I have been looking at battleships very closely for about 7 years now (with many years of earlier study at a more causual pace), and have been trying to count them, I have identified 421. The early days of battleships ~1870 make this hard, since many of these ships don't fit in a battleship definition:
Battleship Definition: Steam powered, steel hulled ship at least 9000 tons displacement (for a few export predreadnoughts, 8000 tons, ~1% of all ships). Guns of 10" bore or larger. Heavy armor, offering protection from the guns carried. There were many types of battleships, they are:
Predreadnought: The first true battleship type, emerging in the 1870's with two to six heavy guns of 10” or greater, over 9000 tons displacement (several small export battleships were below this, but were classed as battleships), armor of 8” or greater. The typical predreadnought bristled with intermediate, secondary and tertiary gun batteries. A few early ships were built with auxiliary sails, but these ships all had steam power as their primary propulsion, and the sails were eventually removed from all of them. Most used reciprocating steam engines, only a few final examples, produced during the dreadnought era, had turbine propulsion.
Dreadnought: The first modern battleship type, emerging about 1906: eight to fourteen 12” guns (11” on some German ships), over 15,000 tons. armor of 7” or greater, speed 20 knots or greater. Intended to be an all big gun ship, large numbers of 3”-6” guns were added to the ships as anti-torpedo boat defense. Turbine propulsion was introduced to battleships with this type, though many used reciprocating engines. These ships were built to use coal, and most were scrapped by the Washington treaty.
Battlecruiser: Like a dreadnought but with greater speed at the expense of reduced armor and or armament, First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher named this type. Frequently carrying fewer and or smaller guns, the British Invincible class (1908) was the first ship to carry this description. One of the rarer types of warship, used only by Britain, Germany, and Japan, only built for about 14 years.. Initially conceived as powerful scouts for a battle fleet, they also proved to be deadly cruiser killers and commerce raiders. Most examples used turbine propulsion and could make at least 25 knots, giving them a 5 knot speed advantage over contemporary battleships, and many battlecruisers could make over 30 knots. The name battlecruiser fell into political disrepute after the Battle of Jutland, and only a few examples were completed after that, many others were canceled or converted to aircraft carriers. The heavy British losses at Jutland proved be be more attributable to ammunition handling practices, than armor deficiencies, but the type had been condemned by the press, and the name was no longer fashionable. Superseded by the fast battleship which eliminated her basic weaknesses while retaining her strengths. The term is used by many authors to describe ships built after 1930, which are what I call light battleships. Germany built the difficult to classify “pocket battleships” in the 1930's and these may be considered to be the last battlecruisers.
Super Dreadnought: Second generation modern battleship, eight to twelve guns of 13.4” or greater, speed of 20 to 24 knots, displacement over 20.000 tons. The first of these was the HMS Orion class (1912), which still used coal. Liquid fuel (oil) was introduced with this type, and antiaircraft weapons were introduced. The examples that survived the treaties were later converted to fast battleships or reclassified as “slow” or “old” battleships though this was not the official terminology. In spite of being eclipsed by newer ships of much greater displacements, they remained battleships, not light battleships.
Fast Battleship: Like super dreadnought but with speed of 25 knots or greater, in WWII the speed requirement increased to to 27 knots, with many ships making over 30 knots. The first of these were the Queen Elisabeth Class (1915). Fast battleships all burned fuel oil, rather than coal. This was the final type of battleship to be built, and these ships were in production for 34 years and served longer than any other type of battleship, Most fast battleships carried very heavy antiaircraft batteries, guns ranged from 14” to 18.1” with 15” and 16” the most common sizes.
Light Battleship: Smaller guns, 11” -13", like a fast battleship, often called battlecruisers by observers, but these ships had better protection than most WWI battlecruisers. The most powerful example was the French Strasbourg with 13” guns, the 11” gun Scharnhorst was another defining example. This is a ship type including only three classes of completed ships, and includes the USN 12” gun Alaska class large cruiser, which carried more armor than some WWI dreadnoughts, though she was not as well protected as her contemporaries. This is the rarest type of battleship, with a production run of about 10 years and only six examples completed. Counted as fast battleships for statistical analysis purposes.
Coastal Defense Ship: A small but powerful armored ship, generally built for smaller navies, similar to a predreadnought battleship but smaller, similar to a cruiser in size. These ships were generally slow, short ranged and poorly equipped for operations on the open sea, but their shallow draft, heavy armor and big guns could present a serious threat to most other ships capable of operating in shallow coastal waters, and these same shallows could serve as a refuge from larger vessels like seagoing battleships and cruisers. As torpedo bombers became effective, the need for this type of vessel diminished, since they couldn't hide from enemy aircraft in the shallows, and the coast could be defended by a nation's own aircraft. They played a very minor role in the 20th century naval warfare, the few examples that saw combat primarily conducted shore bombardments and served as antiaircraft platforms. This category is a sort of catch-all for post ironclad warships that are more heavily armed and armored than a cruiser but too small to be battleships. Some predreadnoughts were also reclassified as coastal defense ships after they were obsolete as battleships. Not counted as battleships in statistical analysis.
