Need help with List of most famous WWII warships

I very much doubt any are still alive. There were no teenagers who were Navy Captains or Commanders in any ship's history, that's a no brainer.
That is something we can watch out for though. I'll add it to my list for sure.
That they survived a battle in such circumstances is an all the better reason to commemorate them in these decks.

 

Japan and US Deck names are just fine as they are. But:

I think I have successfully presented my case for inclusion of a few representative Commonwealth Ships.
Therefore I propose we change the name of the Deck from United Kingdom to "British Commonwealth." K Alvinhy?

Secondly:
I think I have also successfully presented my case for inclusion of a few of the most noteworthy Axis Partners. Italy and Finland for sure (to date.)
What to call the deck has me stumped. Axis for me includes Japan.

Is there a really good common nomenclature that applies to the Western Axis Allies that we could use to name this deck? Obviously I am stumped here...
If not I suggest changing it from German to "Western Axis" for this deck.

Thirdly:
Alvinhy has made it crystal clear that these cards fit best for ships that were lost in action.

Survivors leave us feeling with a real misfit here. But I am seeing clear possibilities for second runs of British and US Naval Card Decks.
- Wherein surviving the war may be the premise for the deck. That really is the definition of a "Super-Ship."
- Where the teamwork together was so good, from Command down to the lowest common denominator that they survived in even in the face of the most challenging and / or appalling circumstances.

Thus, Fourthly, the US deck needs as much or more of an overhaul than the United Kingdom one aka the British Commonwealth deck.
I hope some of you US experts are putting as much thought into this as I am with our side of the pond.

I am far from knowledgeable about the US Navy, particularly in the Pacific campaign.
If you see input from me here in this deck it is far more likely to be SEAC US Fleet losses
- which I insist on halving at least a representative example of should an appropriate one make the list.

 

From Post #1.

A question to you, Alvinhy.

Any thought to putting the names of the most memorable and honourable crew members on the playing cards?
At the very least, Ace Cards for each suit of each deck could go to the most celebrated staff member or... for one of the ship's losses.
Just the names and rank though, unless presentation requires otherwise.

 

No disrespect taken, but the OP (Alvinhy) asked a specific question about a naval officer committing suicide, and that was what my reply was about.

 

Captain Bode was not captain of the USS Chicago when she was sunk.

USS Chicago's captain at the time of her sinking was Captain Ralph Otis Davis.

 

Thanks USMCPrice, I was nervous about what sort of response I was going to get there.

My point being that the USS Johnson really sets the definition of a Club loss, given the new definition for the suit.
A club loss is most likely going to be a suicidal battle choice, no two ways about it. So this fits the bill (in Spades too.)
She dug in and got the job done as best she could. Unbelievable story.

For those not in the know, read the synopsis on the USS Johnson I posted a page back.
Without doubt probably THE penultimate heroic battle action in the entire history of mankind.

Right up there with the HMAS Yarra, the Spartans at Marathon and the French Forces defending Dunkirk.

In my heart of hearts I have always believed that so little is written detailing the battle put on by the French is due to Allied Survivors.

Every record of every survivor equates the French Forces defending Dunkirk with the Spartans at Marathon.
When it comes to details they just go silent in respect. That says so much. A real heartbreaker.

 

I was thinking of having the most memorable names printed on the interior of the playing card box. But this can be decided later on.
The most important part is to finalise the list of ships.

I think as it stands, I will have a USS deck + British Commonwealth deck, and also an Axis deck, so combining german and japan maybe a good idea.
3 Decks in total. (Please forgive my quick PM reply to you, it was before I read this post).

These decks are printed with casino quality similar to Bicycle + BEE decks so I have to put in mind the cost as well. But as it stands 3-4 decks would be ideal.

 

I have been pottering away at Japanese Naval Losses. A real struggle.
I think too easy for WASPs like us to offend Japanese sensitivities that might want to see a very different selection paying respect via a commemorative product such as this.
Every single last Japanese Naval ship was lost in WW2. Not a scattering like ours.

