Go Paperless with Digital. Scientific American , October 12, In the naval arms race, dreadnoughts were the gold standard, but their quantity and modernity were vitally important. Load comments. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Read More Previous. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits. See Subscription Options Already a subscriber? Create Account See Subscription Options. Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription. The development of the torpedo, which could severely damage even a huge battleship, made things worse.
Navies were reluctant to put their ships within range of the underwater missiles, even though that was the only distance from which its own guns were at all effective. With the development of underwater mines and torpedoes, defeating a battleship no longer required another battleship.
That meant smaller, cheaper navies were suddenly much more dangerous. So the huge battleships were generally held in reserve and used more as a psychological threat than a practical one. 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. Dreadnoughts "were good at inculcating fear and uncertainty in opponents," says Ross, "in the same way that a ballistic missile submarine does today.
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. A few of the leftover dreadnoughts played a role in later conflicts, after being converted into early aircraft carriers.
Ford-class super-carriers of today. Jordan Golson is a technology and automotive reporter based in Durango, Colorado. Email: jlgolson gmail. The unveiling "set ablaze the big naval armament race with Germany, who was determined to keep up with us", says Roberts. In Britain there was Dreadnought fever as the public clamoured for more shipbuilding and the Liberal government, caught trying to reduce naval spending, was forced on the defensive.
One election meeting was disrupted by cries of "Dreadnought! The result was hardly a surprise. As the Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, wryly noted: "The Admiralty had demanded six ships; the economists offered four; and we finally compromised on eight. The reason for the fever was that the stakes for the UK were so high. Only the Royal Navy could ensure British security, and only the Royal Navy, by protecting trade routes, could ensure her prosperity. No other major nation was so reliant on its navy for its wealth and security.
Lord West describes the disparity: "For us, supremacy at sea was fundamental for our survival. For them it was just nice to have. Ultimately Britain won the naval arms race with Germany several years before World War One, and in time Dreadnoughts were replaced by super-dreadnoughts - with even larger guns, faster engines and more armour. Dreadnought and her successors went on to form the backbone of the Grand Fleet, described by Churchill, by then First Lord of the Admiralty as "the Crown Jewels" and at their assembly, prior to the outbreak of war as "the greatest assemblage of naval power ever witnessed in the history of the world".
Dreadnought herself was taken out of service shortly after WW1 and sold for scrap in the early s. But by then she had wrought her revolution. Naval warfare had changed forever. Image source, Getty Images. Related Topics.
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