Dreadnought (Schiff, 1906)

2005-11-11T17:17:58Z

24.155.128.4: /* American development */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width=300
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|[[Image:HMSDreadnought.jpeg|300px|HMS Dreadnought]]
|-
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|'''Career'''
!style="background:navy;align:right;"|[[image:rnensign.png|RN Ensign]]
|-
|Ordered:
|1905
|-
|Laid down:
|October 2, 1905
|-
|Launched:
|February 10, 1906
|-
|Commissioned:
|December 1906
|-
|Decommissioned:
|1919
|-
|Fate:
|Scrapped 1923
|-
|Struck:
|
|-
!colspan="2" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy no-repeat scroll top left;"|'''Specifications'''
|-
|Displacement:
|18,420 t
|-
|Length:
|527 ft oa x 82 ft x 26 ft (160 m x 25 m x 8m )
|-
|Armour:
|Belt: 4 to 11 inch (100 to 280 mm) midship, 2.5 inch (64 mm) at ends 
[[Deck]]: up to 3 inch (75 mm) 
[[Turrets]]: 11 inch (280 mm) 
[[Barbette]]s: up to 11 inch (280 mm) 
[[Conning tower]]: 11 inch (280 mm)
|-
|Armament:
|Main: 10 x 12 in (305 mm) 45 cal (5×2) (one forward, two aft, two amidships), 27 x 4 in (102 mm) 12 lb (5 kg), 5 x 18 in (457 mm) submerged torpedo tubes
|-
|Propulsion:
|Boilers: 18 Babcock & Wilcox 3 drum type 
Turbines: 4 Parsons geared steam turbines 
Power: 22,500 shp (17 MW)
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
Bunkerage: 900/2,900 tons coal, 1,120 tons oil
|-
|Range:
|6,620 anutical miles (12,260 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), 4,910 nautical miles (9,090 km) at 18.4 knots (34 km/h)
|-
|Complement:
|695–773
|}
The sixth '''HMS''' '''''Dreadnought''''' of the [[Britain|British]] [[Royal Navy]] was the first [[battleship]] to have a uniform main [[Artillery battery|battery]], rather than having a secondary battery of similar sized guns. She was also the first large warship to be powered by [[steam turbine]]s, making her the fastest warship of her size. So advanced was ''Dreadnought'' that her name became a generic term for modern battleships, whilst the ships she made obsolete were known as [[Pre-dreadnought|"pre-dreadnoughts"]]. Her introduction sparked off a major naval [[arms race]] as navies around the world rushed to match her, particularly the [[Imperial Germany|Germans]] in the build up to the [[World War I|First World War]].

==Genesis==
Existing battleship designs of the era typically mounted four large guns in dual-gun [[turret]]s fore and aft, with a number of smaller guns lining the sides of the ship, in a fashion similar to older sailing vessels. Not only did this limit the amount of long-range firepower to four guns, it also allowed water into the ship through the many openings nearer the waterline. Furthermore, each calibre of gun had different ballistic properties, something which greatly complicated the gunnery process, especially when watching for splashes. The small-caliber guns would have to hold their fire to wait for this splash while the shells travelled for a longer time, negating the advantages of smaller calibers.

The invention by [[Charles Algernon Parsons]] of the [[steam turbine]] in [[1884]] led to a significant increase in the speed of ships with his dramatic unauthorised demonstration of ''[[Turbinia]]'' with its speed of up to 34 [[knot (speed)|knot]]s (63 km/h) at the Spithead Navy Review in [[1897]]. After further trials and construction of two turbine powered torpedo boats, HMS ''Viper'' and [[HMS Cobra|HMS ''Cobra'']], the [[Admiralty]] confirmed in [[1905]] that future Royal Navy vessels were to be [[turbine]] powered.

===All big gun concepts===
The idea of all-big-gun warships, capable of firing powerful guns from a long distance seems to have emerged as the threat of torpedoes became more potent. The Italian naval architect [[Vittorio Cuniberti]] first articulated the concept of an all-big gun battleship in [[1903]] (although Fisher claimed the idea had occured to him since 1900). When the [[Regia Marina|Italian Navy]] didn't pursue his ideas, Cuniberti wrote an article in [[Jane's Fighting Ships|Janes]] propagating his concept. He proposed an "ideal" future British battleship of 17,000 tons, with twelve 12-inch guns, 12-inch belt and 24 knots.

