the afterbody of the weapon. But given it was launched from a Russian submarine this is the most likely configuration, since there is no mention of modifications to the torpedo tubes or weapons handling arrangements. The weapon was deployed in 1961 under cover of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Fired into New York Harbor it rests at the "...base of Ellis Island...".

Plot: The story runs between January 7 - 23 of an unspecified year (A statement early in the story states the events of 'Of Ice and Steel' (2013) took place, "three months earlier", implying that story was set in October of the previous year.). Following Irans failed attempt to obtain nuclear weapons the year previously, Iran's intelligence service has come up with a new way to defeat the countries enemies...

 

[Graham1973]

I've updated the entry for 'HMS Ulysses' (1957) to include two of the later covers used for British paperback editions.

 

[Dilandu]

The weapon was deployed in 1961 under cover of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Fired into New York Harbor it rests at the "...base of Ellis Island...".

Author clearly have no idea that nuclear bomb could not stay workable for so long without replacement of neutron initiators.

 

[Graham1973]

Another of those unexpected finds...

Richard M. Shelly (Pen name: Rick Shelly), The Varayan Memoir 3: The Hero King, 1992

Russia (Soviet Union)

Kalmikov
'Frigate', class not specified
No other specific details provided.

Plot summary: The outbreak of WWIII threatens more than just life on Earth...

Notes: This is the third volume of a fantasy series, I was stunned to see the author name the warship.

 

[Graham1973]

An unusual find in a Pulp magazine.

Richard Sale, Torpedo, published in Adventure, November 1941

United States (WWI)

USS Blenham
Caldwell Class Destroyer (Fictional seventh class member)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class identification based on dimensional details provided in the story which are a closer fit to this class rather than the succeeding Wickes/Clemson Classes, the author simply refers to the ship as a 'Destroyer'.

USS Boley
'Destroyer', class not specified, most likely a fictional eighth Caldwell Class Destroyer.
No other details provided.

Germany (WWI)

Kronprinz Stuttger
'Light Cruiser', class not specified
No other specific details provided.

Germany (WWII)

Togoland
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
No specifics provided, but armament is probably typical for that type of ship in German service during WWII, e.g. 6 x 5.9inch guns, MGs, Torpedos and Mines, with all weapons concealed.
Note: The name is that of a former colony of the German Empire, it does not fit the naming scheme used by the Germans, which was the names of animals and birds.

France (WWI)

MN Aventurier
Aventurier Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service, 1914 - 1940
Note: Author refers to the ship in the story as a 'Torpedo Boat'. The ships of the class were being built for Argentina but France took them over at the start of WWI.

France (WWII)

MN Persee (Q154)
Redoubtable Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1934 - 1940.
Note: Sunk by the RN off Dakar following the French Surrender in 1940.

Plot summary: The 'life' of a Bliss–Leavitt Mk.8 Torpedo from construction just prior to the United States entry into WWI until it's successful use against a German commerce raider in WWII.

Note: This entry has been edited after Hood identified both French naval units as real ships. All others are fictional.

 

[Graham1973]

Harry Chesham, A Tide of Chariots, 1983

United Kingdom

HMS Upthrust
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on ships name only.

HMS Upsurge
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on ships name only.

HMS Uproar
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on ships name only.

HMS Upshot
U Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships
Note: Under construction in 1941. Class assignment based on ships name only.

HMS Middlestone
Depot Ship (Submarine)
No other details provided

Italy

Antonia
Grounded freighter converted into base for human torpedo operations against Malta.

Plot summary: The year is 1941, the crew of a submarine based at Malta who's leave has been delayed find themselves having to undertake a dangerous mission in the place of a submarine who's loss is still unexplained.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Coffin Island, 1958

Australia

HMAS Scimitar (G42)
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Name clash with S Class (WWI) Destroyer HMS Scimitar which served in WWII and was scrapped in 1947. The pennant clashes with that of HMS Lincoln (ex-USS Yarnall (DD-143)), a Town Class Destroyer.
Note: See the entry for 'Sainsbury, VC' (1962) for additional details on the ship. Identified in this novel as the Flotilla leader for the RAN(?) 10th Destroyer Flotilla. In real life the RN 10th Destroyer Flotilla was created in 1940 in the Mediterranean and incorporated the legendary 'Scrap Iron Flotilla', this incarnation was disbanded in 1941 and the formation was not resurrected until 1944. This is the first time I've seen this flotilla number used in the Pacific Theater in the authors fiction. The other novels I've seen all make use of the (Fictional) RAN 5th Destroyer Flotilla.

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Identified as a member of the RAN(?) 10th Destroyer Flotilla

Japan

HIJMS Satsuma
Satsuma Class Battleship (Fictional)
Length: 'almost' 1000ft (304.8m)
Displacement: 50,000tons
Depth of Main Armour Belt: 2ft
Two Funnels
Four shaft propulsion system, 150,000Shp for 32knots
Steering system is specifically noted to be a copy of that used on the RN KGV Class Battleships
Main Battery: 12 x 16inch guns in four triple turrets (A, B, X, Y)
Other armament not specified.
Fitted with Radar (Type not specified)
Authors Description: "...he had no difficulty picking out the salient points. The four huge turrets as big as a house, with their guns projecting from their armoured faces like telegraph poles; the rearing rampart of the bridge stucture, topped with it's aerial-cluttered foremast, the two streamlined funnels, each broader than a railway tunnel; and most impressive and shocking of all, the enormous effect of her whole overall length."
Note: The name had last been used for a Satsuma Class pre-Dreadnought that had been sunk as a target ship in 1924. The class name is my own creation, the author does not give a specific class name for his creation. That the ship is a freelanced creation was somewhat of a surprise. The author was clearly aware of the Yamato Class as he refers to it fairly early on in the story, but as can be seen from the details provided, this 'Yamato Successor' comes across as more of a Japanese take on the Montana Class than anything the Japanese were contemplating at the time.

Plot summary: When it comes to the crunch will cunning and skill be able to beat raw power.

Notes: 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), 'Dive,Dive,Dive!' (1959), 'The Surgeon' (1959), 'The Secret Weapon' (1959), 'Subsmash' (1960), 'The Coxswain' (1960), 'The Blind Eye' (1961), 'The Ordeal' (1961), 'Away Borders!' (1962, 'Sainsbury VC' (1962), 'U-Boat' (1962), 'Not Under Command' (1963), 'Collision Course' (1964), 'Killer Group' (1964), 'Hell Ship' (1966), '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), 'Command Decision' (1985), '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), 'Carribean Striker' (1967) and 'Operation Octopus' (1968).

