Dreadnought ship of the line of the English fleet. Battleship Dreadnought. The meaning of the word dreadnought

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The meaning of the word dreadnought

dreadnought in the crossword dictionary

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.

dreadnought

A, m. A large battleship, the forerunner of the modern battleship.

adj. dreadnought, th, th.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

dreadnought

m. A large battleship with powerful artillery, the predecessor of the modern battleship (in the first decades of the 20th century).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

dreadnought

"Dreadnought" (eng. "Dreadnought" lit. - fearless), English battleship (built in 1906). Had 10 305 mm turret guns and 24 76 mm guns, 5 torpedo tubes; armor up to 280 mm. Until the 30s. "Dreadnoughts" were called battleships of this type.

Dreadnought

"Dreadnought"("Dreadnought", literally ≈ fearless), an English battleship that laid the foundation for this class of ships. Building "D." was an attempt to take into account the experience of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, which revealed the shortcomings of the battleships. Built in 1905-06 at Portsmouth; displacement 17,900 tons, speed ≈ 21 knots (39 km/h), armament: 10 305-mm guns (in 5 two-gun turrets), 14 76-mm guns (along the sides, on large caliber turrets, bow and stern) , 5 underwater torpedo tubes (4 side and 1 stern); armor: in the middle part 280 mm, in the bow and stern 200 mm, decks 40 mm, towers and deckhouse 280 mm. Main distinctive features D. from its predecessors - armadillos: the introduction of single calibers for all main and mine artillery, an increase in speed, mine protection, a rhombic arrangement of artillery towers, which made it possible to fire from the sides and stern from 8, and at the bow from 6 guns of the main caliber. More advanced battleships of the Sevastopol type were built in Russia.

Wikipedia

Dreadnought (guitar)

Dreadnought- a type of acoustic guitar, characterized by an enlarged body of a characteristic "rectangular" shape. Compared to the classic case, it has increased volume, greater sustain and predominance low frequencies in timbre. Developed in the 1920s by Martin and is still considered the standard in guitar building.

In the 1920s, it was used mainly for "country" and popular pop music. In the 50s, along with other folk guitars, it was also used for house or bard styles, acoustic blues.

Unlike orchestral models, which are usually used for playing with fingers, the dreadnought is more often used for playing with "chesom". Also, the dreadnought, because it has a long sustain, sounds louder than orchestral models, although such a guitar has a more balanced sound.

Some dreadnoughts have a cutout to make it easier to play solo parts.

Dreadnought (film)

"Dreadnought"(Chinese 勇者無懼, English. Dreadnaught, lit. Fearless) is a 1981 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Yuan Heping.

Dreadnought (ship class)

Dreadnought- the generation of artillery warships that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, characteristic feature which were homogeneous artillery armament from a large number of guns only of large caliber ( all big gun). In a broad sense, the term can be applied to ships of various classes that have this feature, but most often this concept is associated with a battleship and is synonymous with a battleship of the first quarter of the 20th century. The last dreadnought in the world, the Wangard, was built in Great Britain in 1946 and served until the end of the 1950s.

Examples of the use of the word dreadnought in the literature.

Han looked up at dreadnought who has been carrying them in hyperspace for the past two days.

And also inform the commander of the boarding team - I want to immediately take this dreadnought into imperial hands.

See this dreadnought goes on the defensive, the second one will do the same now.

Alexei Fomich Nadya, and when he showed her this dreadnought, held out: - Here he is!

The second part of the triptych - the viewer must see with his own eyes - is burning not something and not somewhere, but this one fire element covered a huge dreadnought, beauty, power and pride of the navy.

Fenya immediately left, and he was left alone with everything that had so cruelly fallen on him that day, as if he was also dreadnought, and one after another, completely unexpected deafening explosions thundered in it.

have missed dreadnought and be silent, and look with all your eyes, so as not to miss something again.

And if this minority consists of such as the intruder who destroyed and dreadnought, and several hundred people?

As a result, for every chalian dreadnought need at least two big ships Fleet, and such a balance of power almost certainly means the death of the Khalian superhulks.

The decision of the captain of the liner turned out to be absolutely correct - the first dreadnought soon flared up.

Suddenly dreadnought ran into a bunch of mines, apparently carefully prepared by one of ours, and stopped resisting.

So, the Halians have only one left dreadnought which means the end is near.

First we need to capture dreadnought, this trophy is extremely important for the Confederation.

For one dreadnought it takes not twenty rockets, but twice as many plus luck.

And then this damn dreadnought and I can hardly wait for you to finally raise your defense sphere.

Dreadnought (ship class)

The oldest surviving dreadnought, BB-35 "Texas", launched in 1912

Superdreadnought

Five years after the commissioning of the Dreadnought, a new generation of more powerful battleships was built. The first super-dreadnoughts are considered to be the British Orion-class battleships. The introduction of powerful 13.5-inch (343 mm) main battery artillery and increased side armor allowed them to be called "super". In the five years between Dreadnought and Orion, displacement increased by 25%, and the weight of a broadside doubled.

see also

Notes

Literature

  • Taras A. E. Encyclopedia of battleships and battleships. - M .: Harvest, AST, 2002. - ISBN 985-13-1009-3
  • All the world's battleships. 1906 to the present. - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1996. - ISBN 0-85177-691-4
  • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921. - Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press, 1985. - ISBN 0-87021-907-3
  • Friedman N. U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. - Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press, 1985. - ISBN 0-087021-715-1
  • Silverstone P.H. The New Navy. 1883-1922. - New York, USA: Routledge, 2006. - ISBN 978-0-415-97871-2
  • Gardiner R., Gray R. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. - New York, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1984. - ISBN 0-87021-907-3

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See what "Dreadnought (class of ships)" is in other dictionaries:

    Wiktionary has an article on "dreadnought" Dreadnought (incorrectly Dendroit) (English ... Wikipedia

    HMS Dreadnought History Type: battleship (dreadnought) Class: Dreadnought Affiliation: Great Britain ... Wikipedia Wikipedia

    During the First World War, in addition to land, large-scale hostilities took place at sea. During the war, new classes of warships were used for the first time, such as dreadnoughts, battlecruisers, aircraft carriers and seaplane transports, ... ... Wikipedia

    This term has other meanings, see Battleship (meanings). "Dreadnought" ancestor of the class of battleships ... Wikipedia

    This term has other meanings, see Battleship. Battleship "USS Arizona" Battleship (abbreviated from "battleship") a class of armored artillery warships with a displacement of 20 to 70 thousand tons, a length of 150 to 280 m, ... ... Wikipedia

    - Babylon 5 Earth Alliance Nova Class Dreadnought general information Place of construction: Rocketdyne shipyards World: Earth, Mars, Earth Alliance colonies Status: in service Registry: Earth Alliance ... Wikipedia

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the improvement of projectile feed mechanisms and the electric drive led to an increase in the rate of fire and guns of 8 ″ / 203-10 ″ / 254 mm caliber, due to which the caliber of the average battery began to gradually increase, coming close to the main caliber, while partially maintaining the positive qualities of the average caliber. The logical conclusion of this process was to be the appearance of a ship, with a displacement and armoring of a typical battleship armed with homogeneous artillery of medium (8-9 ″) or “intermediate” (10 ″) caliber - in practice, the Italians came closest to such a solution with their EBR type " Regina Elena ”, which, with a displacement of 12,600 tons, carried only two 12-inch guns in the end single-gun turrets and 12 8-inch guns in two-gun turrets within the citadel. It was assumed that already at a long distance, a flurry of high-explosive shells of rapid-fire 8-inchers would weaken the enemy so much that the only thing left for large-caliber guns was to “finish him off” by breaking through the main armor belt or forcing him to surrender at the very end of the battle. At the same time and with the same calculation, ships with more than two dozen medium-caliber guns were designed in Russia, with only two 12-inch guns. Even Admiral Fisher himself, the future "father" of the Dreadnought, in the unrealized Anteycable project that preceded him, was inclined to armament exclusively from 16 "intermediate" 10 "guns.