Here are my numbers for discussion, does anyone have any comments or corrections to offer? :)
Battleship Definition: Steam powered, steel hulled ship at least 9000 tons displacement (for a few export predreadnoughts, 8000 tons, ~1% of all ships). Guns of 10" bore or larger. Heavy armor, offering protection from the guns carried. There were many types of battleships, they are:
Predreadnought: The first true battleship type, emerging in the 1870's with two to six heavy guns of 10” or greater, over 9000 tons displacement (several small export battleships were below this, but were classed as battleships), armor of 8” or greater. The typical predreadnought bristled with intermediate, secondary and tertiary gun batteries. A few early ships were built with auxiliary sails, but these ships all had steam power as their primary propulsion, and the sails were eventually removed from all of them. Most used reciprocating steam engines, only a few final examples, produced during the dreadnought era, had turbine propulsion.
Dreadnought: The first modern battleship type, emerging about 1906: eight to fourteen 12” guns (11” on some German ships), over 15,000 tons. armor of 7” or greater, speed 20 knots or greater. Intended to be an all big gun ship, large numbers of 3”-6” guns were added to the ships as anti-torpedo boat defense. Turbine propulsion was introduced to battleships with this type, though many used reciprocating engines. These ships were built to use coal, and most were scrapped by the Washington treaty.
Battlecruiser: Like a dreadnought but with greater speed at the expense of reduced armor and or armament, First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher named this type. Frequently carrying fewer and or smaller guns, the British Invincible class (1908) was the first ship to carry this description. One of the rarer types of warship, used only by Britain, Germany, and Japan, only built for about 14 years.. Initially conceived as powerful scouts for a battle fleet, they also proved to be deadly cruiser killers and commerce raiders. Most examples used turbine propulsion and could make at least 25 knots, giving them a 5 knot speed advantage over contemporary battleships, and many battlecruisers could make over 30 knots. The name battlecruiser fell into political disrepute after the Battle of Jutland, and only a few examples were completed after that, many others were canceled or converted to aircraft carriers. The heavy British losses at Jutland proved be be more attributable to ammunition handling practices, than armor deficiencies, but the type had been condemned by the press, and the name was no longer fashionable. Superseded by the fast battleship which eliminated her basic weaknesses while retaining her strengths. The term is used by many authors to describe ships built after 1930, which are what I call light battleships. Germany built the difficult to classify “pocket battleships” in the 1930's and these may be considered to be the last battlecruisers.
Super Dreadnought: Second generation modern battleship, eight to twelve guns of 13.4” or greater, speed of 20 to 24 knots, displacement over 20.000 tons. The first of these was the HMS Orion class (1912), which still used coal. Liquid fuel (oil) was introduced with this type, and antiaircraft weapons were introduced. The examples that survived the treaties were later converted to fast battleships or reclassified as “slow” or “old” battleships though this was not the official terminology. In spite of being eclipsed by newer ships of much greater displacements, they remained battleships, not light battleships.
Fast Battleship: Like super dreadnought but with speed of 25 knots or greater, in WWII the speed requirement increased to to 27 knots, with many ships making over 30 knots. The first of these were the Queen Elisabeth Class (1915). Fast battleships all burned fuel oil, rather than coal. This was the final type of battleship to be built, and these ships were in production for 34 years and served longer than any other type of battleship, Most fast battleships carried very heavy antiaircraft batteries, guns ranged from 14” to 18.1” with 15” and 16” the most common sizes.
Light Battleship: Smaller guns, 11” -13", like a fast battleship, often called battlecruisers by observers, but these ships had better protection than most WWI battlecruisers. The most powerful example was the French Strasbourg with 13” guns, the 11” gun Scharnhorst was another defining example. This is a ship type including only three classes of completed ships, and includes the USN 12” gun Alaska class large cruiser, which carried more armor than some WWI dreadnoughts, though she was not as well protected as her contemporaries. This is the rarest type of battleship, with a production run of about 10 years and only six examples completed. Counted as fast battleships for statistical analysis purposes.
Coastal Defense Ship: A small but powerful armored ship, generally built for smaller navies, similar to a predreadnought battleship but smaller, similar to a cruiser in size. These ships were generally slow, short ranged and poorly equipped for operations on the open sea, but their shallow draft, heavy armor and big guns could present a serious threat to most other ships capable of operating in shallow coastal waters, and these same shallows could serve as a refuge from larger vessels like seagoing battleships and cruisers. As torpedo bombers became effective, the need for this type of vessel diminished, since they couldn't hide from enemy aircraft in the shallows, and the coast could be defended by a nation's own aircraft. They played a very minor role in the 20th century naval warfare, the few examples that saw combat primarily conducted shore bombardments and served as antiaircraft platforms. This category is a sort of catch-all for post ironclad warships that are more heavily armed and armored than a cruiser but too small to be battleships. Some predreadnoughts were also reclassified as coastal defense ships after they were obsolete as battleships. Not counted as battleships in statistical analysis.
Here are my numbers for discussion, does anyone have any comments or corrections to offer? :)
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