there were no great innovations either in armament or armor. But
in the same year, 1911, there were launched the _Thunderer_, _Monarch_,
_Orion_, and _Conqueror_, each of 22,500 tons, and equipped with armor
from 8 to 12 inches thick, for the days of 3-inch armor on first-class
warships had gone forever. These had a speed of 21 knots, and were the
first British ships to have anything greater than a 12-inch gun. They
carried as a primary battery ten 13.5-inch guns, and sixteen 4-inch
guns, along with six more of small caliber as their secondary battery.

In 1912 and 1913 there was only one type of warship launched having
23,000 tons displacement with 31,000 horsepower, a half a knot faster
than previous dreadnoughts, and carrying, like the previous class, ten
13.5-inch guns, along with some of smaller caliber. The ships of this
class were the _King George V_, _Ajax_, _Audacious_, and _Centurion_.

The year 1914 saw even more terrible machines of death launched. Two
types were put into the water, the first that of the _Iron Duke_ class,
of which the other members were the _Benbow_, _Emperor of India_, and
_Marlborough_. They showed great improvement in every point; their speed
was 22.5 knots, their displacement 25,000 tons, and their torpedo tubes
five. Like their immediate predecessors, they carried a primary battery
of ten 13.5-inch guns, along with the smaller ones, and their armor
measured from 8 to 12 inches in thickness. The second type of the year
was that of the _Queen Elizabeth_ and _Warspite_ class. They surpassed
all the warships when they were built. Their speed for their size was
the greatest--25 knots. They had the largest displacement among
warships--27,500 tons; they had the thickest armor, ranging from 8 to
13.5 inches; they had the most improved form of engines--oil burners,
developing 58,000 horsepower; and most marvelous of all was their
primary battery, which consisted of eight 15-inch guns. The largest gun
yet made had been the 16-inch gun, for use in permanent position in land
forts, and, with the German army, for a mobile force. It now was shown
that the modern warship could carry a gun as heavy as any on land. There
were in the course of construction when the war broke out eight more
such monsters, the _Malaya, Valiant_, and _Barham_, sister ships of the
_Queen Elizabeth_, and the _Royal Oak_, _Resolution_, _Royal Monarch_,
_Ramillies_, and _Renown_, each of 29,000 tons displacement, but having
th