Meanwhile, large-caliber guns and their artillery mounts were also significantly improved during this period. So, the latest turret installations made it possible to load guns in any position, and not only after turning into the diametrical plane, and sometimes at any angle of vertical aiming, which, at the same loading speed of the gun itself, made it possible to dramatically increase the overall rate of fire - from one shot in 4-5 minutes at installations of the 1880s to about 1 shot per minute at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, there have been qualitative changes in the provision of firing from large-caliber guns: the introduction of optical sighting tubes (used by the Americans back in the 1898 war with Spain), basic rangefinders and methods for adjusting fire according to bursts of shells made it possible to achieve confident hits at distances previously considered prohibitive, and new shells filled with powerful explosives made it possible to inflict sensitive damage on the enemy even at such distances at which armor-piercing shells bounced powerlessly from the side protected by thick armor. The Mediterranean Fleet of Great Britain, under the leadership of Admiral Fisher, already in 1899 began to practice firing at distances of 25-30 cables (4.5-5.5 km), which were considered at that time, as a completely routine combat mission. Based on the results of the shooting, it was concluded that even without any change in the design of the guns themselves, solely due to improved training of personnel and the introduction of new methods of firing, it was quite possible to effectively fire at such a distance already at that time. In the near future, an increase in the fire contact distance to 7-8 km or more was expected.

In turn, the new method of adjusting the fire, combined with advances in the field of intra-ship communications, made it possible to control the firing of the ship centrally, from the post of the chief gunner, concentrating the fire of all guns on one target, which was now covered not by individual shells, but by the entire broadside at once, which was not not only significantly increased her chance of being hit, but also made the damage she received much more severe. Meanwhile, in order to effectively salvo fire with adjustment for bursts of shells, all the artillery of the ship should be homogeneous, since in different-caliber artillery bursts of different calibers firing at the same target mixed with each other, so that it was impossible to distinguish among them the “friends” needed to adjust the fire. Medium-caliber guns turned into expensive ballast for a battleship designed for long-range combat, since the firing range from them was lower than that of large-caliber guns, and effectively control the fire of a ship that combines guns of large, medium and "intermediate" calibers, as some of the last squadron battleships, it turned out to be practically impossible at all, since bursts from "intermediate" shells for the spotter were no different from bursts of 12-inch ones.

Experiments carried out on the ships "Victories" en en and "Venerable" en en , also showed the need for long-range firing of homogeneous artillery with centralized control of salvo fire:

Hundreds of volleys were fired and a lot of coal and energy was expended to prove a completely obvious fact - it is impossible to conduct effective fire over long distances from the powerful batteries of a modern warship according to the old scheme, as anyone pleases. Only scientifically substantiated centralized fire control can meet modern requirements.

The idea of ​​​​creating a fundamentally new high-speed and excellent in its firepower armored ship belongs to the Italian shipbuilder engineer Vittorio Cuniberti, who in 1902 presented to his government a draft ship with a displacement of 17,000 tons, with a powerful side armor belt 12 inches (305 mm) thick, armed with ten 12 -ty inch (305 mm) guns. However, in Italy at that time they were not allocated necessary funds to build such a ship. Then Cuniberti shared his idea with the publisher of the annual guide "Warships", the Englishman Fred T. Jane, who in 1903 published an article by Cuniberti in his publication: "The ideal battleship for the British fleet."

Already in 1903, the Italian shipbuilder Cuniberti, having drafted an “ideal battleship” with twelve 12″ guns, 12″ main belt armor and a 24-knot course, wrote:

If the impact of the projectile on the armor is sloping and the distance is large, we should take the 12" caliber if we want to be absolutely sure of sinking the enemy by making a hit only on his waterline. But such guns are still loaded very slowly, although in Lately they have improved. In addition, the probability of hitting the armor belt is small. Based on this, in our ideal, extremely powerful ship, we must increase the number of 12 "guns so as to be able to achieve at least one fatal hit for the enemy in the armor belt along the waterline. Moreover, before he has a chance to make a similar, successful shot at us from four large guns, which are now the usual main armament ... Without wasting shells, being confident in his superior protection, with its twelve guns, such a battleship could immediately cover its enemy with crushing crossfire.

As you can see, the direction of the Italian's thoughts was different from that used by the British as a basis for the type of the future Dreadnought, although the result was very similar, with the exception of the preservation of a relatively small medium-caliber battery in the Cuniberti project.

combat experience Russo-Japanese War on the other hand, in which the Japanese widely used the concentration of fire on one target not only of all the guns of one ship, but also of all the ships of one detachment, gave a final and quite unambiguous answer - a further increase in firepower is achieved by massaging the fire of the artillery of the main caliber. Moreover, even 12″ guns were in fact not enough to guarantee the defeat of a modern heavy armored ship, which had much more complete and harmonious armor compared to the projects of the last quarter of the 19th century: in the Tsushima battle, none of the newest battleships of the Borodino type received through armor penetrations. belts; the death of "Borodino", "Suvorov" and " Alexander III"was caused by other reasons (underwater explosions of torpedoes, fires followed by an explosion of cellars, crew errors, etc.), and all of them demonstrated amazing combat survivability, even after a complete loss of combat capability, staying on the water for many hours, unlike the older ones" semi-battleships "of the type" Oslyabya "-" Peresvet "and booked according to the "English" system of battleships of the "Pobeda" type, which had armorless extremities. The fire of 10 ″ guns, not to mention lighter ones, was declared completely invalid - to the extent that the smoke from medium-caliber shots that interfered with the firing of the main caliber was considered to overlap all its advantages in terms of rate of fire and accuracy:

Although the 10 ″ guns of Peresvet and Pobeda were 45 caliber [translator error; need: had a barrel length of 45 cal.] and could also shoot at long distances, like 12″ 40-caliber on Russian battleships, the fire effect from them was less than the effect from 12″ guns. Shots from 10″ guns went unnoticed, despite the fear they inspired, and 8″ or 6″ guns against their background generally looked like shooting peas and simply did not count. The low opinion expressed about 6″ and 8″ guns prevented armored cruisers from being armed with them. Only the 12″ and 10″ guns were of decisive combat value, and almost nothing was reported about hits from smaller caliber guns. The increase in combat distances put an end to the firing of secondary guns that suffocated with their smoke. They were not worth full-scale protection, as they were not able to contribute to the striking power of the ship, and they were too large to fight destroyers. One of the highest Japanese officials stated: "If I were authorized to order new ships of the Nisshin type, I would make every effort to ensure that they were armed only with 12-inch 50-caliber guns." A good opinion about Russian shooting was formed thanks to heavy guns. By the time the 6″ guns opened fire, the battle was already going against them. We believe that the outcome of the battle that day was decided by heavy guns, if not the heaviest ones.

