Portal:Battleships

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Introduction

The firepower of a battleship demonstrated by USS Iowa (c. 1984). The muzzle blasts distort the ocean surface.

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the battleship was the most powerful type of warship, and a fleet of battleships was considered vital for any nation that desired to maintain command of the sea.

The term battleship came into formal use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ironclad warship, now referred to by historians as pre-dreadnought battleships. In 1906, the commissioning of HMS Dreadnought heralded a revolution in battleship design. Subsequent battleship designs, influenced by HMS Dreadnought, were referred to as "dreadnoughts", though the term eventually became obsolete as they became the only type of battleship in common use.

Battleships were a symbol of naval dominance and national might, and for decades the battleship was a major factor in both diplomacy and military strategy. A global arms race in battleship construction began in Europe in the 1890s and culminated at the decisive Battle of Tsushima in 1905, the outcome of which significantly influenced the design of HMS Dreadnought. The launch of Dreadnought in 1906 commenced a new naval arms race. Three major fleet actions between steel battleships took place: the decisive battles of the Yellow Sea (1904) and Tsushima (1905) during the Russo-Japanese War, and the inconclusive Battle of Jutland (1916) during the First World War. Jutland was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war, and it was the last major battle fought primarily by battleships in world history.

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photograph of Australia's A turret, as taken on December 1918.

HMAS Australia was a Indefatigable-class battlecruiser, and the only capital ship of the Royal Australian Navy. Commissioned on 21 June 1913 as her namesake's flagship, she was tasked at the outbreak of World War I to destroy the German East Asia Squadron, and once withdrawn, supported the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force fighting in German New Guinea. After the threat in the Pacific ended, she transferred to the Atlantic, briefly serving as the flagship of the West Indies Squadron, participating in North Sea operations, the flagship of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron. After colliding twice with HMS New Zealand near Horns Rev in mid-1916, she missed the Battle of Jutland while in repair, and spent the remainder of the war on patrols, though personnel were lent for the Zeebrugge Raid, a 12 December collision with HMS Repulse and pioneered RAN aviation when she launched a Sopwith Pup while undergoing repairs. Post-armistice, she guarded Scapa Flow, leaving just before the German fleet interned there was scuttled, and a brief but non-violent mutiny on 1 June resulted in scandal that cost a sailor his nomination for the Victoria Cross. Though she made further advancements in creating the Fleet Air Arm, Australia's role was unclear, and relegated as a training ship in 1920. Due to her expense, obsolescence, and the fact that Australian ships counted against the Royal Navy in the Washington Naval Treaty's arms limitations, she was scuttled on 12 April 1921.

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color post featuring Doris Miller in dress uniform wearing his Navy Cross.

Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was the first African American awarded the Navy Cross. Born in Waco, Texas, he was a noted football player in high school and farmer until he enlisted in the United States Navy in September 1939. After training at Naval Station Norfolk, he was assigned to USS Pyro as a mess attendant until he transferred to on USS West Virginia January 2, 1940. Becoming the ship's heavyweight boxing champion, he also was temporarily assigned to USS Nevada in early 1941.

On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Miller was performing laundry when general quarters was sounded, and his was destroyed by the time he arrived. Ordered to help move the wounded, he attempted to evacuate Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, though the latter refused and died at his post on the bridge. After being ordered to carry ammunition for anti-aircraft guns, he found an unmanned Browning .50-caliber. Having no training in operating any of the ship's weaponry, he took control and began firing on the attacking Japanese aircraft until his ammunition was depleted. Though West Virginia eventually susutained enough damage to bottom in the harbor, Miller was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz on May 27, 1942 aboard USS Enterprise. Promoted Mess Attendant First Class, he began a war bond tour while attached to USS Indianapolis, transferred to Puget Sound Navy Yard on May 15, 1943, then promoted again to Petty Officer, Officer’s Cook Third Class on June 1 and transferred to USS Liscome Bay. After the Battle of Tarawa, the Liscome Bay was sunk on November 24, and Miller was listed as missing in action until declared dead on November 25, 1944.

Miller has numerous things named in his honor, including USS Miller, a Knox-class frigate, and numerous buildings in Texas.

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Brazil's Minas Geraes fires a full ten-gun broadside to port during her firing trials. A 1910 article in Scientific American commented that it was "the greatest broadside ever fired from a battleship." Minas Geraes participated in many revolts throughout her career, both on the side of rebels and the government. After Brazil's entrance into the Second World War, she was regulated to harbor defense, as the battleship was too old to play an active part in the war. Minas Geraes was towed to Italy for scrapping in 1954 after having been in service for over forty years.
Credit: Brazilian Navy photo, from "The Brazilian Battleship "Minas Geraes"." Scientific American 102 (19 March 1910): 240. ISSN 0036-8733.

Brazil's Minas Geraes fires a full ten-gun broadside to port during her firing trials. A 1910 article in Scientific American commented that it was "the greatest broadside ever fired from a battleship." Minas Geraes participated in many revolts throughout her career, both on the side of rebels and the government. After Brazil's entrance into the Second World War, she was regulated to harbor defense, as the battleship was too old to play an active part in the war. Minas Geraes was towed to Italy for scrapping in 1954 after having been in service for over forty years.

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Operation Majestic Titan is the code name for a long-term Wikipedian project with two primary objectives, the first of which is to create the single largest featured topic on Wikipedia, centered around the battleships considered, planned, built, operated, canceled, or otherwise recorded. There are probably a few hundred articles of this nature which will be included, from the earliest pre-dreadnoughts to the last of the dreadnoughts. Once all articles are featured this project will reorient to ensuring that the articles remain up to standard. If you're interested, please view the project page to familiarize yourself with the guidelines, and simply pick an article to improve! There is also ongoing discussion you can participate in.

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