Commonwealth Navy Ships Listing

 

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While I have only named the ship types and countries utilising the major amount of Commonwealth ships, other countries such as India & South Africa, had naval forces (These have been included in the UK totals). Even the USA used corvettes from the Commonwealth. Allied navies using personnel based in the UK also manned ships from the Commonwealth where the ships were transferred to those countries control and were named by those countries. Cruisers and down were used in this way.

Please remember these are my renderings of ships that may or may not have existed in this Universe but definitely exist somewhere else.

Note - the thumbnails take you to the ship page but the return link on the page itself will either take you back to this page or the Australis ship page. Clicking back on your browser will return you to this page. (Only those pages that are complete have links from the thumbnails - All done except Depot Ships.

 

Aircraft Carriers

The doctrines of the two major Commonwealth CV builders reflected their major battlegrounds. The Royal Navy required its carriers to be able to survive near occupied territory in the Mediterranean and along the coasts of Europe. Its ships were armoured accordingly. The Australis carriers had all the Pacific and Indian Oceans to play in and these areas required numbers of aircraft aboard as there were no land based aircraft to worry about. The size of the ships and numbers of aircraft reflected this.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address (click on thumbnail for page listing)
Argus 1 1919

UK-1
Hermes 1 1925

UK-1
Vindictive 1 1926 AU-1
Furious 3 1925 UK-3
Eagle 1 1924 SA-1
Van Diemen 1 1928 AU-1
Kitchener 2 1928 UK-2
Lesotho 1 1931 SA-1
Albatross 34 1934 AU-12

SA-4

UK-18

      AU UK
Ark Royal 4 1938+ UK3 SA-1
Tasman Sea 10 1940 AU-10
Illustrious 5 1940 UK-5
Endeavour 4 1941 AU-4
Audacious 4 1944 UK-4
Centaur 20 1941 UK-18

SA-2
Malta 2 1945 UK-2
Pegasus 1 1914 UK-1

 

Battleships / Battlecruisers

Even though the Commonwealth navies were acting in concert for building of their capital ships, you can see from the list below that no real homogenous classes of battleship or battlecruiser emerged. The closest would be the King George and Westralis types which shared the same hull if not the same armament and were supposed to have been 6 UK and 4 Australis for a total of 10. The Temeraire class of 4 laid down in 1938/39 were delayed, cancelled and scrapped from wars outbreak.

Class Name No. First Date

Country/No.

 Page Address
Neptune 3 1909 UK-3
Lion 2 1912 SA-2
Iron Duke 6 1913 AU-4/SA-2 AU SA
Tiger 2 1914 AU-2
Erin 1 1914 SA-1
Gauteng 1 1915 SA-1
Queen Elizabeth 8 1915 AU-3/UK-5 AU UK
Revenge 5 1916 SA-1/UK-4 SA UK
Renown 2 1916 UK-2
Australis 1 1919 AU-1
Hood 1 1920 UK-1
Transvaal 1 1926 SA-1
Nelson 2 1927 UK-2
Invincible 1 1930 UK-1
Sud Afrika 1 1936 SA-1
King George V 4 1939 UK-4
Westralis 2 1940 AU-2
Vanguard 1 1940 UK-1
New Zealand 1 1940 AU-1
Tiger II 2 1941 UK-2
Oceania 1 1945 AU-1

 

Area Defence Vessels / Pre-Dreadnoughts / Armoured Cruisers / Training Ships

Along with their primary duties these ships operated as depot/repair ships for minor war vessels. The two operating from Sierra Leone never got to sea as they were used for depot and repair ships for the escorts and seaplanes working from the base. They were indispensible.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address
Lord Nelson 2 1908 AU-1/UK-1
Botswana 1 1908 SA-1
Brabant 2 1909 AU-2
Duke of Edinburgh 4 1908 UK-4
Tasmania 2 1912 AU-2
St Vincent 2 1910 UK-2
Neptune 2 1913 AU-2
Wildebeest 1 1935 SA-1

 

Heavy - Light - Anti-Aircraft Cruisers

Commonwealth cruisers fought battles from the freezing seas of the Arctic to the heat of the East Indies, against surface and air threats alike.