Mind you:
1. the Japanese are big time into gaming, including cards...
2. I have been trying to Skype a Japanese friend, no success the last couple of daze...
trying to get him (finally...) to join the forum here. He would have this sorted out liketly split.

So, if indeed a forth deck is necessary, perhaps one dedicated to Submarines. What cha think?
3 Cards each for The USA (Spades) England (Hearts) Japan (Diamonds) and German (Clubs)

That could be done in a heartbeat. Right rogues?

 

Maybe sometime in the future I'll expand to subs, tanks, planes etc....

 

Only because there were survivors to testify to her deeds.

The USS Edsall(DD-219) and USS Pillsbury(DD-227) had no one but the enemy to tell of their heroic last actions. However, these were not modern destroyers just shy of one year old, these were destroyers "that were old enough to vote."

Yet, the actions of all the 4-piper destroyers, indeed, all of the warships of ABDA, in the very early dark days of 1942 are buried and forgotten because the Allies "lost" during that period.

These are the ships and the sailors that, as Fred says, "sets the definition of a Club loss."

 

Man, oh Man, that got the tears going... Nice, poignant touch. Nicely done!

 

OK. Ready to nail this down. K?

Present your case(s) for consideration as if you are in the Forces requesting a change in Policy from your Commanding Officers.
(Aka The rest of us here...) Anybody with any military background will understand the challenge that this is.
Make it a letter perfect case study, short, clear and to with the right exclamation point needed to get your message through.
If it can’t be read it in one minute, it won’t be looked at for consideration.

Do it right, do it right the first time or just go cry in your soup. K?
Don’t even think about having the chance to come back for repairs. A 1st crack / 1st impressions is all you'll get.

Have at ‘er rogues… My proposals follow as an example for you to follow.

 

Revised Feb 23d 2016 7:36 PM.

British Commonwealth "King" Battleship Research

King of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.

Polish M-class Destroyer ORP Orkan lost October 8th 1943
She was originally commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Myrmidon; she was transferred to the free Polish Navy based in Britain in December 1942.
The name translates as "windstorm". She was sunk by the German submarine U-378 in the Barents Sea.
Orkan served in the Arctic, In early 1943, the destroyer escorted the convoy JW-53 to Russia, returned with the convoy RA-52 and then operated as convoy escort in the North Atlantic.
In July 1943, she transferred the body of the Polish Supreme Chief General Władysław Sikorski from Gibraltar to England.
At 07.05 hours on 8 October 1943, Orkan (under Lt. Stanisław Hryniewiecki) was hit by a GNAT homing torpedo from U-378 while escorting the convoy SC 143 and sank within a few minutes.
There were 179 dead and 44 survivors, 1 officer and 43 ratings rescued by HMS Musketeer.
Komandor Porucznik (Lieutenant Commander) Stanislaw Hryniewiecki KIA.
http://uboat.net/allies/commanders/4710.html
http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3100.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Orkan_(G90)

King of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.
- The court card King of Hearts called "The suicide King", that Captain is the Suicide King.

1. HMS Armed Merchant Cruiser Rawlpindi lost November 23d 1939 in the Iceland Gap
A converted passenger ship intended to raid and sink enemy merchant shipping that was sunk in a surface action against the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the first months of the Second World War.
While patrolling north of the Faroe Islands on 23 November 1939, she investigated a possible enemy sighting, only to find that she had encountered two
of the most powerful German warships, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which had been conducting a sweep between Iceland and the Faroes.
Rawalpindi was able to signal the German ships' location back to base.
Despite being hopelessly outgunned, 60-year-old Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy RN of Rawalpindi decided to fight, rather than surrender as demanded by the Germans.
He was heard to say "We’ll fight them both, they’ll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye".
The German warships sank Rawalpindi within 40 minutes. She managed to score one hit on Scharnhorst, which caused minor splinter damage.
238 men died on Rawalpindi, including Captain Kennedy. Thirty-seven men were rescued by the German ships, a further 11 were picked up by HMS Chitral (another converted passenger ship)
Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy posthumous Mentioned in Despatches. He was 60 and retired when he volunteered for service in WW2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Rawalpindi

