LemaireSoft's Naval Encyclopedia of World War 2:

Naval Encyclopedia of World War 2
This on-line encyclopedia could be a starting point as well as an end point for all curious of the naval history of World War II.
It is a starting point because we tried to reflect in our pages how rich is internet on the matter, by including many links to the most interesting and relevant websites. You can start your research here, and continue it on the whole web.
It is also a point of arrival: which other website gives a more exhaustive view of 150 naval battles, 5000 war- or merchant ships and 500 classes of ships ? Where could you find elsewhere an overview of all warships that served with a nation during the war ? The losses and additions to the navy of that nation during the same period ? The balance of forces at given times of the war ?
Not to forget the articles, from generalities like the introduction to the different kind of warships, to particulars like the Thai point of view about the battle of Koh Chang.
Maps too are included as a useful complement to the battles and articles.
Last but not least, you can check that you did not lose your time visiting our pages: test your knowledge before and afterwards.

Available in our Pages since April 21, 2003 Tables of Contents

Historical Diagrams	Battles: Table of Contents
Hyperlinks	Map of maps
Ship Classes: Table of Contents

Index

Alphabetic Index of Ships	Alphabetical Index of the Classes
Hierarchical Index	Index of Classes by Countries
Index of Ships by countries

Articles

Atlantic and Arctic	Editorial
Introduction to World War 2 ship types	Mediterranean Sea
Tactics and Technique	Tales from the Battle off Koh Chang
The heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine	The War in the Pacific

Quizz

Quizz for Beginners	Quizz for Connoisseurs
Quizz for Specialists

Renewal on April 24, 2003Four month late for the update ? A good excuse is needed here ! The reason, you'll find it in each page of the website: they have all been renewed. For some of them, which dated back from 2001, it had become urgent. The moment had been chosen for technical reason but we hope that you'll enjoy the result.
What's new ? First, the battles promised in November of 2002. Do you remember ? Those minor and unknown actions, but unorthodox ones, that studded the history of World War II at sea.

the operations behind enemy positions in the Pacific in 1943, to rescue the shipwrecks of the Helena
the naval reconnaissance against islands held by the Japanese, in Green Island (attacked a few weeks later thanks to the information gathered during this preliminary reconnaissance), and against Hauwei, which remained untouched until the end of the war
a really fake naval battle, in the Bay of Empress Augusta, between two US flotillas
Operation K, the second Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor

To answer special requests from our readers we have added:

Operation "Hailstone", the neutralization of Truk with a carrier raid in early 1944
The loss of the Stronghold, a British destroyer taken in the turmoil of the Japanese conquest of Java Island

To standardize the French and English version of the site, we have added the pages previously published in one language but not in the other. It concerns mainly battles where the French navy was involved.
A new article too: the Thai point of view of the battle of Koh Chang, an action know mainly from French sources, the opposite side.
We pushed much further the presentation of the classes of ships. A cursory notice already existed for the US and Japanese destroyers. We added the British ones as well as the cruisers of the three nations. The technical data have been greatly improved, more photos and an more detailed explanation for each class.
Completely new: the Quiz's. According to your level, you can check your knowledge's about the ships and the battles of the war. There is nothing at stake, just the pleasure to do it.
You will notice the completely rearranged tables of contents and indexes. They are more exhaustive so that you can find more easily what you are looking for. Hopefully, they contribute to make your visit more enjoyable.
Your reactions do interest us, be it positive of negative. We thank in advance those who would point out mistakes that would have remained in our pages.
Next update in late 2003