FREE BRITISH BATTLESHIPS, 1914-18 2: 2: THE SUPER DREADNOUGHTS PDF

Angus Konstam,Paul Wright | 48 pages | 24 Dec 2013 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781780961705 | English | Oxford, United Kingdom British Battleships –18 (2) - Osprey Publishing

Possession of modern battleships was not only vital to naval power, but also represented a nation's standing in the world. The Royal Navy at the start of the First World War was the largest navy in the world due, in the most part, to The Naval Defence Act and the two-power standard which called for the navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the British Battleships strength of the next two largest navies. The Royal Navy and the German Imperial Navy did come into contact, notably in the Battle of Jutland[4] but no decisive naval battle came. The inter-war period saw the battleship subjected to strict international limitations to prevent a costly arms race breaking out. This treaty limited the number and size of battleships that each major nation could possess, and required Britain to British Battleships parity with the U. These treaties became effectively obsolete on 1 September at the beginning of Second World War. The treaty limitations meant that fewer new battleships were launched from — than from — The treaties also inhibited development by putting maximum limits on the weights of ships and forced the Royal Navy into compromise designs for the Nelson and King George V classes. Designs like the projected British N3-class battleship continued the trend to larger ships 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts bigger guns and thicker armour, but never got off the drawing board. Those designs which were commissioned during this period were referred to as treaty battleships. Dreadnought sparked a naval arms race that soon had all the world's major powers building new and bigger warships in her image. Two years later, she resumed her role as flagship of the 4th Squadron, but was moved into the reserve in February and sold for scrap on 9 May Upon commissioning, all three ships were assigned to the 1st division of the Home Fleetlater the 1st Battle Squadronand took part in the Coronation Review for King George V. From 17—20 Julyall three took part in the mobilisation and review of the Royal Navy during the July Crisis following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Bellerophon and Superb joined the Home Fleet but Temeraire did not until Temeraire became a training vessel until decommissioned and scrapped in[35] Bellerophon was made a gunnery ship in March at The Nore and was sold for scrap 8 November and broken up 14 Septemberand Superb relieved Bellerophon as a gunnery training vessel and 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts served briefly as a target ship before sold for scrapping in December After a lengthy refit in British Battleships, the sisters participated in the mobilisation and British responses to the July Crisis and joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow on 22 July The three sisters inflicted little damage, despite firing 98 shots during the battle. In December, she was relieved and then sold for scrap 1 December HMS Neptunethe only ship of her class, was the only battleship constructed during the — Naval Programme, and was the first British battleship to use superfiring 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts turrets. HMS Neptune was commissioned on 19 January, Neptune was place in the reserve 1 February and sold for scrap in September The two Colossus - class battleships were the final members of the first generation of British dreadnoughts. Upon commission, Colossus and Hercules were both assigned to the 2nd Division, renamed the 2nd Battle Squadron 1 Mayof the Home Fleet and Hercules became its flagship. Colossus was transferred to the 1st Squadron by the end of the year, and Hercules temporarily became a private ship in but later also joined the 1st Squadron. Both ships were present at the surrender of the German fleet at RosythScotland on 21 November, and Hercules took the Allied Naval Armistice Commission British Battleships KielGermanythen joined the Reserve Fleet in February a month after her sister British Battleships had briefly become flagship. Colossus was for a time listed for scrapping, but was then made a boys' training vessel in September and was refitted. Colossus was then returned to the list the following year, but was once again removed and hulked for use by the training establishment HMS Impregnable and was finally sold for scrap in Augustwith Hercules having preceded her on 8 November All four sister ships were assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet upon commission and Orion was named its flagship. The sisters then participated in the Fleet review at Spithead on 9 July and in the mobilisation of the Royal Navy during the July Crisis and following assembly at Scapa Flow. InThunderer and Orion were transformed into training vessels and were sold for scrap the following year in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty. Monarch was hulked and used for weapons testing until finally sunk in Thundererthe last of the sisters, was sold for scrap in In addition, although the King George V class again retained the two Parsons steam turbines and their four shaftsthey were faster than previous British battleships with a top British Battleships of All four of the King George V -class ships were assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron on commissionKing George