2. HMS Glowworm lost April 8th 1940.
HMS Glowworm was hopelessly outgunned by the German Cruiser Admiral Hipper, a ship ten times her size
- but this did not deter Lieutenant Commander Roope from making a determined attack concluding with a suicide ramming of the Admiral Hipper which broke the bow off Glowworm, and she sank shortly thereafter.
Glowworm was on fire when she drifted clear and her boilers exploded at 10:24, taking 109 of her crew with her. The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime.
Admiral Hipper hove to in order to rescue her man overboard as well as the Glowworm's 40 survivors although at least six later died of their wounds.
The German sailor was not found.
Lieutenant Commander Gerard Roope received the first Victoria Cross (VC) posthumously on July 6th 1945 when it was possible to corroborate the circumstances with German sources, including the captured log.
Source: http://ww2today.com/captain-of-hms-glowworm-wins-first-vc-of-the-war
http://www.hmsglowworm.org.uk/

King of Diamonds Candidates: the one that sparkled. Valuable losses.

1. HMS Renown-class Battlecruiser Repulse
The first attack began at 11:13 a.m. when 250 kilograms (551 lb) bombs were dropped from eight 22nd Air Flotilla G3Ms from an altitude of 11,500 feet (3,505 m).
The battlecruiser was straddled by two bombs, then hit by a third which penetrated through the hangar to explode on the armoured deck below.
In the ensuing attacks, Repulse was skilfully handled by her captain, Bill Tennant who managed to avoid 19 torpedoes as well as the remaining bombs from the G3Ms.
However, Repulse was then caught by a synchronised pincer attack by 17 Mitsubishi G4M torpedo bombers and hit by four or five torpedoes in rapid succession.
Repulse listed severely to port and quickly capsized with the loss of 508 officers and men.
Captain William George Tennant later played a crucial part of the success of Operation Overlord and earlier had played a part at Dunkirk.
The destroyers HMS Electra and HMAS Vampire rescued nearly 1,000 survivors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Repulse_(1916)

2. HMS I-class Destroyer Intrepid lost Sept 26th 1943.
Sunk by German Ju 88 bombers in Leros harbour, Dodecanese in the Aegean Sea while evacuating troops from Crete.
Commander Charles Arthur de Winton Kitcat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Intrepid_(D10)

King of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

HMS Admiral-Class Battlecruiser Hood lost May 24th 1941 in the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
One of the largest and, ostensibly, the most powerful warships in the world:
- Hood was the pride of the Royal Navy and, carrying immense prestige, was known as ‘The Mighty Hood’.
In May 1941, she and the battleship Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were en route to the Atlantic where they were to attack convoys.
On 24 May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Hood was struck by several German shells, exploded and sank.
Due to her perceived invincibility, the loss had a profound effect on the British people.
Hood sank with 1418 men aboard. Only three survived.
Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland KIA, Companion of the Order of the Bath (1939) Mentioned in Despatches (1941 posthumously) LoA Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (1932)
http://www.hmshood.com/history/denmarkstrait/bismarck1.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Denmark_Strait

 

Revised: Feb 23d 2016 8:45 PM

British Commonwealth "Queen" Aircraft Carrier Research.

Queen of Spades: the one that dug in throughout its history. Did the dirty jobs and got it done.