This is one of the authors novels where a precise dating cannot be worked out, although the appearance of the term 'Kamikaze Kids' which is also used in 'The Ordeal' (1961), suggests the novel is set after the Battle of Samar when the Kamikaze's became widely known. Against this is reference to events from this novel in a later novel 'The Rocky' (1961) which appears to be set prior to the Axis collapse in the Mediterranean.

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, The Rocky, 1961

Australia

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships

United Kingdom

HMS Dauntless
D Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Note: Name clashes with the D Class Cruiser HMS Dauntless in service 1918 - 1945. Class assignment based on name only.

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: While not explicitly stated to be this fictional version of HMS Eagle, details are mentioned in the novel which strongly suggest that it is this ship and not the historic HMS Eagle (a converted battleship) that the author is referring to. See the posting for 'Eagles over Taranto' (1961), for more information.

Germany

Unnamed
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
Displacement: 15,000 tons
Main Battery: 10 x 5.9 inch guns (5 a side)
Other armament not specified
Single funnel, fitted with a second dummy funnel.
Original engines replaced with naval engines, giving a speed in excess of 20knots.
No other details provided.

Plot summary: Evidence surfaces that a German commerce raider is being based out of the Portugese island of Sao Thome in the South Atlantic, but with other evidence pointing to complicity of local authorities the problem is, how to get them to come out. Perhaps a 'square peg in a round hole' could provide an answer.

Note: Reference is made to events occurring in the novel 'Coffin Island' (1958) indicating that this story is set after the events of that novel and hence that earlier novel is set some time 'earlier' than 1944. I've commented earlier that the author did made attempts to keep a loose chronology that appears to have been abandoned later. The probable appearance of the fictional version of HMS Eagle that appeared in the 1961 novel 'Eagles Over Taranto' also suggests that the author viewed his output as a coherent setting, which can also be seen in later novels like 'Breaking Point' (1979) in which several of his regular characters make an appearance. For a partial listing of the books by this author covered in the thread see the posting for 'Coffin Island' (1958).

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Full Fathom Five, 1968

Australia

HMAS Jackal
Destroyer, class not specified
4 x 4.7 inch guns (A,B,X & Y)
1 x QF 2-pounder Mark V (8 barreled version)
2 x Quadruple 21 inch TT
Fitted with Radar & Sonar.
No other details provided.
Scrapped after November 6, 1944 due to battle damage.

Note: Armament details (With the exception of the 8 Barrelled AA gun.) fit the pre-Tribal classes of destroyers (Eg Interwar A - I classes), final class assignment will have to wait until I can find a novel with more details. In this novel the author does not provide any class specifics. However it is clearly not the Battle Class Destroyer of the same name that appears in some of the authors other novels as the main battery consists of 4.7 inch guns rather than the 4.5 inch guns fitted to the Battle Class. There was a real HMS Jackal of the J class which was sunk in May of 1942.

HMAS Wind Rode (G46)
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Flotilla Leader RAN 5th Destroyer Flotilla

HMAS Hunter
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Member of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla

HMAS Whelp
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Member of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla

HMAS Witch
J, K & N Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Member of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla

HMAS Longreach
Bathurst Class Corvette
Details as per those members of the class armed with 4inch guns.

United Kingdom

HMS Surrey
County/Northumberland Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ship, had she been completed rather than cancelled in 1930.

Germany

Seydlitz
H39 Class Battleship (Unbuilt Bismark successor class.)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based on armament (8 x 16inch guns), author does not specify class. From some surviving material it is known that Hitler favoured naming the first two members of the H39 class Ulrich von Hutten and Götz von Berlichingen respectively, but this was never formally announced. See also the notes for 'Between The Hunter and The Hunted' (2005) for more details on the German plans for a Bismark successor.

Italy

Citta Di Milano (aka Straat Penang)
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
Main Battery: 5 x 5.9inch guns (Centreline mounts (e.g. can fire to either beam.) (Concealed)
Single battery of torpedo tubes, exact number not specified
Other armament not specified.
Displacement: 15,000 tons
Two funnels
Speed: 20knots
Note: Stated specifically that the ships crew was 'hand picked' using similar criteria to that used for the personnel of Decima Mas. This ship is operating well outside the usual Italian sphere of operation, namely the Indian Ocean.

Japan

Unnamed
3 x Takao Class Cruisers

Plot summary: Wartime makes family reunions hard, sometimes even tragic.

Note: This novel is specifically mentioned in the authors note to 'Approved to Scrap' (1968) as being the prequel to that novel. However there seems to be a disconnect between the two as the ending situation does not line up between them. This particular edition of the novel was not published by either Horwitz or Signet, the two publishers most associated with this author, but a UK publisher Ace/Stoneshire Books in 1983. The title, which comes from a line in William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' is one that has been used by other authors, two novels other novels making use of it covered in this thread are Bart Davis's 'Full Fathom Five' (1985) and Robert Westall's 'Fathom Five' (1979).

 

[Graham1973]

Another dip into WWII from a different author...

Sarah Sundin, Anchor In The Storm, 2016

United States

USS Atwood
Gleaves Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships.
Sunk on the 23rd of November 1941 while taking part in the Neutrality Patrol.
Note: The sinking in the novel was either inspired by the historic loss of the USS Reuben James (DD-245) on the 31st of October 1941 which is mentioned during the course of the plot as a separate incident, or the torpedoing of the USS Kearny (DD-432) on the 17th of October 1941 with the details modified to create the incident in the story. The author explicitly identifies the ship as a Gleaves Class Destroyer.

USS Ettinger
Gleaves Class Destroyer
Details as per the real ships
Fitted with radar in April 1942
Note: The author explicitly identifies the ship as a Gleaves Class Destroyer.

USS Jacob Jones (DD-130)
Wickes Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 1919 - 1942.
Note: Her sinking on the 28th of February 1942 is mentioned in the story.

USS Roper (DD-147)
Wickes Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 1919 - 1942
Note: Her sinking of U-85 on the 14th of April 1942 is mentioned in the story.

Germany

Various Unnamed U-Boats.

Plot summary: In this 'Christian Chick Lit' story, set between December 1941 - July 1942 sees a crewman on a Destroyer and his pharmacist girlfriend investigate a ring selling narcotics to US Navy personnel.

 

[TheRejectionist]

Is there any novel here that portrays Iran in a more nuanced way ?

 

[Graham1973]

Is there any novel here that portrays Iran in a more nuanced way ?

Depends on what you mean by 'nuanced', 'The Persian Horse' for example makes a clear distinction between 'Iranian Marines' and 'Revolutionary Guardsmen' with the former being well trained, professionals with good personal loyalty to themselves and their country, as to the latter however falling into the 'Generic Islamic Terrorist' category, which is how the majority of cheaper action novels treat Muslims in general.

 

[Graham1973]

Something definitely unexpected...

Colin Maxwell, Cold Conflict published as Commando Comics Nº. 5533

Argentina

All naval units mentioned are either real or Unnamed.

