Naval History Forums

I shaw the list and I am very happy to know about that. It is the perfect. They are all beautiful Dreadnought.
I like all and they are wonderful.
No doubt about that!

Yes they do have a beauty. But it is also easy to fall into the same trap as the Kaiser and Hitler, in viewing monster size warships as toys and objects to be paraded for national prestige purposes because they look good. When push comes to shove, how good are they at doing what they were supposedly built for, fighting? That is the real test.

Karl Heidenreich wrote:RF:

Hey man, when did I ever "repulsed" Repulse? Schanhorst is still in the list, but after No. 5... I still have a problem with Warspite and Royal Oak, two goodlooking vessels too.

I' m now building a 1/350 model of Repulse (Trumpeter) and found out how good looking she was.

Best regards,

Wow, please post pictures!

Most beautiful to me would be

Bismarck
Derfflinger
Hood
Tiger
Kongo as built (though still quite beautiful later as well)

There's several others but I need to consult my photos and reflect a bit more.

Some of the WW I French and Italian dreadnoughts were pretty cool looking. And yes the US WW I and between wars fleet was very beautiful. Someone mentioned 30s Idaho, absolutely a magnificent ship.

I never could see the beauty of the Iowas, or for that matter any of the triple turret arrangement BBs or BCs, except Scharnhorst class which pulled it off. The symmetry of the 2 up front, 2 in back arrangement is better visually, in my opinion.

Never though of any of them as particularly "beautiful". Impressive, powerful, and other such terms yes. In the case of Rodney though I'll go with ugly. :)

And Rodney was effective, at least against Bismarck....

I don't think any one on any of the WWII BB's would really relish a one on one match vs Rodney. Some of the newer ships might have an edge in several areas but you could expect to get hurt even if you won.

The issue of a straight Rodney vs Bismarck battle has been considered in several threads, with outcomes suggested not unfavourable to Bismarck.

Given the KM orders for the conduct of commerce war such a battle could only happen if Bismarck's speed was reduced such that Rodney could force an action.

Whilst there is clearly a risk of major damage to Bismarck, the question is of what happens if Bismarck lands the first serious blows....

Ok not beautiful like dancing girls or Victoria Falls; but really nice looking ships, with an eye for graceful lines, symmetry, etc.

We're not going to find paintings of any of these ships in the Louvre, but to those of us who appreciate them, the word 'beautiful' is not so far off.

Yes indeed - but don't lose sight of the fact they were there for a primary purpose and that wasn't to take part in a beauty contest....

Roma was not unpleasant to behold.

Greetings to all on my first post,I'm thrilled by the topics and wealth of information here. I thought this might be a good thread for my first post...
My five choices for most beautiful Dreadnought?
SMS Seydlitz
SMS Lutzow
SMS Derfflinger,(with tripod)
USS Colorado Class,as commissioned in the early 20's
HMS Tiger
I love the simplicity of warships before the clutter of aircraft,radar,and masses of AA guns. Triple turret arrangements seem to destroy their symmetry to my eye,as well.Although SMS Seydlitz lacks that symmetry,she has a grace that fascinates me,a fierce,predator look of pure function,and a five turret broadside to match.
In the WWII era,when clutter became necessary,I feel only Bismarck and Tirpitz can give the combination of function and form to catch my interest.

I'm inclined to agree.

And especially about the Seydlitz. I forgot to add to the list!

Not beautiful in the same way as Bismarck, more just a really cool looking ship, with a lean and mean appearance for sure. Seydlitz is actually my favorite warship of all time.

The SMS Koenig and IJN Mikasa are very beautiful ships. As a matter of fact I have been liking older ships ever time more.

Mdunham48 wrote: In the WWII era,when clutter became necessary,I feel only Bismarck and Tirpitz can give the combination of function and form to catch my interest.

But still not enough AA......

And welcome to the forum Mdunham48.

Possibly the wrong AA suite? Have often wondered why a dual purpose 120-150 mm was not developed for the KM.Also,the 20mm vierling mount could have been more utilized,I'm sure. Of course,in the late 30's the aircraft threat was a bit underestimated,as well as the firepower really necessary to bring down a determined attacker.
I am sure these have been addressed in other threads, which I haven't read yet,but an airburst 120mm would blow a Swordfish upside down!