The battleship - The Picture Encyclopedia of Cultural Images

The battleship - The Picture Encyclopedia of Cultural Images

Battleship had been the name of the biggest and most powerful warships between the 15th and the 20th century. The name “battleship” came from the “line of battle” tactic which was developed as part of naval battle tactics in the 17th century. In this tactic, as the name indicates, the ships followed each other in a straight line, showing one side to the enemy and firing at it one by one. The heavy vessels taking part in this maneuver were named “line of battle” ships, which eventually shortened to battleship.

Throughout the centuries to follow, the “battleship” denomination included various classes of ships, depending on what was the heaviest and most capable sea craft of the age. At first, battleships were different kinds of wooden ships with heavy weaponry, such as the galleons and carracks of the 16th century, and “ships of the line” in the 17th and 18th centuries.

As weapons and shipbuilding evolved, battleships became more and more like the warships of today. In the second half of the 19th century, an arms race started all over the world, which included experiments with a new type of ship, the ironclad. Generally, an ironclad ship was a vessel reinforced with metal armor. Some nations, such as the French, built their ironclad battleships by reinforcing a wood structure with plate, while others, like the British, started out with battleships made of metal.

In the early 20th century, the evolution of battleships reached its peak with the invention of different turrets that were more powerful than any other ship-mounted weapon in the previous centuries. Battleships, now made fully of metal, became instruments not only in naval battles, but coastal bombardment, often supporting the infantry on the field of battle.

World War II brought a significant change to naval battle tactics. The newly introduced aircraft carriers superseded the classical battleships with long-range bombers and a more significant firepower. In modern warfare, battleships are not as decisive in close combat as they used to be; instead, they often carry missiles and other weapons to compliment and support aircraft carriers.

Picture 1: Battleship