United States

USS Stalwart
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Name does not fit US submarine naming practices.

Plot summary: A trio of Royal Marines find themselves acting as an inadvertant 'stay behind' party following the 1982 Argentine Invasion fo the Falkland Island.

 

[Graham1973]

From some 1970s Superspy hokum...

Jon Messmann (Pen name: Nick Carter), Nick Carter Nº. 55: The Executioners, 1970

Australia

HMAS Dowding
Majestic Class Aircraft Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Note: Presumably named after Air Chief Marshall Hugh 'Stuffy' Dowding. Name would not fit the Australian naming convention, which uses the names of state and federal capitals for major warships. Explicitly identified as a member of the Majestic Class by the author

United States

USN Paycock
Boston Class Cruiser (E.g. A conversion of a Baltimore Class cruiser into a CAG)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Name does not fit class. The use of the term 'USN' for US Navy ships instead of the real world 'USS' also appears in the novels 'Hunter-Killer' (1966) by Geoffrey Jenkins and 'Transfer' (2018) by Travis Hill. Not specifically stated to be this class, but the details provided match the Boston Class.

Plot summary: A series of deadly accidents involving the Australian armed forces threaten to disrupt the alliance between Australia and the United States.

Note: Nick Carter was a long running James Bond rip-off series created by 'Book Packager' Lyle Kenyon Engle which lasted from the 1960s to the 1990s, this particular entry was written by pulp author Jon Messmann. The plot itself is a classic 'Yellow Peril (China)' story, several other examples of which can be found in this thread. The collision at sea that opens the novel was inspired by the HMAS Melbourne - USS Frank E. Evans collision of 1969.

 

[Graham1973]

Another unexpected find...

Peter O'Donnell (Pen name: Madeleine Brent), Moonrakers' Bride, 1973

United Kingdom

HMS Crocodile
'Destroyer', class not specified.
Note: Specifically identified as a destroyer by the author.

Plot summary: The year is 1900. A young orphan finds herself caught up in a search for treasure in China during the Boxer Rebellion.

Note: Peter O'Donnell is the author more well known for creating the character of Modesty Blaise. What is not so well known is that during the 1970s and 1980s he wrote a series of Gothic Romance novels under the name Madeleine Brent.

 

[Graham1973]

Don Pendleton (Pseud.), Stony Man: Red Frost, 2007

Russia

'7882'
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
Description: "The configuration isn't part of the existing archive. It has elements of two previous designs, the Alfa and the Akula, and other elements that are unique to itself."
No other specifics.

Plot summary: Renegade Spetznaz team up with a dying member of the former Soviet biological weapons program to uneleash havoc on the Pacific coast of the United States, the terror begins with a Russian submarine running ashore in the vicinity of Seattle...

Note: This late entry in the long running pulp action series is unusual in that the actual author is not credited, the vast majority of volumes in this series following the retirement of the series creator, as with several others where a shared pseudonym is used, have a 'special thanks to...' note on the copyright page. While essentially a 'terrorist of the week' plotline there are some amusing moments, ranging from the series hero's dealing with some 'anti-NWO' types by informing them the 'black helicopters' are on the way to the unnamed authors characterization of the renegade Spetznaz as "...soldiers of Genghis Khan."

 

[Graham1973]

Tony Gyles, Deep Their Grave, 1998

United Kingdom

HMS Whistler
V & W Class Destroyer(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class identification based on name only.

HMS Warbler
V & W Class Destroyer(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class identification based on name only.

HMS Violet
V & W Class Destroyer(?)
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class identification based on name only. Author identifies the ship as a 'Destroyer' not a 'Corvette'. Name clashes with a Flower Class Corvette in service between 1940 and 1947.

France

Villeneuve
'Destroyer', class not specified
No other details provided.

Germany

Norden
Armed Merchant Ship (Commerce Raider)
Launched: 1937
Displacement: 8000tons
Main battery: 4 x 5.9inch guns (Depending on how the authors description is taken the guns are either at the four 'corners' of the superstructure or arranged in a diamond pattern with two guns fore and aft of the superstructure and two along the sides, all mounts are concealed.)
Secondary Armament: Not Specified.
Speed: 20knots
Note: Converted Banana Carrier. The ships captain was wounded at Jutland aboard the battlecruiser Seydlitzÿand, while no specifics are given about this ship, it's presumably the same class as the real world battlecruiser Seydlitz. The name given the ship in the novel does not fit the naming scheme the Germans used for commerce raiders during WWII (Birds and Animals).

Plot summary: The wartime career of a merchant ship.

Note: This is a self-published novel that predates Amazon.

 

[The K2]

I've been investigating the Victorian and Edwardian theme of invasion scare and future war stories and have found a rich vein of such works at: http://www.theriddleofthesands.com/

Most of the naval related stories seem to use real ships in the storyline, probably because the Royal Navy and the French, German and Russian navies, were well endowed with large fleets and many ships having well-known historical names. Below are the most interesting of the fictional vessels encountered. The books are in publication date order.


Anonymous (translated by Charles James Cook), The "Russia's Hope" or, How Britannia No Longer Rules the Waves Showing how he Muscovite Bear got at the British Whale, 1888

Russia
Russia's Hope, cruiser; 300ft long, 45ft beam; 2x1 8in, 8x1 6in, 4x Nordenfeldt, 2x TT (UE), 4x TT (AW); 2-3in deck armour; 6,500ihp for 16.5kts; range 8,000nm at 10kts

Little Son, captured British steamer SS Moor. The Admiralty planned to arm her as an auxiliary cruiser with 2x1 6in and 4x Nordenfeldt and the crew of the Russia's Hope find the armament in her hold and two small torpedo boats being delivered to Simonstown, the Russians then complete the arming and use her as another commerce raider.


The Earl of Mayo, The War Cruise of the Aries, 1894

Great Britain
HMS Aries, a semi-submerged Ram, has a turtledeck and a small conning tower and funnel, twin propellers.


J. Eastwick, The New Centurion, 1895

Great Britain
HMS Centurion is the real battleship completed in 1894 but reconstructed with new boilers and engines to reach 19kts, her 12in main and 4in upper belts are replaced with a uniform 8in belt of Harvey steel and a new curved armoured deck is fitted. The armament is changed to four new "46 ton" guns (which I presume to be 12in guns) which have automatic loading equipment enabling a rate of fire of 4-5rpm. The secondary battery is replaced by a mix of 12pdr, 3pdr and Maxim guns, all without shields. Two light masts are fitted and each foretop has 3x Maxims.


W. Laird Clowes, The Captain of the Mary Rose: a Tale of Tomorrow, 1898

Mainly features real vessels, one strange idea being many are fitted with lighthouse-type searchlights on the foretops to illuminate the sea around them.

