Another possible advantage was fire control at long ranges guns were aimed by observing the splashes caused by shells fired in salvoes, and it was difficult to interpret different splashes caused by different calibres of gun. The newest 12-inch (305 mm) guns had longer range and fired heavier shells than a gun of 10-or-9.2-inch (254 or 234 mm) calibre. The move to all-big-gun designs was accomplished because a uniform, heavy-calibre armament offered advantages in both firepower and fire control, and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 showed that future naval battles could, and likely would, be fought at long distances.

Finally, the US Navy gained authorization for USS Michigan, carrying eight 12-inch guns, in March 1905, with construction commencing in December 1906. The Royal Navy began the design of HMS Dreadnought in January 1905, and she was laid down in October of the same year. Work began on her construction in May 1905. In 1904, the Imperial Japanese Navy authorized construction of Satsuma, originally designed with twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns. Īll-big-gun designs commenced almost simultaneously in three navies. Serious proposals for an all-big-gun armament were circulated in several countries by 1903. Some designs had an intermediate battery of 8-inch (203 mm) guns. 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 (as they did in the Battle of Manila Bay), when the shorter-range, faster-firing guns would prove most useful. The typical battleship of the 1890s, now known as the ' pre-dreadnought', had a main armament of four heavy guns of 12-inch (300 mm) calibre, a secondary armament of six to eighteen quick-firing guns of between 4.7-and-7.5-inch (119 and 191 mm) calibre, and other smaller weapons. 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. The term 'dreadnought' gradually dropped from use after World War I, especially after the Washington Naval Treaty, as virtually all remaining battleships shared dreadnought characteristics it can also be used to describe battlecruisers, the other type of ship resulting from the dreadnought revolution. At the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the British and German navies clashed with no decisive result. Most of the original dreadnoughts were scrapped after the end of World War I under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, but many of the newer super-dreadnoughts continued serving throughout World War II.ĭreadnought-building consumed vast resources in the early 20th century, but there was only one battle between large dreadnought fleets.

These more powerful vessels were known as ' super-dreadnoughts'.

Within five years, new battleships outclassed Dreadnought herself. Successive designs increased rapidly in size and made use of improvements in armament, armour, and propulsion throughout the dreadnought era. Dreadnought races sprang up around the world, including in South America, lasting up to the beginning of World War I. As dreadnoughts became a crucial symbol of national power, the arrival of these new warships renewed the naval arms race between the United Kingdom and Germany. Her design had two revolutionary features: an 'all-big-gun' armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam turbine propulsion. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought, had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. USS Texas, the only dreadnought still in existence, was launched in 1912 and is now a museum ship

Dreadnought ships today