IRON-AGE TECHNOLOGY

Those were the days . . .  the last of small-scale humanity, when the latest in Victorian high-tech killing machinery sported filagree ornamentation like that on the bow of the pre-Dreadnought battleship Connecticut, at lower left.





Pre-Dreadnoughts like these examples from the U.S. Navy were attempts to utilize the development of smokeless powder, steel alloys and steam. Before 3-stage re-generation, steam gave lousy mileage per tonne of coal, so sails were kept, just in case. By the late 1880's refinement in steam re-generation allowed their removal. Better, more reliable propulsion systems showed deficiency in hull design as ships could sail in any weather with reliable steam—these are not hulls for the angry North Atlantic.

The Spanish-American war showed the need for better fire control and aiming, which had remained primitive (the U.S.N. scored less than 1 hit per 1000 shells against the Spanish at Manila). By 1912 all the first line navies had relatively sophisticated optical range-finders. The WWI-era Warspite holds the record for naval gunnery against a moving target, of 26,500 yards (just over 15 miles), hitting the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare during the Battle of Calabria, 9 July 1940.

To see larger pictures of these ships, just click on each picture..