BattlecruisersThis second volume in the ShipShape series covers the development of one of the largest, fastest and most charismatic warship types. Combining the armament of a battleship with the speed of a cruiser in some of the largest hulls then built, these ships were the cutting edge of early 20th-century naval technology. The brainchild of Admiral Fisher, the concept of this class began as large, fast armoured cruisers for trade protection, but the last-minute decision to equip them with 12-inch guns led them to be seen as a high-speed element of the battle fleet. The British battlecruisers fought in numerous battles in World War I, such as the battles of the Falklands, Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank. But it is for the battle of Jutland in 1916, when three battlecruisers exploded and sank in one day, that these ships are best remembered. |
Contents
Introduction | 7 |
Design and Construction 190514 | 24 |
Battlecruiser Revival | 46 |
Copyright | |
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12in gun 2in SLOPE 2nd BCS 3in 3in 4in and 3in 4in guns 4in KC 7in 7in abreast Admiralty amidships armoured cruiser arrangement Author's collection barbettes Battle Battle of Jutland battlecruiser battleship belt Board margin boiler rooms British ships bulkheads Captain COAL communication tube cordite Deep Dogger Bank draught Dreadnought engine fire control Fisher flagship fore funnel forecastle forecastle deck forward Full power Grand Fleet gun mountings gunhouse gunshields Home Fleet Hood hull Imperial War Museum increased Indomitable Invincible class Jellicoe Jutland large light cruisers light cruisers Lion class LOWER DECK machinery magazine main armament main belt MAIN DECK Maxim MG Naval OIL FUEL power Polperro Princess Royal Programme projectile propellers Queen Mary range rangefinder reduced refit Renown and Repulse result roof Rosyth Sea Lord side armour speed Tiger TORPEDO BULKHEADS trials turbine turret upper deck vessels Zealand