This meant that the presence of smaller weapons could make it more difficult to get hits with larger guns. Some were concerned that the high rate of fire of smaller guns was mitigated by the fact that it was difficult to acquire the range by gun splashes when there were so many splashes around the target. The increased accuracy meant that ships could engage and expect hits at previously unimagined distances, giving an advantage to bigger, longer-ranged weapons. However, developments in optics and improvements in gun accuracy at the beginning of the twentieth century began to tilt the balance towards heavier guns. Indeed, some argued that large armored ships with small weapons (armored cruisers, which were roughly the same size as battleships) could defeat battleships by saturating them with fire. Naval architects believed that most engagements would take place within the range of the smaller guns, and that a variety of guns would combine penetrating power with volume. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1919 and sold for scrap two years later.State-of-the-art battleship armament in the late nineteenth century involved a mix of large- and small-caliber weapons. In May 1916 she was relegated to coastal defence duties in the English Channel, before rejoining the Grand Fleet in 1918. Nor did Dreadnought participate in any of the other First World War naval battles. Dreadnought did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as she was being refitted. Ironically for a vessel designed to engage enemy battleships, her only significant action was the ramming and sinking of German submarine SM U-29 thus she became the only battleship confirmed to have sunk a submarine. Her launch helped spark a naval arms race as navies around the world, particularly the Imperial German Navy, rushed to match it in the build-up to the First World War. She was also the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest battleship in the world at the time of her completion. 20,730 long tons (21,060 t) ( deep load)Ħ,620 nmi (12,260 km 7,620 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h 12 mph)ĭreadnought was the first battleship of her era to have a uniform main battery, rather than having a few large guns complemented by a heavy secondary armament of smaller guns.
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