Here is what you've all been waiting for. My 2nd annual Boxing Day naval trivia contest. Answers for any not answered by next Sunday will be posted then.

Enjoy.


1. Several WWII era battleships had six main gun turrets. What WWI battleship holds the record of having seven main turrets, all on the centerline? Give either her original name or the name she served under for most of her career.
2. This Swedish ship was a sensation when she first came out. She combined the features of a cruiser with an aircraft carrier. What was the ship?
3. This class of French destroyers was the pinnacle of what was called “contre-torpilleur”. They attained an astonishing 41 knots on trials. What was the class called?
4. This class of battle cruisers was built for the French as a counter to the German “pocket battleships.” What were the two ships?
5. This class of ships was later called by the Germans heavy cruisers, and NEVER pocket battleships. What was the original classification, either in English or German, of the Deutschland, later Lutzow, Scheer, and Graf Spee?
6. It is ironic that at the end of WWII two of the German navies largest ships were left over WWI battleships. Name either of these ships?
7. Generally regarded as the first ship designed from the keel up as a carrier what was this British carrier?
8. Several 5.5 inch guns removed from this famous WWII ship are mounted in the Falkland Islands as shore batteries. What ship provided these guns?
9. Force Z, consisting of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse was originally scheduled to have a carrier with them. What was the carrier that was damaged and unable to go with the two doomed ships?
10. Greece obtained two former United States battleships. These were renamed the Lemnos and Kilkis. What were there original USN names?
11. Believe it or not Iran actually had a navy in WWII. The British and Soviets sank their most powerful ships when they jointly invaded Iran. Name either of these ships?
12. Italy had some plans to convert a liner into a carrier in WWII. The Germans who gave some thought to completing here for their own use captured her. What was the name of this ship?
13. Italy’s battleship Roma goes down in history for what reason?
14. Originally Japan was given permission to convert two battlecruiser into aircraft carriers. One was the Akagi. An earthquake destroyed the other and the Kaga was substituted. What was the name of the other ship?
15. This class of Japanese cruiser was originally designed as a light cruiser with 6.1-inch guns. The ships were designed to have their main battery turrets replaced by 8-inch guns in the event of war. What was this class of light/heavy cruisers?
16. One of the most powerful classes of cruisers in the Netherlands navy consisted of two ships. One was the Java that was sunk defending the N.E.I. The other wound up as a breakwater at Normandy. What was the second cruiser?
17. The Dutch also planned to build several powerful battlecruisers to defend their overseas possessions. Ironically which country gave the Netherlands the most support in designing these ships?
18. This Soviet battleship was partly destroyed in the siege of Leningrad but survived as a “floating” battery, even though she really rested on the bottom. What was this ship?
19. The ship in question 18 had been given its politically inspired name by the soviets after the Russian revolution. What was its original name?
20. This WWI era German battlecruiser was given to Turkey and she survived until the 1970s. What was the ship?
21. This class of US battleships was revolutionary in their armor scheme. Called the All or Nothing scheme of armor, they were the first warships to have this armor scheme. What were the two ships in this class?
22. Generally classed as Anti-Aircraft Cruisers this class of US light cruisers had two ships that fought and died bravely around Guadalcanal. What was the name of this class?
Ships are usually given two or three letter combinations to classify them. Some such combinations are BB, battleship, CA, heavy cruiser, DD, destroyer. What do the following combinations mean?
23. AMC
24. CAM
25. MAC
26. SC
27. AVD
28. DMS
29. AVP
30. CM

I a real wiz kid..... off hand I can answer 1......
DMS.... Destroyer/Minesweeper....... AKA::: USS CAINE..... as in the movie......... :-) :-) :-) :-)

EDIT::::: Second brain cell came alive:
CAM ---- Catipult/Aircraft/Merchanman.........

Here are my so called answers Rodger:

#1 RN's Agincourt

#4 Dunkerque class

#5 Panzerschiffe

#6 Schleswig Holstein

#9 Illustriuse

#13 First major warshipto bedestroyed by air to surfice missles

#15 The Kumano was the only one of the class to retain her 6" guns.

#22 Atlanta class

Will think about the rest.

