Stories
The Navy Built 27 of These Cruisers, Then Couldn't Stop Them From Tipping Over
The Cleveland class was the largest cruiser class ever built. They were also dangerously top-heavy. The Navy pulled off catapults, restricted ammo, and added ballast. Nine more hulls became aircraft carriers instead.
The US Navy Dumped 200 Tons of Pig Iron Into This Cruiser Just to Stop Her From Tipping Over
USS Wichita was a one-of-a-kind prototype — too top-heavy to sail without 200 tons of pig iron in her belly. She fought in two oceans, earned 13 battle stars, and became the blueprint for every American heavy cruiser that followed.
The Cruiser That Made British Intelligence Say 'They Must Be Building Ships Out of Cardboard'
Japan cheated on every treaty, built a cruiser that cracked its own hull, rammed its sister ship at Midway, got rebuilt as a half-carrier, and still came back for more.
Hitler Renamed This Ship Because He Was Afraid of the Headline 'Germany Sunk'
The pocket battleship Deutschland captured an American freighter, got renamed to avoid embarrassing headlines, then failed so badly in battle that Hitler tried to scrap his entire surface fleet.
The Cruiser That Got Shot by Its Own Fleet, Started a Revolution, and Became a Museum
Russia's 2nd Pacific Squadron mistook British fishermen for Japanese torpedo boats. Aurora took fire from her own battleships. Then she survived Tsushima, fired the shot that started the Bolshevik revolution, and never left.
The Captain Who Watched His Ship Sink From a Hotel Room
A German cruiser faked a British funnel, slipped into Penang harbor, and torpedoed a Russian ship. The captain was at the E&O Hotel with a woman. He watched through the window.
The Confederate Raider Who Captured 65 Ships and Sank in Front of French Tourists
CSS Alabama spent 22 months capturing Union merchant ships. Her final battle off Cherbourg became a spectator event. Manet painted it.
The Ship That Almost Lost the Unknown Soldier to the Atlantic
In 1921, the casket wouldn't fit below deck. They lashed it to the bow. Then a hurricane hit.
The German Warship That Survived Two Nuclear Bombs and Sank From a Leak
Prinz Eugen fought alongside Bismarck, survived two atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, and sank because nobody could fix a small leak.