Dreadnought-type ships were part of the arms race among the great powers of the world on the eve of the First World War. Such battleships sought to create leading maritime states. The first among all was Great Britain, which has always been famous for its fleet. The Russian Empire was not left without dreadnoughts, which, despite internal difficulties, managed to build four of its own ships.
What were the dreadnought-class ships, what was their role in world wars, what happened to them later, will become known from the article.
Classification
If we study the sources relating to the issue we are considering, we can draw an interesting conclusion. It turns out that there are two types of dreadnoughts:
- The Dreadnought naval ship, which gave its name to an entire class of battleships.
- A space cruiser featured in the Star Wars franchise.
These ships will be discussed in more detail later.
Classdreadnought
Ships of this class appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their characteristic feature was homogeneous artillery armament of an exceptionally large caliber (305 millimeters). Artillery warships got their name from the name of the first representative of this class. They became the ship "Dreadnought". The name is translated from English as "fearless". It is with this name that battleships of the first quarter of the twentieth century are associated.
The first of the "undaunted"
The revolution in naval affairs was made by the ship "Dreadnought". This British battleship pioneered a new class of battleships.
The construction of the battleship was such a significant event in world shipbuilding that after its appearance in 1906, the maritime powers began to implement such projects at home. What made the Dreadnought famous? The ship, the photo of which is presented in the article, was created ten years before the First World War. And by its beginning, “superdreadnoughts” were created. Therefore, in such major battles as Jutland, the battleship did not even take part.
However, he still had a combat achievement. The ship rammed a German submarine, which was under the command of Otto Weddigen. At the beginning of the war, this submariner managed to sink three British cruisers in one day.
At the end of the war, the Dreadnought ship was decommissioned and cut into metal.
Spaceship
BThe fictional world of Star Wars also has a Dreadnought. The spaceship was developed during the Old Republic by the Rendili Starship Corporation. A cruiser of this type was slow and poorly protected by armor. However, such machines have served many organizations and governments for a long time.
The weapon system of the spacecraft consisted of the following weapons:
- twenty quad lasers, located in front, left and right;
- ten laser, located on the left and right;
- ten batteries forward and aft.
For optimal operation, the cruiser needed a staff of at least sixteen thousand people. They occupied the entire space of the spaceship. During the time of the Galactic Empire, ships of this type were used as patrols for the far systems of the Empire, as well as escorts for cargo ships.
The Rebel Alliance has taken a different approach to using these cruisers. After the conversion, they were called assault frigates, which had more guns, were more maneuverable and required a crew of only five thousand people. Such re-equipment required a significant amount of money and time, so there were not many assault frigates. Next, you should return to the real world.
Dreadnought Fever
The construction of a new battleship in England was associated with the beginning of the arms race before the First World War, so the leading countries of the world also began to design and create similar combat units. Moreover, the squadron battleships that existed at that time lost their significance in the battle, in which the Dreadnought battleship was present.
The rivalry between the maritime powers in the construction of such ships, which was called "dreadnought fever", began. It was dominated by England and Germany. Great Britain has always strived to lead on the water, so it created twice as many ships as Foggy Albion. Germany sought to catch up with the main rival and began to increase its fleet. This led to the fact that all European maritime states were forced to start building battleships. It was important for them to maintain their influence on the world stage.
The United States was in a special position. The state did not have a clearly expressed threat from other powers, therefore it had a margin of time and could use the experience in designing dreadnoughts to the maximum.
Designing dreadnoughts had its difficulties. The main one was the placement of artillery towers of the main caliber. Each state solved this issue in its own way.
"Dreadnought fever" led to the fact that by the beginning of World War I, the English fleet had forty-two battleships, and the German one - twenty-six. At the same time, the ships of England had guns of a larger caliber, but were not as armored as the dreadnoughts of Germany. Other countries were significantly inferior to their main competitors in terms of the number of vessels of this type.
Dreadnoughts in Russia
To save yourposition at sea, Russia also started building battleships of the dreadnought type (a class of ships). Given the situation inside the country, the empire strained its last strength and was able to create only four battleships.
LK of the Russian Empire:
- "Sevastopol".
- Grunut.
- Petropavlovsk.
- Poltava.
The first among ships of the same type launched into the water was the Sevastopol. His story should be considered in more detail.
Sevastopol ship
For the Black Sea Fleet, the battleship "Sevastopol" was laid down in 1909, that is, several years later than its British prototype - the famous ship "Dreadnought". The ship "Sevastopol" was created at the B altic Shipyard for two years. He was able to enter service even later - only by the winter of 1914.
The Russian battleship took an active part in the First World War, based in Gelsinfors (Finland). After the signing of the Brest Peace, he was transferred to Kronstadt. During the Civil War, it was used in the defense of Petrograd.
In 1921, the ship's crew supported the Kronstadt rebellion, firing on adherents of the Soviet regime. After the suppression of the rebellion, the crew was almost completely replaced.
In the interwar period, the battleship was renamed the "Paris Commune" and transported to the Black Sea, where it was made the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.
During World War II, the dreadnought took part in the defense of Sevastopol in 1941. A year later, gunners noticed a change in gun barrels thattestified to the wear and tear of the Paris Commune. Before the liberation of the territory of the USSR, the battleship stood in Poti, where it was repaired. In 1943, it was returned to its original name, and a year later "Sevastopol" entered the raid of the Crimea, liberated by that time.
After the war, the ship began to be used for training purposes, until it was dismantled for scrap in the late fifties of the twentieth century.
The emergence of super-dreadnoughts
Five years after its creation, the dreadnought-type ship and its followers have become obsolete. They were replaced by the so-called superdreadnoughts, which had an artillery gun with a caliber of 343 millimeters. Later, this parameter increased to 381 mm, and then reached 406 millimeters. The first of its kind is the British ship "Orion". In addition to having reinforced side armor, the battleship differed from its predecessor by a total of twenty-five percent.
The world's last dreadnought
The last among the dreadnoughts is the battleship Vanguard, created in the UK after World War II, in 1946. They began to design it in 1939, but, despite the haste, they did not manage to put it into operation before the end of the war. After the completion of the main hostilities, the completion of the battleship completely slowed down.
In addition to being considered the last of the dreadnoughts, the Vanguard is also the largest of the British battleships.
In the post-war years, the ship was used as a royal family yacht. On it were madetravel around the Mediterranean and South Africa. It was also used as a training ship. He served until the end of the fifties of the twentieth century, until he was taken to the reserve. In 1960, the battleship was decommissioned and sold for scrap.
