Portal:Battleships

The Battleships Portal The firepower of a battleship demonstrated by USS Iowa (1984). The muzzle blasts distort the ocean surface. A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term battleship came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ironclad warship, now referred to by historians as pre-dreadnought battleships. In 1906, the commissioning of HMS Dreadnought into the United Kingdom's Royal Navy heralded a revolution in the field of battleship design. Subsequent battleship designs, influenced by HMS Dreadnought, were referred to as "dreadnoughts", though the term eventually became obsolete as dreadnoughts became the only type of battleship in common use. Battleships were a symbol of naval dominance and national might, and for decades the battleship was a major factor in both diplomacy and military strategy. A global arms race in battleship construction began in Europe in the 1890s and culminated at the decisive Battle of Tsushima in 1905, the outcome of which significantly influenced the design of HMS Dreadnought. The launch of Dreadnought in 1906 commenced a new naval arms race. Three major fleet actions between steel battleships took place: the long-range gunnery duel at the Battle of the Yellow Sea in 1904, the decisive Battle of Tsushima in 1905 (both during the Russo-Japanese War) and the inconclusive Battle of Jutland in 1916, during the First World War. Jutland was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of dreadnoughts of the war, and it was the last major battle in naval history fought primarily by battleships. The Naval Treaties of the 1920s and 1930s limited the number of battleships, though technical innovation in battleship design continued. Both the Allied and Axis powers built battleships during World War II, though the increasing importance of the aircraft carrier meant that the battleship played a less important role than had been expected in that conflict. (Full article...) Selected article The Yamato-class battleships were a class of Imperial Japanese Navy battleships constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) at full-load, the vessels of the class were the heaviest and most heavily-armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-millimetre (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing 2,998-pound (1,360 kg) shells over 26 miles (42 km). Two battleships of the class (Yamato and Musashi) were completed, while a third (Shinano) was converted to an aircraft carrier during construction. Due to the threat of American submarines and aircraft carriers, both Yamato and Musashi spent the majority of their careers in naval bases at Brunei, Truk, and Kure—deploying on several occasions in response to American raids on Japanese bases—before participating in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, as part of Admiral Kurita's Centre Force. Musashi was sunk during the course of the battle by American carrier airplanes. Shinano was sunk ten days after her commissioning in November 1944 by the submarine USS Archer-Fish, while Yamato was sunk in April 1945 during Operation Ten-Go. Selected biography Konteradmiral Erich Bey (23 March 1898 – 26 December 1943) was a German naval officer who most notably served as a commander of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer forces and died during the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst at the Battle of North Cape. Joining the Kaiserliche Marine on 13 June, 1916, he served on destroyers and earned the Iron Cross during World War I, and continued through the transformation into the Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine. As a commander at the outbreak of World War II, he commanded the 4th Destroyer Flotilla under Friedrich Bonte, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during the Battles of Narvik. Promoted, he succeeded Bonte (who had been killed in the battle), and successfully screened for Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen during the Channel Dash. Promoted to rear admiral on 25 December 1943, Bey led a task force, consisting of Scharnhorst and the destroyers Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34, and Z38 out of Alta Fjord in Operation Ostfront. Intending to intercept the Allied Convoy JW-55B en route to Murmansk, he encountered a superior Royal Navy force led by HMS Duke of York (17). In the ensuing battle, Scharnhorst was sunk with only 36 of 1,968 of her crew rescued. His British counterpart, Admiral Bruce Fraser, later told his officers, "I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today". General images - The following are images from various battleship-related articles on Wikipedia. Mikasa, a typical pre-dreadnought in many respects; note the positioning of secondary and tertiary batteries, and the concentration of armour on turrets and engineering spaces (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Retvizan sinks in Port Arthur, 1904 (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) French Navy ironclad floating battery Lave, 1854. This ironclad, together