Great Britain
Mary Rose (not a Royal Navy ship but a privateer) ex-Valdavia, an Elswick cruiser for an undefined South American nation acquired on completion.
6,900 tons; 328ft long, 60ft 8in beam, 21ft 10in draught; 4x1 9.2in guns mounted on open barbettes (2 on centreline, 2 on beam), 4x2 4.7in in turrets on the side ends, 14x1 6pdr, 6x1 5-barrelled Nordenfelt, 12x Maxim MGs, 6x TT (at least 2 underwater in bow and stern); 11in belt, 2in deck and 4in redoubt armour; 12,000ihp for 17kts (unforced draught); range 7000nm at 12kts. Described as an improved Captain Prat as built for Chile (which of course was not an Elswick product but was built by La Seyne)


S. Waterloo, Armageddon, 1898

Russia
Czar, battleship, no description

United States
USS Alaska, battleship, no description


F.R. Stockton, The Great War Syndicate, 1899

Great Britain
HMS Adamant, ironclad, an illustration shows Adamant to be very similar to the Conqueror Class turret ironclads.

HMS Scarabaeus, battleship, no description

HMS Dog Star, cruiser, no description

United States
USS Lennehaha, cruiser or gunboat, no description

USS Lenox, cruiser, no description

USS Stockbridge, cruiser, no description

The Syndicate (fighting the war on behalf of the USA)
Crabs, ten/twelve semi-submerged low-freeboard armoured vessels with a steel turtledeck, armed with pincers to rip off sternposts and propellers of enemy ships, powered by electric motors.

Repellers, ten steamers acquired and rebuilt with a curved steel deck, additional "elastic" armour comprising spring-tempered steel plates backed with air buffers fitted over the iron hull and armed with a single large calibre gun in the bows, the mount having a bomb-proof canopy. The gun fires an shell described as an Instantaneous-Motor which in effect is an early sci-fi concept of a nuclear weapon.


J. Barnes, The Unpardonable War, 1904

Great Britain
HMS Cumberland, battleship; probably not the real Monmouth Class armoured cruiser launched in 1902.

HMS Cornwallis, battleship; possibly the real Duncan Class battleship launched in 1901.

HMS Polyphemus, battleship and flagship of the British fleet.

HMS Carnation, cruiser, no description

United States
USS Arizona, battleship, armament of 12in, 8in and 5in guns.

USS Nebraska, battleship, the real ship of the Virginia Class launched in 1904 but refitted with oil-fired boilers. Also fitted with two electrical devices; the Ewart Locator, a kind of electromagnetic ship detector, and the Westland Obliterator, a kind of EMP device which shorts out dynamos and electrical equipment. Sunk by HMS Cumberland.

USS Monticello, cruiser, no description

USS Adder, Moccasin, Plunger, Shark, Narwhale and Garfish, submarines, no description


W. Wood, Submarined, 1905

Great Britain
HMS Samson, a first-class battleship


George Griffith, The World Peril of 1910, 1907

Germany
Twenty Flying Fish, flying submarines with a fish-shaped hull; 150ft long, 20ft beam, 25ft deep; constructed from a "newly-discovered compound, something like papier-maché, as hard and rigid as steel"; 16 cylinders fuelled by two liquids which, "produced a gas of enormously expansive power, more than a hundred times that of steam" driving nine propellers (three four-bladed 6ft dia for airborne use with two fold-out 20ft span fins); speed 100mph in air; armament of four torpedo tubes, each small torpedo containing 20lb of a powerful explosive which could, "overcame the chemical forces by which the substance was held together and reduced them to gas and powder."


Great Britain
HMS Ithuriel, semi-submerged ram; 300ft long, 50ft beam, 30ft draught, when submerged only 10ft freeboard; armoured ram and 5x1 guns firing special explosive shells; 12in armour below waterline, 10in above, engines use a mixture of petrol, pulverised coal and liquid oxygen(!) driving four propellers, speed 45kts forwards and 35kts astern.

HMS Britain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, battleships, armament of 12x 14in, 10x 9.2in and 12pdrs and Nordenfelt/Maxims, 11in belt armour

HMS Henry the Fourth, Warwick, Edward the Third, Cromwell, armoured cruisers, 13,000tons, 22kts. In the book they are listed after the Duke of Edinburgh Class ships which were brand new when the book was written so I presume these are a succeeding class, the stats quoted are very similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Class.


Oshikawa, The Submarine Battleship (Kaitei Gunkan), 1908

Japan
Denkopan, a submersible 'battleship' armed with "futuristic torpedoes" and a drill-like ram.

Kaitei Gunkan was the inspiration for the 1963 film “Atragon.”
Original illustration of the sub from the novel and a screencap from the film

 

[Campbell Mays]

We need something like this for aircraft and spacecraft from novels

 

[Graham1973]

J. E MacDonnell, Blind Into Doom, 1972

United Kingdom

Convoy 'PQ18' (Fictional Version)

Close Escort

HMS Warwick
County Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based off the armament details provided by the author. The name clashes with that of a V & W Class Destroyer in service between 1917 and 1944. The name does not fit the County Class as it is the name of a town, the correct name would have been HMS Warwickshire.

HMS Niger
Dido Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based off the armament details provided by the author. Note the ships name does not fit the class naming scheme and in 1942 would clash with that of a Halcyon Class Minesweeper sunk on the 5th of June 1942 as part of Convoy QP13. The ship in the novel is lost in circumstances similar to those that caused the loss of HMS Edinburgh on the 2nd of May 1942.

HMS Foresight
F Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service
Note: The ships history has been altered for the purposes of fiction, in real life the ship was sunk during Operation Pedestal in August 1942, having returned to the Mediterranean following a period in the Arctic during which she was one of the ships that tried to get HMS Edinburgh to safety following that ship being torpedoed. In this novel she remains in the Arctic and takes place in the fictional convoy series 'PQ18/QP15'.

5 x Destroyers

HMS Daffodil
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Historically there was going to be a Flower Class Corvette of this name, but it was renamed HMS Daniella while under construction.

3 x Corvettes

Distant Escort

HMS King George V
King George V Class Battleship
Real ship, details as in service.

1 x Aircraft Carrier
1 x Cruiser
10 x Destroyers
1 x American Battleship
1 x American Aircraft Carrier

The convoy itself consists of 19 Merchant Ships, none of which are named in the story.

Convoy 'QP15' (Fictional Version)

Close Escort

HMS Warwick
County Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based off the armament details provided by the author. The name clashes with that of a V & W Class Destroyer in service between 1917 and 1944. The name does not fit the County Class as it is the name of a town, the correct name would have been HMS Warwickshire.

