Why Britain triggered both ends of the battleship era

Was it ironic that Britain helped begin and end the age of battleships?

Yes, but it followed naturally from Britain possessing the world's dominant navy at the start of the era and exhausting resources to remain a major naval partner through the Second World War.

Britain's part in launching HMS Dreadnought and later eclipsing the battleship is ironic, but it followed from the Royal Navy's exceptional size in 1905 and its continued weight well into the Second World War. Britain did not instantly become a minor partner when American strength expanded. Sustaining an equal role consumed resources the country was increasingly unwilling or unable to spend. The technological bookend also reveals the cost of global naval primacy.