dreadnought

views updated

dreadnought is the name given to a type of battleship introduced into the principal navies after the experiences of the Russo-Japanese War. The chief innovations were higher speed and a main armament of heavy guns of uniform calibre. The first to enter service was HMS Dreadnought in December 1906, although other ‘dreadnoughts’, including the American Michigan, had been designed earlier. Although innovative design kept Dreadnought's increases in size and cost moderate, by 1914 ‘super-dreadnoughts’ incorporated further increases in size, armour, and armament, which played a major rôle in the international naval rivalry of the early 20th cent.

Norman McCord

More From encyclopedia.com