Dreadnought- type ships were part of the arms race among the great powers of the world on the eve of World War I. Such battleships sought to create leading maritime states. The first among all was 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 is their role in world wars, what happened to them later will be known from the article.
Classification
If we study the sources relating to the issue under consideration, then we can draw an interesting conclusion. It turns out that there are two types of dreadnought:
- The sea ship "Dreadnought", which gave the name to a whole class of battleships.
- The space cruiser mentioned in the Star Wars franchise.
Further, these ships will be considered in more detail.
Dreadnought class
Ships of this class appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Their characteristic feature was homogeneous artillery weapons of exclusively large caliber (305 mm). Artillery warships got their name by the name of the first representative of this class. They became the ship "Dreadnought". The name translates from English as “fearless”. It is with this name that the
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 became the founder of a new class of
battleships.The construction of the battleship was such a significant event in the global shipbuilding that after its appearance in 1906, the sea 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 to its beginning, "superdreadnoughts" were created. Therefore, in such large battles as Jutland, the battleship did not even take part.
However, he still had a military achievement. The ship rammed a German submarine, which was under the command of Otto Veddigen. 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
In the fictional world of Star Wars, there is also the Dreadnought. The spacecraft was developed during the Old Republic by Randy Starships. A cruiser of this type was slow and poorly protected by armor. However, such machines have long served many organizations and governments.
The weapon system of the spacecraft consisted of the following guns:
- twenty quad laser, located in front, left and right;
- ten laser, located on the left and right;
- ten batteries in front and aft.
For optimal performance, the cruiser needed personnel of at least sixteen thousand people. They occupied the entire space of the spaceship. During the Galactic Empire, ships of this type were used as patrols of distant systems of the Empire, as well as escorts for cargo ships.
The Rebel Alliance took a different approach to the use of such cruisers. After the conversion, they were called assault frigates, which had a larger number of guns, were more maneuverable and required a team consisting of only five thousand people. Such re-equipment required a significant amount of money and time, so there were not many assault frigates. Next, return to the real world.
"Dreadnought Fever"
The construction of a new battleship in England was associated with the ongoing 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 existing at that time lost their significance in the battle, in which the battleship Dreadnought was present.
The rivalry between the sea powers in the construction of such ships began, which was called "dreadnought fever." The championship in it was held by England and Germany. Great Britain has always sought to lead on the water, so she created twice as many ships than Misty Albion. Germany sought to catch up with its 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 pronounced threat from other powers, therefore, it had a reserve of time and could use the experience in designing dreadnought to the maximum.
Designing dreadnoughts had its own difficulties. The main one was the placement of artillery towers of the main caliber. Each state resolved this issue in its own way.
The “dreadnought fever” led to the fact that by the beginning of World War I the English fleet had forty-two battleships, and the German fleet had twenty-six. At the same time, the ships of England possessed larger caliber guns, but were not as armored as the dreadnoughts of Germany. Other countries were significantly inferior to their main competitors in the number of ships of this type.
Dreadnought in Russia
To maintain its position at sea, Russia also began to build dreadnought-type battleships (class of ships). Given the situation inside the country, the empire exerted its last strength and was able to create only four battleships.
LC of the Russian Empire:
- Sevastopol.
- "Grandut".
- "Petropavlovsk".
- "Poltava".
The first among the ships of the same type to be launched was Sevastopol. His story should be considered in more detail.
The ship "Sevastopol"
For the Black Sea Fleet, the battleship Sevastopol was laid in 1909, that is, several years later than its British prototype - the famous ship Dreadnought. The ship "Sevastopol" was created at the Baltic Shipyard for two years. He was able to enter the system even later - only in the winter of 1914.
The Russian battleship took an active part in the First World War, based in Helsinki (Finland). After the signing of the Brest Peace, he was transferred to Kronstadt. In the Civil War, it was used in the defense of Petrograd.
In 1921, the crew supported the Kronstadt rebellion, firing on adherents of Soviet power. 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 they made it the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.
During World War II, the dreadnought participated in the defense of Sevastopol in 1941. A year later, the gunners noticed a change in the gun barrels, which indicated the deterioration of the "Paris Commune". Before the liberation of the USSR, the battleship stood in Poti, where it was repaired. In 1943, the original name was returned to him, and a year later Sevastopol entered the Crimea raid, which had been liberated by then.
After the war, the ship began to be used for training purposes, until at the end of the fifties of the twentieth century it was dismantled for scrap.
The emergence of superdreadnoughts
Five years after its creation, a dreadnought-type ship and its followers became obsolete. They were replaced by the so-called superdreadnoughts, which had an 343 mm caliber artillery gun . Later, this parameter increased to 381 mm, and after it reached 406 mm. The first of its kind is the British ship Orion. In addition to the fact that he had enhanced booking of boards, the battleship differed from its predecessor by a total of twenty-five percent.
The last dreadnought in the world
The last of the dreadnoughts is the battleship Wangard, created in Great Britain 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 was completely inhibited.
In addition to being the last of the dreadnoughts, Wangard is also the largest of the UK battleships.
In the postwar years, the ship was used as a royal family yacht. It made trips to 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 removed from service and sold for scrap.