February 10, 1906 - HMS Dreadnought (right) is launched at Portsmouth, England. The brainchild of Admiral Sir John "Jackie" Fisher, Dreadnought was the first battleship to feature an "all-big-gun" armament and steam turbine propulsion. The ship's armament revolutionized how battleships were armed and quickly rendered all existing capital ships obsolete. Capable of high speeds and possessing ten 12" guns, Dreadnought was built in a year and day at the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth. While the ship had a relatively quiet career, it launched a naval arms race between Britain and Germany of unprecedented size and scope. Striving to build bigger and more powerful warships, the two nations finally clashed in World War I. By this time, Dreadnought had largely been out-classed by its successors and was retired in 1918. Though decommissioned, the battleships inspired by its design formed the backbone of the world's navies until the rise of the aircraft carrier in World War II.
World War I at Sea:
- Battle of the Heligoland Bight
- Battle of Coronel
- Battle of the Falklands
- Battle of Dogger Bank
- Battle of Jutland
Photograph Courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center
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