====Japanese development(1904-1905)====
The [[Russo-Japanese war]] (1904-1905) provided operational experience to confirm the concept. The [[Russia]]n Navy was decisively defeated during the naval battles of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905), especially at the [[Battle of Tsushima]] (May 1905), by the modern [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], which was equipped with the latest (mostly British-made) battleships. The events of the battle confirmed to the world that only the biggest guns mattered in modern naval battles. As secondary guns grew in size, spotting gun splashes (and aiming) between main and secondary guns became problematic. The Battle of Tsushima demonstrates that damage from the main guns was much greater than secondary guns. In addition, the battle demonstrated the practicability of gun battles beyond the range of secondary guns (12,000 yards). The United States, Japan, and Britain all realized this and launched plans for all-big-gun ships.

Finally, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]'s ''[[Japanese battleship Satsuma|Satsuma]]'' was the first battleship in the world to be designed (1904) and laid down (15th May 1905) as an all-big-gun battleship, five months before the Dreadnought, although gun shortages only allowed her to be equipped with four of the twelve 12-in guns that had been planned.

====British development====
Britain, lead by [[Admiral]] Sir [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|Jackie Fisher]], who became [[First Sea Lord]] in [[1904]], took the lead and had ''Dreadnought'' "completed" in a year and a day in December [[1906]]. Fisher had originally advocated a Royal Navy based around [[submarine]]s and fast [[torpedo boat]]s, and had subsequently tempered his revolutionary ideas with a vision of fast, all-big-gun [[battlecruiser]]s, which would have the firepower and speed to engage [[battleship|battleships]] and [[cruiser|cruisers]], albeit with much less [[armour]] protection than the former. Fisher felt that speed was a better defence than armour. Although the battlecruiser concept would become popular in the run-up to [[World War I]], Fisher was nonetheless forced by the [[Admiralty]] to create an all-big-gun battleship instead.

==Technology==
The concept was simple, and had been a consideration among naval planners for a few years. ''Dreadnought'' would use [[steam turbine]]s in place of the older [[Steam Engine#Multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]]s that had powered almost all previous ships, with a design speed of a steady 21 [[knot (speed)|knot]]s (39 km/h). This would allow her to outrun any combat ship then afloat, making her largely immune to mass attacks by an enemy fleet, or by smaller but deadly craft such as [[torpedo boat]]s and submarines ([[HMS Viper|HMS ''Viper'']] and [[HMS Cobra|HMS ''Cobra'']] had maximum speeds approaching 34 knots (63 km/h), but both sank in [[1899]]). Thus protected from smaller ships, lighter guns that would normally be placed along the sides of the ship to deal with them could be removed. This left considerably more room for only the largest of guns, which were placed on turrets on the main deck.

''Dreadnought'' mounted five two-gun turrets. Three turrets were located conventionally along the centreline of the ship, with one fore and two aft, the latter pair separated by a sizeable gap. Two further turrets were located either side of the bridge superstructure. This arrangement tended to reduce the number of guns which could be brought to bear on a target; the ''Dreadnought'' could, at most, deliver a broadside of eight guns, [[abaft]] fire of eight guns, and [[astern]] fire of six guns, in each case only in a narrow range of angles. Subsequent designs tended to arrange all of the turrets along the ship's centreline, an arrangement which had been rejected for ''Dreadnought'' in order to minimise the supposed risk of [[concussion]] damage to the closely-packed turrets. This fear was unfounded and later battleships used a ''superimposed'' arrangement, with turrets arrayed in a stair-step arrangement on the centerline. Additional light guns were included for close in defense but were not intended as offensive weapons.

The vessels which ''Dreadnought'' was expected to engage could only bring to bear four guns of similar size, plus a host of smaller weapons which would be kept at a safe [[stand-off]] distance by ''Dreadnought''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s shells. In effect, the ''Dreadnought''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s concept was equal to three or more battleships in "real" firepower during combat.