V becoming the Squadron's flagship by 18 FebruaryBritish Battleships Centurion began her career early, accidentally ramming and sinking an Italian steamer with all hands. Into earlythe sisters remained with the 2nd Squadron, until King George V was moved to the 3rd Squadron and then became the flagship of the Reserve Fleet until when the 3rd Squadron was disbanded. She was refitted and reassigned to the 4th Squadron the same year, then in became a gunnery training vessel before finally being sold for scrap in December Ajax met the same fate, but was sold for scrap on 9 November The 1914- 18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts of the King George V -class ships, Centurion was converted into a target ship, but was remilitarised in with light weapons and dummy main guns. On 9 Juneshe was sunk as a block ship to defend a mulberry harbor established on Omaha Beach. In design the sisters were nearly identical to the King George V class1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts the same ten Mk V New for British dreadnoughts, the four Iron Duke -class sisters were fairly separated from each other in their careers. Marlborough 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts Benbow struggled with poor visibility, the former firing seven salvos at a group of Kaiser -class battleships and the latter firing six salvos, both without effect. After the battle, Marlborough underwent three months of repairs and received increased armour plating, [] [] and Emperor of India rejoined the Home Fleet in the 1st Battle Squadron. In Marchthe Iron Duke -class sisters were assigned to the 4th Battle Squadron with the Mediterranean Fleet to participate in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in the Black Sea[] [] Marlborough even carrying Maria FeodorovnaGrand Duke Nicholasand Prince Yusupov[] and then the sisters served in the Greco-Turkish War until Greece's defeat in the war in[] at which point MarlboroughBenbowand Emperor of India underwent refitting at different ports. Her propulsion means was also unusual for British battleships. In April of the next year, she was sold back to Chile and resumed her original name. The new calibre guns were intended to still give the Royal Navy an advantage in range over newer American and Japanese ships which the Admiralty expected were to be armed with inch guns. Secondary armament was fourteen 6-inch, two 3-inch anti-aircraft and four inch torpedoes tubes. The Revenge class sometimes known as the Royal Sovereign class were designed as a cheaper alternative to the Queen Elizabeth class. Plans had initially been for a class of eight ships, but at the start of the First World War work stopped on all new capital 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts. The last three ships RenownRepulse and Resistance were cancelled. The first two of these were eventually redesigned as battlecruisers. However, inthis was changed and they became oil-fuelled only. Secondary armament was fourteen 6-inch, two 3-inch anti-aircraft, four 3-pounder guns and four inch torpedoes. Royal Oak was torpedoed at anchor in the supposedly safe harbour of Scapa Flow 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts after the start of Second World War. The N3, like the contemporary G3-class battlecruiser design, were planned in response to other nations' intentions to build superior navies. The design concentrated the main guns forward of the bridge to reduce weight while allowing very thick armour over the critical parts but they would still be about twice the displacement of predecessors. The design was approved in but in the major naval powers agreed the 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts Naval Treaty to limit the size and number of warships in their navies. The treaty set an upper limit of 35, tons displacement and inch guns; the ships had not been ordered and no construction had been started. The two ships of British Battleships Nelson class were the only new battleships the Royal Navy were allowed to build under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The layout was based on that of the N3 battleship and G3 battlecruiser but further reduced to come under the weight limit. Nine BL 16 inch Mk I guns — the same as were to have been used on the G3 battlecruisers — were carried in three forward turrets. Secondary armament was twelve 6-inch guns mounted in six turrets at the rear of the ship, six 4. The King George V class of ships were criticized for having inch main guns the preceding Nelson class had larger, though relatively lighter 16 inch guns. The decision to use inch guns was taken in Octoberwhile the United Kingdom was negotiating for a continuation of the Naval Treaties with the other parties to the London Treaty. The British Government favoured a reduction in the maximum gun calibre to 14 inches and, in early October, the government learned that the United States would support this position if the Japanese could also be persuaded to do so. Since the large guns needed to be ordered by the end of the year in order for ships to enter service on time, the British Admiralty decided on inch guns for the King George V class. The guns were arranged in three turrets, two with four and one behind and above the forward turret with two guns. Secondary armament was sixteen QF 5. Anson and Howe had eighteen Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and the Duke of 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts six. The King George V class were designed to reach a speed of over 27 knots. As