# Most beautiful ships....



## Lucky13 (Jul 1, 2007)

I've seen that we have a "Most beautiful planes" thread, how about a most beautiful ships thread? Which lassies has the lines and curves in all the right places? Which has the power to make your jaw hit the deck, to make your speach suddenly seem nothing but jibby jabba and rappakalja?


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## Cyrano (Jul 1, 2007)




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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

Okay well for me the most beautiful ships are and in no particular order either.

*Bismarck and Tirpitz*










*USS Iowa Class*





*Gniesenau/Scharnhorst*
http://www.waffenhq.de/schiffe/scharnhorst-02.jpg

*King George V Class*
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/photos/br/bb_hms_anson.jpg


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## pbfoot (Jul 1, 2007)

In 1920, an America's Cup race was cancelled because a wind of 23 knots was considered too dangerous for the racing yachts of the time, which were made fragile by the towering sails they carried. The fishermen of the New England and Maritime fleets considered this a disgrace and resolved to hold their own competition for men and ships who were ready and able to face the sea. The Halifax Herald newspaper donated a cup and established the rules for the contest, and in the years that followed, the International Fishermen's Trophy would become a source of considerable national pride as ships from the great fishing fleets of Gloucester, Massachusetts and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia vied for the title. From 1920 til 1938 the *Bluenose* from Nova Scotia never lost and now it graces the Canadian ten cent coin


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

That is a beautiful ship.


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## ToughOmbre (Jul 1, 2007)

Bismarck and Tirpitz as well as the Iowa class battleships are on my list as well. I would also add the Essex class aircraft carriers.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 1, 2007)

I can't see enough of this footage of Yorktowns wreck....

_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbp-J1zEnxk_


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## Cyrano (Jul 1, 2007)




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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

Cool thanks for posting that.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 1, 2007)

Just the feeling of finding Titanic, Bismarck and Yorktown. It's more than enough to give you lump the size of basketball in your throat. Would love to tag along one of his trips....
I've got his Bismarck book.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

I have the Bismarck book and a movie of his about the Bismarck.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 1, 2007)

_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKScoC7WigE_
See them steam into port on a Tuseday morning would proabaly make you choke on your tea or coffee....


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

I also have the Cameron video on the Bismarck and it is really good as well.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 1, 2007)

Lucky13 said:


> _View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKScoC7WigE_
> See them steam into port on a Tuseday morning would proabaly make you choke on your tea or coffee....




Here are parts of the Tirpitz that are a museum near where I live. Not the Bismarck but her sister ship.


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## utgotye (Jul 2, 2007)

South Dakota-class for my mind. Just plain perdy.


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## Heinz (Jul 2, 2007)

Bismark as Im building that ship at the moment,

Civilian the Oriana 




reason being my father used to work on her


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## delcyros (Jul 2, 2007)

Ark Royal and Richelieu are my top favourites.
Closely followed by Washington Yamato.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 2, 2007)

For aircraft carriers......there's only one.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 2, 2007)

Battleship..... USS West Virginia after her rebuild.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 2, 2007)

Have you seen this website btw? World War 2 Cruisers


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## Lucky13 (Jul 2, 2007)

For those of you that like ocean liners.... The Great Ocean Liners and LostLiners - Honoring the Golden Age of Ocean Travel
As for an beautiful I have to say RMS Olympic.


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## trackend (Jul 2, 2007)

Warship,Bismark 
Liner, Normandie
Merchant Sailer, Cuttysark or Thermopylae (I like both)
Yacht, J Class Shamrock V 1930


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## ToughOmbre (Jul 2, 2007)

Can't forget "Old Ironsides", oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 2, 2007)

Nice one trackend.....I'm more a fan of those classic 1920's and 30's motor yachts....


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## trackend (Jul 2, 2007)

I also like the classic Riva motor boats L13 having been on one its like a beautiful Violin with 300 horses inside.


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## mosquitoman (Jul 2, 2007)

Early model S-Boots, beautiful


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## ToughOmbre (Jul 2, 2007)

*BB-39* gets my vote as well.


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## T4.H (Jul 6, 2007)

BB: Bismark class-> I prefer the Tirpitz
I also like the "older" british BB's like the Queen Elisabeth class or the Hood.
I don't like the bow of the Yamato or the Iowa class.

Heavy cruiser: For me a heavy cruiser has to look like the "Hipper" class.
I prefer the "Blücher" and the "Prinz Eugen".


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## renrich (Jul 6, 2007)

As far as beauty, the Hood made the Bismarck look shabby.


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## DonL (Jul 6, 2007)

For me,

the beautifull ships are the Scharnhorst class!


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## delcyros (Jul 7, 2007)

Agreed, Renrich. Hood architectonically looks finer than Bismarck. But who couldn´t praise Richelieus lines?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 7, 2007)

renrich said:


> As far as beauty, the Hood made the Bismarck look shabby.



Opinion? I think the opposite. I think the Bismarcks clean modern lines made her look better.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 7, 2007)

I'm afraid that I have to agree with young Adler here. Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are better looking than Hood.


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## ToughOmbre (Jul 7, 2007)

_Bismarck_ over _Hood_ in more ways than one.


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## renrich (Jul 7, 2007)

Well, it is all very subjective, but to me the Hood is very graceful and swan like where Bismarck is more bulky and powerful looking. Like comparing the Spitfire, to me the most graceful and beautiful ac ever built with a P47 which while a handsome ac with semi elliptical wings, the Jug is bulky, powerful which did it's job with brute force.