HMS King George Class Battleship Prince of Wales Sunk on 10 December 1941
by Japanese air attack off Kuantan, South China Sea in the Battle off Malaya by Mihoro Air Corps Nell torpedo bombers (two squadrons from the Genzan Air Group) and Betty bombers of the Kanoya Air Group.
Force Z's Prince of Wales and Repulse were the first capital ships to be sunk solely by naval air power on the open sea.
The Prince of Wales, had one of the most advanced naval anti-aircraft systems of the time, the High Angle Control System, which demonstrated accurate long-range radar-directed AA fire.
The contributing factors to the sinking of Prince of Wales was her surface-scanning radar being inoperable, depriving of one of its most potent early-warning devices and the early critical damage she sustained from the first torpedo, the additional loss of dynamos depriving Prince of Wales of many of her pumps and electrical failures which left parts of the ship in total darkness.
327 fatalities including 20 officers, 280 sailors and 27 marines. 90 officers and 1195 crew and marines, the majority being picked up by the EXPRESS.
Captain John Leach (and Admiral Sir Thomas Spencer Vaughan "Tom" Phillips GBE, KCB, DSO) chose to go down with their ship,
http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-01BB-HMS_Prince_of_Wales.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_Prince_of_Wales_and_Repulse

Queen of Hearts Candidates: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.

HMS York-Class Heavy Cruiser Exeter lost March 1st 1942 in the Second Battle of the Java Sea.
a combined ABDA – American British Dutch Australian – task force of ships had sustained heavy damage whilst attacking the Japanese invasion fleet heading for Java, now known as the First Battle of the Java Sea.
a combined ABDA – American British Dutch Australian – task force of ships had sustained heavy damage whilst attacking the Japanese invasion fleet heading for Java, now known as the First Battle of the Java Sea.
A combined ABDA – American British Dutch Australian – task force of ships had sustained heavy damage 27 February 1942
whilst attacking the Japanese invasion fleet heading for Java, now known as the First Battle of the Java Sea.
Two days later, when she attempted to reach the Sunda Strait, she was intercepted by the Japanese heavy cruisers:
Nachi, Haguro, Myōkō and Ashigara and the destroyers Akebono, Inazuma, Yamakaze and Kawakaze.
Exeter was soon badly damaged by gunfire, one hit causing the loss of all power to the ship. Scuttling charges were set and she soon began sinking, initially listing to port only to be hit to starboard by two torpedoes from the destroyer Inazuma which sat her back upright and rolled her to starboard before she finally sank about noon. Her escorting destroyers, HMS Encounter and USS Pope were also lost;
800 Allied seamen, were picked up by the Japanese and became prisoners of war, with 153 of Exeter's crew dying while in captivity with three more dying after being liberated at war's end due to their treatment by the Japanese.
Captain Oliver Loudon Gordon POW.
http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CA-Exeter.htm

Queen of Diamonds: the one that sparkled.

HMS Class Fleet Aircraft Carrier Ark Royal lost November 14th 1941 30 nautical miles from Gibraltar.
Ark Royal survived several near misses and gained a reputation as a 'lucky ship'.
On 10 November 1941, Ark Royal ferried more aircraft to Malta before returning to Gibraltar.
On 13 November, at 15:40, the sonar operator aboard the destroyer Legion detected an unidentified sound, but assumed it was the propellers of a nearby destroyer.
One minute later, Ark Royal was struck amidships by a torpedo. The explosion caused Ark Royal to shake, hurled loaded torpedo-bombers into the air and killed Able Seaman Edward Mitchell.
The hole in the hull was enlarged by the ship's motion, and by the time Ark Royal stopped she had taken on water and begun to list to starboard, reaching 18° from centre within 20 minutes.
With the exception of Mitchell, there were no fatalities. The 1,487 officers and crew were transported to Gibraltar.
Captain Loben Edward Harold Maund Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) Mention in Despatches
http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-04CV-Ark%20Royal.htm
http://www.kbismarck.com/ark-royal.html

Queen of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.
- 3d British Commonwealth Aircraft Carrier not found. As yet...

