The Ship Model Forum

What if - the papal navy hadn't lost their harbour in 1870 and the pope decided to need an ironcladed naval force against the ottoman empire?
Gorg

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Lets fill the gap between the ships of the line of Trafalgar and Jutland!
The Avatar is the flag flying over first prussian major ironclad SMS Kronprinz of 1876.

Or if Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, magnamimously returned independence of Malta to the Order of St John of Jerusalem, The Knights Hospaitalers, whose sovereignty and independence Napoleon seized by invasion in 1799, in the early-ish 19th century.

When the British replaced the French, they did not restore Malta's sovereignty for more than a century.

The Knights maintained an active navy on Malta from 1533, when they were given the islands (and before, on Rhodes). Likely they would have continued their naval actions against Barbary states' vessels.

In this opinion, not "battleships," but likely something resembling light cruisers. Perhaps named for the forts of St. Elmo, St. Michael, St. Angelo and Grand Masters such as Jean Parisot de LaValette.

Ellswick Cruisers, of course!

Les