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## k9kiwi (Jul 7, 2007)

Flower class corvette

Not sexy, not big, rolled on wet grass, not well armed.

But did a lions share of fighting and sub killing in the most brutal conditions.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 7, 2007)

One of those unsung heroes you could say.....


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## syscom3 (Jul 7, 2007)

k9kiwi said:


> Flower class corvette
> 
> Not sexy, not big, rolled on wet grass, not well armed.
> 
> But did a lions share of fighting and sub killing in the most brutal conditions.



Those ships were immortalized in the great movie made about them "The Cruel Sea"


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## mosquitoman (Jul 8, 2007)

Lovely little ships, though their names weren't very warlike eg HMCS Snowberry


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## Seawitch (Jul 11, 2007)

Heinz said:


> Civilian the Oriana
> 
> 
> 
> ...



This is the New Oriana yes?


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## Seawitch (Jul 11, 2007)

For me the finest looking ships ever built were the Tea Clippers, the last of which is the Cutty Sark, a few miles down the Road from me and has been a part of my life really, can you imagine how bad I feel about the fire.
My Handle on here and around the Internet is ver influenced by the second Tea clipper ever built...the Sea Witch.
Ask me and the fastest ship in the Tea Trade was the Hallowe'en, an iron hulled stable mate of the Cutty Sark.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 11, 2007)

Clippers are some REALLY beautiful ships, end of story.


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## Lucky13 (Jul 11, 2007)

I'd like throw in a vote for Af Chapman in Stockholm....


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## mkloby (Jul 11, 2007)

k9kiwi said:


> Flower class corvette
> 
> Not sexy, not big, rolled on wet grass, not well armed.
> 
> But did a lions share of fighting and sub killing in the most brutal conditions.



They were excellent ships - they found their way into many navies as well.


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## Nonskimmer (Jul 11, 2007)

mkloby said:


> They were excellent ships - they found their way into many navies as well.


The sole surviving example (as far as I know), HMCS Sackville, is here in Halifax. They're not much to look at, but they virtually carried the Battle of the Atlantic for quite some time in the early days. Especially for the RCN.


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## Trautloft (Jul 23, 2007)

i go with Adler and choose Bismarck-Tirpitz.
impressive perfection. i like the Yamato-Musashi combo aswell, eventhough smaller ships could be beautiful aswell.i found a nice gif of the types of Kriegsmarine.Sadly its kinda small.


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## trackend (Jul 23, 2007)

k9kiwi said:


> Flower class corvette
> 
> Not sexy, not big, rolled on wet grass, not well armed.
> 
> But did a lions share of fighting and sub killing in the most brutal conditions.



I agree anything over a heavy swell and they where on their beam ends, almost but not quite as bad as the landing vessels at least the Corvette had a bit of free board and a sharpish front end but nevertheless not the nicest of ships to be on an arctic convoy in let alone try and fight subs at the same time.
definitely one for the matlots with cast iron stomachs.


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## Henk (Jul 31, 2007)

The Bismarck Tirpitz and the Yamato and as a passenger liner it must be the Titanic.


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## Denniss (Aug 1, 2007)

Bismarck, Iowa, Yamato and other big ones look impressive but not really beautyful. I'd say Scharnhorst/Gneisenau look best of them although not as impressive as the bigger ones.


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## T4.H (Aug 1, 2007)

And which of them would you prefer?

The Scharnhorst or the Gneisenau?

These are two different ships.

Also with different shape.

I prefer the Scharnhorst.


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## ccheese (Aug 1, 2007)

What are you looking for when you say "beautiful' ? A cutter bow ?
A sloop stern ? 

How about this baby, the USCGC "Eagle".....

Charles


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## comiso90 (Aug 1, 2007)

Gotta love the Cutty Sark .. a more beautiful sailing vessel was never built...


I'm sure u guys have heard about the tragic fire:

Breaking News | News Media | Latest Current - FOXNews.com


.
I've been on a few of these ships.. the Constitution, Eagle, Iowa and new jersey.

HMS victory is on my wish list!


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## ccheese (Aug 1, 2007)

Here's the Cutty Sark...... in better days.....

Charles


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## comiso90 (Aug 1, 2007)

Most ugly.. this has to be in the top 5. 

I was here too: USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum

. Cairo became the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo.

.


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## comiso90 (Aug 5, 2007)

A unconventional view of the New Jersey... great lines!


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## T4.H (Aug 10, 2007)

Yes, great lines.

But I still just don't like the bow.


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## comiso90 (Aug 10, 2007)

T4.H said:


> Yes, great lines.
> 
> But I still just don't like the bow.



it would look better if it curved back towards the ship


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## mkloby (Aug 10, 2007)

T4.H said:


> Yes, great lines.
> 
> But I still just don't like the bow.



The NJ is impressive to see in person. She's a very beautiful ship.


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## comiso90 (Aug 10, 2007)

mkloby said:


> The NJ is impressive to see in person. She's a very beautiful ship.



I wish every American could take a walk on her decks.. too bad she's in retirement. I was lucky enough to be on her twice and the Missouri once..

I love the teak wood decks.

I ALMOST made it on the Iowa too....


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## trackend (Aug 11, 2007)

I think the high fore peak was a design feature for better sea kindliness on the NJ at 108ft beam limit in order to negotiate the Panama canal it probably helped.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 11, 2007)

When I was in AIT at Forth Eustis Virginia I went and toured the USS Wisconsin. Used to walk past her every weekend on pass.


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