The first, essentially experimental, and even partly palliative, implementation of the principle all big gun became the English battleship Dreadnought, which appeared in 1906 (laid down in 1904, even before Tsushima), which, in addition to ten 305-mm guns (in not quite well placed two-gun turrets from squadron battleships) carried only 76-mm anti-mine guns. The name of this ship, which in terms of its firepower was worth an entire squadron of "pre-dreadnoughts", became a household name and gave the name to the entire class of such ships. As epoch-making as its weaponry was the use of a steam turbine power plant on such a large ship, which for the first time in history allowed the Dreadnought to go at full speed for many hours on end. O. Parks points out that for ships with steam engines, 8 hours of constant full speed were considered the limit, and at the same time their engine room "turned into a swamp" due to the water sprayed for cooling and was filled with unbearable noise - for steam turbines, even at full speed “the whole engine room was so clean and dry, as if the ship was at anchor, and not even a faint buzz was heard” .

Each "Dreadnought" cost about twice as much as the squadron battleship of the type that preceded it, but at the same time it had a fundamental superiority over it in terms of tactical qualities - speed, protection, firing efficiency and the ability to concentrate artillery fire.

In Russia, these new ships were called "battleships", since the only effective formation of the squadron when conducting volley fire was the formation of the line. Old squadron battleships were also included in this class, but after the advent of the Dreadnought, in any case, they could be considered no more than second-rate ships. It is worth noting that most other languages ​​did not make this distinction; for example, in English pre-dreadnought battleships, and dreadnoughts were named the same - battleship. Ships with an "intermediate" caliber auxiliary battery, such as the British HMS Lord Nelson or French "Danton", sometimes called "semi-dreadnoughts" (Semi-dreadnought).

Some time was still required to develop the optimal arrangement of the weapons of a new type of ship - they were tested and discarded, in particular, diamond-shaped ("Dreadnought", Great Britain, 1906); mixed of two end towers and two traverse, located in the middle of the ship diagonally - en echelon(“Neptune”, Great Britain, 1908); from two terminal towers and four located at the corners of the quadrangular citadel (“Helgoland”, Germany, 1908); in the diametrical plane of the ship on the same line, in which longitudinal fire could only be fired at one tower fore and aft ("Sevastopol", Russia, 1909) - but in the end they settled on a linearly elevated one, which also guaranteed the conduct of powerful longitudinal fire, and good protection located in the middle of the ship’s hull, and not near the sides, towers (laid even before receiving information about the Dreadnought and, accordingly, completely independent of it according to the Michigan concept, USA, 1906 - which had the same broadside as at the "Dreadnought" with two less total number of guns).

Meanwhile, after five years, both the Dreadnought and its numerous followers turned out to be obsolete - they were replaced by "superdreadnoughts" with their 13.5 ″ (343 mm) main caliber artillery, subsequently increased to 15 ″ (381 mm) and even 16″ (406 mm). The first superdreadnoughts are considered to be the British Orion-class battleships, which also had enhanced side armor. In the five years between Dreadnought and Orion, the displacement increased by 25%, and the weight of the broadside doubled.

Taking full account of the shortcomings of the armored cruisers of the "pre-dreadnought" period, which were too weak to be included on equal terms in the linear squadron, but at the same time too expensive for direct cruising, Fisher, in parallel with the new generation battleship, developed the type corresponding to it " squadron", battlecruiser: at the time of the Anteycable project, it was called the Aneprouchible, later these works resulted in the controversial Invincible class, the lead ship of which found its end in the Battle of Jutland.

Dreadnought Fever

The fact that the world's first steam turbine LK "Dreadnought" was built in England made all maritime powers face the need to urgently start designing and building similar ships for their navies, since all previously built and under construction LK (squadron battleships) lost their combat value. Another race in the field of naval armaments began, aimed at creating a "dreadnought-type" LK, which in the history of world military shipbuilding received a household name: "Dreadnought fever". In this rivalry, England and Germany immediately took the leading places, considering each other as the most likely opponents ... Until 1900, the English fleet was twice as large as the German one in the number of ships of the line (39 versus 19). Until 1900, England adhered to the rule: " have a fleet equal to the sum of the fleets of the two following maritime powers"... After the adoption of the "Law on the Navy" in 1900 by Germany, its shipbuilding production capacity steadily increased and began to approach the English. England, extremely concerned about the steady growth of the German fleet, made a number of attempts to conclude an agreement with Germany to ensure the quantitative ratio of British and German ships of the line (3 against 2). However, these negotiations, which lasted several years, were fruitless. In 1906, England announced that it would respond to the laying of each new German LC with the laying of two dreadnought-type LCs. Under the current conditions, all European maritime powers (and Russia) were forced to start designing and building a dreadnought-type LC (straining their last strength) in order to maintain their influence in maritime theaters and strengthen their position on the world stage. However, in the context of their limited shipbuilding resources, these states, in accordance with their naval doctrines, planned to lay down the minimum sufficient number of dreadnoughts, and in the event of military threat counted on the conclusion of a military alliance with either England or Germany. Wherein naval forces The United States was in special, most favorable conditions: the absence of a clearly expressed threat from any of the maritime powers against the backdrop of a steady increase in shipbuilding production capacities. Under these conditions, the United States received a unique opportunity to make the most of the experience of designing foreign dreadnoughts and the time reserve for designing and building their own battleships.

  • Features of the development of dreadnoughts at the stage of 1906÷1913

When designing dreadnoughts, initially there were difficulties associated with the placement of artillery towers of the main caliber. On the one hand, they tried to ensure the installation of the maximum number of guns participating in a side salvo, on the other hand, to spread the towers and artillery cellars as far as possible to ensure the combat survivability of the ship. In this regard, the first dreadnoughts used various options arrangement of towers of the main caliber: linear-echeloned, linear, linear-step. The onboard location of the main battery turrets used on the first Dreadnought LK was abandoned due to the difficulty of protecting the artillery magazines from underwater explosions. In particular, on the English type LK "King George V", "Iron Duke", on the German type "Koenig", the French type "Brittany", on the Italian type "Andrea Doria" and on all American dreadnoughts, a linear-staggered arrangement of towers was used. main caliber, in order to increase fire directly on the bow and stern. At the same time, the second towers from the bow and stern were installed on high barbettes. Subsequently, due to the increase in the caliber of the installed guns (up to 381 ÷ 406 mm), the number of main caliber turrets was reduced to four, and exclusively linear-staggered arrangement of turrets began to be used on all LKs. In connection with the increase in the survivability of destroyers, due to the growth of their displacement, as well as in connection with the increase in the range of torpedoes, it became necessary to strengthen the anti-mine artillery. Instead of 76-mm anti-mine guns installed on the first Dreadnought openly on the upper deck and on the roofs of the main caliber towers, they began to use increased-caliber anti-mine artillery (102, 120, 130 and even 152 mm) with a tendency to place these guns in armored casemates . Soon, taking into account the increasing likelihood of attacks by enemy aircraft, anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of 76 ÷ 88 mm began to be installed on dreadnoughts. Initially, when designing dreadnoughts, great importance was attached to ensuring combat stability. In all fleets, a requirement was put forward that ships that received battle damage and lost their buoyancy reserve sank on an even keel without capsizing. In this regard, and also in order to increase the stability of dreadnoughts during underwater explosions, the freeboard along the entire length was protected by an armor belt, and the hull inside was rationally divided into compartments by watertight bulkheads. Most of the first dreadnoughts were equipped with boilers with mixed and completely oil heating and steam turbine engines, the use of which, in comparison with steam piston machines, provided: increased shaft power; increase in full speed; increased efficiency at high travel speeds; the ability to manage with fewer steam boilers; the possibility of lower placement of steam turbine engines in the ship's hull, which provided more reliable protection for the entire power plant; smoother operation in the absence of vibrations; reducing the risk of interruptions in the operation of the power plant during waves when the propellers come out of the water. Steam turbine engines, combined with boilers capable of coal-oil and all-oil heating, have provided an increase top speed progress of dreadnoughts built in 1914÷1918. up to 21÷22 knots, and the fastest dreadnoughts developed full speed up to 23÷25 knots. However, unlike the British, steam piston engines were installed on the first German dreadnoughts, and steam turbine engines were first installed on the Kaiser type LK launched in 1911-1912. On the first American dreadnoughts of the Michigan and Delaware type and on the subsequent Texas and Oklahoma, steam piston engines were also installed, and the Americans first installed steam turbine engines on the Arkansas and Nevada dreadnoughts. And only starting from the dreadnoughts of the Pennsylvania type (1915), steam turbine engines were invariably installed on American dreadnoughts.

