History Characters / Destroyermen

* GunNut: Before lying about his age to enlist in the Navy, Silva spent some of his early teenage years apprenticed to a gunsmith. He possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of firearms, how to use them, how to fix them, and (most importantly) how to ''make'' them. He can {{MacGyver|ing}} his "superlizard gun" out of a wrecked Japanese antiaircraft mount or hand-machine a Civil War-vintage Allin Breechloading Conversion for a musket (essentially making it a reproduction "Trapdoor" Springfield) from memory. And did we mention that he's an ''artist'' with a BAR?

* UndignifiedDeath: [[spoiler:In "Pass of Fire", Pokey gets driven mad with lust by the (new) Celestial Mother's pheremones and charges at her, only to be grabbed and [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] by one of her bodyguards while writhing in "what struck Silva as [[ThisIndexTouchesItself a decidedly obscene fashion]]". Out of respect, Chack decides [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain not to report]] the exact circumstances of his death]].

* UndignifiedDeath: [[spoiler:In "Pass of Fire", Pokey gets driven mad with lust by the (new) Celestial Mother's pheremones and charges at her, only to be grabbed and [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] by one of her bodyguards while writhing in "what struck Silva as [[ADateWithRosiePalms a decidedly obscene fashion]]". Out of respect, Chack decides [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain not to report]] the exact circumstances of his death]].

* TheCaligula: He flies off the handle at the slightest criticism, to the point where few dare to question his plans even when said plans are fundamentally flawed and/or directly set up to improve his own status at the cost of his own people. Pretty much all of his men hate his guts, but they're too afraid of him to do anything about it.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: He has no qualms with inflicting this on his test subjects and "traitors" among his crew.

* WhatAPieceOfJunk: Woefully outdated by WWII standards, but kicks ass against the primitive sailing ships of the Grik and the Dominion. After a few refits, she's even a match for modern warships like ''Hidoiame''.
* WorfEffect: She's more powerful than anything the Lemurians ever imagined, but she gets mauled every time she engages ''Amagi''.

!!HIMS ''Amagi''
A Japanese Imperial Navy battlecruiser that fought ''Walker'' and ''Mahan'' shortly before the two destroyers entered the Squall. Like her American opponents, ''Amagi'' was a real ship.

* MonstrousCannibalism: They'll happily devour each other if nothing better is available. Many of the higher up eat their own young as a status symbol.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Their maws are packed with so many teech as to look almost cartoonish.

* AcrophobicBird: Laney mocks him for being a coxswain who's terrified of the water. It's justified since falling overboard is a death sentence, and Tony continues to do his duty in spite of his fear, and at one point even dives into the sea to rescue Sandra Tucker.

* AnArmAndALeg: He is attacked by a lizard creature and the others just find his severed leg.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: He's assumed to be dead for several books after being attacked by a monster , only to turn up alive, having been living in the jungle and been made king by a nomadic tribe which reintegrates into the Alliance.

* BackFromTheDead

* TookALevelInBadass

* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: ''Amagi'' was a battlecruiser that was still under construction when the Washington Naval Treaty rendered her illegal. While her more famous sister ''Akagi'' was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier, ''Amagi'' was badly damaged in an earthquake and later sunk as a target. InUniverse, she was completed as planned but had her main battery downgraded from the original battleship-caliber 15-inch guns to intermediate-level 10-inchers (still much bigger and more powerful than any cruiser's guns) to exploit a loophole in the treaty.

The first dedicated warship build by the Lemurians. Named for Chief Machinist's Mate Harvey Donaghey, who [[HeroicSacrifice died saving ''Walker'']] in "Crusade".

* SuperPrototype: ''Donaghey'' is still going fairly strong despite being completely obsolete, while [[spoiler:the other two ships of her class, USS ''Kas-Ra-Ar'' and USS ''Tolson'', were destroyed in the third and sixth books, respectively]]. In ''Devil's Due'', with a little help from a captured Dominion frigate, she even manages to [[spoiler:sink a League destroyer equivalent to ''Walker'' by luring it in close and then delivering a full broadside.]]

Formerly ''Walker'''s supply officer, now promoted to the rank of Commander, served as the senior logistics officer and the Alliance's Minister of Industry, and the Chairman of the Grand Alliance after Adar.

* TookALevelInBadass: Letts used to be a slacker. Now he's a self-made whirlwind of productivity and Chairman of the Grand Alliance.

* TheCaptain: Of USS ''Simms''.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Ruik exposes himself to enemy fire to inspire his crew—as the Captain must never show fear. [[spoiler: When ''Simms'' can finally take no more, he seizes a surrendered Dominion ship of the line to continue the fight, but is clearly heartbroken at the loss of his ship and so many of his crew. It is quite heartwarming when a ‘cat Sailor risks his life to save the ship’s Colors, presenting them to Ruik to fly from their prize’s mast]].
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Risks his ship to rescue Fred Reynolds and Kari-Faask when they are forced to ditch their damaged plane at Malpelo. When HIMS ''Icarus'' is dismasted and disables later in the battle, he takes the Imperial frigate in tow rather than leave them at the Dominion’s mercy.

The engineering officer on ''Mahan''.
* BringHelpBack: After Kaufman's mutiny aboard ''Mahan'', he, Mallory and Signalman Palmer take off in the floatplane to tell Reedy.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:In ''Winds of Wrath'' the bridge of his current ship is devastated by a direct hit and Ronson Rodriguez feels a cold certainty that no one could have survived, but it's never 100% confirmed that it did kill him in the aftermath of the battle]].
* YouAreInCommandNow: He was the highest survivor of ''Mahan'''s original crew, although he soon turned over command to Jim Ellis.

* MonstrousCannibalism: They'll happily devour each other if nothing better is available.