HMS Niger
Dido Class Cruiser
Details as per the real ships
Note: Class assignment based off the armament details provided by the author. Note the ships name does not fit the class naming scheme and in 1942 would clash with that of a Halcyon Class Minesweeper sunk on the 5th of June 1942 as part of Convoy QP13. The ship in the novel is lost in circumstances similar to those that caused the loss of HMS Edinburgh on the 2nd of May 1942.

HMS Foresight
F Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service
Note: The ships history has been altered for the purposes of fiction, in real life the ship was sunk during Operation Pedestal in August 1942, having returned to the Mediterranean following a period in the Arctic during which she was one of the ships that tried to get HMS Edinburgh to safety following that ship being torpedoed. In this novel she remains in the Arctic and takes place in the fictional convoy series 'PQ18/QP15'.

5 x Destroyers

HMS Daffodil
Flower Class Corvette
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Historically there was going to be a Flower Class Corvette of this name, but it was renamed HMS Daniella while under construction.

3 x Corvettes

The convoy itself consists of 25 Merchant Ships, names are given for some of the ships, Aldersdale (10,000 tonne oil tanker), Mary Luckenback, Nathaniel Green, Offa and Black Ranger (Oil tanker).

Germany

Various Unnamed Warships

Plot summary: The desperate struggle to get supplies to Russia via the Arctic convoy route.

Note: The pages giving the publication details are missing. Given the broad similarity in the storyline to 'HMS Ulysses' (1957) by Alistair MacLean, although that could result from a common real world origin for both novels, namely the WWII Arctic Convoys and the fact that none of the authors regular characters appear in it, assigning it a date somewhere in the 1950s seems appropriate.

While the publication date of the novel is missing, it is possible to work out based on references to both Convoy PQ15 (26th April - 5nd May 1942) and the sinking of HMS Edinburgh (2nd of May, 1942) that the story is taking place after those events and that the fictional convoy (PQ18, a real convoy that historically took place between the 2nd and 21st of September 1942) in the novel is taking place either in mid-May (Start date 13th May) or mid-June (Start date 13th June) 1942, historically Convoy PQ16 ran between the 21st and 30th of May 1942 with the infamous Convoy PQ17 taking place between the 27th of June and 10th of July.

Interestingly a character asks "Whatever happened to 16 and 17, sir?" during the convoy briefing scene for the fictional 'PQ18' and gets an answer of "On that point I'm afraid... the Admiralty did not see fit to enlighten me. Possibly because it is of no consequence to us." This could imply the fictional convoy is taking place in August of 1942 rather than earlier possible dates mentioned above. The number assigned to the 'return' convoy, QP15 was historically the last convoy in the PQ/QP series and ran between 2nd November and 30 November 1942.

One other interesting feature is that unlike other novels based on the Arctic Convoys that I've covered in this thread, like 'HMS Ulysses' (1957), 'Kleber's Convoy' (1973), 'The Tinfish Run' (1977) or 'Cold War' (1982), this novel's climax is built around the return journey, not the outbound.

The authors note which proceeds the novel implies that the captain of HMS Warwick was based off a recently deceased friend of the author. The front cover of the 'Collector's Series' copy I'm working from depicts the novels climactic air attack.

Later: With thanks to Hood for some additional research I've been able to locate the date of publication which was much later than I expected (see above), I had come to the conclusion that the author had stopped writing 'stand alone' novels that did not feature his series characters some time in the mid 1960s.

 

[Graham1973]

Brent Towns, Thunderfish! published as Commando Comics Nº.5551, 2022

United States

USS Pike
Tambor Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Name clashes with a member of the WWII Porpoise Class in service between 1935 and 1956.

USS Thunderfish (SS-78)
Tambor Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The pennant which is clearly visible on the submarines conning tower is that of the USS R-1, a member of the WWI R Class Submarine that was in service between 1918 and 1945. The fish the submarine is named after is a member of the Loach family and is also known as the 'Weatherfish' (Neither name has been used for a USN submarine in real life.). The name USS Thunderfish has appeared in fiction previously, it was the name of the Gato Class Submarine in the John Wayne movie 'Operation Pacific' (1951).

Japan

Various Unnamed Warships.

Plot summary: The commander of a submarine lost while returning to base (Fremantle, Western Australia) and given a new command finds himself fighting more than just the enemy.

 

[Graham1973]

Raymond Harold Sawkins (Pen name: Colin Forbes), This United State, 1999

United States

USS President
Nimitz Class Carrier
Details as per the real ships
Note: Not explicitly identified as a Nimitz Class Carrier, but details provided in story best fit this class.

Other Unnamed warships.

Plot summary: The British Prime Minister has been assassinated while visiting the United States and the UK has been flooded with US agents, as British security forces try to figure out who killed the PM, evidence emerges that friends may have become foes...

Note: Colin Forbes was the pen name used by author Raymond Harold Sawkins who started off in the late 1960s with a series of Alistair MacLean style thrillers, one of which 'Avalanche Express' (1977) was filmed in 1979. However by the time this novel came out the author was well into his 'formula' period, which had begun in the mid 1980s.

These can easily be identified by the blurbs which take on a very standardized appearance to laying out the plot points. The basic formula was a mutated version of the English Country House mystery, often beginning with a mysterious death (or deaths.) that provides the impetus to the plot with a group of law enforcement (or quasi-law enforcement) agents trying to save Europe from, the United States, Communists (Russian backed or otherwise), criminal conspiracies or rogue companies and which ends with a cast of characters bought together to reveal who did what to whom.

Of interest is an earlier novel 'The Power' which sees Britain threatened by a United States lead by a Donald Trumpesque boor, the villain in this novel could, if you squint in the right way be interpreted as Hillary Clinton.

Other novels by the author covered in this thread are 'Target 5' (1972), 'Avalanche Express' (1977), 'Shockwave' (1990) and 'By Stealth' (1992).

 

[Graham1973]

J. E. MacDonnell, Convoy, 1960

United Kingdom

HMS Wolfhound
V & W Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 1918 - 1945
Note: In real life this ship was converted into an anti-aircraft escort destroyer at the start of WWII, the ship in the novel is unmodified.

Germany

U-27
U-Boat of unspecified type.
No other details provided.
Note: The same pennant appears in Hammond Innes, novel 'Wreckers Must Breathe' (1940) where it is used for a Type IX (Mod) U-Boat, a fictional class of U-boat created for that novel. In the real world the pennant number was used for a Type VIIA U-Boat in service 1936 - 1939.

Plot summary: The vow of an oil tanker crewman to 'get' the U-boat that sank his ship on a Trans-Atlantic convoy leads to a desperate duel between a merchant ship and a U-Boat on the Murmansk Run.

Note: For a partial listing of the books by this author covered in the thread see the posting for 'Coffin Island' (1958). This novel is one of those written by the author as a stand alone, none of his regular characters appear in it.