The use of a single main gun size greatly simplifies the task of adjusting fire during combat. As all guns have the same ballistic characteristics, and all guns are pointed by a master director (and fired simultaneously by electrical means) the shells, if they miss their intended target, will fall in a cluster whose size is determined by random variations and whose center is subject to errors in aiming and other deterministic effects such as wind. If the shells are splashing beyond the target the adjustments are made to shorten the range, correspondingly, if the fire is too short the range is increased. If the target is "bracketed" then another round of fire is sent using the same aiming conditions, adjusted for ship speeds and course differences. For a given powder load, the adjustments are made by small elevation adjustments. By contrast, with differing gun characteristics it becomes difficult to determine which type of gun created which splashes.

Another major innovation was the elimination of longitudinal passageways between compartments below the main deck level. While doors connecting such compartments would always be closed during combat it was proven that these were a major weakness in the security of a ship; a collision during fleet exercises had earlier resulted in the sinking of a battle cruiser.

Finally, the typical crew arrangement, whereby enlisted personnel were housed in the forward part of the ship (the ''forecastle'') and officers aft was reversed. Unlike sailing ships, which were controlled from the aft part of the ship, modern warships were controlled from the ''bridge'', high and in the first quarter or third of the ship. By moving "officer's country" forward the ship's officers were closer to their command stations, while stokers and enginemen, now quartered aft, were also closer to their workplaces.

==Construction and early years==
So convinced that construction of the design would be ordered, Fisher started stockpiling steel for use on the ship before a construction slip was even available. This proved a fortunate decision, as during the stockpiling phase a new hull shape was identified that would decrease [[drag]], and therefore increase speed. Fisher, happy with the original 21 knot (39 km/h) speed, used up the additional performance by further increasing the weight of armor. The final design mounted 11 inches (279 mm) of armor on the sides and turrets, about 3 inches (76 mm) more than designs from only a year earlier. Construction finally started in October 1905, and she was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] in February [[1906]], after only four months on the ways. ''Dreadnought'' went to sea on October 3rd, only a year and a day after construction started. The process had been sped up by using turrets which had originally been designed for the [[Lord Nelson class battleship|Lord Nelson]] battleships which preceded ''Dreadnought''. The speed of ''Dreadnought'''s construction was almost as alarming to foreign navies as her technical capabilities.

''Dreadnought'' was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] for trials in December 1906, and in January [[1907]] she sailed for the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and then to [[Port-of-Spain]], [[Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad]]. Her engines and guns were given a thorough workout by Captain Sir Reginald Bacon. His report stated ''No member of the Committee on Designs dared to hope that all the innovations introduced would have turned out as successfully as had been the case.'' The Royal Navy's next six battleships were built along essentially the same lines, although ''Dreadnought'' was to be the only ''Dreadnought-class'' battleship. Returning to Portsmouth, ''Dreadnought'' became flagship of the [[Home Fleet]] between 1907 and [[1912]]. As such she spent most of her time in home waters, with occasional cruises to Spain and the Mediterranean.

Her building, trials and early service were closely watched by the world's naval authorities. Her design so thoroughly eclipsed earlier types that subsequent battleships of all nations were generically known as "dreadnoughts" and previous ones disparaged as "pre-dreadnoughts". Her time of outright superiority was short, however. ''Dreadnought'' had originally been built to show other navies the futility of attempting to go toe-to-toe with the Royal Navy, but as in the past (see [[HMS Warrior (1860)|HMS ''Warrior'']] for instance), the Navy underestimated the German fleet's desire to maintain parity. Her construction sparked off another naval arms race, and soon all major fleets were adding ''Dreadnought''-like ships.

''Dreadnought'' was quickly followed by six more almost identical ships, commencing with the [[Bellerophon class battleship]], in which several design flaws were fixed.

