Dreadnought Battleships Part 1:Europe Quiz

Answer: Great Britain 1906

HMS Dreadnought was built very quickly and was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1906. At once, all of the other battleships in the world were rendered obsolete, as Dreadnought was faster and better armed than anything else afloat. This began an arms race among all the major naval powers of the world. She served throughout World War I and was scrapped in 1921.

Answer: Nassau class

There were four ships built in the Nassau class: Nassau, Posen, Rheinland, and Westfalen. All four ships were completed in 1910 and served in World War I. The ships were surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war, but were scrapped in 1924 due to their age.

Answer: Courbet class

The first dreadnoughts built for France were the four ships of the Courbet class, all of which were completed in 1914. Courbet was sunk as a breakwater during the Normandy landings in June 1944. France was wrecked in Quiberon Bay in 1922. Paris served in both World Wars and was scrapped in 1956. Jean Bart was converted into training ship in 1934 and renamed Ocean in 1937, before being scrapped in 1945.

Answer: Gangut class

The Russian Gangut class had some of the strangest careers of any dreadnoughts ever built. They were the first ships to have triple rather than double gun turrets, an innovation later utilized by almost all other navies. Serving in World War I mostly in a shore bombardment role, they were captured by various sides during the Russian Civil War, including Russia's former allies, renamed, and lasted through World War II. The four ships were Gangut, Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol, and Poltava. All four were completed in 1911 and scrapped in the 1950s.

Answer: Dante Alighieri

The first Italian dreadnought was Dante Alighieri, named for the famous Italian writer. She was completed in 1913. She spent World War I escorting Allied convoys and keeping the Austro-Hungarian fleet from breaking out into the Mediterranean. She was scrapped in 1928.

Answer: Tegetthoff class

The four ships of the Tegetthoff class - Tegetthoff, Virubis Unitus, Prinz Eugen and Szent Istvan - spent the World War I years performing shore bombardments along the Italian coast and being laid up in port due to internal problems in the Empire. Tegetthoff was scrapped in 1924, Prinz Eugen was allocated to France as part of the peace treaty and was sunk as a target in 1922. Both Szent Istvan and Viribis Unitus were sunk during the war.

Answer: Germany

The Ottoman navy had contracted with British yards for several dreadnoughts, and had arranged to purchase a ship being built for Brazil. At the outbreak of World War I, however, these ships were seized and entered service in the British Royal Navy. A German battlecruiser, the Goeben, entered Turkish waters to escape from Allied ships and "joined " the Ottoman navy.

She was renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and was only scrapped in 1973.

Answer: Espana class

The three Espana class ships were named Espana, Alfonso XIII, and Jaime I. Espana ran aground in 1923 off the North African coast, and finally sank in a storm in 1924.Alfonso XIII was renamed Espana in 1931 and sank after striking a mine in1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Jaime I suffered an internal explosion and sank in 1937.

Answer: None

Greece, while looking to maintain a naval balance with her hereditary enemy, the Ottoman Empire, also lacked the technology to build their own dreadnoughts. They had contracted for at least one ship from Germany, but with the outbreak of World War I, the ship was cancelled. Greece did purchase two pre-dreadnoughts from the USA, Idaho and Mississippi, and renamed the Lemnos and Kilkis. Both were sunk by German bombers in World War II.

Answer: No

The Netherlands had a substantial colonial empire in the early 20th century, and had what was thought to be an adequate navy to guard it until the dreadnought era began. After much debate, it was decided that the new ships were too expensive for the Dutch economy and none were ever laid down.