Why I love the humanities..

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-04-12 02:23pm

For those of you in schools using the blackboard web-based system, you'll know that in your classes there's a discussion area. In my history class, there's a sub-area called "Question Box" where you can post questions and people and the professor can answer.

Well, a guy asked a rather elementary system such as, "What is the dreadnought?"

And this was a girl's answer, "The Dreadnaught was a newly designed English fighting vessel equipped with guns. It's smaller, sleeker structure allowed for better maneuverability and altered maritime combat strategies."

A newly designed vessel WITH guns this time? Did the previous battleships not have guns?

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2004-04-12 05:30pm

While she worded it incorrectly, she was basically right. It was a ship known for it's new type of large guns, and for new design and metalugical concepts, IIRC, used in the construction.

Or are we talking about another kind of dreadnaught?

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2004-04-12 05:45pm

I'm going to take this opportunity to christen a new acronym.

GIFFS

Google It For Fuck's Sake.

EmperorChrostas the Cruel · Post by **EmperorChrostas the Cruel** » 2004-04-12 05:51pm

Totaly wrong.
Prior to the HMS Dreadnaught, steam powered iron ships had a mix of small, medium and large guns. (cannons that fired exploding shells)The Dreadnaught was the first ALL big gun ship.No medium, or small guns.(waste of deck space) Machine guns are not counted, as they were not cannons. (.50 caliber or less)
Later, this was amended to include anti air guns, which are smaller than the main guns, but not intended for ship to ship action.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-04-12 07:12pm

EmperorChrostas the Cruel wrote:Totaly wrong.
Prior to the HMS Dreadnaught, steam powered iron ships had a mix of small, medium and large guns. (cannons that fired exploding shells)The Dreadnaught was the first ALL big gun ship.No medium, or small guns.(waste of deck space) Machine guns are not counted, as they were not cannons. (.50 caliber or less)
Later, this was amended to include anti air guns, which are smaller than the main guns, but not intended for ship to ship action.

That and the dreadnought was not a small ship. It displaced a hell of a lot of tonnage, more than the previous designs. It was also very heavily armored. And relied on the new devil contraption called steam turbine which gave it great speed despite it's added tonnages.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-04-12 07:33pm

I was always under the impression that dreadnaughts were very fucking large.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-04-12 07:44pm

Didn't we have some sort of referendum of shitty thread titles like this?

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-04-13 02:14am

EmperorChrostas the Cruel wrote:Totaly wrong.
Prior to the HMS Dreadnaught, steam powered iron ships had a mix of small, medium and large guns. (cannons that fired exploding shells)The Dreadnaught was the first ALL big gun ship.No medium, or small guns.(waste of deck space) Machine guns are not counted, as they were not cannons. (.50 caliber or less)
Later, this was amended to include anti air guns, which are smaller than the main guns, but not intended for ship to ship action.

Also wrong. The small guns added later were 24 12-pdrs for use against torpedo boats. Dreadnaught left service in 1922, long before aircraft posed a real threat to battleships.