The battleships later called pre-dreadnoughts

These ships were simply battleships when designed, with several gun calibres arranged for different fighting ranges and targets. Mikasa provides a Japanese example, while HMS Agamemnon represents one of the last British designs of the type. The label pre-dreadnought only became meaningful after HMS Dreadnought created a contrasting category. Many mixed-calibre battleships remained active beside the new ships, and some were completed after Dreadnought herself. The terminology is therefore retrospective and can obscure the design context in which the older ships were conceived.