British Battleships 1914–18 (2)

The Super Dreadnoughts

British Battleships 1914–18 (2) cover

British Battleships 1914–18 (2)

The Super Dreadnoughts

Description

In 1906, the Germans began building their own dreadnought fleet armed with larger guns, word of which soon reached the British Admiralty. This raised the spectre that the British dreadnought fleet would be outgunned, and prompted the Admiralty to order the building of their own “super dreadnoughts”. The first of these new dreadnoughts were laid down in 1909, and entered service three years later. The British public supported this programme, and the slogan “we want eight and cannot wait” became popular, a reference to the building of eight of these super dreadnoughts. Four more super dreadnoughts entered service in 1914. By then the Admiralty had developed a new programme of “fast battleships”, armed with 15-inch guns. These powerful warships entered service in time to play a part in the battle of Jutland in 1916. 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.

Product details

Published 20 Dec 2013
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 48
ISBN 9781780961729
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 30 b/w; 7 col
Series New Vanguard
Short code NVG 204
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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