Warship is an annual anthology of articles, reviews and commentary that includes naval historical essays of significance, books of the year and global naval developments.

The finely-bound annual edition of this periodical was first made popular in England. The British have a fascination for naval history, due to of their long naval heritage and the central role the British Navy played in establishing and maintaining the former British Empire. Today, Warship enjoys an international following that eagerly awaits each year’s issue.

With today’s sophisticated missiles a well known entity, it is easy to take for granted the advances in technology that built to the modern level. Reading Jon Wise’s essay with accompanying photos and diagrams shows the complexity of early missile trials. This essay looks at the British development of the Sea Slug missile and the outfitting of the HMS Girdle Ness, a converted Landing Craft Maintenance Ship , with early missile launchers. After three years of outfitting, in Sept. 1956 Girdle Ness launched the earliest missile at sea 22,000 yards (11 nautical miles).

David Hobbs writes about an attack planned by the British Royal Navy in 1918 using torpedo planes against the German High Fleet. While the plan was never employed, Hobbs details how the British set the groundwork for a Pearl Harbor-style attack. Royal Navy officers assigned to serve and experiment with rigid airships (known commonly as blimps) as early as 1911 discussed attacking ships from the air using torpedoes. The essay outlines every detail of the attack from the type of biplanes used to the practice of keeping torpedoes warm before flight, as freezing temperatures impacted the torpedoes’ effectiveness. The focus of the 1918 planned aerial attack would have been the German High Seas Fleet anchored in Wilhelmshaven off the German North Sea coast. A secondary strike was planned that would aerially drop along the Kiel Canal to bottle up the remaining German light fleet at the approaches of the Emden harbor. The attack was rehearsed and planned but never carried out due to bureaucratic skepticism of its success, yielding drawn-out debates that did not end until the armistice of 1918.

In another article, naval historians Enrico Cernuschi and Vincent O’Hara outline the evolution of Italian aircraft carriers from 1907 to 2007. They highlight that Italy was one of the few naval powers of the Second World War not to have an operational aircraft carrier, despite its attempts to do so. The essay details doctrinal debates and concepts such as a 1926 idea for a catamaran carrier and a 1933 hybrid cruiser-carrier with a floating dock. The Italians had many interesting and innovative ideas, including as prototypes for a helicopter carrier, but none of these plans got off the drawing board. Today, the Italian Marina Militaire (Navy) has the carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi along with LPD (larger amphibious ships similar to our own Tarawa Class), San Marco, San Giusto, and Cavour.

The section ‘‘World Navies in Review” provides a quick orientation to emerging regional powers that could challenge the U.S. Navy. China’s naval expansion is one example. China has developed the Jiangkai frigate, which is designed similar to the French Lafayette-class stealth frigates. There is also much debate over China’s acquisition of the former Russian Kuznetzov-class carrier Varyag. While the Chinese claim the Varyag will be converted to a floating amusement park and casino, there is speculation that the Varyag will play a role in China’s acquisition or development of an operational aircraft carrier.

The French have expanded their amphibious capability with the 2006 launch of LHD Mistral (similar to the U.S. Kearsarge-class). It is also noteworthy that European nations are working jointly producing larger programs such as carriers.

This year’s Warship ends with a report on preliminary studies to restore the Nile river-boat Melik located in Khartoum, Sudan. The Melik was commissioned in 1896 by General Sir Herbert Kitchener in the Anglo-Egyptian campaign to re-conquer the Sudan from the Mahdi. Today the Melik, which was hoisted ashore to prevent its sinking, has been converted into the physical headquarters of the Blue Nile Sailing Club.

This discussion highlights the diversity of topics covered in this anthology. Spend time with ‘‘Warship 2007,” this year and every year to gain an appreciation of the most important discussions on naval history and naval developments from a British perspective.

Editor’s Note: LCDR Aboul-Enein has an interest in military history, strategy, and tactics. He maintains a regular book column in two navy base papers, the Naval Training Center Great Lakes Bulletin and Naval District Washington Waterline. He wishes to thank his colleague Ms. Meghan Kinake-Timko for her insightful comments and edits.