Naval vessel types
in worl war ii

there are many different types of ship, all designed for specific purposes and many with a long history of development behind them. this document attempts to detail the main types of vessel that were in existence in world war two.

merchant vessels

this section describes the various types of merchant vessel. these ships continued in their everyday tasks once war was declared, however all were exposed to the additional hazards of mines, torpedoes, air attack and surface attack without any meaningful protection of their own. instead, they had to rely on others to protect them from harm.
the descriptions below of merchant ships are focussed on their design during the second world war. since then there has been a significant change in the arrangement of world shipping, with mass containerisation and massive bulk ore and oil carriers replacing the ships described below. along with an increase in size has...