with the similar Tonnante and Dévastation, vanquished Russian land batteries at the Battle of Kinburn (1855). (from Ironclad warship) The reloading mechanism onboard HMS Inflexible (from Ironclad warship) The conventional broadside of 68-pounders on HMS Warrior of 1860 (from Ironclad warship) The Royal Navy's revolutionary HMS Dreadnought, launched in 1906, gave its name to the type (from Dreadnought) The obturator invented by de Bange allowed the effective sealing of breeches in breech-loading guns. (from Ironclad warship) Schematic section of a typical pre-dreadnought battleship with an armoured upper and middle deck and side belt (red), lateral protective coal bunkers (grey), and a double-bottom of watertight compartments. The machinery was arranged in the protected internal void. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Japan's Admiral Togo on the bridge of Mikasa just before the Battle of Tsushima (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) HMS Audacious sinks after hitting a mine, October 1914 (from Dreadnought) USS Texas, built in 1892, was the first pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy. Photochrom print c. 1898. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Barbette of the French ironclad Vauban (1882–1905) (from Ironclad warship) The working of a triple-expansion steam engine. High-pressure steam is used three times to produce motive power, gradually cooling as it goes. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) The water-tube boiler was the most efficient method of producing high-pressure steam for pre-dreadnought engines. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Provence, a Bretagne-class battleship, launched in 1913 (pictured in 1942) (from Dreadnought) The French battleship Justice at speed (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Unfinished Bayern-class battleship Württemberg (right) and the Mackensen-class battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich in Hamburg after the war, in about 1920 (from Dreadnought) The iron-and-wood armor of Warrior (from Ironclad warship) The appearance of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 rendered every other battleship obsolete (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) HMS Inflexible, after the replacement of her sailing masts with 'military masts' (from Ironclad warship) The first battle between ironclads: CSS Virginia (left) vs. USS Monitor, in the March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads (from Ironclad warship) King George V (left) inspects HMS Neptune (from Dreadnought) USS New York making full steam (1915) (from Dreadnought) A Paixhans naval shell gun. 1860 engraving. (from Ironclad warship) A barbette of Redoutable (from Ironclad warship) USS Indiana, an example of the intermediate battery principle with its forward 13-inch and forward port 8-inch gun turrets (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Mikasa as a museum ship (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) HMS Warrior (1860), Britain's first seagoing ironclad warship (from Ironclad warship) Loa being fitted after its conversion in the Callao harbour, 1864 (from Ironclad warship) Cross section of a German pre-dreadnought Wittelsbach-class battleship, circa 1914 (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) HMS Ramillies was the fourth ship of the influential Royal Sovereign class. The diagonal tubes are spars for torpedo nets. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) The Argentine Rivadavia, first of its class, under construction in 1912 (from Dreadnought) Postcard of USS Connecticut being used for troop transport in 1919 (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) 1904 illustration of H.G. Wells' December 1903 The Land Ironclads, showing huge armored land vessels, equipped with Pedrail wheels. (from Ironclad warship) Officers of a monitor-class warship, probably USS Patapsco, photographed during the American Civil War. (from Ironclad warship) Model of the French Gloire (1858), the first ocean-going ironclad (from Ironclad warship) HMS Agamemnon, an example of taking the intermediate battery principle to its ultimate expression with ten 9.2-inch guns (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) HMS Agamemnon, an all-big-gun mixed-calibre ship of the Lord Nelson class. It carried four 12-inch (305 mm) and ten 9.2-inch (234 mm). (from Dreadnought) Growth in size of battleship designs from 1905 onwards, showing the dreadnought's rapid growth between 1905 and 1920, prior to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 (from Dreadnought) HMS Dreadnought shows the low freeboard typical for early ironclad turret-ships. This ship, launched in 1875, should not be confused with her famous successor, launched in 1906, marking the end of the pre-dreadnought era. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Mexican frigate Guadalupe 1842 (from Ironclad warship) USS California (BB-44), one of two Tennessee-class battleships, steaming at high speed in 1921 (from Dreadnought) HMS Canopus fires her 12-inch main guns at a Turkish shore battery (1915). Photo by Ernest Brooks. