The arrival of a superior type did not make every existing capital ship worthless overnight. Royal Sovereigns, Centurions, HMS Renown, and other older designs occupied awkward retrospective categories but continued to contribute numbers and combat power. Navies consequently operated dreadnoughts and pre-dreadnoughts together for years rather than replacing an entire battle fleet at once. Even HMS Dreadnought would not casually engage a whole squadron of pre-dreadnoughts alone. Fleet strength depended on the number and employment of ships as well as on which individual design was technologically newer.
Notable Point · 19:03-20:44
Dreadnoughts did not instantly erase older battleships
Older battleship classes remained useful in mixed fleets, and even HMS Dreadnought would not casually fight an entire pre-dreadnought squadron alone.