* UriahGambit: When Regent-Consort Ragak opposes his reforms (and his influence over the new Celestial Mother), Esshk sends him to lead an army of "old" Grik against the Allies in [[spoiler: Madagascar]] both to rid himself of an opponent and to wear down Reddy’s forces.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: How the Hij see themselves.
* RaptorAttack: Heavily implied to be descended from one of the various raptor species.

A large multinational invasion force from the fascist ''Confederation Etats Souverains'' (Confederation of Sovereign States) alliance, comprised of French, Spanish, Italian, and German forces from another alternate universe. Their fleet passed through a Squall in the Mediterranean city of Tripoli in 1939 while on their way to invade British-held Egypt and sent to this world along with a large part of Tripoli itself. They are the most powerful military force in this world and seek to manipulate all possible opponents to ensure that no one can ever challenge their dominance.

* GreaterScopeVillain: They're shaping up to be the Alliance's biggest threat, even if they haven't actually declared war yet.

** Toward the end of the series, he makes an offer to Gravois to begin merging their two nations into one, combining Dom fanaticism with the League's technology and industrial base to create a regime that can crush the world beneath their boots, with the two of them calling all the shots. Gravois recognizes this for the DealWithTheDevil that it is, but nonetheless accepts

* VillainousBreakdown: He suffers multiple ones throughout the final book as he sees the true might of the Alliance and becomes more dependent on Hernan just to survive.

* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Exaggerated and played for horror. They belive that suffering is the only way to earn grace and be accepted into Heaven, and they're more than willing to "redeem" nonbelievers by subjecting to unspeakable torture.

* KarmaHoudini: While his power base is utterly broken and the entire country turns against him he ultimately escapes with his life in the final book and remains as unflappable as ever.

* WeCanRuleTogether: Makes this offer to [[spoiler:Fred Reynolds]] after capturing him at St. Francis. When [[spoiler:Fred]] refuses, Don Hernan tries to forcibly convert him to the "true faith" via ColdBloodedTorture.

* WeaponOfChoice: Rolak really likes his blades. He likes the M1911 pistol Alden gave him even more.

* NiceHat: Wears a homemade wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the heat in the jungles of Borneo. It resembles a sombrero and looks ridiculous.

* IfJesusThenAliens: After hearing Bradford's {{Multiverse}} theory, Gray wonders (only half-joking) if that means there's a universe where the Earth has been conquered by Martians.

* {{Expy}}: He's pretty much the R-rated version of [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Judge Claude Frollo]].

* BadassMustache: a mustached man often in the thick of things.

* BadassMustache: So badass he braids the tips.

* TheSmartGuy: While all of the surviving Japanese personnel have helped drive the Grik’s technological advancement ([[NotSoDifferent as their American counterparts have for the Lemurians]]), Muriname has been handed the most difficult problem requiring the most innovation, and he delivers.

* AnnoyingArrows: He freaks out after taking one to the gut in "Crusade", to which Chief Donaghey snarks that he's fat enough the arrow couldn't have done ''that'' much damage.

* SuicidalOverconfidence: [[spoiler:In ''Blood in the Water'', he pits ''Amerika'' against a League battleship. [[RealityEnsues It goes about as well as you'd expect]]. In fairness, he clearly wasn’t in his right mind at the time.]]

* MasterSwordsman: [[spoiler: After being captured at Baalkpan, Okada settles down in Japan with a handful of other ''Amagi'' survivors and a large population of nonaligned Lemurians, establishing the neutral Shogunate of Yokohama. He establishes a Samurai class among his followers and trains them in the use of the sword.]] [[spoiler: Sadly, it doesn't do his Lemurian Samurai much good when HIMS ''Hidoiame'' [[RealityEnsues shows up with automatic weapons]].]]

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: He gives a great one to [[spoiler: some former [=POWs=] who crossed over in the hold of a Japanese "hell ship"]] when they express racism towards the Lemurians. It climaxes with this:
-->''As for the 'cats, we never would've made it without them, and, of course, all the ones here at least would be dead by now if we hadn't become friends. We've been through a hell of a lot together, side by side, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm sort of fond of the little guys. These 'cats...we just'' like ''each other. It's hard to explain. They had their ways and we had ours, but now compared to the fix we were all in together, the differences that cause separate drinking fountains back home just never mattered, see?''

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Regent-Consorts, the Lord Chooser, the First General, and other top Hij constantly vie for favor and influence with the Celestial Mother, and [[TheChessmaster First General Esshk]] has risen handily to the top of the pile.

* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:She is [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice bayoneted]] by Blood Drinkers in the Dom Pope's inner sanctum for speaking there (a big no-no for a woman) and for criticizing the Dom faith. Her last moment is to fire her pistol to save Blas. Her death drives Silva into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.]]

A Tagrenesi/Saaran from the South Pacific. Lawrence was shipwrecked and wound up on an island with Princess Rebecca, O'Casey, and the crew of the USS ''S-19''. His people are physically very similar to Grik, but have formed a peaceful society.

* SssnakeTalk: Lawrence speaks English very well, but can't pronounce sounds that require human lips (mostly letters B, F, M, P, V, and W).

* VitriolicBestBuds: with Silva.

* SchizoTech: Two WWI-era ''Wickes''-class destroyers, a WWI-era S-class submarine, an old tramp freighter converted into a warship, and WWII-vintage airplanes, plus a fleet of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle-loading cannons, with multiple all-wood aircraft carriers. All of those wooden sailing ships have radios, active sonar, and depth charges. Most of them also have oil-fired engines. Many carry a spotter plane. They've recently added some PT boats. Later on, [[spoiler:they start churning out more ''Wickes''-class destroyers and even produce a light cruiser (basically, a scaled-up version of ''Walker'')]].