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) USS Texas, the only dreadnought still in existence, was launched in 1912 and is now a museum ship (from Dreadnought) Cross-section view amidships of USS Kearsarge, showing how the armour scheme relates to the innards of the ship (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) The heavy guns and forward barbette of Mikasa's main battery (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) A plan of HMS Dreadnought, showing the revolutionary design (from Dreadnought) The Japanese battleship Settsu (1911) (from Dreadnought) Royal Navy Orion-class super-dreadnoughts in line c. 1914 (from Dreadnought) The fleets engaging for the Battle of Lissa (from Ironclad warship) HMS Ocean was typical of pre-dreadnought battleships (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) USS Massachusetts, a pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1893 (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) SMS Szent István begins to roll over after being torpedoed in 1918 (from Dreadnought) Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein in port around 1930. Both ships served into World War II. (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) The French Redoutable (1876), the first battleship to use steel as the main building material (from Ironclad warship) The Battle of Iquique, where Peruvian ironclad Huáscar sunk the Chilean wooden corvette Esmeralda (from Ironclad warship) Breech-loading 110-pounder Armstrong gun on HMS Warrior (from Ironclad warship) Napoléon (1850), the first steam battleship (from Ironclad warship) This section of SMS Bayern shows a typical dreadnought protection scheme, with very thick armour protecting the turrets, magazines and engine spaces tapering away in less vital areas (from Dreadnought) United States Navy ironclads off Cairo, Illinois, during the American Civil War. (from Ironclad warship) Gloire under sail (from Ironclad warship) A plan of Bellerophon (1907) showing the armament distribution of early British dreadnoughts. The main battery is in twin turrets, with two on the "wings"; the light secondary battery is clustered around the superstructure. (from Dreadnought) Radetzky-class battleship, a pre-dreadnought class of the Austro-Hungarian Navy (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) French armored floating battery Arrogante (1864). (from Ironclad warship) The gun trials of the Brazilian dreadnought Minas Geraes in 1910, where all the guns capable of training to the port side were fired, forming what was at that time the heaviest broadside ever fired from a warship (from Dreadnought) 12-pounder anti-torpedo boat guns mounted on the roof of a turret on Dreadnought (1906) (from Dreadnought) Punch cartoon from May 1876 showing Britannia dressed in the armor of an ironclad with the word Inflexible around her collar and addressing the sea god Neptune. Note the ram sticking out of Britannia's breast plate. The caption reads: OVER-WEIGHTED. Britannia. "Look here, Father Nep! I can't stand it much longer! Who's to 'rule the waves' in this sort of thing?" (from Ironclad warship) Animated diagram of gun turret loading and firing, based on the British 15-inch gun used on super-dreadnoughts (from Dreadnought) Paris on speed trials (1914) (from Dreadnought) USS Cairo, an example of a City-class ironclad gunboat (from Ironclad warship) The Confederacy's French-built last ironclad was also Japan's first: Stonewall was later renamed Kōtetsu (from Ironclad warship) HMS Dominion of the King Edward VII-class was launched towards the end of the pre-dreadnought era, in 1903 (from Pre-dreadnought battleship) Selected picture HMS Prince of Wales manueuvers to avoid the sinking HMS Hood on 24 May 1941 in the painting Sinking of HMS Hood. As the two engaged the German battleship Bismarck and German cruiser Prinz Eugen at the Battle of the Denmark Strait, plunging fire from Bismarck struck Hood and detonated her magazines, causing the ship to break in two and sink, while the other British ships retreated. Having lost the flagship of the Home Fleet, Winston Churchill ordered "Sink the Bismarck," a task accomplished on 27 May. Did you know (auto-generated) ... that one of the first microwave radars, the British Type 271 on board HMS Duke of York, led to the night-time sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst? ... that British submarine HMS Sceptre towed an X-class midget submarine tasked with attacking German battleships off Norway? More Did you know - ... that the French battleship République was hit by a torpedo from Patrie, her sister ship? ... that because of her tough resistance during the Battle of Jutland, the German battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger was nicknamed "Iron Dog" by the British Royal Navy? ... that the Kii-class and Number 13-class battleships were to be part of Japan's eight-eight fleet? ... that the Russian battleship Oslyabya was the first armored battleship ever sunk by gunfire alone, without