HMS Merchant Cruiser Rawalpindi. Lost November 23d 1939 in the Iceland Gap while patrolling north of the Faroe Islands.
She was a converted passenger ship sunk in a surface action against the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the first months of the Second World War.
Despite being hopelessly outgunned, 60-year-old Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy RN of Rawalpindi decided to fight, rather than surrender as demanded by the Germans.
- He was heard to say "We’ll fight them both, they’ll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye".
She managed to score one hit on Scharnhorst, which caused minor splinter damage.
238 men died on Rawalpindi, including Captain Kennedy. Thirty-seven men were rescued by the German ships, a further 11 were picked up by HMS Chitral (another converted passenger ship).
Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy RN was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Rawalpindi

 

Revised Feb 23'd 9:12 PM

British Commonwealth "Jack" Cruiser Research.
- Jacks could include combats that is remembered as being the most entertaining. Even comedic.

Jack of Spades: The one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.

HMS Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay lost November 5th 1940
The enemy action was one of the earliest in the six-year Battle of the Atlantic.
HMS Jervis Bay was a converted Australian passenger liner made into an armed merchant cruiser fitted with seven antiquated six-inch guns, 15 knots 14,164 long tons
- going down in battle with the Admiral Scheer 28.3 knots 13,440 long tons. Then compare the armor and armament.
On Nov. 5, 1940, the Jervis Bay was the sole escort for Convoy HX84. The convoy comprised 37 merchant freighters bound from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Britain.
Late that afternoon, the 15,000-ton German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer located the convoy, and attacked.
The captain of the Jervis Bay, Edward S.F. Fegen, knew his ship was badly outgunned and no match for the speed and the firepower of the Admiral Scheer.
He ordered the convoy to scatter, and dropped smoke canisters, which created a smokescreen to hide the freighters.
he set course toward the German raider to draw its fire. By doing so, he put the Jervis Bay directly between the convoy and the enemy. 'It was hell cut loose.'
The first of the 11-inch shells from the Admiral Scheer knocked out the forward gun and tore into the bridge, wounding Fegen (one of his arms was shattered). Nonetheless, he stayed in command.
More shells from the German battleship slammed into the Jervis Bay, ripping her apart and setting her ablaze. Severely disabled, the Jervis Bay continued to fire back, her shells falling short of the target.
"I don't think he missed us with anything," survivor Lewis Tilley told CBC Radio in 1959.
Some 190 men lost their lives, including the captain. Sixty-five men survived the attack.
Captain Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen VC, Sea Gallantry Medal (Silver) KIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Jervis_Bay

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/the-fearless-near-forgotten-story-of-hms-jervis-bay-1.1288803

Jack of Hearts: The Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.

1. HMS (aka HMNZS) Leander Class Light Cruiser Neptune lost December 19th 1941.
She served in the New Zealand Division (1937-1941) with the Royal Navy during World War II.
Early in 1941 the New Zealand Government responded to an Admiralty request for sailors to man an additional cruiser.
Neptune was selected and was expected to leave the United Kingdom for New Zealand in May.
However, because of the loss of cruisers during the Crete campaign Neptune was instead attached to Admiral Cunningham's Force K, based on Malta.
Their task was to destroy German and Italian convoys carrying troops and supplies to Libya, in support of Rommel's army in North Africa.
She ran into an uncharted Italian minefield in the Mediterranean off Tripoli, and sank after hitting four mines with the loss of 764 officers and men.
The only axis submarine off Alexandria was the Italian Sciré, which was carrying a group of Italian frogmen equipped with manned torpedoes.
Only 16 men, including Captain O’Conor managed to reach a life raft. Over the next five days they died one after another. AB Norman Walton POW was the sole survivor.
150 of those lost were New Zealanders, 80 of them had served in the Naval Reserve before the outbreak of war.
The loss of Neptune was the greatest single tragedy New Zealand Naval Forces have experienced.
Captain Rory O'Conor KIA.
http://www.hmsneptune.com/history1.htm
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/page/hms-neptune-lost-mediterranean
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruisers_of_the_Royal_New_Zealand_Navy#Loss_of_HMS_Neptune