The early cruisers built from 1910-1920 were of great importance to the Commonwealth Navies for the work they carried out on secondary duties. Without them a first line cruiser would have had to be employed to do the same job and the Commonwealth never had enough cruisers.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address
Boadicea 6 1909 AU-4/SA-2 AU SA
Bristol 8 1910 AU-2/UK6 AU UK
Chatham 6 1912 SA-3/UK-3 SA UK
Birmingham 6 1914 AU-4/UK-2 AU UK
Arethusa 11 1914 AU-4/SA-3/UK-4 AU UK/SA
Caroline 14 1915 SA-2/UK-12
Caledon 17 1917 AU-4

SA-1

UK-12

 AU UK/SA
Danae 8 1918 UK-8
Emerald 4 1924 AU-2/UK-2 AU UK
Dunedin 2 1923 AU-2 AU
Frobisher 4 1923+ UK-4 UK
Norfolk 22 1927+ AU-6/SA-2/UK-14 AU UK/CA
Exeter 4 1934 UK-4
Leander 14 1935 AU-4/UK-8/SA-4 AU UK/SA
Newcastle 34 1937+ AU-4/CA-2/UK-28 AU UK/SA
Angola 6 1938+ SA-6
Melbourne 4 1940 AU-4
Dido 19 1940+ UK-19 UK
Mount Perry 30 1939 AU-24/SA-6 AU/SA  
Princess Royal 6 1941 AU-2/UK-4 AU UK

 

Destroyer (Leader - Escort) Minelayers

The Commonwealths destroyer flotillas went everywhere and served there with distinction and courage. This class of ship had more comparative losses than any other type.

Marksman DDL with Light Cruiser alongside, both ships armed with mines.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address
Zambezi 13 1915 SA-13
Romola 32 1916 AU-6/SA-11/UK-22 AU UK
Scimitar 50 1918 AU-10/SA-12/UK-36 AU UK
Marksman 18 1915 AU-6/SA-2/UK-10 AU UK
Vanoc/Wakeful 80 1917 AU-16/UK-64 AU UK
Shakespeare 18 1917 AU-4/UK14 AU UK
A-G 38 1924 SA-4/UK-50 UK/CA
F-G 32 1928 AU-32 AU
Leaders 8 1925 UK-8 UK
H-I 28 1933 SA-8/UK-24 UK
J-N 48 1935 SA-12/UK-48 UK
O-Z+ 164 1940 AU-36/CA-8/UK-120 AU UK
Tribal 44 1935 AU-16/SA-8/UK-24 AU UK
Westland 16 1941 AU-4/SA-12 AU SA
Battle 8 1944 UK-8 UK
Hunt 102 1940 AU-16/UK-86 AU UK
Arbuthnot 86 1942+ SA-16/UK-70 UK
MINELAYERS
Crocodile 2 1906 SA-2
Princess Irene 2 1914 AU-2
Adventure 2 1924 UK-2
Abdiel 8 1938 UK-8
Springbok 2 1943 SA-2

Destroyer pens on Firth of Forth probably same era as BC's in above photo.

 

Minesweepers - Corvettes - Frigates - Escorts

The Commonwealth produced over 500 escort vessels during WW2, a staggering amount, and if you asked, there were never enough.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address
Hunt/Aberdare 36 1917 CA-8/UK-28
Halcyon 18 1934 UK-18
Bangor 78 1940+ UK-70/CA-8
Kingfisher 9 1935 UK-9
Aconite (Flower 2) 267 1939 CA-48/UK-219
River Class 211 1940 AU-76/CA-24/UK-111 AU UK
Loch Class 30 1943 UK-30 UK
Bay Class 33 1942 AU-15/UK-18 AU UK
Latrobe 64 1934 AU-64
Grimsby 52 1928+ UK-48/CA-4

 

Miscelaneous (Monitors - FRS)

With the outbreak of war the Royal Navy ceased building specific repair/depot ships and started converting civilian and older warships to fill the needs. The Royal Navy did not need Fleet Replenishment Ships as used by Australis till their ships started operating in the Pacific Theater when they utilised the Australis ships. With the torpedoing and beaching of Royal Oak in 1939 only two of her turrets were able to be salvaged and re-used in the Monitors of the Roberts class. The Gorgon utilised turret A from the Furious, turrets B & C going to Dover and Singapore respectively.