any torpedo hits? Selected quote “ TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS ” — Message from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to William Halsey, Jr. during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Communicators aboard the USS New Jersey failed to remove the ending security padding which was interpreted by Halsey as part of the message and a harsh and sarcastic rebuke regarding the Battle off Samar. Related WikiProjects WikiProject Military history Maritime warfare task force Operation Majestic Titan WikiProject Ships Quality content Featured topics Battlecruisers of Germany • Bayern-class battleships • Indefatigable-class battlecruisers • Iowa-class battleships • König-class battleships • Rivadavia-class battleships • Tosa-class battleships • Yamato-class battleships Featured articles Almirante Latorre-class battleship • Amagi-class battlecruiser • Alaska-class cruiser • ARA Moreno • ARA Rivadavia • Armament of the Iowa-class battleship • Battle of Midway • Battle of the Eastern Solomons • Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands • Battleship • Bayern-class battleship • Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes • Brazilian battleship São Paulo • Chilean battleship Almirante Latorre • Courageous-class battlecruiser • Derfflinger-class battlecruiser • Design 1047 battlecruiser • Dreadnought • Dutch 1913 battleship proposal • Ernst Lindemann • Fred Moosally • HMAS Australia (1911) • HMS Eagle (1918) • HMS Indefatigable (1909) • HMS Lion (1910) • HMS Royal Oak (08) • Helgoland-class battleship • Indiana-class battleship • Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi • Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga • Japanese battleship Haruna • Japanese battleship Tosa • Japanese battleship Yamato • Kaiser-class battleship • König-class battleship • Minas Geraes-class battleship • Moltke-class battlecruiser • Montana-class battleship • Nassau-class battleship • Naval Battle of Guadalcanal • North Carolina-class battleship • Operation Ten-Go • Pre-dreadnought battleship • Rivadavia-class battleship • Russian battleship Slava • SMS Baden (1915) • SMS Bayern (1915) • SMS Derfflinger • SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand • SMS Friedrich der Grosse (1911) • SMS Goeben • SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1913) • SMS Helgoland • SMS Hindenburg • SMS König • SMS Kronprinz (1914) • SMS Lützow • SMS Markgraf • SMS Moltke (1910) • SMS Rheinland • SMS Seydlitz • SMS Von der Tann • SMS Westfalen • Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleship • South American dreadnought race • USS Connecticut (BB-18) • USS Illinois (BB-65) • USS Indiana (BB-1) • USS Iowa (BB-61) • USS Iowa turret explosion • USS Kentucky (BB-66) • USS Massachusetts (BB-2) • USS Missouri (BB-63) • USS Nevada (BB-36) • USS New Jersey (BB-62) • USS Wisconsin (BB-64) • Yamato-class battleship Featured lists List of battlecruisers • List of battlecruisers of Germany • List of battlecruisers of Japan • List of battlecruisers of Russia • List of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy • List of battleships of Austria-Hungary • List of battleships of Germany • List of battleships of Italy • List of battleships of the Ottoman Empire • List of battlecruisers of the United States • List of sunken battlecruisers A-Class articles Borodino-class battlecruiser • Design A-150 battleship • Deutschland-class battleship • Florida-class battleship • Fusō-class battleship • German battleship Tirpitz • HMS Courageous (50) • HMS Hood (51) • HMS New Zealand (1911) • HMS Princess Royal (1911) • HMS Queen Mary • Japanese battleship Hiei • Japanese battleship Kirishima • Japanese battleship Kongō • Japanese battleship Musashi • Kongō-class battlecruiser • Lexington-class battlecruiser • Russian battleship Rostislav • Russian battleship Sevastopol (1895) • SMS Deutschland (1904) • SMS Hannover • SMS Kaiser (1911) • SMS Kaiserin • SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm • SMS Nassau • SMS Ostfriesland • SMS Posen • Tosa-class battleship • USS Hawaii (CB-3) • USS Texas (BB-35) • United States Naval Gunfire Support debate Good topics Battlecruisers of Russia • Battlecruisers of the Royal Navy • Battleships of Austria-Hungary • Battleships of Germany • Courageous-class battlecruisers and aircraft carriers • Ekaterina II-class battleships • Evstafi-class battleships • Gangut-class battleships • Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleships • Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleships • Kongō-class battlecruisers Good articles 28 cm SK L/40 gun • 30.5 cm SK L/50 gun • Admiral-class battlecruiser • BL 18 inch Mk I naval gun • Bismarck-class battleship • Brandenburg-class battleship • Braunschweig-class battleship • Bretagne-class battleship • Colorado-class battleship • Courbet-class battleship • Delaware-class battleship • Design B-65 cruiser • Ekaterina II-class battleship • Ersatz Monarch-class battleship • Ersatz Yorck-class battlecruiser • Erzherzog Karl-class battleship • Evstafi-class battleship • Franz