Garry

Right you are Dave, G.O.M. You get the honor the first right answer, or in your case the first two. Yes DMS is destroyer minesweeper, and the fictional USS Caine is the most famous of these. Also right in that CAM meant catapult aircraft merchantmen. These ships had a Hurricane fighter catapult off them to defend their convoys from German air attacks or shadower's. Those pilots really had a pair, being launched knowing they had little chance except to being picked up after ditching at sea.

Excellent Garry.

1. Was the Agincourt. The other name she was known by was the Rio De Janeiro when she was to be built for Brazil.

4. The two ships were the Dunkerque and Strassbourg.

5. Panzerschiffe, literally "armored ship" was what the Germans first designated these three ships.

6. Schleswig-Holstein was one, the other Schesien was the other. I believe it was the Schleswig-Holstein that gets the "honor" of firing the first shots of WWII when she opened up at Danzig in Poland.

9. It was one of the Illustrious class of carriers that I'm looking for, but not the Illustrious herself. Sorry

13. Yes, Roma was the first major warship sunk by air to surface missile.

15. Kumano is one of the ships I'm looking for. The class name was Mogami. I'm not sure you're right about Kumano keeping her six inchers though. My information is that all four, Mogami, Mikuma, Suzuya, and Kumano, were given the 8 inch gun.

22. Yes, USS Atlanta and USS Juneau were the two cruisers. Both went up against Japanese battleships armed with 14 inch guns while they only carried 5 inchers. The Juneau was the ship the 5 Sullivan brothers were on when they were all killed in action.

Very good work Garry.

Well Gary beat me in wth the Panzerschiffe and Schlesswig-Holstein, but I believe the other German Survivor was the Possen or the Nassau

#21 I'm going to guess at the Alaska , Hawaii, Guam (don't remember which one was scrapped before completion)

I am suer I'm gonna slap my forehead and yell DOH at most of them

I didn't bother answering the others because people already had... Jeff

2. This Swedish ship was a sensation when she first came out. She combined the features of a cruiser with an aircraft carrier. What was the ship?

Gota Lejon

3. This class of French destroyers was the pinnacle of what was called “contre-torpilleur”. They attained an astonishing 41 knots on trials. What was the class called?

Le' Terrible

6. It is ironic that at the end of WWII two of the German navies largest ships were left over WWI battleships. Name either of these ships?

Actually, none survived the war, but 3 came very close...Schlieswig-Holstien was sunk at Gotenhaven in 1944 but raised and later salvaged and scrapped. Her sister, Hannover, was officially stricken in 1935 but was used as a test hull for mine development. She was broken up at Bremerhaven in 1946, and Schlesien was technically the only real survivor, being scuttled on May 5, 1945 after shelling the Red Army. She was broken up between 1949-56.

7. Generally regarded as the first ship designed from the keel up as a carrier what was this British carrier?

HMS Hermes

8. Several 5.5 inch guns removed from this famous WWII ship are mounted in the Falkland Islands as shore batteries. What ship provided these guns?

HMS Hood

9. Force Z, consisting of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse was originally scheduled to have a carrier with them. What was the carrier that was damaged and unable to go with the two doomed ships?

HMS Indomitable

10. Greece obtained two former United States battleships. These were renamed the Lemnos and Kilkis. What were there original USN names?

USS Mississippi and USS Idaho BB23 and 24

11. Believe it or not Iran actually had a navy in WWII. The British and Soviets sank their most powerful ships when they jointly invaded Iran. Name either of these ships?

Babr and Palang, Iranian gunboats sank by the British and Australian navies. The other 4 gunboats were captured by the RN in 1940.

12. Italy had some plans to convert a liner into a carrier in WWII. The Germans who gave some thought to completing here for their own use captured her. What was the name of this ship?

Aquila

13. Italy’s battleship Roma goes down in history for what reason?

Only warship to be sunk by a Fritz X bomb.

14. Originally Japan was given permission to convert two battlecruiser into aircraft carriers. One was the Akagi. An earthquake destroyed the other and the Kaga was substituted. What was the name of the other ship?

Amagi

15. This class of Japanese cruiser was originally designed as a light cruiser with 6.1-inch guns. The ships were designed to have their main battery turrets replaced by 8-inch guns in the event of war. What was this class of light/heavy cruisers?

Mogami Class, Mogami, Mikumi, Suyuza, and Kumano


16. One of the most powerful classes of cruisers in the Netherlands navy consisted of two ships. One was the Java that was sunk defending the N.E.I. The other wound up as a breakwater at Normandy. What was the second cruiser?

