1905-1914 - The Dreadnought Race
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| The Austro-Hungarian Fleet |
The British completion of the HMS Dreadnought on 1-Oct-1906, brought very unexpected results. HMS Dreadnought represented a true terror weapon of the day whose speed, armament, and firepower obsoleted every other battleship then in existence. Rather than give Britain's large navy an even bigger advantage over Germany's small coastal fleet, it put them on an almost equal footing overnight, really only one battleship ahead. This launched the great arms race for the building of the dreadnought class ships.
While the defeat of the German navy would never, in itself, ensure the absolute defeat of Germany, the defeat of the British navy would spell the end of the island-based power and its empire. The British were acutely aware of this fact. Relations between the two countries would reach a new low as the result of this race and it would almost assure Britain's joining the Franco-Russian side in the event of conflict.
The table below is taken from Robert Massie's Dreadnought (Ballantine, 1991). It details the race. While not a sales pitch, this book is "must" reading for anyone interested in the underlying causes of the First World War.
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| BRITISH DREADNOUGHTS |
| Name of Ship and Class | Program year | Completion date | Displacement tons | Speed knots | Main armament |
| Dreadnought | 1905-6 | 12-06 | 17,900 | 20.9 | 10 12-in. |
| BELLEROPHON CLASS |
| Bellerophon | 1906-7 | 2-09 | 18,600 | 20.75 | 10 12-in. |
| Superb | 1906-7 | 5-09 | 18,600 | 20.75 |
| Temeraire | 1906-7 | 5-09 | 18,600 | 20.75 |
| ST. VINCENT CLASS | |
| St. Vincent | 1907-8 | 5-09 | 19,250 | 21 | 10 12-in. |
| Vanguard | 1907-8 | 2-10 | 19,250 | 21 |
| Collingwood | 1907-8 | 4-10 | 19,250 | 21 |
| Neptune | 1908-9 | 1-11 | 19,900 | 21 |
| COLOSSUS CLASS |
| Colossus | 1909-10 | 7-11 | 20,000 | 21 | 10 12-in. |
| Hercules | 1909-10 | 8-11 | 20,000 | 21 |
| ORION CLASS |
| Orion | 1909-10 | 1-12 | 22,500 | 21 | 10 13.5-in. |
| Conqueror | 1909-10 | 11-12 | 22,500 | 21 |
| Monarch | 1909-10 | 3-12 | 22,500 | 21 |
| Thunderer | 1909-10 | 6-12 | 22,500 | 21 |
| KING GEORGE CLASS |
| King George V | 1910-11 | 11-12 | 23,000 | 21 | 10 13.5-in. |
| Ajax | 1910-11 | 3-13 | 23,000 | 21 |
| Centurion | 1910-11 | 5-13 | 23,000 | 21 |
| Audacious | 1910-11 | 10-13 | 23,000 | 21 |
| IRON DUKE CLASS |
| Benbow | 1911-12 | 11-14 | 25,000 | 21 | 10 13.5-in.,
12 6-in. |
| Emperor of India | 1911-12 | 11-14 | 25,000 | 21 |
| Iron Duke | 1911-12 | 3-14 | 25,000 | 21 |
| Marlborough | 1911-12 | 6-14 | 25,000 | 21 |
| QUEEN ELIZABETH CLASS |
| Queen Elizabeth | 1912-13 | 1-15 | 27,500 | 25 | 8 15-in.,
16 6-in. |
| Warspite | 1912-13 | 3-15 | 27,500 | 25 | 8 15-in.,
14 6-in. |
| Barham | 1912-13 | 10-15 | 27,500 | 25 |
| Valiant | 1912-13 | 2-16 | 27,500 | 25 |
| Malaya | 1912-13 | 2-16 | 27,500 | 25 |
| ROYAL SOVEREIGN CLASS |
