The British Battle Fleet

The British Battle Fleet traces Britain's rise as a naval power through a series of daring warship experiments, from the Barnaby Era's faith in offensive strength to the revolutionary leap that produced Dreadnought. Along the way, Fred T. Jane dissects the Inflexible, a colossal and contradictory battleship of immense armor, massive muzzle-loading guns, torpedo tubes, anti-rolling gear, and an awkward rig, then follows her into action at Alexandria, where her symbolic importance outweighed her actual damage. The book widens to survey wartime purchases and foreign-inspired designs such as Neptune, Superb, Belleisle, Orion, Téméraire, Ajax, Agamemnon, Colossus, Edinburgh, Conqueror, and Hero, showing how British builders wrestled with firepower, protection, speed, and the decline of the masted battleship. It also explores experimental craft like the semi-submerged Polyphemus and the armored cruisers Shannon, Nelson, Northampton, Comus, Imperieuse, and Warspite. Through technical detail and sharp comparison, Jane argues that naval supremacy depends on design logic, tactics, and the ability to make ships fight as intended. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.