British Battleships 1890-1905: Victoria's steel battlefleet and the road to Dreadnought

The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world, embodying the development of the dreadnought battleship. Sir William White's guidance transformed the mastless battleships of the 1880s into elegant capital ships, setting a benchmark for new battle fleets. This study offers a detailed and definitive guide to their design, development, and legacy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 21 January 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world, and embodied one of the key periods in warship development - the development of the dreadnought battleship. The term "pre-dreadnought" was applied in retrospect to describe the capital ships built during the decade and a half before the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. At that moment, these once great warships were rendered obsolete. However, until then, they were simply called battleships and were unquestionably the most powerful warships of their day. These mighty warships represented the cutting edge of naval technology. The ugly ducklings of the ironclad era had been transformed into beautiful swans, albeit deadly ones. In Britain, this period was dominated by Sir William White, the Navy's Chief Constructor. Under his guidance, the mastless battleships of the 1880s gave way to an altogether more elegant type of capital ship. The period of trial and error which marked the ironclad era ushered in a more scientific style of naval architecture. As a result, these battleships were among the most powerful warships in the world during the late Victorian era, and set a benchmark for the new battle fleets produced by navies such as Japan, Russia, and the United States. Illustrated throughout with full-colour artwork, this fascinating study offers a detailed and definitive guide to the design, development, and legacy of the Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century as they paved the way for the coming of the Dreadnought.

Weight: 168g
Dimension: 184 x 247 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472844682