Sumatra

17. The Dutch also planned to build several powerful battlecruisers to defend their overseas possessions. Ironically which country gave the Netherlands the most support in designing these ships?

Germany - Krupp had been actively involved in Java and Sumatra.

18. This Soviet battleship was partly destroyed in the siege of Leningrad but survived as a “floating” battery, even though she really rested on the bottom. What was this ship?

Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia

19. The ship in question 18 had been given its politically inspired name by the soviets after the Russian revolution. What was its original name?

Sevastopol

20. This WWI era German battlecruiser was given to Turkey and she survived until the 1970s. What was the ship?

Yavuz Sultan Selim

21. This class of US battleships was revolutionary in their armor scheme. Called the All or Nothing scheme of armor, they were the first warships to have this armor scheme. What were the two ships in this class?

BB36 Nevada and BB37 Oklahoma

22. Generally classed as Anti-Aircraft Cruisers this class of US light cruisers had two ships that fought and died bravely around Guadalcanal. What was the name of this class?

Atlanta Class...two ships, Atlanta and Juneau. My grandfather served aboard the USS Cushing, DD376, and when she was sunk, went aboard Atlanta as part of a damage control crew. He ended up back in the water and eventually went the USS Cushing DD-797.

Ships are usually given two or three letter combinations to classify them. Some such combinations are BB, battleship, CA, heavy cruiser, DD, destroyer. What do the following combinations mean?

23. AMC - Coastal Minesweeper
24. CAM - Auxiliary Merchant, Catapult
25. MAC - Auxiliary Minelayer, Coastal
26. SC - Subchaser
27. AVD - Seaplane Tender (Destroyer hull)
28. DMS - Fast Minesweepers (4-pipers and Gleaves Class DDs)
29. AVP - Small Seaplane Tender
30. CM - Minelayers, generally converted merchant type.

And the winner is Jeff (aka AngryEnsign)

He got all the answers right even before I thought about them!!!

Skipper

What's scary...is that I only had to verify a couple of the answers, and that was simply for the spelling...

I need a life...

Jeff

C'mon Jeff!!

You have a life!!! You know that sometimes the hardest part is to find out what really moves you (us)!

Once you found it, you must go all the way! This is how I work, and when I am on something (either work or leisure, like modeling) I like to be "serious" about it!
This doesn't mean I don't have fun!!!

Also, if you have read a lot on the same subject, and if your brain works properly, then it's only natural to you to remember things

I am glad you join this group, as others also are!!

Skipper

Thanks Skip!!

Maybe Halfyank and I should conspire and make this a regular feature...

What say you Master Chief?

Jeff

Not so fast guys. Jeff, Angry Ensign, did an amazing job but he didn't get them all right.

#2 isn't the Gota Lejon, at least that's not the ship I'm thinking of. The ship I'm looking for came out ten years earlier than the Lejon.

#3 Le' Terrible is one of the ships in the class I'm looking for but she isn't normally given the honor of the class name.

#6 I guess I gave the two old pre-dreadnoughts too much credit. My first info was they survived the war. Good on you Jeff to spot this.

#7 HMS Hermes. The other ship that sometimes gets credit for being the first is the Japanese Hosho though she was actually converted from an oiler.

#8 Yes the guns removed from HMS Hood wound up in the Falklands and I believe can be seen there to this day.

#9 HMS Indomitable, she hit an uncharted rock and had to be scratched from the mission.

#10 USS Idaho became the Lemnos and USS Mississippi became the Kilkis.

#11Babr and Palang were Italian built sloops built for Iran that were sunk.

#12 Aquila is correct as the liner scheduled to be converted to a carrier.

#13 Jeff has it right, but Garry got there first.

#14 Amagi is the battlecruiser that was destroyed by earthquake. The battleship Kaga was substituted instead. The Akagi and Kaga were not actual sisters, like many believe. For one thing Akagi had her island to port, instead of the more normal starboard side like Kaga.

#15 is the Mogami class, and Jeff correctly ID'd them, but Garry got their first as well.

#16 Sumatra is correct.

#17 Germany, with Krupp doing most of the work is right. Designs for these ships looked a bit like the Scharnhorst but the Dutch ships would probably have been better balanced ships. A great "what if" is what would have happened if these had been available in 1942 to ABDA forces.

