Launch of HMS Dreadnought
The launching of HMS Dreadnought - the brainchild of first sea lord John Fisher - ushered in a new phase in the escalating Anglo-German naval race. The giant turbine-powered battleship, which immediately rendered other battleships obsolete, was the prototype for naval warships until the Second World War. The German government quickly responded in kind, even widening the Kiel Canal to make room for newer, larger ships based on the Dreadnought model. During the First World War, however, the Dreadnought was involved in only one notable action: the sinking of a German submarine off the coast of Scotland in March 1915.
IWM Q 41435 (10 Feb 1906)