2. HMAS Leander Class Light Cruiser Perth lost March 1st 1942
At the start of World War II, Perth was used to patrol Western Atlantic and then Australian waters, before she was sent to the Mediterranean Sea at the end of 1940.
There, Perth was involved in the Battle of Greece and the Battle of Crete, and the Syria-Lebanon Campaign before returning to Australian waters in late 1941.
In February 1942, Perth survived the Allied defeat at the Battle of the Java Sea, only then to be torpedoed and sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Sunda Strait.
On 28 February two ships attempted to resupply, but fuel shortages meant that Perth took on only half her normal
fuel capacity, and a lack of shells left the cruisers with what little ammunition was left over from the previous day.
The Allies believed that Sunda Strait was free of enemy vessels, but a large Japanese force had assembled at Bantam Bay.
Perth sighted an unidentified ship; when it was realised that she was a Japanese destroyer, Perth engaged.
However, as this happened, multiple Japanese warships appeared and surrounded the two Allied ships.
At midnight, with ammunition running low, Captain Hector Waller ordered his ship to try to force a way through.
Just as Perth settled on a new heading, four Japanese torpedoes hit the cruiser in the space of a few minutes.
Of the 681 sailors aboard, 353 were killed in battle. All but four of the 328 survivors were captured as prisoners of war:
106 died in captivity, and the surviving 218 were returned home to Australia after the war.
http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-perth-i

3. HMAS Corvette Armidale lost 1 December 1942 evacuating Australian and Dutch soldiers and delivering a relief contingent.
Spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft as they left Darwin, Armidale and Castlemaine survived repeated air attacks
Kuru and Armidale were ordered to continue the operation in daylight. Both came under further attack and Armidale was sunk.
The loss of life on the Armidale was the highest for any corvette in the Second World War. Only 49 of the 149 men on board survived the ordeal.
The survivors, having been strafed by the attacking aircraft, constructed a makeshift raft to which they lashed a half-submerged and badly-damaged whaler.
The wounded were put aboard a small motor boat that had survived the sinking. When it became clear they would not be rescued, the captain
and 21 other men (two of whom died) made for Australian waters in the motor boat, rowing much of the way because the engine was damaged.
Two days later, another 29 survivors began the same precarious journey in the whaler, by now salvaged but in need of constant baling.
Lieutenant Commander David H. Richards, RANR(S)
https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/cruelsea/background.asp

Jack of Diamonds: The one that sparkled. Valuable Loss.

HMCS Corvette Regina lost 8 August 1944.
Torpedoed and sunk by U-667 while rescuing survivors of the American merchant Liberty ship Ezra Weston off Trevose Head. 30 crew were killed.
Lt Jack Wiles Radford, RCNR (4 September 1943 - 8 August 1944)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Regina_%28K234%29

Jack of Clubs: The Sledge Hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

HMAS Yarra: lost 4 March 1942, One for the ages. Fought to the death and then some.
At 6:30 am on 4 March 1942, as the sun rose in a 'glorious splash of colour', the lookout in Yarra (II) sighted the topmasts of Admiral Kondo's heavy cruisers Atago, Takao and Maya to the north north east.
Immediately LCDR Rankin made an enemy report, ordered the ships of the convoy to scatter and placing his ship between
them and the enemy, laid smoke while preparing to engage ships mounting each ten 8-inch guns with his three 4-inch guns.
Against such fire power, superior range and speed the task was hopeless, yet Yarra (II) fought and kept on fighting as one by one the four ships were smashed and sunk.
Yarra (II) was then on fire and listing heavily to port but still shooting.
LS Taylor manning the last remaining gun kept on firing until he too was killed and Yarra (II), except for the crackling flames and the shouts of men, at last fell silent.
Soon after 8:00 am, Rankin ordered 'Abandon Ship' minutes before he was killed when an 8-inch salvo hit the bridge.
Of Yarra (II)'s total complement of 151, 138 including the Captain and all officers were killed in the action or died subsequently on the rafts.
Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin
http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-yarra-ii

Presenting my case for the HMAS YARRA. 4 minute video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9ppb0fsYFM

 

Western Axis "King" Battleship and Battlecruisers Research
King of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.

