![]() The period of trial and error which marked the ironclad era ushered in a more scientific style of naval architecture. Under his guidance the mastless battleships of the 1880s gave way to an altogether more elegant type of capital ship. In Britain, this period was dominated by Sir William White, the Navy's Chief Constructor. The ugly ducklings of the ironclad era had been transformed into beautiful swans, albeit deadly ones. ![]() These mighty warships represented the cutting edge of naval technology. ![]() However, until then, they were simply called battleships and were unquestionably the most powerful warships of their day. At that moment these once great warships were rendered obsolete. The term pre-dreadnought was applied in retrospect to describe the capital ships built during the decade and a half before the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world, and embodied one of the key periods in warship development - the development of the dreadnought battleship.
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