Germany launches first Dreadnaught

[Thucydides]

It says on Wikipedia (obviously not very reputable) that Wilhelm II had been advocating a "fast warship armed with only heavy guns since the 1890s." What would have happened if he had convinced the German navy to build an all big-gun battleship in say 1895.

 

[RamscoopRaider]

Britain would have built at least two of an even bigger design to remind him who was boss

 

[Deleted member 9338]

For starters an entire generation of pre Dreadnoughts would not have been built. Also there will be a name change for these new warships.

I can see the arms race starts in 1895/6. But I think the arms race would have been slower as I do not think Germay had the sustainable building capacity at this time.

Overall no major changes from The OTL.

 

[RamscoopRaider]

Well Spain may get stomped worse as the US has the capacity to build dreadnoughts and will want some.

Tsushima or equivalent will be interesting, as the Japanese will probably buy British built Dreadnoughts, maybe the Russians have a few of their own

French Navy gets less screwed this TL, does not waste money building what was it 10 pre Dreadnoughts post 1905

USN gets parity with the RN sooner

 

[David S Poepoe]

Britain would have built at least two of an even bigger design to remind him who was boss

True the German warships would mount 11in guns while the British would mount 12in guns. But the British would still top everyone with the turbine.

 

[KyleB]

The first British dreadnoughts will have Harvey armor while the German dreadnoughts will not. So the first generation of the Kaiser's dreadnought battlewagons will be outclassed by the first generation of British ones.

 

[David S Poepoe]

USN gets parity with the RN sooner

That wouldn't necessarily happen since Congress at the time kept the navy on a very tight budget. What is most likely to happen would be a few 'stunted' all big gun battleships since Congress keeps the tonnage down.

 

[RamscoopRaider]

That wouldn't necessarily happen since Congress at the time kept the navy on a very tight budget. What is most likely to happen would be a few 'stunted' all big gun battleships since Congress keeps the tonnage down.

Definitely true but when the US navy starts building for real post 1901 it will be all Dreadnoughts

 

[Thucydides]

That wouldn't necessarily happen since Congress at the time kept the navy on a very tight budget. What is most likely to happen would be a few 'stunted' all big gun battleships since Congress keeps the tonnage down.

Well that sort of happened IOTL. The South Carolina class battleships were designed as all big gun ships and were ordered before the Dreadnought but they only got commissioned in 1908 I believe. So you might see more of these sorts of building programs.

 

[David S Poepoe]

Definitely true but when the US navy starts building for real post 1901 it will be all Dreadnoughts

Which everybody else it building (with the exception of the French probably), but that doesn't mean that the US will begin challenging Britain.

 

[Tizoc]

The first British dreadnoughts will have Harvey armor while the German dreadnoughts will not.

The German ones will have Krupp armor, so...

So the first generation of the Kaiser's dreadnought battlewagons will be outclassed by the first generation of British ones.

...they won't be. At least when it comes to armor. Royal Navy battleships may have better FCO and be more seaworthy, also possibly better designed.

Another thing: turrets will be less likely to be in superfiring, single line set up, and diagonal and hexagonal schemes being more popular.

 

[RamscoopRaider]

Which everybody else it building (with the exception of the French probably), but that doesn't mean that the US will begin challenging Britain.

Again true, I just figured that the US was more likely to achieve parity with the RN a year or two earlier than OTL

 

[Anderman]

It says on Wikipedia (obviously not very reputable) that Wilhelm II had been advocating a "fast warship armed with only heavy guns since the 1890s." What would have happened if he had convinced the German navy to build an all big-gun battleship in say 1895.

It is not unrealistic because Cuniberti wrote an Article about his Monocalibre ship in the 1900 in the German magazine Marine-Rundschau. 3 years before the 1903 in Janes.

 

[David S Poepoe]

Another thing: turrets will be less like to be in superfiring, single line set up, and diagonal and hexagonal schemes being more popular.

If the US Congress had eased up on limiting tonnage for US Battleships the USS South Carolina class would have been the only all-big-gun battleship with eight 12in guns in a hexagonal layout with two twin turrets on the centerline and four single turrets on the corners. One could guess that superfiring turrets would have probably been delayed a few years.