, _Hindustan_, _Africa_, _Hibernia_, _Zealandia_, and
_Britannia_. Speed was not sacrificed to weight, for they were given a
speed of 18.5 knots, developed by engines of 18,000 horsepower. Their
thinnest armor measured 6 inches, and their heavy guns were protected
with plates 12 inches thick. The 12-inch gun was still the heaviest
piece of armament in the British navy, and these eight ships each
carried four of that measurement, as well as four 9.2-inch guns, ten
6-inch guns, fourteen rapid-fire guns of 3 inches, two machine guns, and
four torpedo tubes.

Now that it was seen that ships of enormous displacement could also be
swift, England committed herself to the building of ships of even
greater size. In 1907 came the first of the modern dreadnoughts,
so-called from the name which was given to the original ship of 17,900
tons displacement. The _Dreadnought_ made the marvelous speed (for a
ship of that size) of 21 knots, which she was enabled to do with turbine
engines of 23,000 horsepower. Her armor measured from 8 to 11 inches in
thickness, and her great size enabled her to carry as high as ten
12-inch guns. Her minor batteries were strong in proportion.

Then, as if taking her breath after a stupendous effort, England in the
following year built two ships of 16,000 tons displacement, the _Lord
Nelson_ and the _Agamemnon_, with speed, armor, and armament much lower
than those of the _Dreadnought_. But having taken a rest, Britain was
again to make a great effort, launching in 1909 the _Temeraire_,
_Superb_, and _Bellerophon_, monsters displacing 18,600 tons. With
engines of 23,000 horsepower that could drive them through the seas at
21 knots, ready to ward off blows with armor from 8 to 11 inches thick,
firing at the same time volleys from ten 12-inch guns down to sixteen
4-inch rapid firers.

Naval architecture had now taken a definite turn, the principal feature
of which was the tremendous size of the destructive floating machines.
England, a leader in this sort of building, in 1910 built the
_Vanguard_, _Collingwood_, and _St. Vincent_, each displacing 19,250
tons. Nor were they lacking in speed, for they made, on an average, 21
knots. The 20,000-ton battleship was then a matter of months only, and
it came in the following year, when the _Colossus_, _Hercules_, and
_Neptune_ were launched. It was only in the matter of displacement that
these three ships showed any difference from those of the _Vanguard_
class;