Ok folks, it's time for another poll, methinks!

All time favorite ships in each of the 5 categories below:

1. Battleships/Battle-cruisers
2. Aircraft carriers/Amphibious platforms/docks
3. Cruisers
4. Destroyers/Frigates/Escorts
5. Passenger ship

To get the ball rolling here's my list:

1. HMS King George V (For obvious and not so obvious reasons )
2. Carriers: HMS Illustrious (WW2), Come on: Taranto Raid! First of its kind!
3. Cruisers: HMS Dorsetshire
4. Destroyers/Frigates: HMS Punjabi
5. RMS Olympic

Will be interested to hear what yours are!

Here is my list:

1. IJN Nagato - Beautiful lines - just an amazing looking ship
2. IJN Shokaku - First truly designed and build Aircraft Carrier of the IJN
3. USS Houston - The history and story of this ships demise is a true story of perseverance in an unwinnable situation
4. USS Johnston - The Destroyer that fought like a Battleship!

Dave

Hope you dont mind me jumping on board with my choices Russell as I usually only do armour ....
1. IJN Yamato
2. USS Enterprise CVN 65
3. USS Indianapolis
4. HMS Sheffield - Falklands.
Hope they are ok. John

1. The Grand Old Lady herself, HMS Warspite.
2. USS Enterprise CV-6 aka The Grey Ghost
3. This is tough but on a coin toss, USS Des Moine
4. HMCS Haida. Canada’s fightingest ship

Bismarck - Kreigsmarine - They should have had escorts

USS Hornet - US Navy - Proof that the Japanese had truly awoken a sleeping giant

USS Olympia - US Navy - Always wanted that kit when I was a kid.

USS Buckley - US Navy - Actually built this kit as a kid. I believe that this was the only US vessel in WWII where the command "Prepare to repel boarders" was issued.

1) RM Littorio - it’s in the name
2) HMS Illustrious (WWII)
3) HMS Kent - Monmouth and County classes so two in one.
4) USS Hoel - fought along side the Johnston but Is always forgotten.
5) RMS Queen Mary

1) USS Colorado/Pueblo AC7
2) USS Shangri La CVA38
3) USS Galveston CLG3
4) USS John W. Thomason DD760

1.USS New Jersey
2.IJN Akagi
3.IJN Takao + SMS Emden
4.USS Oliver Perry

1. Repulse
2. Courageous/Glorious - such interesting looking ship
3. Houston - Java Sea
4. HMS Zubian - a really quirky history
5 WWI Hog Islanders

Some really great choices here guys

I thought I'd better add passenger ships as a category, so as not to leave the civvies out of the equation

1. HMS New Zealand
2. HMS Hermes
3. HMNZS Achilles
4. HMS Snowberry
5. SS Mauretainia

Cheers
Michael

As long as you are including liners in the poll Russell I will add my favorite

SS America/USS West Point AP23

1. Yamato - I remember how impressed I was when I first discoverd the kit of her once I was a boy
2. difficult for me as they all look similar - but the Akagi is different
3. SMS Emden and its sister ship Dresden as both have had a remarkable service history
4. The modern chinese PLAN frigates look cool
5. The icebreaker Soya isn´t really a passenger ship but I am fascinated by her color and her service history

3. USS Chicago CG-11

Personal reasons

Cheers

1. Washington
2. Gambier Bay
3. Salt Lake City
4. USS Constitution
5. Mayflower

Also the USS Harder, Gato class sub.

5. MTS Oceanos For various reasons but mostly because of where it sank and how well the South African National Defenxe force responded.

My choices.
#1 HMS Hood pennant number 51
#2 HMCS Bonaventure CVL22
#3 HMCS Prince David F89 (Armed Merchant Cruiser)
#4 RCN St Laurent class DDE
#5 SS Noronic

Howdy Y'all
My favorites:
1. USS Missouri-love the surrender pictures in Tokyo harbor
2. USS Lexington & sister, Saratoga-beautiful ships in my opinion
3. IJN Yahagi-enjoyed Captain Hara's book
4. USS Ward-first shots for the USN in the Pacific, first kill
5. The Love Boat-no further comment needed.
Take care,
Don "Lakota"

Hey Don,
Was that book titled Japanese Destroyer Captain ?

Anthony,
That's the one. I think I've read two or three times.
Take care,
Don "Lakota"

So have I, maybe like five times over the years. It is the book I remember, along with Fuchida's and Sakai's that gave you the human side of warfare from the Japanese side. As such, and I read all three back in the 1950's for the first time, that let the reader here in the States know that these former enemies were just as human as we are, free from the wartime picture painted of the Japanese.

I have heard, although I cannot verify it, that Captain Hara Tamechi was the only Japanese destroyer captain at the start of the war that survived.

1.HMS Tiger. Best looking Battlecruiser, and took 2 pastings without blowing up.
2 HMS Furious. Hard worked, and oft forgotten
3. HMS Kent WW1. Battle of the Falkland Islands,
4. HMS Eskimo. Battle of Narvik, surviving loosing her bow. (And she's a tribal)
5. QE2, Falklands war, and the Duster family spent a holiday on her 2004, very special ship to us.

Si

My favorite ships are;
battleship-USS Maine,the first one(just weird looking enough to be attractive)
aircraft carrier- USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 (stationed on for three years in the 70's)
cruiser-SMS Emden (a real pain in the English ass at the start of WW-1)
destroyer- USS Henley DD-762 (the first ship I was stationed on)
frigate- USS Gallery FFG-26 (the last ship I was stationed on)
civilian ship- THE GREAT EASTERN (JUST BIG for the times)

1. HMS Barham. From the era when battleships were the capital ships, and it has the coolest sounding name ever.
3. Mogami just for the looks.

Sorry, no favorites in other classes. In carriers I like the quadruplet Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu just for the poetry of the names, but can't pick one.

Some really cool choices here guys!

Keep em' coming!

It would be interesting you know what your second favorites are as well...


What's also interesting is that it seems many of our favorites listed above have yet to materialize in kit form...