 

[Hood]

The Great Pacific War, by Hector Bywater, published in 1925 is one of the the classic alternate history/alternate war fictions. Bywater dabbled in warship design, for example the fictional Indomptable commerce raiding hybrid cruiser-seaplane carrier that he proposed in 1925 in an article for U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings in cooperation with fellow author-analyst Maurice Prendergrast.
Most of the warships in The Great Pacific War are real-world ships, with only the Japanese cruiser-submarines approaching fictional levels of whiffery (2,500 mines on a submarine is insanity) which adds to authenticity. The book would probably be much less famous had it not seemed to presage the Pacific campaign of WW2 - the book dealing with a Japanese attack on the Philippines and other US territories in 1931 (6 years in the future), the outbreak of which is not an attack on Pearl Harbor but instead sabotage of the Panama Canal by exploding a freighter packed with TNT inside it to cause a landslide. Aircraft though do play a powerful role, particularly torpedo bombers (dive-bombing seems to make little impact) but paradoxically aircraft carriers play less of a role, all new construction in the book is of small carriers carrying 20 or so aircraft and the Japanese even convert Kaga and Akagi back to capital ships!
The bulk of US building is Treaty cruisers - tinclads, some probably built incredibly too quickly, even quicker than WW2 mass production of such ships. Diesels feature heavily to increase range for transpacific voyages, even in destroyers.
On to the ships!

Japan

Kaga: real aircraft carrier, reconverted to a battleship during 1931-32 with a displacement of 40,000 tons, armed with 5x2 16in turrets and a max speed of 23kt; sunk by US battleships in 1932

Akagi: real aircraft carrier, reconverted to a battlecruiser during 1931-32 with a displacement of 44,000 tons, armed with 4x2 16in turrets and a max speed of max speed of 30kt

4x unnamed: battleships with a displacement of nearly 50,000 tons and armed with ?x 18in guns; laid down in 1931

Asama: real Asama-class armoured cruiser, rearmed with forward 8in turret replaced by 2x1 12in howitzers for shore bombardment; damaged by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931

Tokiwa: real Asama-class armoured cruiser, rearmed with forward 8in turret replaced by 2x1 12in howitzers for shore bombardment; damaged by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931

Nisshin: real Nisshin-class armoured cruiser; sunk by coastal batteries on Guam in 1931

Myoko: real Myoko-class heavy cruiser (which had only just been laid down when the book was published)

Chitose: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s; name clashes with a protected cruiser stricken in 1928 and a seaplane carrier completed in 1936

Kasagi: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s; sunk while attacking a convoy

Yoshino: heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with ?x 8in guns and with a max speed of 34kt, built during the 1920s

Tatsuta: real Tenryu-class light cruiser fictionally sunk by a US torpedo bomber in 1931

Hamakaze: real Isokaze-class destroyer fictionally sunk by USS S-18 in 1931

Hosho: real aircraft carrier

Matsushmia & 3x unnamed: aircraft carriers with a displacement of just under 6,000tons, carries an airgroup of 15x aircraft and has a max speed of 28kt; Matsushmia is sunk off Guam by US bombers in 1931

Hakata: a ex-civilian fast steamer converted into an auxiliary aircraft carrier, disguised as a British Blue Line freighter, armed with 4x1 6in guns concealed in deckhouses and carries an airgroup of 20x seaplanes; sorties with submarine I-54 to bomb the US West Coast

Fushimi: real gunboat on Yangtze River, fictionally sunk by USS Palos (PG-16) in 1932

Hodzu [Hozu]: real gunboat on Yangtze River, fictionally sinks the USS Palos (PG-16) in 1932

Ro.51: real Type L-class submarine, fictionally captures the US-flagged freighter Orient in 1931

I-53: real Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine, fictionally operated from temporary base near Cape Horn in 1931 and sunk by US naval forces

I-54: submarine with a displacement of 2,000 tons and is armed with 2x1 5.5in deck guns and ?x torpedo tubes; operated off San Diego but sunk by destroyers USS Rathburne and USS Shirk; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine completed in 1927

I-58: submarine operated from temporary base near Cape Horn in 1931 and sunk by US naval forces; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3A-class submarine completed in 1927

I-59: submarine, sunk off Truk in 1931; pennant clashes with a Kaidai Type 3B-class submarine completed in 1930

Nagasaki, Hakodate, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya & 1x unnamed (+2 under construction): cruiser submarines designed by German engineers, first laid down spring 1925 at Kure; have a displacement of 7,080 tons (surf) and dimensions of 405 x 45ft; armed with 1x2 8in turret (500rpg) and 3x1 4in deck guns, 8x hull & 2x deck torpedo tubes (1x submarine completed without the turret and instead has 2,500x mines); powered by 29,000hp diesels for a max speed of 23kt (surf) and electric motors for 11kt sub, have a range of 24,000nm; Nagasaki lost, Hakodate rammed and sunk by battleship Yamashiro and Nagoya sunk by US warships

Tsurugizaki: real oiler, fictionally sorties with auxiliary aircraft carrier Hakata

Akashi Maru: a civilian steamship deliberately blown up to block the Panama Canal in 1931

Aso Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and badly damaged by submarine; name clashes with a motor ship built in 1932 impressed as a gunboat in 1938

Hanno Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine

Nagasaki Maru: a civilian steamer of Nippon Yusen Kaisha line completed in 1923converted into an auxiliary cruiser during 1931 armed with 4x1 6in guns and 2x2 torpedo tubes; has a displacement of 5,272 tons gross and a max speed of 20kt; operated in the Atlantic sinking the auxiliary cruiser USS George Washington and USS Leviathan and capturing USS Mount Vernon

Nikko Maru: a civilian steamship captured by submarine USS S-4 in the Philippines in 1931

Osaka Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine

Sado Maru: a liner of N.Y.K. Line, used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing; name clashes with a steamer built in 1898 and used during Russo-Japanese War and not broken up until 1934

Sendai Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by submarine; name clashes with a motor fishing vessel built in 1933

Shanghai Maru: a civilian steamer of Nippon Yusen Kaisha line completed in 1923converted into an auxiliary cruiser during 1931 armed with 4x1 6in guns and 2x2 torpedo tubes; has a displacement of 5,272 tons gross and a max speed of 20kt; operated in the Atlantic sinking the auxiliary cruiser USS George Washington and USS Leviathan and capturing USS Mount Vernon

Tsubari Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing

Wakasa Maru: a civilian steamer used as transport for invasion of the Philippines in 1931 and sunk by bombing

Aircraft

Asahi: bomber with a 1.5 ton (1,360kg) bombload

Torpedo Bomber: carries 2x 23in torpedoes

Large Seaplane: carries a 0.5 ton (450kg) bombload; carried aboard the auxiliary carrier Hakata