the treaty negotiations collapsed, this lack of British Battleships and the smaller size of their main armament left them slower and with a lesser broadside than foreign battleships that were being produced around the same time. However, their main armour belt was thicker than others, with the exception of the two very large ships of the Yamato class from Japan. During the Second London Naval Treaty ofthe upper limit for battleships was agreed by the powers attending but an escalator clause allowed for increases if parties defaulted. The Admiralty had planned to scrap the ineffective Revenge class when the King George V ships entered service. These plans were soon changed, the Admiralty's new ambition was to raise a battle fleet of 20 ships, 15 of them to match the new standard, keeping the Revenge class until at least To meet this target the British Battleships wanted three battleships added to the plans, but in the end only two were given the go ahead and 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts then they had to use reserve slipways, normally only used in emergencies. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia list article. Main article: HMS Dreadnought Main article: Bellerophon-class battleship. Main article: St Vincent-class battleship. Main article: HMS Neptune Main article: Colossus-class battleship Main article: Orion-class battleship. Main article: King George V-class battleship British Battleships Main article: Iron Duke-class battleship. Main article: HMS Agincourt Main article: HMS Erin. Main article: Chilean battleship Almirante Latorre. Main article: British Battleships Elizabeth-class battleship. Main article: Revenge-class battleship. Main article: N3-class battleship. Main article: Nelson-class battleship. Main article: Lion-class battleship. Main article: HMS Vanguard Battleships portal. Royal Navy. Orion-class battleship - Wikipedia

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. This website uses cookies to provide all of its features. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Enter your email address below to sign up to our 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts newsletter for updates from Osprey Publishing, Osprey Games and our parent company Bloomsbury. British Battleships 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts 2 The Super Dreadnoughts. Add to Basket. About this Product. Inthe Germans began building their own dreadnought fleet armed with larger guns, word of which soon reached the British Admiralty. The first of these new dreadnoughts were laid down inand entered service three years later. Four more super dreadnoughts entered service in These powerful warships entered service in time to play a part in the battle of Jutland in World War I broke out before the Royal Navy had fully evaluated these new warships, and so lessons had to be learned through experience - often the hard way. Although none of these super dreadnoughts were lost in battle, their performance at the battle of Jutland led to a re-evaluation of the way they were operated. Still, for four years they denied control of the sea to the enemy, and so played a major part in the final collapse of Imperial Germany. Biographical Note. Angus Konstam hails from the Orkney Islands, and is the author of over 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts books, 30 of which are published by Osprey. This acclaimed and widely published author has written several books on piracy, including The History of Pirates, and Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate. He now works as a full-time author and historian, and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specializing in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world. You may also be interested in the following product s. More info. Military History. Subscribe to our newsletter. Subscribe To see how we use this information about you and how you can unsubscribe from our British Battleships subscriptions, view our Privacy Policy. Related Content. See all related content. Google Books Search. Bundle Offer! British Battleships (2): The Super Dreadnoughts (New Vanguard) [Repost] / AvaxHome

The dreadnought also spelled dreadnaught was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy 's Dreadnoughthad such British Battleships impact when launched in that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts," and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two revolutionary features: an "all-big-gun" armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam turbine propulsion. Dreadnought races sprang up around the world, including in South Americalasting up to the beginning of World War I. Successive designs increased rapidly in size and made use of improvements in armament, armor, and propulsion throughout the dreadnought era. Within five years, new battleships outclassed Dreadnought herself. These more powerful vessels were known as " super-dreadnoughts ". Most of the original dreadnoughts were scrapped after the end of World War I under the terms of the Washington Naval Treatybut many of the newer super-dreadnoughts continued serving throughout World War II. While dreadnought-building consumed vast resources in the early 20th century, there was only one battle between large dreadnought fleets. At the 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts of Jutland inthe British and German navies clashed with no decisive result. The term "dreadnought" gradually dropped from use after World War I, especially after the Washington Naval