The measures taken everywhere to strengthen the armament and armor protection of the designed dreadnoughts led to a rapid increase in their displacement, which reached values ​​of 25,000–28,000 tons.

As a result, by the beginning of World War I, the ratio of English and German dreadnoughts, including battlecruisers (dreadnought-type cruisers), was 42 versus 26. The fleets of other maritime powers participating in this war were many times inferior to England and Germany in the number of dreadnoughts.

The differences between the English and German types of dreadnoughts were due to the peculiarities of the naval doctrines of these states, which determine the goals of the combat use of these LCs. The British Navy has always tried to impose on the enemy the place, time and distance of the battle, and in this connection attached great importance to the cruising range, speed and main caliber of artillery. The German naval command assumed that the stronger English fleet would attack directly off the coast, and in this regard, armor was given paramount importance at the expense of cruising range and speed. The dreadnoughts of other maritime powers to some extent repeated the features of the British and German LCs, depending on the tactical tasks of their combat use.

The dreadnoughts of England, in comparison with the German ones, had guns of a larger caliber (305 ÷ 343 mm versus 280 ÷ 305 mm), but were inferior to the latter in armor.

  • Dreadnoughts laid down in the shipyards of England:
Dreadnoughts of the British Navy. Dynamics of TFC development for the period: 1907÷1917 :
Type: (Year of laying) Displacement, (tons) length/width/draft (m) Armor protection (mm) Type of power plant: Power (hp) Speed ​​(kt.) Range (miles) Armament Notes
"Dreadnought" (1905) n.18120; item 20730 160.74×25.01×9.5 belt 179÷279 PTD 23000 21,6 6620(10 knots) 5×2-305mm; 27×1-76mm; 6 × 1-456 mm PTA the first LK dreadnought type,
"Bellerophon" (1906) n.18000; item 22100 160.3×25.2×8.3 belt 127÷254 PTD 25000 21 5720(10 knots) 5×2-305mm; 16×1-102mm; 4×1-47mm; 3 × 1-456 mm PTA total built 3 units.
"Saint Vincent" (1907) n.19560; item 23030 163.4×25.6×8.5 belt 180÷254 PTD 24500 21 6900 (10 knots) 5×2-305 mm; 20×1-102mm; 4×1-47mm; 3 × 1-457 mm PTA total built 3 units. (evolutionary development of the first Dreadnought)
"Neptune" (1909) n.20224; item 22680 166.4×25.9×8.23 belt 254 PTD 25000 22,7 6330 (10 knots) 5×2-305mm; 16×1-102mm; 3 × 1-457 mm PTA built 1 copy. (individual project).
"Orion" (1909) n.22200; item 25870 177.1 x 27.0 x 7.6 belt 203÷305 PTD 27000 21 6730 (10 knots) 5×2-343mm; 16×1-102mm; 4×1-47mm; 3 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 4 units.
"King George V" (1911) n.23000; item 27120 179.7×27.1×8.48 belt 229÷305 PTD 31000 22,1 3805 (21 knots); 6310 (10 knots) 5×2-343mm; 16×1-102mm; 4×1-47mm; 3 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 4 units.
"Egincourt" (1911) n.27500; item 30250 204.67×27.0×8.2 belt 102÷229 PTD 40270 22 7000 (10 knots) 7×2-305 mm; 18x1-152mm; 10x1-76mm; 3 × 1-533 mm PTA built 1 copy. (individual project).
"Erin" (1911) n.22780; item 25250 168.6×28.0×9.4 belt 229÷305 PTD 26500 21 5300 (10 knots) 5×2-343mm; 16x1-152mm; 6×1-57mm; (air defense: 6 × 1-57 mm; 2 × 1-76.2 mm); 4 × 1-533 mm PTA built 1 copy. (individual project).
"Iron Duke" (1912) n.26100; item 31400 187.2×27.5×9.98 belt 203÷305 PTD 29000 22 3800 (21.25 knots); 4500 (20 knots); 8100 (12 knots) 5×2-345mm; 12×1-152mm; 1x1-76mm; 4×1-47mm; (air defense: 2 × 1-76 mm); 4 × 1-533 mm PTA A total of 4 units were built.
"Queen Elizabeth" (1913) n.29200; item 33020 183.41×27.6×9.35 belt 203÷330 PTD 75000 25 5000 (12 knots) 4×2-381mm; 16x1-152mm; (air defense: 2 × 1-76.2 mm); 4 × 1-533 mm PTA A total of 5 units were built.
"Rivenge" (1913) n.28000; item 31000 176.9×27.0×8.7 belt 102÷330 PTD 40000 22 5000 (12 knots) 4×2-381mm; 14x1-152mm; 2x1-76.2mm; 4×1-47mm; 4 × 1-533 mm PTA A total of 5 units were built.
  • Dreadnoughts laid down in German shipyards:
Dreadnoughts of the German Navy. Dynamics of TFC development for the period: 1907÷1917 :
Type: (Year of laying) Displacement, (tons) length/width/draft (m) Armor protection (mm) Type of power plant: Power (hp) Speed ​​(kt.) Range (miles) Armament Notes
"Nassau" (1907) n.18873; item 20535 145.67×26.88×8.6 belt 80÷290 PPD 22000 19,5 8000(10 knots); 2000(19 knots) 6×2-280mm; 12×1-150mm; 16x1-88mm; 2×1-60mm; 6 × 1-450 mm PTA total built 4 units.
"Helgoland" (1908) n. 22440; item 25200 167.2×28.5×8.2 belt 80÷300 PPD 28000 20,8 1790 (19 knots); 5500 (10 knots) 6×2-305mm; 14×1-150mm; 14x1-88mm; 6×1-500mm PTA total built 4 units.
"Kaiser" (1909) n.24330; item 27400 172.4×29.0×8.3 belt 80÷350 PTD 28000 21÷23.4 7900 (12 knots); 3900(18 knots) 5×2-305mm; 14×1-150mm; 8×1-88mm; 5×1-500mm PTA total built 5 units.
"Koenig" (1911) n.25390; item 29200 175.4×29.5×8.3 belt 80÷350 PTD 31800 21 6800 (12 knots); 4600 (19 knots) 5×2-305mm; 14×1-150mm; 6×1-88mm; 4 × 1-88 mm zo; 5×1-500mm PTA total built 4 units.
Bayern (1913) n.28074; item 31690 179.0×30.8×9.4 belt 120÷350 PTD 48000 22 5000 (13 knots) 4×2-380mm; 16×1-150mm; 2×1-88mm; 5×1-600mm PTA total built 4 units.
Project: "L-20" (1917) n.45000; item 50000 233.0 × 32.0 × 9.0 belt 80÷420 PTD 60000 22 5000 (13 knots) 4×2-420mm; 16×1-150mm; ZO: (air defense: 8 × 1-88 mm; or 8 × 1-105 mm); 3x1-600mm TA or 3x1-700mm TA. Design development of the "Bayern" type.
  • Dreadnoughts laid down in US shipyards:
Dreadnoughts of the US Navy. Dynamics of TFC development for the period: 1907÷1917 :
Type: (Year of laying) Displacement: normal / full (tons) length/width/draft (m) Armor protection (mm) Type of power plant: Power (hp) Speed ​​(kt.) Range (miles) Armament Notes
"South Caroline" (1906) 16000 / 17617 138×24.5×7.5 belt 279 PPD 16500 18 6000(10 knots) 4×2-305mm; 22x1-76mm; 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
Delaware (1907) 20000 / 22060 158.1×26.0×8.3 belt 280 PPD 25000 21 6560 (10 knots) 5×2-305 mm; 14x1-127mm; 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
"Florida" (1909) 22174 / 23400 159×26.9×8.6 belt 280 PTD 28000 21 5776 (10 knots) 5×2-305mm; 16x1-127mm; 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
"Wyoming" (1910) 26416 / 27680 171.3×28.4×8.7 belt 280 PTD 28000 20,5 5190 (12 knots); 6×2-305mm; 21x1-127mm; total built 2 units.
"New York" (1911) 27000 / 28367 174.0 × 29.1 × 8.7 belt 305 PPD 28100 21 7684 (12 knots) 5×2-356 mm; 21x1-127mm; total built 2 units.
"Nevada" (1912) 27500 / 28400 177.0×29.1×8.7 belt 203÷343 PTD 26500 (PPD 24800) 20,5 8000 (10 knots); 5195(12 knots) 2×3-356mm; 2×2-356mm; 21x1-127mm; 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
"Pennsylvania" (1913) 31400 / 32567 185.4×29.6×8.8 belt 343 PTD 31500 21 6070 (12 knots) 4×3-356mm; 22×1-127mm; (air defense: 4 × 1-76 mm); 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
"New Mexico" (1915) 32000 / 33000 190.2×29.7×9.1 belt 343 PTD 32000 21 5120 (12 knots) 4×3-356mm; 14x1-127mm; (air defense: 4 × 1-76 mm) total built 2 units.
"Tennessee" (1916) 33190 / 40950 182.9×26.7×9.2 belt 343 PTD 26800 21 8000 (10 knots) 4×3-356mm; 14x1-127mm; 2 × 1-533 mm PTA total built 2 units.
"Colorado" (1917) 32693 / 33590 190.32×29.74×14.4 belt 343 PTD 28900 21,8 8000 (10 knots) 4×2-406mm; 12×1-127mm; (air defense: 8 × 1-76 mm) total built 3 units.

