BATTUE BATUM They were designed Ito the maximum standard displacement al lowed, viz., 35,o ns, and they carry 9-16" guns in triple mountings with heavily armoured gun-shields, all of them forward of the machinery, the middle mountings being at a higher level than the others. ' guns are carried as secondary armament in 6 revolving gunhuuses at the after end. The design speed is 23 knots. These ships were completed in 1927 and cost about f 6,000,000 each.
The great advance in offensive power of the "Dreadnought," combined with her increased speed, made the type so superior to previous ships that with her a new era was opened in battleship construction, and other nations immediately started to build up a new fleet of vessels of the same type. Germany in particular started on a programme of construction which continued method ically up to 1914, starting with the "Nassau" Class (4 ships), with 12-I I" and 12-5.9" guns; each succeeding class being of a size and power equal to contemporary British ships. These classes were "Helgoland" (4 ships), "Kaiser" (5 ships), "Konig" (4 ships), and "Bayern" (3 ships). The speeds were 20-21 knots in the "Nassau," "Helgoland" and "Kaiser" Classes, and knots in later ships. The guns were 12 in the "Helgoland," "Kaiser" and "Konig" Classes, the "Bayern" Class having a main armament of 8-15"; in each class the secondary armament com prised 12 to 16-5.9" guns.
The United States of America also embarked in 1906 on a building programme of battleships of the type, with the "Dela ware" Class (2 ships), with I0-12" and 14-5" guns, followed by the "Florida" (2), "Arkansas" (2), "Texas" (2) , "Nevada" (2) , "Pennsylvania" (2), "New Mexico" (3), "Tennessee" (2), and "Colorado" (3). The speed of all these ships was 21 knots. As in other navies, the power of the guns and the dimensions and displacement of the ships increased in successive classes, the length of "Delaware" being 518 ft. and displacement 20,000 tons, and of "Colorado" 624 ft. and displacement 32,600 tons, the guns being 12" in "Delaware," increased to 14" in "Texas" and 16" in "Colorado," the secondary armament being 12 or 14-5" guns.
The ships of "Colorado" Class, completed in 1921-3, embody the lessons of the World War. The calibre of the main arma ment guns was increased to 16", and two armoured decks are fitted, both thicker than those worked in previous designs. Very extensive underwater protection against torpedo attack is pro vided in the form of 5 longitudinal bulkheads on each side be tween the outer bottom and the machinery bulkheads, three of which are of thick plating. These ships, with the "Tennessee" Class and the Japanese "Mutsu," are the only battleships which embody full war experience, with the exception of the "Nelson" and "Rodney." Japan did not start building Dreadnoughts till 1909, when the "Kawachi" Class (2 ships) was started, the armament being 12-12", 10-6" and 8-4.7" guns. This class has been followed by "Yamashiro" (2), "Hyuga" (2) and "Mutsu" (2)—speeds, 21 knots in "Kawachi" and 23 knots in the later classes. The guns were also increased to 14" in "Yamashiro" and 16" in "Mutsu," the displacement increasing from 20,800 to 33,800 tons.
France started in 1911 with "Jean Bart" (4 ships), the arma ment being 12-12" and 22-5.5" guns, followed by the "Bretagne" (3) and "Normandie" (5), but the latter ships were dismantled at the conclusion of the World War. The armament of "Bre tagne" was 10-13.4" guns and 18-5.5". (W. J. B.) On June 3o, 1938, a three-power protocol was signed by Great Britain, France, and the United States raising the treaty limita tions on battleships from 35,000 to 45,000 tons. This followed Japan's adoption of a policy of secrecy as to its naval program, and unofficial reports that Japan was building three 40,00o-ton battleships. As of Nov. 15, 1938, the five larger naval powers (ex cept Japan) had 25 battleships totalling 88o,000 tons under con struction or appropriated for, according to reports from the intel ligence division of the U.S. Navy. These, all of the superdread naught type, included six U.S. battleships of 35,000 tons each; seven British totalling 259,o00 tons; France five, 33,000 tons each; Italy four, and Germany three of 35,000 tons each. Details of late types of capital ships (1937) are as follows: