HMS Dreadnought (1906)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Dreadnought.

Dreadnought at sea in 1906
Class overview
NameDreadnought
Preceded byLord Nelson class
Succeeded byBellerophon class
Cost£1,785,683
Built1905–1906
In service1906–1919
In commission1906–1919
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
United Kingdom
NameDreadnought
Ordered1905
BuilderHM Dockyard, Portsmouth
Laid down2 October 1905
Launched10 February 1906
Commissioned2 December 1906
DecommissionedFebruary 1919
FateSold for scrap, 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as completed)
Displacement
Length527 ft (160.6 m)
Beam82 ft 1 in (25 m)
Draught29 ft 7.5 in (9 m) (deep load)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range6,620 nmi (12,260 km; 7,620 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement700 (1907); 810 (1916)
Armament
Armour

HMS Dreadnought was a Royal Navy battleship, the design of which revolutionised naval power. The ship's entry into service in 1906 represented such an advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the dreadnoughts, as well as the class of ships named after her. Likewise, the generation of ships she made obsolete became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Admiral Sir John "Jacky" Fisher, First Sea Lord of the Board of Admiralty, is credited as the father of Dreadnought. Shortly after he assumed office in 1904, he ordered design studies for a battleship armed solely with 12 in (305 mm) guns and a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). He convened a Committee on Designs to evaluate the alternative designs and to assist in the detailed design work.

Dreadnought was the first battleship of her era to have a uniform main battery, rather than having a few large guns complemented by a heavy secondary armament of smaller guns. She was also the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest battleship in the world at the time of her completion.[1] Her launch helped spark a naval arms race as navies around the world, particularly the Imperial German Navy, rushed to match it in the build-up to the First World War.[2]

Although designed to engage enemy battleships, her only significant action was the ramming and sinking of German submarine SM U-29; thus she became the only battleship confirmed to have sunk a submarine.[3] Dreadnought did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as she was being refitted, nor did she participate in any of the other naval battles in World War I. In July 1916 she was relegated to coastal defence duties in the English Channel, before rejoining the Grand Fleet in 1918. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1919 and sold for scrap two years later.

  1. ^ Sturton, pp. 76–77
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference g1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference b38 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).