Naval Artillery - Dreadnoughts

Dreadnoughts

Battleships switched to an "all-big-gun" armament, beginning with HMS Dreadnought, launched in 1906. In comparison to the rapid obsolescence of the preceding half-century, naval artillery changed comparatively little through World War I and World War II. Battleships remained similar to Dreadnought, torpedo boats evolved into destroyers, and ships of intermediate size were called cruisers. All ship types became larger as the calibre of heavy guns increased (to a maximum of 46 centimetres (18 in) in the Yamato class battleship), but the number of guns carried remained similar. Smaller ships used smaller-calibre weapons which were also used on battleships as the defensive secondary armament.