Takom Bismarck secondary turret

[Tim Marlow]

It was a matter of policy at that time that the British navy was expected to be as big, or bigger, than the next two biggest navies in the world. It was a strategic requirement because 20% of all naval trade in the world, on the eve of war in 1914, was British. Simply can’t imagine the economic power that generated these days.

[Steve-the-Duck]

It was a matter of policy at that time that the British navy was expected to be as big, or bigger, than the next two biggest navies in the world. It was a strategic requirement because 20% of all naval trade in the world, on the eve of war in 1914, was British. Simply can’t imagine the economic power that generated these days.

Which is also why, from the late Victorian era, nigh on two-thirds of RN vessels were cruisers of all types, for Imperial trade protection
And then along came torpedo boat destroyers

Ostensibly, into the dreadnought era, secondaries like this are meant to take on the smaller vessels like destroyers
But then, you all knew that