The Battleships

This episode follows the evolution of the Battleship from the early 1800's to the commissioning of the groundbreaking ship, HMS Dreadnought.

The commissioning of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906 led to an arms race amongst the European Powers leading up to World War One. This arms race culminated with the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

After World War One, there were fears of a new and more lethal arms race. This lead to the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited the number of Battleships its signatories could have. Germany, restricted by the Versailles Treaty, developed a compact and powerful class of Battleship given the nickname "Pocket Battleship."

World War Two, and the Queen of the Seas is in decline. From the sinking of the Italian fleet at Taranto, to the destruction of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, showed that the days of the Battleship being the main strike weapon of the world's navy's were over. In this role, they were replaced by the Aircraft Carrier.