USA

Asiatic Fleet – based at Manila, Philippines

Missoula (CA-13): real Tennessee-class armoured cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931

Frederick (CA-8): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931

Cleveland (CL-19): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally scuttled in Manila Bay in 1931

Denver (CL-14): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931

Galveston (CL-16): real Denver-class light cruiser fictionally sunk in battle with the Japanese Fleet in 1931

Curtiss: small aircraft carrier, carries an airgroup of 14x aircraft (8x fighter, 6x torpedo bombers), has a max speed of 22kt, built in the 1920s; sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet by gunfire in 1931

10x destroyers, including named vessels:

Crosby (DD-164): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet in 1931

Hulbert (D-342): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk in battle with Japanese Fleet in 1931

Osborne (DD-295): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by a Japanese light cruiser trying to escape from Manila in 1931

Dent (DD-116): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally escapes from Manila but sunk just off Guam by a Japanese submarine in 1931

Lamberton (DD-119): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam in 1931

Rizal (DM-14, ex-DD-174): real Wickes-class destroyer fitted as minelayer fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam in 1931

3x light minelayers

12x submarines, including named vessels:

S-4 (SS-109): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally not lost in 1927 and captures the Japanese merchant ship Nikko Maru off the Philippines in 1931

S-10 (SS-115): real S-class(1st Group) submarine fictionally sunk by a mine in 1931

S-11 (SS-116): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally rammed and sunk by a Japanese while attacking troop transports in 1931

S-15 (SS-120): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally sunk while attacking Japanese troop transports in 1931

S-18 (SS-123): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally sinks Japanese Isokaze-class destroyer Hamakaze in 1931

S-19 (SS-124): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally scuttled in Manila Bay in 1931

S-23 (SS-128): real S-class (1st Group) submarine fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam, sunk by mine while escaping to USA in 1931

S-50: real S-class (4th Group) submarine fictionally escapes from Manila to Guam, escaped to USA in 1931

Pacific Fleet ships/new construction

4x unnamed: battlecruisers with a displacement of 52,000 tons, armed with 4x2 18in turrets and a max speed of 35kt, laid down in 1931

Alaska: aircraft carrier; escort for a fleet of decoy battleships in 1932

Curtiss: aircraft carrier, a replacement for the sunken USS Curtiss, completed in 1932

Harvard: aircraft carrier, completed in 1932 ; takes part in invasion of Pelew Islands in 1932

Monatuk: aircraft carrier, completed in 1932

Wright: aircraft carrier, completed in 1920s

Charlotte (CA-12): real Tennessee-class armoured cruiser fictionally recommissioned in 1931

Huntingdon (CA-5): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally recommissioned in 1931

Huron (CA-9): real Pennsylvania-class armoured cruiser fictionally nearly sunk during Japanese sabotage of the Panama Canal in 1931

Atlanta: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32

Cleveland: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1932; sunk by the Japanese battlecruiser Akagi in 1932; name clashes with Denver-class light cruiser (CL-21) completed in 1903 and decommissioned in 1929

Columbia: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931; sunk by Japanese armoured cruisers off Samoa in 1931

Columbus: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32

Denver: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931; name clashes with Denver-class light cruiser (CL-16) completed in 1904 and decommissioned in 1933

Hartford: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32

Kansas City: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32

Los Angeles: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32

Minneapolis: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, built during the 1920s; sunk in a battle with Japanese cruisers in 1931; name clashes with New Orleans-class heavy cruiser (CA-36) completed in 1934

Olympia: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32; name clashes with protected cruiser (C-6) stricken in 1922 and earmarked as a museum ship (IX-40) in 1931

Portland: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, built during the 1920s; name clashes with Portland-class heavy cruiser (CA-35) completed in 1933

Wilmington: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with 3x3 8in turrets, completed in 1931-32; name clashes with Wilmington-class gunboat (PG-8) completed in 1897 and decommissioned in 1945

Albany-class
Albany: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with ?x 8in guns, carries 2x seaplanes, completed in 1931

Troy: a heavy cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons and armed with ?x 8in guns, carries 2x seaplanes, completed in 1931; sunk by the Japanese battlecruiser Akagi in 1932

10x unnamed: heavy cruisers with a displacement of 10,000 tons, armed with 3x3 8in turrets, powered by 60,000hp diesels for a max speed of 28kt, laid down in 1931

5 unnamed: heavy cruisers with a displacement of 12,000 tons, armed with 3x3 8in turrets and powered by diesels, laid down in 1932

Aaron Ward (DD-132): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally recommissioned in 1931 and damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego

Ballard (DD-267): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931

Farragut (DD-300): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931

Hopewell (DD-181): real Wickes-class destroyer fictionally recommissioned in 1931

Laub (DD-263): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally damaged by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931

Melvin (DD-335): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931

Reid (DD-292): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931

Thompson (DD-305): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931

Yarborough (DD-314): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally sunk by Japanese minefield off San Diego in 1931

Zeilin (DD-313): real Clemson-class destroyer fictionally still in commission in 1931

?x unnamed: destroyers powered by diesels and steam turbine propulsion, laid down in 1931

?x unnamed: destroyers with a displacement of 1,500 tons, laid down in 1931-32

V-7: ocean-going submarine with a displacement of 1,700 tons (surf), completed in 1931-32; name clashes with USS Dolphin (ex-V-7) (SS-169) completed in 1932

V-11: ocean-going submarine with a displacement of 1,700 tons (surf), completed in 1931-32

20x unnamed: ocean-going submarines, laid down in 1931-32

Arlington: naval transport, rams the USS Marquette and sinks in 1931

Bath (AK-4): real naval transport fictionally still in commission in 1931, armed with 2x MGs, scuttled following damage from Japanese submarine off Guam in 1931

Beaufort: naval transport, used to send supplies to the Philippines but diverted to Guam in 1931

Marquette: naval transport, rammed by the USS Arlington and sunk in 1931

Nikko Maru: Japanese civilian steamship captured by submarine USS S-4 near the Philippines and impressed as a fleet auxiliary

Newport News (AK-3): real naval transport fictionally still in commission in 1931, used to send supplies to the Philippines but diverted to Guam in 1931

George Washington: real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic, sunk by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru

Leviathan (ex-SS Vaterland): real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic, sunk by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru

Mount Vernon (ex- SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie): real civilian liner of United States Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns; operated in the Atlantic, captured by Japanese auxiliary cruiser Nagasaki Maru and Shanghai Maru

President Cleveland: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic

President Jefferson: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931

President Madison: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic

President Pierce: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931; operated in the Atlantic

President Taft: real civilian liner of American President Lines fictionally converted into an auxiliary cruiser with ?x 6in guns in 1931


Aircraft

Chicago: large rigid airship

 

[Graham1973]

Welcome back Hood!

