Dreadnought (1906) Dreadnought (1906)A new era of fast, big-gun battleships was inaugurated by the appearance of HMS Dreadnought. Similar ships were already being planned or considered by other navies and the effect, instead of assuring British dominance, was to start a naval arms race.
When the Battle of Tsushima was fought on 27 May 1905, the British Navy was already contemplating a battleship in which many lessons taught by the battle seemed to have been anticipated. Dreadnought was laid down at Portsmouth on 2 October 1905, launched on 10 February 1906, and completed in December 1906. The cost was £1,783,883. Speed of construction was remarkable, made possible by pre-assembly of the materials, but several years of debate went before it.
Steam turbines, quadruple screws, and good armour protection, combined with 10 305mm (12in) guns, made Dreadnought a world-beater.
In 1903 the Italian engineer Vittorio Cuniberti had suggested that the ‘ideal battleship’ for the Royal Navy was a 15,422 tonne (17,000 tons) ship with 12 305mm (12in) guns, 305mm (12in) armour, and capable of 24 knots. Admiral Lord Fisher had already initiated a project for what he called ‘HMS Untakeable’, whose prime feature was ‘the most powerful and powerfully arranged armament’, with a view to long-range fire rather than the 1000–3000m/yd considered normal at the time. Fisher was appointed First Sea Lord in October 1904 and convened an expert committee which proceeded to draw up six alternative preliminary designs. As built, based essentially on ‘Design H’, there was a long flush main deck of 5.8m (19ft) freeboard, with a forecastle deck raised to 8.5m (28ft). Ten 305mm (12in) guns in double turrets were disposed in symmetrical array, three on the centreline and one each to port and starboard just abaft of the main deckhouse and leading funnel. This funnel, unusually and unsuitably, was place ahead of the foremast, making the fighting top filthy with smoke and soot. Another novelty, not particularly appreciated, was the berthing of officers in the forward part (close to their work posts) and of the men aft.
Dimensions |
Length 160.4m (527ft), Beam 25m (82ft), Draught 8.1m (26ft 6in), Displacement 16,238 tonnes (17,900 tons). Full load 19,817 tonnes (21,845 tons) |
Propulsion |
18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 4 Parsons turbines, 19,649kW (26,350hp), 4 screws |
Armament |
10 305mm (12in) guns, 27 12-pounder guns, 5 457mm (18in) torpedo tubes (submerged) |
Armour |
Belt 279–102mm (11–4in), Bulkhead 203mm (8in), Barbettes 279–102mm (11–4in), Turrets 279mm (11in), Conning tower 279–203mm (11–8in) |
Range |
12,260km (6620nm) at 10 knots |
Speed |
21.6 knots |
Complement |
773 |
Exactly 4536 tonnes (5000 tons) of armour was applied, and armour plating was extended, at diminishing thickness, along the entire sides. Within the hull a system of fully watertight compartments was rigorously applied, with no doors or openings and each compartment having independent ventilation, pumps (electrically driven) and drainage. Lifts were fitted for giving quick access between the machinery compartments. The aim was that the ship could safely sustain two torpedo strikes. Magazines were located centrally, well away from the sides.
Gunnery
Led by a few keen senior officers, the Royal Navy took great steps forward in improving its gunnery from the late 1890s. Dreadnought’s capacity for firing heavy salvoes demanded a high degree of fire control to make it effective. For effective fire control, correctly establishing the target’s distance was essential, and crucial items were optical rangefinders, developed from the 1890s by the Barr & Stroud company. Other new instruments were devised, including range projectors (Dumaresqs, an early form of computer which related the movement of the firing craft and target) and range clocks, calibrated up to 11,000m (12,000yd). The German optical firm of Zeiss was also producing a range of similar instruments. A central director could be aimed at the target and the required elevation and training angle automatically calculated. Plotting boards, with scales and protractors, were brought into use. Even so, a 10 per cent hit rate in a long-range naval battle was good; 90 per cent of ammunition vanished into the sea.
In order to speed up construction, the 305mm (12in) guns were ‘lifted’ from two other ships then building, Lord Nelson and Agamemnon, which were not launched until after Dreadnought, effectively becoming £3,000,000 worth of instantly-obsolescent sea-power.
Fuel: 1016 tonnes (1120 tons) of oil fuel was carried in the bottom under the machinery spaces. A maximum 2631 tonnes (2900 tons) of coal could be carried in the bunkers.
The most revolutionary aspect of the new ship was its motive power. Turbines had never been applied to a battleship before, though they were in use on ocean liners and fast packet boats. The decision proved a triumphant success. Dreadnought was faster than any other battleship, mechanically more reliable, more economical on fuel, and provided infinitely better working conditions in the engine-room. In addition the engine space was more compact, sat lower in the hull, and gave substantially more power per tonne of weight.
Total weight of machinery was 1079 tonnes (1190 tons). Turbines could not be reversed, but a stern turbine was placed on each of the four shafts, one high- and one low-pressure on each side, and Dreadnought was at least as easy to handle as any other battleship and had very good manoeuvring qualities, assisted by twin rudders placed immediately abaft the inner propellers.
Dreadnought was assigned to the Home Fleet, and from January–March 1907 went on a shake-down cruise to the Mediterranean, then across to Trinidad. Its return journey of 11,265km (7000 miles) was accomplished with no mechanical hold-ups and at an average speed of 17.5 knots. No warship before had been capable of this. From April 1907 to May 1912 it was flagship of the C-in-C. Home Fleet, then flagship of the 4th Battleship Squadron until May 1916. In World War I it sank U-29 by ramming in the North Sea on 18 February 1915: an ironic exploit considering that a ram bow had been deliberately omitted from its design as something not required in a modern battleship. From July 1916 it was flagship of the 3rd Battleship Squadron at Sheerness, but briefly rejoined the Grand Fleet between March and August 1918. In February 1919 it was placed on reserve at Rosyth, and stricken on 31 March 1920. In May 1921 it was sold for scrapping, at Inverkeithing.
Deck plan: an eight-gun broadside salvo could be fired on either beam. Dreadnought was also the first battleship fitted with tripod masts.