King of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.
- The court card King of Hearts called "The suicide King", that Captain is the Suicide King.

Panzerschiff (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee lost December 20th 1939 during the Battle of the River Plate.
dmiral Graf Spee was deployed to the South Atlantic in the weeks before the outbreak of World War II, to be positioned in merchant sea lanes once war was declared.
Between September and December 1939, the ship sank nine ships totaling 50,089 gross register tons (GRT), before being confronted by three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December.
Admiral Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage on the British ships, but she too was damaged, and was forced to put into port at Montevideo.
Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces approaching his ship, Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled.

Kapitän zur See (naval captain) Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff
He lay on Admiral Graf Spee's battle ensign and shot himself, forestalling any allegations that he had avoided further action through cowardice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cruiser_Admiral_Graf_Spee
Story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Langsdorff
http://www.lummifilm.com/grafspee/


King of Diamonds: the one that sparkled.



King of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

 

Western Axis "Queen" Heavy Cruisers (and reclassified as thus Pocket battleships) Research.

Queen of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.

Finnish Panssarilaiva (Navy) Panssarilaiva ("Armored ship") FNS Ilmarinen Sunk by mines on 13 September 1941 in in Operation Nordwind. Only 132 men of the crew survived, 271 were lost.
Finnish and German ships were to be used in a diversionary operation to lure the Soviet fleet into battle – away from the real invasion force coming up from the south.
Commander Ragnar Göransson survived.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_coastal_defence_ship_Ilmarinen

Post war, Commander Ragnar Göransson was a major, major name in NATO. Significant legacy.

Queen of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.




Queen of Diamonds: The Valuable loss or the one that sparkled.




Queen of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

 

Western Axis "Jack" Light Cruiser Research.
with perhaps ± one only reserved for U-boats as a tribute to that class, albeit they were largely just predator vessels.

- Jacks could include combats that is remembered as being the most entertaining. Even comedic.


Jack of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.





Jack of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.





Jack of Diamonds: the one that sparkled.





Jack of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

 

Japanese "King" Battleship Research

King of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.




King of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.
- The court card King of Hearts called "The suicide King", that Captain is the Suicide King.

Japanese Yamato Class Battleship Musashi lost October 24th 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Sunk by an estimated 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits from American Essex and Lexington carrier-based aircraft.
Two Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters strafed the ship's deck and Helldivers scored four more bomb hits near her forward turrets.
Musashi was hit by four more torpedoes, three of which were forward of Turret No. 1, causing extensive flooding.
The ship was now listing one degree to starboard, and had taken on so much water that her bow was now down 13 feet (4.0 m) and her speed had been reduced to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).
Two hours later nine Helldivers from Enterprise attacked with 1,000-pound (450 kg) armour-piercing bombs, scoring four hits.
The ship was hit by three more torpedoes, opening up her starboard bow[36] and reducing her speed to 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).
At 15:25, Musashi was attacked by 37 aircraft from Intrepid, the fleet carrier Franklin and the light carrier Cabot.
1,376 of her 2,399-man crew were rescued.
Captain Toshihira Inoguchi chose to go down with his ship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi

King of Diamonds: the one that sparkled.




King of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.

 

Japanese "Queen" Aircraft Carrier Research.

Queen of Spades: the one that dug in. Did the dirty job and got it done.




Queen of Hearts: the Heart Throb loss. The most honourable of the honourable. The most memorable.




Queen of Diamonds: the one that sparkled.




Queen of Clubs: the sledge hammer loss. The truly brutal one.