Largest European Navies by Aggregate Displacement (>50,000t) 1 January 2022

25 comments

  1. Hello all,

    I’m not usually an r/europe poster, but when I made a graph similar to this one for r/WarshipPorn – [that post can be seen here for additional context](https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/comments/rvcfxl/top_ten_navies_by_aggregate_displacement_1/) – I was asked if I would be willing to do one for European navies, and so here we are.

    As a general background;

    I keep a personal spreadsheet for tracking the sizes/compositions of major navies as a hobby, using both raw counts of numbers of hulls but also displacement (full load in metric tonnes), especially since the latter often provides a better picture than the former as to the actual relative sizes of navies. Unfortunately, I cannot point to a single source for all the data used to create such graphs – I rely on a variety of naval publications and news sources (as well as official navy websites) to keep track of the sizes of various navies, both with regards to existing fleet sizes and also to keep tabs on the commissioning and decommissioning of ships in various navies.

    **To break down what each of the categories in the above chart mean;**

    *
    Surface Warships is an aggregate of all above-water warships and major aviation and amphibious assault platforms. This category includes CVNs, CVs, CVLs, LHDs, LHAs, LPDs, CGs, DDGs, FFGs, corvettes, OPVs, CPVs, lighter patrol craft, and MCM vessels.
    * Submarines is what it says on the tin – SSBNs, SSGNs, SSNs, SSKs, and for select nations where applicable (and where information is available), special purpose submarines.
    * AORs includes all major fleet replenishment vessels (coastal vessels do not count, however).
    * Other Auxiliaries is a very wide net that essentially captures everything else. Special mission ships, support vessels, minor/more specific amphibious assault vessels (LSDs, LSTs, LCAC’s, LCM’s, LCU’s), training vessels, tugs, coastal support vessels, hydrography ships – all essential parts of navies, but generally stuff that isn’t paid too much attention to as its far less flashy than the warships proper.

    Also, to avoid confusion, do note that each navy is represented by its naval ensign, rather than national flag.

  2. I could have sworn that i read a claim recently that Russia is notorious for keeping vessels on the books as operational even though they have not left harbor in decades.

    Also, tonnage is one number but actual hull count is another. The Norwegian graph for example consist of 4 frigates (initially 5 but then some “kids” sunk one during a night time joyride), 6 diesel submarines, 6 corvettes, and an assortment of minesweeper, coastguard, and support ships.

  8. Oh wow, I must admit I underestimated the size of our Navy. I think most people in the Netherlands don’t realise we have a pretty respectable fleet

  9. Germany… Defense Spending… you see why others complain. The Netherlands has a bigger surface and subsurface combat fleet by tonnage. With far fewer people and a much smaller economy.

  15. Nice graphic. Clearly you’ve put some effort into it.

    I wonder if there would be a way to quantify the relative age of ships… Then again probably not that interesting without considering refits.

  20. Hypothetically, if the Anglos (principally the US, UK and Australia) wanted to blockade Europe and bring it to its knees and made them submit, would there be anything stopping them?

  23. TIL that Russia has a bigger navy than the UK. I guess I took “Britannia rules the waves” a bit too literally. Thought they were still number one.

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