==Decline, The Great War==
From 1907–1912 ''Dreadnought'' served as [[flagship]] of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, as famous in its days as the [[Concorde]] SST sixty years later. In [[1910]] it attracted the attention of notorious [[hoax]]er [[Horace de Vere Cole]], who persuaded the Royal Navy to arrange for a party of [[Abyssinia]]n royals to be given a tour of a ship. In reality, the "Abyssinian royals" were some of Cole's friends in [[blackface]] and disguise, including a young [[Virginia Woolf]] and her [[Bloomsbury Group]] friends; it became known as the [[Dreadnought hoax]]. Cole had picked the ''Dreadnought'' because it was the most prominent and visible symbol of Britain's naval might; but even by 1910 it was obsolete.

As ever-faster designs were put into service, ''Dreadnought'' found herself increasingly outpaced, whilst her unusual turret arrangement had already been abandoned in favour of in-line turrets. Her lack of relative speed made her vulnerable to smaller craft again, and since the design ignored these as a factor, she was generally under armored for [[torpedo]] attacks. Smaller 12-pounder guns were added on top of the main turrets to help fend off torpedo boats, and a system for anti-torpedo netting was added along the sides for protection while in port. These changes were not enough to convince the Admiralty that she would be safe in the line of battle, with newer torpedo boats and submarines shadowing the battle fleets. On the outbreak of [[World War I]] in [[1914]] she was flagship of the Fourth Battle Squadron in the [[North Sea]], based at [[Scapa Flow]].

Ironically for a vessel designed to engage enemy battleships, her only significant action was the ramming and sinking of German submarine [[Unterseeboot 29|U-29]] on [[18 March]] [[1915]] — ''Dreadnought'' thus became the only battleship to ever sink a submarine. Withdrawn from the fleet because her low speed made it impossible to keep station, from May [[1916]] ''Dreadnought'' was flagship of the 3rd Battle Squadron, based at [[Sheerness]] on the [[Thames]], part of a force intended to counter the threat of shore bombardment by prowling German [[battlecruiser]]s. ''Dreadnought'' was undergoing a refit during the [[Battle of Jutland]], and thus missed the Navy's most famous WWI engagement. She returned to the Grand Fleet from March to August [[1918]]. By now in bad condition from constant patrols in the [[North Sea]], she was put in reserve at Rosyth after the war. ''Dreadnought'' was paid off on [[31 March]] [[1920]]. Sold to T. Ward & Company in [[1922]], she was broken up at Inverness, Scotland, in 1923.

==See also==
* [[HMS Dreadnought|HMS ''Dreadnought'']] for other ships of the same name.
* [[Dreadnought Hoax]]

==References==
Although the battleship is today sometimes spelled ''Dreadnaught'', it was officially ''Dreadnought''. The word means "fear nothing".

* ''Jane's Battleships of the 20th Century'' by [[Bernard Ireland]] (ISBN 0004709977); a general guide with several useful drawings, although quite limited in scope.
* ''Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War'' by [[Robert Massie]] (ISBN 1844135284); a substantial book which deals mostly with the political situation which led to WW1, tensions between descendants of Queen Victoria, and the symbiotic relationship between First Lord of the Admiralty [[Winston Churchill]] and First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher. Technical information concerning the battleship itself is limited to a single (although quite informative) chapter (28). The strategic and tactical employment of fleets of great warships in WW1 is well documented in the subsequent book by this author, ''Castles of Steel''. Far less involved with the details of politics and more with personalities of commanders this report of naval actions and theaters may be of more interest to students of military history.

==External links==
* [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/3514.html The Royal Navy's official ''Dreadnought'' site]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/uk/uksh-d/drednt9.htm United States military history page on the ''Dreadnought'']
* [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/dreadnought.htm History, with several period photographs]
* [http://dreadnoughtproject.org/ A project to recreate the ''Dreadnought''] as a [[CAD]] model
* [http://www.friesian.com/dreadnot.htm An illustration of the contemporary naval arms race which ''Dreadnought'' sparked]
* [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_12-45_mk10.htm A thorough guide to the 12 inch guns which made ''Dreadnought'' so distinctive]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/battleships/dreadnought/hms_dreadnought.htm Maritimequest HMS Dreadnought Photo Gallery]

[[Category:Royal Navy battleships|Dreadnought]]

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Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Dreadnought (Schiff, 1906)