Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 38:36-39:19

Why Dreadnought did not make every older battleship useless overnight

A question about Britain's large pre-dreadnought fleet draws a useful distinction between being surpassed and becoming immediately unusable.

HMS DreadnoughtPre-Dreadnought BattleshipsRoyal Navy
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Question

Did Britain make its own large pre-dreadnought fleet obsolete by launching HMS Dreadnought?

Short answer

No. Dreadnought changed the standard, but Britain retained numerous useful pre-dreadnoughts for years, including during the First World War.

Notes

Britain still had a large force that included capable pre-dreadnoughts, and that their operational value did not disappear in 1906. Even during the First World War, an older battleship could remain dangerous in the right circumstances. The point is a corrective to the popular shorthand that every pre-dreadnought was instantly obsolete.