HMS Formidable as incremental battleship development

Formidable, the lead ship of her class, reflected the Royal Navy's preference for reducing risk through incremental improvement. Her design combined the larger Majestic hull with Canopus-style armour and a new hull form, while retaining established 12-inch guns and triple-expansion machinery. Warrior and Dreadnought provide useful comparisons because even ships remembered as revolutionary assembled components that had already been tried elsewhere. The result was stronger protection and an 18-knot speed that remained credible when Formidable entered service in 1901. A navy could make a substantial capability gain without relying on wholly untested technology.