Battleships (up to 1918) - Great Britain: Books (2/2)

British Battleships of World War One

This superb reference book achieved the status of 'classic' soon after its first publication in 1986; it was soon out of print and is now one of the most sought-after naval reference books on the secondhand market.
It presents, in one superb volume, the complete technical history of British capital ship design and construction during the dreadnought era. One hundred years ago at Jutland, Dogger Bank, Heligoland Bight and the first battle for the Falklands, might squadrons of these great armoured ships fought their German counterparts for command of the seas. Beginning with Dreadnought, the book continues to the end of the First World War, and all of the fifty dreadnoughts, 'super-dreadnoughts' and battlecruisers that served the Royal Navy during this era are described and superbly illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

Each class of ship is described in detail so that design origins, and technical and operational factors, are discussed alongside characteristics, with special emphasis on armament, armour and machinery. Fully detailed data tables are included for every class, and more than 500 photographs and line drawings illustrate the text.
A delight for the historian, enthusiast and ship modeller, it is a volume that is already regarded as an essential reference work for this most significant era in naval history and ship design.

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British Battleships, 1914-18 (1) - The Early Dreadnoughts (Osprey)

The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 changed the face of naval warfare. The first half-dozen dreadnoughts were all improvements of the basic Dreadnought design, all carrying ten 12-inch guns. It was only in 1911, with the launch of HMS Neptune that the layout of this powerful armament was altered as a result of practical experience. Two more versions of the Neptune entered service later that same year.
These nine improved dreadnoughts formed the core of the British High Seas Fleet. They would soon, however, be outclassed by a new breed of "super dreadnoughts", the subject of the second volume in this two-part story.
While these new battleships carried larger 13.5-inch guns, they proved less successful as all-round battleships than their more lightly-armed predecessors. One last 12-inch gun dreadnought entered service in 1914, when a seven turret battleship being built for the Turks was commandeered by the Royal Navy, and re-named HMS Agincourt.

This New Vanguard title, the first of two covering these famous warships uncovers the full story of the British battleships of World War I. The book looks at their revolutionary design, the 12-inch guns that provided them with their firepower, and the way these guns were fired in anger.

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British Battleships 1914-18 (2) : The Super Dreadnoughts (Osprey)

In 1906, the Germans began building their own dreadnought fleet armed with larger guns, word of which soon reached the British Admiralty. This raised the spectre that the British dreadnought fleet would be outgunned, and prompted the Admiralty to order the building of their own "super dreadnoughts". The first of these new dreadnoughts were laid down in 1909, and entered service three years later.

The British public supported this programme, and the slogan "we want eight and cannot wait" became popular, a reference to the building of eight of these super dreadnoughts. Four more super dreadnoughts entered service in 1914. By then the Admiralty had developed a new programme of "fast battleships", armed with 15-inch guns.

These powerful warships entered service in time to play a part in the battle of Jutland in 1916. World War I broke out before the Royal Navy had fully evaluated these new warships, and so lessons had to be learned through experience - often the hard way.

Although none of these super dreadnoughts were lost in battle, their performance at the battle of Jutland led to a re-evaluation of the way they were operated.
Still, for four years they denied control of the sea to the enemy, and so played a major part in the final collapse of Imperial Germany.

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British Dreadnought vs German Dreadnought - Jutland 1916 (Osprey)

In 1916, in the seas near Jutland, two fleets of armoured dreadnoughts met in open battle.

This book tells the story of the British and German battleships of these two great fleets - from their development as the first generation of fully- armoured warships - to their combat experiences. The differing weapon systems and crew training of the British and German fleets are examined in detail, as is the titanic struggle of Jutland, through an hour-by-hour, shot-by-shot, reconstruction. Finally, it analyzes the outcome of the struggle, explaining the successes and failures of these great battleships.

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