Battleship Dreadnought

At the beginning of the twentieth century. qualitative changes began in the development of naval artillery. The guns themselves were improved, shells instead of gunpowder were everywhere filled with strong high explosives, the first fire control systems appeared. The battleships that were in the fleets with their numerous, but different-caliber artillery, no longer met the requirements of the military. The idea of ​​​​building a battleship larger than conventional battleships, armed with numerous main battery guns, was expressed different people Italy, USA, UK. It was there that Royal Navy began the practical implementation of the idea, one of the main supporters of which was the First Sea Lord Admiral John Fisher. He took up this post in October 1904, and already in December, work began on the creation of a project for a fundamentally new battleship. A specially created commission considered many projects and proposals, and in the end, the military and shipbuilders managed to find very successful compromises between many conflicting requirements.

The project, which was largely completed in the spring of 1905, proved to be not only balanced, but also very unusual. It took into account all the most modern achievements of science and technology at that time. So, instead of the usual triple expansion steam engines, it was planned to install Parsons turbines, which had never been installed on large ships before. The rejection of medium-caliber artillery was also recognized as unusual, and the absence of a ram seemed to be something unprecedented.

The ship must have following characteristics: normal displacement - 18,410 tons, full - 21,060 tons, maximum length - 160.6 m, width - 25 m, normal draft - 8.1 m. 18 Babcock and Wilcox boilers supplied steam to revolutionary main mechanisms - four turbines total power 23,000 hp The ship developed a speed of 21 knots; the cruising range of the economic course was 4340 miles. The armor was quite powerful: the greatest thickness of the side protection was 279 mm, the decks were up to 76 mm thick, the armor of the towers was 305 mm, and the wheelhouses were 279 mm. The armament for its time turned out to be extremely powerful - ten 305 mm guns were placed in five towers, while eight of them could participate in a side salvo. 76 mm (12 pounder) guns, of which there were 27, were used as anti-mine artillery, they were also supplemented by five machine guns. Torpedo armament was also provided - five 18-inch torpedo tubes. Crew - 685 people (in 1916 - over 800).

The official date of the laying of the new ship, called the Dreadnought (HMS Dreadnought), took place at the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth on October 2, 1905, but by this time the work, which began in the spring, was already in full swing. The ship was solemnly launched on February 10, 1906, the ceremony was attended not only by numerous sailors, members of Parliament and ministers, but also by King Edward VII himself. It was the monarch who broke the bottle of champagne on the side of the battleship.

"Dreadnought"

I must say that the period of four months that passed between the two dates above gave rise to two legends at once. One of them is connected with the creation of the Dreadnought project: many historians seriously claimed that it was developed under the influence of the results of the Tsushima battle, which took place in May 1905, which is clearly not true. The second extols the incredible power and the highest organization of British shipbuilding. After all, building a huge building in four months seemed simply incredible! Although the actual timing was very different from the "legendary", nevertheless, it must be admitted that the Portsmouth shipbuilders and all subcontractors did an excellent job and achieved outstanding results. The ship entered the trials already in October 1906, and in December all the finishing touches and improvements were completed.

In early January 1907, the Dreadnought went on a test trip. Rounding the Iberian Peninsula and passing strait of Gibraltar, the ship sailed across the Mediterranean Sea, then headed across the Atlantic to the shores of Trinidad. The 3,430-mile crossing of the Atlantic was carried out with average speed 17 knots - hitherto unprecedented result. The same speed was maintained on the way to England. Despite some faults, excusable for the new ship, the British press described the results of the Mediterranean-transatlantic voyage as "... an undoubted success." The Parsons turbines proved to be excellent.

After the return of the newest battleship from the Atlantic voyage, routine daily service began. In 1907, she became the flagship of the Home Fleet ("Home" Fleet) and remained the flagship after the 1909 staffing and organizational changes took place in Britain, the Home Fleet was created. Only in March 1911 was Neptune replaced him in this post. Of the events that took place before the start of the First World War, one can single out participation in the coronation revue of King George V in June 1911 and a trip to the Mediterranean Sea in September - December 1913.