Treatyas virtually all remaining battleships shared dreadnought characteristics; it can also be used to describe battlecruisersthe other type of ship 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts from the dreadnought revolution. The distinctive all-big-gun armament of the dreadnought was developed in the first years of the 20th century as navies sought to increase the range and power of the armament of their battleships. This was in keeping with the prevailing theory of naval combat that battles would initially be fought at some distance, but the ships would then approach to close range for the final blows, when the shorter-range, faster-firing guns would prove most useful. Some designs had an intermediate battery of 8-inch guns. Serious proposals for an all-big-gun armament were circulated in several countries by All-big-gun designs commenced almost simultaneously in three navies. Work began on her construction in May The move to all-big-gun designs was accomplished because a uniform, heavy-calibre armament offered 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts in both firepower and fire control, and the Russo-Japanese War of — British Battleships that naval battles could, and likely would, be fought at long distances. There is still debate as to whether this feature was important. Naval gunnery was too inaccurate to hit targets at a longer range. By the early 20th century, British and American admirals expected future battleships would engage at longer distances. Newer models of torpedo had longer ranges. The range of light and medium-calibre guns was limited, and accuracy declined badly at longer range. An evolutionary step was to reduce the quick-firing secondary battery and substitute additional heavy guns, typically 9. Ships designed in this way have been described as 'all-big-gun mixed-calibre' or later 'semi-dreadnoughts'. Semi-dreadnought ships had many heavy secondary guns in wing turrets near the center of the ship, instead of the small guns mounted in barbettes of earlier pre-dreadnought ships. The design process for these ships often included discussion of an 'all-big-gun one-calibre' alternative. 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts Alger, proposing a main battery of eight inch guns in twin turrets. Poundstone submitted a paper to President Roosevelt in December arguing the case for larger battleships. War-game studies begun in July "showed that a battleship armed with twelve inch or inch guns hexagonally arranged would be equal to three or more of the conventional type. The Royal Navy was thinking along similar lines. A design had been circulated in — for "a powerful 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts big-gun' armament of two calibres, viz. Restrictions on length and beam meant the midships 9. The constructor for this design, J. Narbeth, submitted an alternative drawing showing an armament of twelve inch guns, but the Admiralty was not prepared to accept this. Uniform heavy-gun armament offered many other advantages. One advantage was logistical simplicity. When the US was considering whether to have a mixed-calibre main armament for the South Carolina classfor example, William Sims and Homer Poundstone stressed the advantages of homogeneity in terms of ammunition British Battleships and the transfer of crews from the disengaged guns to replace gunners wounded in action. A uniform calibre of gun also helped streamline fire control. The designers of Dreadnought preferred an all-big-gun design because it would mean only one set of calculations about adjustments to the range of the guns. This viewpoint is controversial, as fire control in was not advanced enough to use the salvo-firing technique where this confusion might be important, [24] and confusion of shell-splashes does not seem to have been a concern of those working on all-big-gun designs. The newer designs of inch gun mounting had a considerably higher rate of fire, removing the advantage previously enjoyed by smaller calibres. Ina inch gun might have fired one round every four minutes; bytwo rounds per minute was usual. In Japan, the two battleships of the — programme were the first in the world to be laid down as all-big-gun ships, with eight inch guns. The armour of their design was considered too thin, demanding a substantial redesign. The — design retained traditional triple-expansion steam engines, unlike Dreadnought. The dreadnought breakthrough occurred in the United Kingdom in October Fisher, now the First Sea Lordhad long been an advocate of new technology in the Royal Navy and had recently been convinced of the idea of an all-big-gun battleship. It has been suggested Fisher's main focus was on the arguably even more revolutionary battlecruiser and not the battleship. Shortly after taking office, Fisher set up a Committee on Designs to consider future battleships and armoured cruisers. After a full evaluation of reports of the action at Tsushima compiled by an official observer, Captain Pakenhamthe Committee settled on a main battery of ten inch guns, along British Battleships twenty-two 12 pounders as secondary armament. The first US dreadnoughts were the two South Carolina -class ships. Detailed plans for these were worked out in July—Novemberand approved by the Board of Construction on 23 November The designers of dreadnoughts sought to provide as much protection, speed, and firepower as possible in a ship of a realistic size and cost. The hallmark of dreadnought battleships was an "all-big-gun" armament, but they also had heavy armour concentrated