Turbinia shared HMS Rattler's role as a propulsion test bed, with propeller shapes refined for efficiency, strength, seawater resistance, and cavitation control. Britain also possessed several firms capable of developing and manufacturing turbines, including Parsons, John Brown, and Vickers. That competitive industrial base improved the pace and resilience of development. Compact turbines then helped Dreadnought achieve a five-turret arrangement with the same broadside that German ships using bulkier reciprocating machinery needed six turrets to produce.
Notable Point · 31:36-33:38
Propeller testing and Britain's turbine industry
Repeated propeller trials and competing turbine manufacturers gave Britain the industrial depth to fit compact machinery into Dreadnought.