The Dreadnought battleship was a type of armored warship equipped with six or nine heavy naval guns, all having the same caliber. These powerful guns were set up in two or three turrets on the fore and aft deck of the war vessel. Aside from its armor belt and heavy armament, it was also characterized by a considerable length and a broad beam and fitted with two or three smokestacks. Therefore, the main differences between its predecessor, called the armorclads, and the new warship was the unified calibers of all the main guns, the anti-mine defense, and faster speed.
Both Great Britain and Germany built Dreadnought battleship, whose construction had begun right before World War I. Their Russian equivalent was the upgraded battleships of the Sevastopol type. The first ship of this class was the British Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought, which was launched in 1906, having a displacement of 17,900 tons and a speed of 21 knots. It was fitted with ten 305-mm guns, which were mounted in five twin-turrets, plus twenty four 76-mm guns, which were set up on the ship sides.
To counteract and offset the British Navy increase in naval power with their HMS Dreadnought, the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) built and launched the SMS Nassau, SMS Rheinland, SMS Westfallen, and SMS Posen in 1908, being commissioned all four of them the following year. Thus, when World War I broke out in 1914, Germany had a powerful fleet to counter the British threat in high seas. All four were labeled as the Nassau-class battleship. With a displacement of 18,900 tons, they had a length of 146.1 m and a beam of 27 m. They were armed with twelve 280-mm guns and twelve 150-mm guns, plus sixteen 88-mm guns. Thus, they were literally bristling with guns of all type.
Below, the British HMS Dreadnought in 1915, before the Battle of Jutland.