By the beginning of the First World War, the British Navy had many much more powerful ships, superdreadnoughts appeared, even superdreadnoughts were under construction. However, the Dreadnought itself did not lose its significance at all and became part of the Grand Fleet. However, throughout the war, he never had a chance to shoot at the enemy from the guns of the main caliber: during the great Battle of Jutland, he was under repair. From June 1916 to March 1918, the ship served as a flagship in a squadron equipped with pre-dreadnoughts and designed to protect the coast of England from raids by German surface ships. In March 1918, he was returned to the Grand Fleet, where he was listed until the armistice, which entered into force on November 11.

However, the Dreadnought has a sunken enemy ship on its account. By a strange coincidence, the battleship, designed to destroy the enemy with artillery fire and without a ram, won with just a ram. This happened on March 18, 1915, when, after going to sea to work out the training task, the 4th squadron of battleships was returning to the base. Shortly after noon, an observer from the Dreadnought spotted the submarine's periscope. The ship immediately changed course, increased speed and went straight for the boat. When the distance was reduced to about 3 cables, the British opened fire with anti-mine artillery, but, apparently, the shells did not hit the underwater target. Judging by the fact that the submarine continued to move on its previous course, she intended to attack another battleship and did not notice the approaching threat. At 12:35 the stem of the Dreadnought hit the stern of the starboard side of the submarine, her stem rose above the water, and the British were able to see her number. A brand new U-29, commanded by Otto Weddigen, went to the bottom with the entire crew. This officer in 1914, on another boat, U-9, sent to the bottom first the armored cruisers Hog, Cressy and Abukir, and then the armored cruiser of the first rank Hawk. And so his illustrious career came to an end...

At the end of the war, platforms for seaplanes were going to be installed on the Dreadnought, but by the time the armistice was concluded, the work had not been completed. Already at the end of 1918, the ship was decided to be transferred to the reserve, and the following year it was withdrawn from the combat fleet. In March 1920 she was put up for sale and in May 1921 the ship was sold for £44,000. Its dismantling began in January 1923.

It is worth saying once again that the entry of the Dreadnought into service was, without exaggeration, a landmark event. New tactical views on the use of large artillery ships and numerous technical innovations applied during the construction determined its overwhelming qualitative advantage over any predecessor. Not without reason, since 1906, the concept of "dreadnought" has appeared in everyday life. Even at the present time in science fiction literature, this is the name given to especially strong and large combat starships.

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Dreadnought(English) dreadnought- “fearless”, named after the first ship of this class) - a generation of artillery warships that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, a characteristic feature of which was homogeneous artillery armament from a large number of guns of only large caliber ( all big gun). In a broad sense, the term can be applied to ships of various classes that have this feature (battleships, battlecruisers, heavy cruisers, etc.), but most often this concept is associated with a battleship and is a synonym for a battleship of the first quarter of the 20th century. The last dreadnought in the world - HMS Vanguard- was built in the UK in 1946, and served until the end of the 1950s.

History of appearance

The pre-dreadnought era

The all-big-gun principle was not new. Back in the era of wooden sailing ships, this is how battleships were armed, the batteries of which consisted of 100 or more guns of the same caliber. The first battery battleships of the 1860s fully corresponded to this principle. However, in the future, the evolution of battleships went the other way - first towards reducing all artillery to several “monster guns” of up to 18 ″ (460 mm) caliber, short-barreled, with disgusting ballistics, designed to penetrate the thickest armor with a solid armor-piercing projectile in close combat, and then - after the appearance of rapid-fire medium-caliber guns firing explosive projectiles - the specialization of artillery according to the tasks it performs. The armament of typical battleships of the 1890s, which are commonly called pre-dreadnoughts, consisted of four 12 ”(305 mm) main caliber guns placed in towers and medium caliber, which included from six to eighteen rapid-fire guns with a caliber of 4.7” (120 mm) up to 7.5” (191 mm) placed in smaller gun turrets, casemates or sponsons. According to the doctrine of that time, a naval battle should have begun at a great distance, with a subsequent reduction in the distance for delivering a decisive blow with more accurate and rapid-fire medium-caliber guns that easily pierced the weakly armored ends of the then battleships, while 305-mm main caliber could pierce at a long distance the main armor belt that protected the citadel and the middle of the hull, the armor thickness of which exceeded 400 mm. Each gun was under the command of its own gunner, and due to the imperfection of the methods for determining the distance and the lack centralized system fire control, the main caliber had low accuracy and rate of fire, so the effective battle distances of the battleships were not too high and the main strength of the battleships in battle was the medium caliber.

Only big guns

The return to the idea of ​​using unified large-caliber artillery at the beginning of the 20th century was closely connected with the desire of all major maritime powers to increase firepower and firing range. The improvement of projectile feed mechanisms and the introduction of an electric drive at the end of the 19th century made it possible to increase the rate of fire heavy guns caliber 9.2” (234 mm) – 10” (254 mm), which were practically not inferior in terms of rate of fire to medium-caliber artillery, while possessing much higher firepower and firing range. The appearance of new turret mounts also had a positive effect on the rate of fire, which made it possible to reload without returning the gun to the diametral plane, and in some cases without even changing the angle of vertical aiming. The introduction of new sights and rangefinders made it possible to increase the accuracy of large-caliber artillery, but, importantly, the sighting methods themselves improved: at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, they began to work out the adjustment of firing by bursts of shells, which made it possible to conduct centralized fire control and cover the target not with single shots, but side salvos. The exercises of the Mediterranean Fleet of Great Britain under the command of Admiral Fisher clearly showed that the adjustment for bursts of shells makes it possible, even without the introduction of any achievements of progress going forward, to confidently shoot at previously considered prohibitive distances of 25-30 cable (4.5-5.5 km) . However, the introduction of the new method ran into one of the main shortcomings of pre-dreadnoughts: the main and auxiliary caliber guns had different ballistics, but at a long distance the bursts from their shells became almost indistinguishable, which greatly interfered with the correct shooting adjustment. The Russo-Japanese War clearly showed the inconsistency of the old weapon system with various-caliber artillery. According to the results of the Battle of Tsushima, the most effective results were given by the concentrated fire of the main caliber of entire formations of ships at one target. At the same time, the latest battleships of that time had much higher survivability and a more advanced armor scheme, which made even 254-mm guns ineffective, while the development of mine-torpedo weapons made reducing the combat distance undesirable. Admirals and designers from all over the world drew the necessary conclusions, and just a year after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the first ship of a new type appeared - HMS Dreadnought .

First dreadnought

The initiator of the creation of the ship, whose name has become a household name for the entire class, is Admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher, who was the first to formulate the principle of "Big guns only" and is considered the "father" of the British battle fleet. It was on his initiative that a commission was assembled that formed the following requirements for a new ship of the Royal Navy:

  1. Structural improvements to the hull should be introduced, first of all, improved anti-torpedo protection.
  2. The armored freeboard area should be as large as possible, since the unarmored area will be hit by high-explosive shells.
  3. The speed of the ship must be increased, it is necessary to replace the reciprocating steam engine with a turbine one.
  4. It is necessary to have as many large-caliber guns as possible. With the introduction on a ship of a system of centralized control of firing of artillery of the main caliber from a single post of the chief artillery officer of the ship, only single-caliber artillery is applicable.
  5. The number of small-caliber rapid-fire guns should be increased, and they should be distributed throughout the ship, since the destroyer attack will most likely take place at the end of the battle, when many of them will be damaged or disabled.
  6. The presence of a ram is impractical.
  7. Equipped and protected observation points should be located on the masts.
  8. Wood and other similar combustible materials must be excluded from the structure.

