The period from 1860 to 1905 was one of remarkable technical development in ship design. In this book, David Brown brings his knowledge and experience as a warship designer to the story of the transformation of capital ships from the fully-rigged broadside ironclads of the mid-nineteenth century to the turbine-powered Dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers of World War I.

Includes index.

Broadside batteries -- Edward Reed and the centre battery ships -- Turrets and capsize -- 'The Ship is a Steam Being' -- Steel for ships, armour, engines and guns -- The 'Admirals' -- Cruisers and small craft -- White and the Royal Sovereigns -- A majestic fleet, 1893-1904 -- Proved in battle -- Dreadnought, a ship whose time had come -- The achievement.