British Battleships 1890–1905

Victoria's steel battlefleet and the road to Dreadnought

British Battleships 1890–1905 cover

Description

The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world, and embodied one of the key periods in warship development - the development of the dreadnought battleship.

The term 'pre-dreadnought' was applied in retrospect, to describe the capital ships built during the decade and a half before the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. At that moment these once great warships were rendered obsolete. However, until then, they were simply called 'battleships' and were unquestionably the most powerful warships of their day. These mighty warships represented the cutting edge of naval technology. The ugly ducklings of the ironclad era had been transformed into beautiful swans, albeit deadly ones.

In Britain, this period was dominated by Sir William White, the Navy's Chief Constructor. Under his guidance the mastless battleships of the 1880s gave way to an altogether more elegant type of capital ship. The period of trial and error which marked the ironclad era ushered in a more scientific style of naval architecture. As a result, these battleships were among the most powerful warships in the world during the late Victorian era, and set a benchmark for the new battle fleets produced by navies such as Japan, Russia and the United States.

Illustrated throughout with full-colour artwork, this fascinating study offers a detailed and definitive guide to the design, development and legacy of the Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century as they paved the way for the coming of the Dreadnought.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
The era of experimentation
White's first battleships
Second Class battleships
The Spencer classes
White's last battleships
The end of an era
GUNS, STEAM AND STEEL
Armament
Propulsion
Armour
BATTLESHIPS IN ACTION
FURTHER READING
INDEX

Product details

Published Jan 21 2021
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781472844545
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Illustrated throughout with 40 photos and 8pp of colour illustrations
Series New Vanguard
Short code NVG 290
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Angus Konstam

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical…

Illustrator

Paul Wright

Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for mos…

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