#18 and #19. The Soviets changed their ships names so often that it's always hard to be sure. My source, Richard Worth's The Fleets of World War II, doesn't jibe with Jeff's answers. It's not the Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia, October Revolution, isn't the ship I'm thinking of that was sunk at Leningrad and later used as a battery, and Richard says that Sevastopol was renamed Parizhskaya Kommuna, Paris Commune.

#20 Yavuz Sultan Selim, normally just Yavuz, was the World War I BC was formally the Goeben. I believe Goeben was sister to the Defflinger of Jutland fame.

#21 Nevada and Oklahoma is correct. All or nothing refers to the fact that their armor covered only important areas, magazines, engine rooms, turrets, etc. There large sections, bow and stern areas for example, that had no significant armor.

#22 Atlanta and Juneau are correct. I gave Garry credit for this one also but that's really interesting about your Grandfather Jeff.

#23 No, coastal minesweeper isn't what I'm looking for. This might be a US designation, though I've never heard it. The one I'm looking for is more commonly used by the British, who used a lot of these ships in both wars.

#24 CAM is catapult aircraft merchantman but Dave, G.O.M. got there with it first.

#25 auxiliary minelayer coastal isn't what I'm looking for. Again it might be a USN designation, but I'm looking for the British one.

#26. SC - Subchaser Correct

#27. AVD - Seaplane Tender (Destroyer hull) Correct

#28. DMS - Fast Minesweepers (4-pipers and Gleaves Class DDs) Correct but Dave got their first here as well.

#29. AVP - Small Seaplane Tender. Correct

#30. CM - Minelayers, generally converted merchant type.Once again this might be the USN term, but I'm looking for the British one.

Jeff, this was outstanding. I think it took you less time to answer them that it did for me to come up with the questions. You know your stuff.

I should have mentioned I was looking for the British terms on some of these. Jeff certainly gets the credit but those British terms are still up for grabs.


For those keeping track I think this means that #2, 3, 18, 19, 23, 25, and 30 are still up for grabs.

Well hey, not bad for not getting into the books!!

#2 If it's not Gota Lejon, then perhaps Gotland? That's the only other Dutch hybrid that I can think of...

#3 Le Fantastique Class, although Le Terrible was in the class. Ironically, depending on who you ask...they actually go by two class names...the French call them Le Fantastique, as does the US and UK. The Germans, Italians refer to them as Le Terrible Class. Ironically, Le Fantastique herself was the 3rd of the 4 ships to be launched, Le Malin, Le Terrible, Le Fantastique, and Le Triomphant, between Aug. 33 and April of 34.

On the Russian ships, yes, you're correct...Soviet warships are my weak spot.

#18 Sevastopol was renamed Pariizhskaya Kommuna, and Gangut was renamed Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia. The only other ship at Leningrad was the Petropavlosk aka Marat, which had only two turrets operational. Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia was taken to Leningrad from Kronstadt for repairs, where she was hit by several German bombs in April of 1942. Ironically, in early 1942, because of the shortage of oil, one of her boilers was converted to wood! So technically, there were two battleships (both sitting on the bottom) providing fire support at the seige of Leningrad.

Ok, my brain hurts...

Right you are Jeff.

Gotland was the cruiser carrier hybrid I was thinking of. I guess hybrid ships were all the rage in the 30s and the Gotland caused quite a stir.

Le Fantastique was the name I have always heard referred to as the class name for those French destroyers. They really blurred the line between destroyer and light cruisers, being armed with guns as powerful as most navies armed their light cruisers with.

Marat was the ship I was thinking of. According to Richard it was three out of the four turrets in action. BTW Richard Worth goes by the name Tiornu on most forums about ships online. I've seen him on modelwarships, warships1.com, and History Channel under that name. He's my source for a number of these questions.

Ahahaha!! Yes, I know him well...make sure you remind him to look up the service record of Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia, he'll be amazed at what that ship did in her career...

With regards to the Gota Lejon, there was a WW1 era armored cruiser whose C turret was removed and an aircraft handling area added in the 1920s, similar in concept to the IJN Ise, although much smaller. She was broken up in the early 1930s, and it wasn't until the launching of the cruiser in 1945 that the name Gota Lejon was used. That was the reason I posted it...primarily because the Dutch were developing parallel technology to other countries who were beginning to experiment with aircaft carrying ships at the time.

Jeff