Class Name No. First Date Country/No. Page Address
Erebus 2 1916 UK-2
Marshal Class 2 1915 UK-2
Rhinoceros 1 1918 SA-1
Echidna 5 1926 AU-5
Havelock 3 1936 UK-3
Koala 4 1935 AU-4
Roberts 2 1941 UK-2
Gorgon 1 1922 UK-1
Fleet Replenishment Ships
Kanimbla 24 1939+ AU-24
Warramunga 10 1939+ AU-10
Depot Ships
Resource 2 1928 UK-2  
Medway 2 1929 UK-2  
Woolwich 2 1934 UK-2  
Maidstone 2 1939 UK-2  
Tyne 2 1940 UK-2  
Duiker Island 16 1942+ SA-16

 

Commonwealth Navy Dispositions 1939

 

  CV CVL CVE BB BC ADV CA CL/E CLA ML DDL DD DDE ESCT Mon
Home Fleet (Scapa) 2     5 2   6 14 4 2 12 36 6 6  
Escort Fleet (Liverpool)     1     2   5 2 1 6 30 19 20  
Coastal Fleet (Dover)                   1 2 12 8 24 3
Gibraltar (Med Fleet) 1       1   2 4 2 1 9 24 6 8 1
Malta (Med Fleet) 1     2     2 4 2 1 4 18 2 6 1
Alexandria (Med Fleet) 1     3     2 4 2 1 9 24 8 6 2
Carribean (Antigua)           1 2 2 1   2 4   4  
Sierra Leone           1         3 10 3 9  
Simonstown (SA) 1   1 5 4 1 5 8 10   7 22 10 16  
Falkands           1               2  
Ceylon (Trincomalee)           1 1 2     1 4   4  
Aden (Red Sea)           1       1 1 4 2 4  
Singapore (Eastern Fleet)   1   2   1 2 2 1 1 2 8 2 4 1
Hong Kong (Eastern Fleet)           1 2 2 1 1   4   3  
Perth (Australis) 1   1 2 1 3 4 6     6 14 8 12 3
Darwin (Australis)   1 1 3 2 2 4 4   2 4 12 4 6 4
Auckland (Australis)     1 2   2   2     2 6 4 6 2

TOTALS

 7 2 5 24 10 17 32 59 25 12 70 232 82 140 17

 

Ships to complete

  CV CVL CVE BB BC ADV CA CL/E CLA ML DDL DD DDE ESCT Mon
1940 3 2 4 4 1     6 8 3 1 16 12 78  
1941 2   12 2 1     4 10 1 2 16 16 90 1
1942 2 2 8       1 4 10   1 48 40 172 1
1943 3 6 4       2 4 8 1 4 60 60 136  
1944 2 12 2 1     2 4 5 1 8 12 44 116  
1945+ 7 8         1 2 3   4 12 16 67  

TOTALS

 19 30 30 7 2 0 6 24 44 6 20 232 188 659 2

With the sea lanes being the lifeblood of Empire it is not surprising to see the three major Empire Navies complete over a 1000 ships that could be used for convoy escort duties. Only 86 of those ships were supplied through the US for the Arbuthnot DDE's. It is also apparrent how much of a part the aircraft carrier will play in the war when more of those are built than cruisers.

I needed these tables to see where I draw the ships from to defeat the Argentinians and retake the Falkands. A battle fleet is assembled at Simonstown drawn from the African fleet, Carribean, Gibraltar, and Australis from Perth.

 

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