In 1906, the British launched one of the most revolutionary ships ever built HMS Dreadnought. Besides being a big ship powered by turbines the ship was constructed with "all big guns . This meant that the earlier battleships were typically equipped with just 4 main guns intended to engage other battleships plus an additional number of smaller guns to engage cruisers. The Dreadnought dispensed with the smaller weapons to increase her main battery to 10 12in guns, making her broadside twice as powerful as any other capital ship in the world. This design effectively rendered all other battleships obsolete, and sparked a naval shipbuilding race between the naval powers which consumed a huge portion of their industrial capacity up to and during WWI. Several battleships of different classes were built but learning that both Japan and the United States were implementing 14 inch guns decisive measures were taken to keep the Royal Navy ahead the Queen Elizabeth class with it s fearsome 15 inch guns were therefor introduced. In 1913 the British launched HMS Queen Elizabeth which was often described as a Super Dreadnought: bigger, faster, and more heavily armed and armored than any other ship. During the next few years 4 more ships where launched."

Germany's attempts to build a battleship fleet to match that of the United Kingdom, the dominant naval power on the 19th-century and an island country that depended on seaborne trade for survival, is often listed as a major reason for the enmity between those two countries that led to the outbreak of war in 1914. ??Indeed, German leaders had expressed a desire for a navy in proportion to their military and economic strength that could free their overseas trade and colonial empire from dependence on Britain's good will, but such a fleet would inevitably threaten Britain's own trade and empire.??Despite this backdrop of large standing navies, naval warfare in the First World War was mainly characterized by the efforts of the Allied powers, with their larger fleets and surrounding position, to blockade the Central Powers by sea, and the efforts of the Central Powers to break that blockade or to establish an effective blockade of the UK with submarines and raiders. Indeed, the use of the former saw naval conflict enter a new era, one that affected every member of the British population and, in 1917, raised the spectre of a German victory.??This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.??Despatches in this volume include those relating to the events at Antwerp in 1914, Royal Navy armoured car squadrons, the Battle of Dogger Bank, the Battle of the Falklands, the Battle of Heligoland Bight, minesweeping operations, Royal Naval Air Service operations and attacks, and, of course, the Battle of Jutland.

This lavishly-illustrated volume, first published in 1976 and back by popular demand, presents the full story of the design and construction of every British battleship and battlecruiser class that served in World War II--from the Queen Elizabeth class to the Vanguard. Noted authors Alan Raven and John Roberts include a comperehensive review of each ship's initial configuration and refits as well as developments in weapons, gunnery, fire control, radar, protection, and propulsion. There are also sections devoted to combat actions involving British battleships and comparisons with battleships of other navies. Six hundred photographs and illustrations, including sixteen fold-out pages, complement the authoritative history of the vessels. For other books in the battleship series, see page 26.

During the First World War the reputation of the British Royal Navy was put on the line in its defence of the country, and, crucially, it was in those years, 1914–19, that the Grand Fleet became the single most potent weapon of war of any nation. In this comprehensive, illustrated history, Ridley-Kitts tells of the creation and development of the Grand Fleet under the drive of the energetic and charismatic Admiral of the Fleet 'Jacky' Fisher, who modernised the navy with the introduction of the revolutionary Dreadnought battleship. This type of vessel in particular made other nations' battleships obsolete, created a powerful weapon for the defence of the British Empire and its trade, and finally defeated the machinations of Kaiser William II. Using unique illustrations rendered by the author, the story of the Grand Fleet is told in accessible narrative style, with outstanding technical detail that will satisfy naval enthusiasts.