| Royal Sovereign | 1913-14 | 5-16 | 27,750 | 21 | 8 15-in.,
14 6-in. |
| Royal Oak | 1913-14 | 5-16 | 27,750 | 21 |
| Revenge | 1913-14 | 3-16 | 27,750 | 21 |
| Resolution | 1913-14 | 12-16 | 27,750 | 21 |
| Ramillies | 1913-14 | 9-17 | 27,750 | 21 |
| BRITISH BATTLE CRUISERS |
| INVINCIBLE CLASS |
| Invincible | 1905-6 | 3-09 | 17,250 | 25.5 | 8 12-in. |
| Inflexible | 1905-6 | 10-08 | 17,250 | 25.5 |
| Indomitable | 1905-6 | 6-08 | 17,250 | 25.5 |
| INDEFATIGABLE CLASS |
| Indefatigable | 1908-9 | 4-11 | 18,750 | 25.8 | 8 12-in. |
| New Zealand | 1909-10 | 11-12 | 18,800 | 25.8 |
| Australia | 1909-10 | 6-13 | 18,800 | 25.8 |
| LION CLASS |
| Lion | 1909-10 | 5-12 | 26,350 | 27 | 8 13.5-in. |
| Princess Royal | 1909-10 | 11-12 | 26,350 | 27 |
| Queen Mary | 1910-11 | 8-13 | 27,000 | 28 |
| Tiger | 1911-12 | 10-14 | 28,500 | 28 | 8 13.5-in.,
12 6-in. |
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| GERMAN DREADNOUGHTS |
| Name of Ship and Class | Program year | Completion date | Displacement tons | Speed knots | Main armament |
| NASSAU CLASS |
| Nassau | 1906-7 | 10-09 | 18,873 | 19 | 12 11-in.,
12 5.9-in. |
| Westfalen | 1906-7 | 11-09 | 18,873 | 19 |
| Rheinland | 1907-8 | 4-10 | 18,873 | 19 |
| Posen | 1907-8 | 5-10 | 18,873 | 19 |
| HELGOLAND CLASS |
| Helgoland | 1908-9 | 8-11 | 22,808 | 20.5 | 12 12-in.,
14 5.9-in. |
| Ostfriesland | 1908-9 | 8-11 | 22,808 | 20.5 |
| Thuringen | 1908-9 | 7-11 | 22,808 | 20.5 |
| Oldenburg | 1909-10 | 5-12 | 22,808 | 20.5 |
| KAISER CLASS |
| Kaiser | 1909-10 | 8-12 | 24,724 | 21 | 10 12-in.,
14 5.9-in. |
| Friedrich der Grosse | 1909-10 | 10-12 | 24,724 | 21 |
| Kaiserin | 1910-11 | 5-13 | 24,724 | 21 |
| Prinzregent Luitpold | 1910-11 | 8-13 | 24,724 | 21 |
| Konig Albert | 1910-11 | 7-13 | 24,724 | 21 |
| KONIG CLASS |
| Konig | 1911-12 | 8-14 | 25,796 | 21 | 10 12-in.,
14 5.9-in. |
| Grosser Kurfurst | 1911-12 | 8-14 | 25,796 | 21 |
| Markgraf | 1911-12 | 10-14 | 25,796 | 21 |
| Kronprinz Wilhelm | 1912-13 | 11-14 | 25,796 | 21 |
| BAYERN CLASS |
| Baden | 1913-14 | 10-16 | 28,600 | 22 | 8 15-in.,
16 5.9-in. |
| Bayern | 1913-14 | 3-16 | 28,600 | 22 |
| Sachsen | 1914-15 | * | 28,800 | 22 |
| Wurttemberg | 1914-15 | + | 28,800 | 22 |
| * Launched 21 November 1916, but never completed. |
| + Launched 20 June 1917, but never completed. |
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| GERMAN BATTLE CRUISERS |
| Blucher | 1906-7 | 10-09 | 15,842 | 24.8 | 12 8.2-in.,
8 5.9-in. |
| Von der Tann | 1907-8 | 9-10 | 19,370 | 24.8 | 8 11-in.,
10 5.9-in. |
| Moltke | 1908-9 | 9-11 | 22,979 | 25.5 | 10 11-in.,
12 5.9-in. |
| Goeben | 1909-10 | 7-12 | 22,979 | 25.5 |
| Seydlitz | 1910-11 | 5-13 | 24,988 | 27 |
| Lutzow | 1911-12 | 8-15 | 26,741 | 26.4 | 8 12-in.,
14 5.9-in. |
| Derfflinger | 1911-12 | 9-14 | 26,600 | 25.8 | 8 12-in.,
12 5.9-in. |
| Hindenburg | 1913-14 | 10-17 | 26,947 | 27.5 | 8 12-in.,
14 5.9-in. |
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