mainly in a thick belt at the waterline and in one or more armoured decks. Secondary armament, fire control, command equipment, and protection against torpedoes also had to be crammed into the hull. The inevitable consequence of demands for ever greater speed, striking power, and endurance meant that displacementand hence cost, of dreadnoughts tended to increase. The Washington Naval Treaty of imposed a limit of 35, tons on the displacement of capital ships. In subsequent years treaty battleships were commissioned to build up to this limit. Japan's decision to leave 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts Treaty in the s, and the arrival of the Second World War, eventually made this limit irrelevant. Dreadnoughts mounted a uniform main battery of heavy-calibre guns; 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts number, size, and arrangement differed between designs. Dreadnought mounted ten inch guns. The Imperial German Navy was an exception, continuing to use inch guns in its first class of dreadnoughts, the British Battleships class. Dreadnoughts also carried lighter weapons. Many early dreadnoughts carried a secondary armament of very light guns designed to fend off enemy torpedo boats. The calibre and weight of secondary armament tended to increase, as the range of torpedoes and the staying power of the torpedo boats and destroyers expected to carry them also increased. From the end of World British Battleships I onwards, battleships had to be equipped with many light guns as anti-aircraft armament. Dreadnoughts frequently carried torpedo tubes themselves. In theory, a line of 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts so equipped could unleash a devastating volley of torpedoes on an enemy line steaming a parallel course. In practice, torpedoes fired from battleships scored very few hits, and there was a risk that a stored torpedo would cause a dangerous explosion if hit by enemy fire. The effectiveness of the guns depended in part on the layout of the turrets. Dreadnoughtand the British ships which immediately followed it, carried five turrets: one forward, one aft and one amidships on the centreline of the ship, and two in the 'wings' next to the superstructure. This allowed three turrets to fire ahead and four on the broadside. The Nassau and Helgoland classes of German dreadnoughts adopted a 'hexagonal' layout, with one turret each fore and aft and four wing turrets; this meant more guns were mounted in total, but the same number could fire ahead or broadside as British Battleships Dreadnought. Dreadnought designs experimented with different layouts. The British Neptune -class battleship staggered the wing turrets, so all ten guns could fire on the broadside, a feature also used by the German Kaiser British Battleships. This risked blast damage to parts of the ship over which the guns fired, and put British Battleships stress on the ship's frames. If all turrets were British Battleships the 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts of the vessel, stresses on the 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts frames were relatively low. This layout meant the entire main battery could fire on the broadside, though fewer could fire end-on. It meant the hull would be longer, which posed some challenges for the designers; a longer ship needed to devote more weight to armour to get equivalent protection, and the magazines which served each turret British Battleships with the distribution of boilers and engines. A superfiring layout was eventually adopted as standard. This involved raising one or two turrets so they could fire over a turret immediately forward or astern of them. The US Navy adopted this feature with their first dreadnoughts inbut others were slower to do so. As with other layouts there were drawbacks. Initially, there were concerns about the impact of the blast of the raised guns on the lower turret. Raised turrets raised the centre of gravity of the ship, and might reduce the stability of the ship. Nevertheless, this layout made the best of the firepower available from a fixed number of guns, and was eventually adopted generally. By World War II, superfiring was entirely standard. Initially, all dreadnoughts had two guns to a turret. One solution to the problem of turret layout was to put three or even four guns in each turret. Fewer turrets meant the ship could be shorter, or could devote more space to machinery. On the other hand, it 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts that in the event of an enemy shell destroying one turret, a higher proportion of the main armament would be out of action. The risk of the blast waves from each gun barrel interfering with others in the same turret reduced the rate of fire from the guns somewhat. Rather than try to fit more guns onto a ship, it was possible to increase the power of each gun. This could be done by increasing either the calibre of the weapon 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts hence the weight 1914-18 2: 2: The Super Dreadnoughts shell, or by lengthening the barrel to increase muzzle velocity. Either of these offered the chance to increase range and armour penetration. Both methods offered advantages and disadvantages, though in general greater muzzle velocity meant increased barrel wear. As guns fire, their barrels wear out, losing accuracy and eventually requiring replacement. At times, this became problematic; the US Navy seriously considered stopping practice firing of heavy guns in because of the wear on the barrels.