von Hipper • French battleship Courbet (1911) • French battleship Dunkerque • French battleship France • French battleship Iéna (1898) • French battleship Jauréguiberry • French battleship Jean Bart (1911) • French battleship Paris • French battleship Suffren • G3 battlecruiser • Gangut-class battleship • German battleship Gneisenau • German battleship Scharnhorst • Greek battleship Kilkis • Greek battleship Lemnos • Greek battleship Salamis • H-class battleship proposals • Habsburg-class battleship • High Seas Fleet • HMS Agamemnon (1906) • HMS Agincourt (1913) • HMS Anson (79) • HMS Dreadnought (1906) • HMS Eagle (1918) • HMS Furious (47) • HMS Glorious • HMS Howe (32) • HMS Indomitable (1907) • HMS Inflexible (1907) • HMS Invincible (1907) • HMS King George V (41) • HMS Lord Nelson (1906) • HMS Renown (1916) • HMS Repulse (1916) • HMS Royal Sovereign (05) • HMS Swiftsure (1903) • HMS Tiger (1913) • HMS Triumph (1903) • HMS Vanguard (23) • Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleship • Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleship • Indefatigable-class battlecruiser • Invincible-class battlecruiser • Iowa-class battleship • Iron Duke-class battleship • Italian battleship Roma (1940) • Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano • Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleship • Kronshtadt-class battlecruiser • L 20 α-class battleship • Lion-class battlecruiser • Lion-class battleship • Littorio-class battleship • Mackensen-class battlecruiser • Mississippi-class battleship • O-class battlecruiser • Operation Kita • Radetzky-class battleship • Reinhard Scheer • Renown-class battlecruiser • Russian battleship Andrei Pervozvanny • Russian battleship Chesma (1886) • Russian battleship Dvenadsat Apostolov • Russian battleship Ekaterina II • Russian battleship Evstafi • Russian battleship Gangut (1911) • Russian battleship Georgii Pobedonosets • Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr II • Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr III • Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I • Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I (1916) • Russian battleship Imperator Pavel I • Russian battleship Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya • Russian battleship Imperatritsa Mariya • Russian battleship Ioann Zlatoust • Russian battleship Petropavlovsk (1897) • Russian battleship Petropavlovsk (1911) • Russian battleship Poltava (1894) • Russian battleship Poltava (1911) • Russian battleship Retvizan • Russian battleship Sevastopol (1911) • Russian battleship Sinop • Russian battleship Tri Sviatitelia • Scharnhorst-class battleship • SMS Árpád • SMS Babenburg • SMS Brandenburg • SMS Braunschweig • SMS Elsass • SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max • SMS Erzherzog Friedrich • SMS Erzherzog Karl • SMS Habsburg • SMS Hessen • SMS Kaiser Barbarossa • SMS Kaiser Friedrich III • SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse • SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse • SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II • SMS Lothringen • SMS Mecklenburg • SMS Oldenburg (1910) • SMS Pommern • SMS Preussen (1903) • SMS Prinz Eugen • SMS Prinzregent Luitpold • SMS Radetzky • SMS Schlesien • SMS Schleswig-Holstein • SMS Schwaben • SMS Szent István • SMS Tegetthoff • SMS Thüringen • Treaty battleship • SMS Viribus Unitis • SMS Weissenburg • SMS Wettin • SMS Wittelsbach • SMS Wörth • SMS Zähringen • SMS Zrínyi • Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow • South Dakota-class battleship (1939) • Stalingrad-class battlecruiser • Swiftsure-class battleship • Tegetthoff-class battleship • United States Battleship Division Nine (World War I) • USS Alaska (CB-1) • USS Guam (CB-2) • USS Lexington (CV-2) • USS Massachusetts (BB-59) • USS Texas (1892) • USS Missouri grounding incident • Wittelsbach-class battleship Categories Select [►] to view subcategories Battleships Battleships by country Battleships by navy Battleship units and formations Battleships sunk by aircraft Battleship classes Battleships by period Existing battleships Lists of battleships Battlecruisers Battlecruisers by country Battlecruisers by navy Battlecruiser classes Battlecruisers by period Lists of battlecruisers Related portals How can I help? Operation Majestic Titan is the code name for a long-term Wikipedian project with two primary objectives, the first of which is to create the single largest featured topic on Wikipedia, centered around the battleships considered, planned, built, operated, canceled, or otherwise recorded. There are probably a few hundred articles of this nature which will be included, from the earliest pre-dreadnoughts to the last of the dreadnoughts. Once all articles are featured this project will reorient to ensuring that the articles remain up to standard. If you're interested, please view the project page to familiarize yourself with the guidelines, and simply pick an article to improve! There is also ongoing discussion you can participate in. 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