The USS Lexington and USS Saratoga eventually helped prove the concept of a floating airbase, leading to the Essex-class of carriers in World War II and eventually to the Nimitz- and Gerald R. In some ways, naval warfare in World War I was like a giant chess game: lots of skirmishes, but because the big pieces were too valuable to risk losing, they stayed behind in relative safety.Ī few of the leftover dreadnoughts played a role in later conflicts, after being converted into early aircraft carriers. No dreadnoughts were lost to enemy guns during the war, though the HMS Audacious was sunk by a mine off the coast of Scotland, and the HMS Vanguard was destroyed by a magazine explosion.ĭreadnoughts 'were good at inculcating fear and uncertainty in opponents,' says Ross, 'in the same way that a ballistic missile submarine does today.' They're not often used, but enemies can't dismiss them either. So the huge battleships were generally held in reserve and used more as a psychological threat than a practical one. 'This was something new and it completely altered the naval calculus,' says Ross. That meant smaller, cheaper navies were suddenly much more dangerous. With the development of underwater mines and torpedoes, defeating a battleship no longer required another battleship. In so doing, she bankrupted the Empire and lost her position as the world's premier navy forever.'ĭreadnoughts and hydroplane, British Grand Fleet, North Sea, 1914. 'The lure of a convenient enemy, intent on fighting a battle that the Royal Navy relished, was too much,' says Angus Ross, a professor at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island who has written about the topic. By the end of the war, the nation had nearly bankrupted itself building close to 30 dreadnoughts that faced significant threats from torpedo ships operated by even small navies. The gun turrets were situated higher than user and so facilitated more accurate long-distance fire. She had ten 12-inch guns (305 mm), whereas the previous record was four 12-inch guns. It was the most heavily-armed ship in history. However, the massive cost of the ships, at a time when the British Empire was in severe financial distress, was ruinous in the long term. (1) Britain's first dreadnought was built at Portsmouth Dockyard between October 1905 and December 1906. They forced Germany to pour huge sums into its own navy, making it difficult to effectively finance its war effort.

The Grand Fleet's enormous number of first-class battleships-some 35 ships, including a half-dozen from the US-played a key role in the war effort. Though still a matter of some dispute amongst military historians, World War I largely ushered in the end of British dominance of the high seas and the beginning of the end of the British Empire.

Dreadnought ships