HMS Dreadnought

The 1906 when she was commissioned, HMS Dreadnought was the predominant battleship class of her era. Dreadnought was anointed the revolutionary ship of the age even when in WW I, she did not sink another battleship or even participate in the battle of Jutland. The reason, revolutionary armament schemes, an electronic range finding system and increased speed technology that came together for the first time.

For some time many were planning a new type of battleship. In 1903 Vittorio Cuniberti an Italian naval engineer wrote of the concept of an all-big-gun ship design. British Admiral Jackie Fisher also formulated a like concept around 1900. However while others pondered the IJN, Imperial Japanese Navy, started building the first all-big-gun ship the Satsuma in 1904. Laid down five months before Dreadnought, she was intended to have mounted 12 of the Armstrong 12 inch (30 cm) guns and displace 19,700 tons. Conversely only 4 of the 12 big guns ordered were shipped to Japan due to the stock on hand at the Armstrong British factory and 10 inch guns were substituted. In Jane’s, Battleships of the 20th century,” “it was that future all-big gun battleships were to be called "Dreadnoughts", and not "Satsumas". All previous, and some same era steel battleships would then and for all time be classified as Pre-Dreadnought.

The armament improvements on Dreadnought focused the change of the current discipline of using many calibers guns for offence and defense in the armament scheme. Dreadnought had five 12 inch two gun turrets having a range of 14.2 miles / 25,000 yards. Three turrets were located conventionally along the center line of the ship for weight stabilization, with one turret forward and two aft. The torpedo control tower located on a small tripod mast was mounted between the aft turrets. This blocked any aft center line fire from the aft turret closest to the superstructure. Two other 12 inch turrets were located on both sides of the bridge superstructure, each able to fire forward oblique and port or starboard based on which side the turret was mounted on. Dreadnought could deliver a broadside of eight guns, and fire eight guns aft or six ahead, in most cases only within a narrow range. At the time Lord of the Admiralty Jackie Fisher insisted that end on fire was more important than broadside fire, in future battles this concept was proven to be less effective. Dreadnought had 24 x12 pounders (76 mm), ten mounted on the tops of the 12 inch turrets, with 14 placed on the sides of the super structure having a range of 5.3 miles / 9,300 yards. The 76 mm was used as a defense against torpedo boats and was a poor choice as they did not have the range and used a light round. Casements on pre dreadnought battleships in this era also used 12 pounders with a 3 inch shell and were side mounted to mostly fire port or starboard and did not have full movement forward and aft. The casements required holes in the sides of the ship below the main deck that allowed water to enter during heavy seas this scheme was not used on Dreadnought.

Having superior firepower was useless without enhanced ranging, aiming and fire control systems. Dreadnought was one of the first Royal Navy capital ships to be fitted with improved electronic range transmitting equipment. The old standard fire control system was the use of a voice pipe system where changes in range and deflection were yelled into a brass pipe from fire control to the turrets. This was found to be ineffective in combat situations with the noise level affecting the spoken order. Also in the transmitting station in the bowels of the ship was the Vickers variable range/speed clock that estimated and projected the changing range between the target vessel and the attacking ship. For greater accuracy of determining the distance Dreadnought was fitted with a new type electrical rangefinders by Barr and Stroud, a 9-foot (3 m) base length instead of the standard 4½-foot base used on every other naval vessel of the day.

The use of a uniform main battery without multiple caliber guns greatly simplified the task of adjusting fire in action. All the 12 inch guns had the same ballistic characteristics. If the shells splash was over the target, the range was shortened, and if called short the range was increased. If the target was bracketed, the next volley used the same settings, adjusted by the Vickers clock for the ship speeds and course changes. Powder loads were made in small adjustments for range elevation adjustments. This superior fire control was not possible when the big guns were of different calibers simply because observers could not tell which guns created which splashes by what caliber shell.

The British invention of the steam turbine propulsion engine in 1884 was important for its use in ships by exhausting the fresh water to a condenser that could be reclaimed to feed a boiler because seawater could not be used. HMS Dreadnought was the first capital warship to replace the proven technology of the triple-expansion engine with the experimental steam turbine making her the fastest battleship in the world at the time of her launch. The battle plan was with a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h) she could outrun any existing battleship with like firepower, and the ability to outgun a faster cruiser. Having said that prior to and during World War I & II, the triple expansion engine dominated marine vessels when high speed was not essential.

Dreadnought reversed the old sailing arrangement, housing officers forward closer to the bridge and enlisted men aft, so that both officers and most enlisted men were closer to their action stations. Another major improvement was the removal of longitudinal passageways between compartments below deck. Doors connecting compartments were always closed during combat, like in submarines. Connecting open compartments would allow water to run the length of the ship in a collision or if hit by a torpedo.

Dreadnought was commissioned for trials in December 1906, and in January 1907 she sailed for the Mediterranean Sea and then to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Her successful trials were observed by many navies from around the world and inspired a naval arms race, with all major fleets adding Dreadnought type battleships. At Dreadnought’s commissioning Britain possessed a lead of 25 first-class battleships over the fleets of foreign navies. With Dreadnought, Britain now possessed a lead of only one ship, all other British first class battleships became second class Pre-Deadnaught vessels.

At the outburst of World War I in 1914 she was the flagship of the Fourth Battle Squadron based at Scapa Flow. Paradoxically for a vessel designed to engage enemy battleships, her only major action was the ramming and sinking of German submarine U-29 on 18 March 1915 thus became the only battleship ever to sink a submarine. As a result, she missed the Battle of Jutland, during refit. Like most of the older battleships, she was in bad condition from constant tour of duty in the North Sea, and was put up for sale in 1920 and sold for scrap for the sum of £44,000 in 1921.
All of the dreadnoughts were scrapped or used as targets after the end of World War I. Some of the advanced super-dreadnoughts continued in service through World War II. The term "dreadnought" gradually dropped from use after World War I, as all battleships shared superior characteristics.

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Last Updated: 1/30/2009