After discussing the revolutionary project in the Admiralty, a decision was made to build it, and on October 2 a ship was laid down, called HMS Dreadnought. The construction took exactly one year and one day, and on October 3, 1906, the world saw the world's first battleship. Dreadnought made a real revolution in the world of naval weapons. Despite the fact that of the five twin-gun turrets of the main caliber with 305-mm artillery, intended for the squadron battleships of the type Lord Nelson, only eight could give a broadside, firepower battleship was not inferior to the power of several battleships at once, but was better concentrated, and due to the superiority of the unheard-of installation for that time on capital ship turbines, not steam engines, it was faster than any armadillo and could go at full speed for much longer, which made it possible to impose an advantageous battle distance on the enemy. It should be noted, however, that Fisher was not the only one who came up with the idea of ​​​​such a ship. Back in 1903, the Italian shipbuilding engineer Vittorio Cuniberti drafted a battleship with a main battery of twelve 305 mm guns, a 305 mm armor belt and a speed of 24 knots. This project remained on paper, but in March 1905, a few months before the British, two battleships of the type South Carolina, however, due to the protracted construction, they appeared later, only in 1910. Since the advent of HMS Dreadnought, ironclads have ceased to be the main force at sea. Now the power of the fleets was measured by the number of dreadnoughts, which led to an arms race that lasted the entire first quarter of the 20th century.

Dreadnought Race

Great Britain

Having begun a new stage in the arms race, the British sought to maintain a dominant position in it, and already in 1906-1907 three battleships of the type Bellerophon, almost indistinguishable from HMS Dreadnought. The next three ships of the type St. Vincent, on which, in order to increase armor penetration, 305-mm guns were installed, which had a barrel length of 50 calibers, in contrast to the previously used guns with a barrel length of 45 calibers, but it was not possible to achieve the expected result: with an increase in the mass of gun turrets and a decrease in firing accuracy, penetration increased only slightly. However, the need to maintain the fast pace of the dreadnought race did not allow time to be wasted on correcting mistakes, and the following battleships, HMS Neptune and consisting of two dreadnought type Colossus had the same weapons. On these ships, an attempt was made to change the location of the gun turrets in order to be able to fire a side salvo from all ten guns, but the new layout of the main caliber was unsuccessful and, due to the risk of damage to the superstructures, only four of the five turrets could fire on one side.

The further development of dreadnoughts was due to the growing confrontation with Germany, which was also actively building a battle fleet. The next series of four battleships of the type Orion It was devoid of the main shortcomings of previous dreadnoughts and had much stronger armor, and all ten guns, the caliber of which increased to 13.5 ”(343 mm), could indeed fire from one side. Type Orion laid the foundation for a generation of "superdreadnoughts", battleships with main caliber artillery from 343mm and above. Subsequent dreadnoughts of the type King George V And Iron Duke developed the idea of ​​battleships of the type Orion until in 1912, at the initiative of the new First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, five superdreadnoughts of the type queen elisabeth with eight 15 "(381 mm) caliber guns arranged in a linearly elevated pattern. For the first time in the world, purely oil boiler heating was introduced on these ships, and thanks to a more powerful power plant with increased displacement and armor, the speed was increased to 24 knots. The last British pre-war dreadnoughts were laid down in 1913-1914 five battleships Revenge, which retained the weapons of the previous type with more powerful armor and lower speed.

Germany

With the beginning of the dreadnought race, the German Empire set out to create a powerful fleet capable of challenging the British Royal Navy. The first German dreadnoughts were four ships of the type Nassau laid down in 1907. Twelve main-caliber guns were located so that only eight could fire on one side, and the artillery itself had a slightly smaller 11 ”(280mm) caliber than on British dreadnoughts, which, with a lower salvo weight, was faster-firing, while the ships themselves had low speed, but good armor. Four dreadnought types Ostfriesland were further development type Nassau and retained the key features of their predecessor with more powerful 305mm artillery. The following types Kaiser And Konig, laid down in 1909-1911 and 1912-1913, respectively, in two series of four dreadnoughts, had not twelve, but ten 305-mm guns, but due to a different layout of their placement, all guns could fire from one side, and more advanced power plants made it possible to increase the speed with even more increased booking. The last battleships of the German Empire were superdreadnoughts of the type Bayern, which became the pinnacle of German shipbuilding of that time. Only the first two of the planned four ships were commissioned, but the completed superdreadnoughts, thanks to powerful artillery of eight 380-mm guns and good armor, were not inferior to the latest British battleships of the type Revenge And queen elisabeth.

USA

The first American dreadnoughts, two ships of the type South Carolina, were laid down and designed in 1905, even before construction began HMS Dreadnought. Due to congressional displacement restrictions, ship armor was rather weak and speed was low, but nevertheless, some advanced design solutions were taken by the designers, such as the world's first placement of main caliber artillery in a linearly elevated plane, thanks to which the type South Carolina with its eight 305-mm guns, it was not inferior in weight to the British broadside HMS Dreadnought, which had two guns more. Due to the lengthy construction, by the time work on battleships was completed in 1910, they were already considered obsolete, but during the construction of the first dreadnoughts, there was no longer a displacement limit, which made it possible to create much more balanced ships. Pairs of dreadnoughts laid down in 1907-1909 Delaware , Florida And Wyoming different from South Carolina gradually increasing displacement, armor, the number of 305-mm main caliber guns and speed increased to 21 knots, and in 1910 the first American superdreadnoughts appeared - two battleships of the New York, which represented a logical development of the type Wyoming with artillery of ten 356 mm main battery guns. Due to the decision to replace the turbines with more economical steam engines, the speed did not change and was still kept within 21 knots.

An important stage in the development of American dreadnoughts was the type Nevada, on which for the first time a new all-or-nothing armoring scheme was applied, the essence of which was to increase the thickness of the armor belt in areas of vital areas of the ship with unarmored extremities in order to increase survivability. The next superdreadnoughts of the US Navy were logical development type Nevada and went down in history as "standard battleships": superdreadnoughts with similar characteristics, capable of operating effectively as part of formations. As part of the concept of "standard battleships", dreadnoughts of types Pennsylvania , New Mexico And Tennessee, which had the same main caliber artillery of twelve 356-mm guns placed in three-gun turrets, good survivability and low speed of 21 knots. The Washington Naval Agreement halted the development of battleships, leaving the last US "standard battleships" to be three superdreadnoughts of the Colorado, whose armament was more powerful than that of their predecessors and consisted of eight 16 ”(406mm) guns.