And now for my much more modest effort.

E. E. Vielle, The Shadow of Kuril, 1971

United Kingdom

HMS Thunderer
Resolution Class Submarine (Improved)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The improvements comprise an uprated reactor design of an unspecified nature. The name for this submarine had not been used by the RN since the previous holder, an Orion Class Battleship was scrapped in the 1920s. For it's current mission three of the Polaris missiles have been replaced by three examples of a prototype weapon described in the following terms:

"So far as you are concerned there is no difference between them. But, as you will hear later, the new ones behave in a completely different way after they have been fired."

"All existing missile systems rely on the fact that the rocket carries the weapon high into the stratosphere where it becomes clearly visible to the detector. This new missile of ours keeps low, very low. The curvature of the Earth and, to some extent mountainous terrain screen it from direct observation by radar; and earth returns complicate detection from satellites. Shortly after launching the missile rotates into a horizontal position. Instead of continuing upwards like a normal rocket, it flaps out small wings and from then on behaves exactly like a low-level rocket propelled aircraft."

"...the same range of jamming and confusing devices that we have developed for aircraft..."

The description suggests a cruise missile sized to fit into Polaris launch tubes. However, neither designation, codename nor complete specifications are provided beyond the above with the only real hint been that the test firing was to be from the Coral Sea to Australia (With the most likely target the one of the Woomera Launch Site's safety areas.) which would give a range of around 1437 miles (2,313km).

HMS Flasher
Resolution Class Submarine (Improved)
Details as per the real ships.
Note: The improvements are identical to those on HMS Thunderer. The name used for this submarine has never been used by the RN.

HMS Capella
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
No other details provided. The name used for this submarine has never been used by the RN.

United States

USS Adirondack
'Aircraft Carrier', class not specified
No other details provided. The name used for this ship had last been used for the lead ship of the Adirondack Class of Amphibious Force Command Ships which was in service between 1945 and 1955 before being scrapped in 1972.

China (Peoples Republic)

Unnamed
Submarine (SSN), class not specified
Fitted with attachments to allow the towing of another submarine.
No other details provided

Plot summary: The RNs most advanced submarine has left the UK on a mission of critical importance for NATO, then an abrupt message hinting of engine trouble sparks a desperate search and ends with a shocking discovery...

Note: This is another 'Yellow Peril (China)' story, of which several other examples can be found in this listing. The blurb touts the author as the next Alistair MacLean, however I've only stumbled across this one book by the author (Two copies at my local second hand bookshop.) and given my struggle in reading it, I can only say the advertisers got it wrong

 

[Graham1973]

John R. Monteith, Rogue Enforcer, 2014

Argentina

ARA Santa Cruz (S-41)
TR-1700 Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1984 - 2020

ARA San Juan (S-42)
TR-1700 Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1985 - 2017
Note: In real life this submarine was lost with all hands in 2017.

United Kingdom

HMS Dragon (D35)
Type 45 Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service 2012 - Ongoing

HMS Ambush (S120)
Astute Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 2013 - Ongoing

Non-State

Spectre
Hai Ming Class Submarine
Details as per the French Scorpène Class
Copy of the French Scorpène Class built in Taiwan under license.
Note: This fully armed and equipped submarine is in private ownership and belongs to the mercenary organization owned by arms dealer Pierre Renard who obtained it in a deal that requires he provide Taiwanese Navy personnel with sea and combat experience.

Plot summary: It is 'the day after tomorrow' (The next novel in the series states the story took place in 2017.), Argentina facing another political/economic crisis decides to try that which was tried and failed in the 1980s, but to make things easier they hire the man who helped preserve Taiwanese independence to ease the way. However the Argentine governments decision to get out of paying their contractor comes back to bite them.

Note: This is the fifth in a series of sixteen novels focussed on arms dealer Pierre Renard and the people who work with him. The first four novels in the series were covered on this thread back in 2017.

 

[Graham1973]

Thomas B. Allen & Norman Polmar, Ship of Gold, 1987

United States (WWII)

USS Tigerfish
'Fleet submarine', class not specified
No other details provided.

United States (1979)

USS Redfin
SSN, class not specified
No other details provided.
Note: Name was last used for a Gato Class Submarine, USS Redfin (SS-272) in service 1943 - 1967.
Fitted with a fictional 'high resolution search sonar' designated AN/BQS-32. No specifications are provided for this.

USS Queenfish (SSN-651)
Sturgeon Class Submarine
Real ship, details as in service 1966 - 1991.

Russia (1979)

Petroverdets
Victor III (Pr. 671RTM/RTMK) Class Submarine
Details as per the real ships.
Note: Author simply identifies the ship as a 'Victor Class' Submarine without specifying subtype. However the armament description matches that of the last introduced subtype which entered service in 1979, the year the novel is set.

China (Peoples Republic of) (1979)

Anshan (101) (ex-Rekordny)
Type 6607 Class Destroyer
Real ship, details as in service. Russia 1942 - 1954. Transferred to China 1954, in service 1954 - 1992. Preserved as a museum ship in Qingdao.
Note: Former Gnevny (Pr. 7) Class Destroyer.

Non-State

Golden Moon (aka Good Wind)
Armed Junk
Three Masts
2 x 'Turbo Diesels'
Speed: 15knots
Crew: 40 (20 seaman, 20 ex-Taiwanese Marines)
Armament: 1 x 19thC 9pdr Long Gun (Decorative, only visible armament, at stern. Unlike the 9pdr in 'His Majesty's Schooner' (1975), this one is a 19th C. original dating from 1812.) 2 x 20mm Oerlikon Cannon (fwd), 1 x 40mm Bofors Gun (Aft), 2 x 60mm mortars (Amidships) (All concealed mounts), 2 x 21inch underwater TT aft carrying 'homing torpedos' (make/model not specified)
Note: Owned by an unnamed Hong Kong based Triad.

Plot summary: The year is 1979, the resting place of Yamashita's Gold, the treasure looted from East Asia by the Japanese during WWII, has been located. Placed aboard a Red Cross hospital ship, the treasure ended up at the bottom of the sea thanks to a trigger-happy US submarine captain. But that kind of treasure attracts all kinds of people and the stage is set for a potential Superpower confrontation as warships from the United States, Soviet Union and Peoples Republic of China all converge on the salvage ship.

Note: Yamashita's Gold has been part of action fiction since the end of WWII, the earliest story I know to feature it is the 1948 story 'Bluewater Bullion', written by H. Fredric Young and published in the May issue of 'Adventure Magazine'. Another appearance in this list is in the 2009 story 'South China Seas: A Novel of Modern Piracy' written by Paul G. Ochs, under the pen name Colum Fitzroy.