Japan

As a result of the Russo-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Navy set out to increase the number of 12" guns on new ships. It was assumed that two ships of the type Satsuma were supposed to be battleships with homogeneous 305 mm artillery, but due to problems with the availability of the required number of heavy guns, it was decided to equip them with mixed 305 mm and 254 mm artillery, so Satsuma And Aki remained armadillos. Only in 1909 was it possible to lay the first Japanese dreadnoughts of the type Kawachi, equipped with twelve 305-mm main battery guns, the arrangement of which was similar to the first German dreadnoughts of the type Nassau. However, the 305-mm artillery of the dreadnoughts of the Japanese fleet had different barrel lengths and, accordingly, different ballistics, due to which, despite the presence of artillery of a single caliber, the problems of adjusting fire at long range inherent in pre-dreadnoughts remained. After laying down in 1911-1912 four battlecruisers of the type Kongo, armed with eight 356mm caliber guns and not inferior in performance to the latest battlecruisers of the Royal Navy, in 1912-1913 the first full-fledged superdreadnoughts of the Imperial Japanese Navy were laid down - two battleships of the Fuso, which, when similar to the type Kongo in size, they carried much more powerful main-caliber artillery of twelve 356-mm guns placed in six twin-gun turrets. Using the experience gained during the construction of the Fuso type, the Japanese designers finalized the project by slightly changing the location of the gun turrets, the distribution of armor and reducing the caliber of anti-mine artillery, as a result of which, laid down in 1915, superdreadnoughts of the type Ise became a logical continuation of the type Fuso. Japan's last superdreadnoughts were two battleships of the Nagato. Laid down at the end of World War I, these ships carried eight 410mm guns and were also the first Japanese ships to be booked under the American scheme, making them one of the most powerful ships in the world at the time of the Washington Naval Treaty. Type superdreadnoughts Nagato distinguished by high survivability and firepower with good speed and driving performance, which the Japanese managed to for a long time keep secret.

Russia

Other countries

Learning about the construction of the Italian dreadnought Dante Alighieri, the government of Austria-Hungary decided to four dreadnought type Viribus Unitis. It was believed that for combat operations in the Adriatic, driving performance and cruising range were not essential, which led to the emergence of a battleship that had good artillery for a ship with limited displacement of twelve 305-mm guns in three-gun turrets and medium armor, but unsatisfactory anti-torpedo protection and dense layout. It was also planned to build superdreadnoughts of the type Ersatz Monarch with ten 350-mm guns with still limited displacement and low speed, but their construction was canceled due to the outbreak of the First World War.

The Ottoman Empire tried to acquire English-made dreadnoughts. In 1911, the Turkish government ordered a dreadnought from the UK Reşadiye, however, due to financial problems, it could not pay for the order and construction of a battleship created on the basis of superdreadnoughts of the type King George V with artillery from 10 343-mm guns of the main caliber, it was continued, but at the expense of the British. In 1914, the Ottoman Empire offered to buy Reşadiye, to order a similar Fatih and buy up the dreadnought destined for Brazil Rio de Janeiro with seven two-gun turrets of 305mm caliber, renaming it to Sultan Osman I, but the first World War ruined their plans. Construction Fatih was discontinued, and two other dreadnoughts were requisitioned and included in the Royal Navy under new names: Reşadiye was renamed to HMS Erin, A Sultan Osman I- V HMS Agincourt. Nevertheless, Turkey managed to acquire a dreadnought when the German Empire handed over to the Turks a battlecruiser of the type Moltke , SMS Goeben. Dreadnought has been renamed to Yavuz Sultan Selim and was part of the Turkish fleet under the name Yavuz before being withdrawn from the fleet in 1954 and subsequently scrapped in 1973, remaining in active service longer than any other dreadnought.

Greece made attempts to acquire its own dreadnought by ordering it in Germany. According to the project, the battleship Salamis was supposed to be armed with eight 356-mm guns of American production, but with the outbreak of World War I, its construction ceased and the “smallest superdreadnought in the world”, which received this nickname for its powerful armament with an extremely small displacement, was cut into metal without joining into service. Spain began building their dreadnoughts in 1909. Due to lack of funding, the construction of three battleships of the Spain dragged on for an extremely long time, and the ships themselves went down in history as the smallest dreadnoughts in the world, which, with the size of a squadron battleship, mediocre speed and poor security, were armed with eight 305-mm guns.

Application

World War I

Despite the active arms race that preceded the outbreak of the First World War, dreadnoughts did not take active hostilities in the war itself. The outcome of the war was decided primarily on land, and the admirals avoided the use of dreadnoughts, considering them too valuable combat units, so most of the time the battleships remained at their bases. The Royal Navy of Great Britain had a significant numerical superiority over the German High Seas Fleet, so the Germans were trying to avoid a large-scale clash with the British, setting themselves the goal of imposing a battle on the British fleet on favorable terms for themselves. In the first two years of the war, the only engagements involving dreadnoughts were the Battle of Helgoland, the Battle of Dogger Bank, and the German raids on the English coast. The only major naval battle involving battleships was the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. Having figured out the German plan to lure and break the Grand Fleet in parts, the British withdrew all combat-ready ships, and after a collision with superior forces, the German fleet had to retreat, losing 11 of their ships and destroying 14 of the British. After this battle, the German dreadnoughts no longer tried to break through the blockade and remained at the bases until the very end of the war.

Russian dreadnoughts also did not participate in naval battles: their actions were limited in the Baltic minefields, and on the Black Sea, due to the lack of rivals, their role was limited to shelling the coast. The only exception is combat. "Empress Mary" And SMS Goeben, during which the German battlecruiser was damaged, but was able to escape. In total, according to the results of the First World War, only three British battlecruisers, which were damaged during the Battle of Jutland, were sunk exclusively by artillery fire. The dreadnoughts received the main damage from mine and torpedo weapons, which indicated the growing potential of the submarine fleet.

Postwar years

After the end of the First World War, the United States and Japan took the place of the leading maritime powers, almost did not participate in the war and avoided losses. Japan launched a massive 8+8 dreadnought fleet building program that included the construction of eight battleships and eight battlecruisers with 410-mm and 460-mm guns in preparation for a war for dominance in Pacific Ocean. The Americans and the British, who did not want to give up their former superiority in the fleet, had similar projects of ships with 406-mm and 457-mm artillery, but this arms race would have dealt a serious blow to the economy of the states exhausted by the war, so in 1922 between the USA, Great Britain, Japan , France and Italy signed the Washington Naval Agreement. All programs for the construction of new ships were curtailed, the number, tonnage and armament of the fleets of the largest maritime powers were limited. Most of the dreadnoughts were dismantled for metal, and only the most modern ships remained in service. The number of superdreadnoughts with 406-mm artillery was seriously limited, of which, according to the results of the agreement, there were only seven: Japan left the superdreadnought Nagato and got the right to build Mutsu, the United States retained three superdreadnoughts of the type Colorado, and the UK, which did not have ships with 406-mm weapons, was allowed to build two battleships of the type Nelson. Later, after World War II, in which, due to the increased role of the submarine fleet and aviation, the battle fleet did not accept active participation, dreadnoughts that survived the war were decommissioned in the 1950s and dismantled for metal. The last battleships of the dreadnought era, finally excluded from the composition of the fleets, were superdreadnoughts

Literature

  • Taras A. E. Encyclopedia of ironclads and battleships. - M.: Harvest, AST, 2002. - ISBN 985-13-1009-3
  • All the world "s battleships. 1906 to the present. - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1996. - ISBN 0-85177-691-4
  • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 ISBN 0-87021-907-3
  • Friedman N. U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. - Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press, 1985. - ISBN 0-087021-715-1
  • Silverstone P.H. The New Navy. 1883-1922. - New York, USA: Routledge, 2006. -


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