The Battleships: Before the nuclear bomb no weapon on earth had evoked so much fear veneration and passion as the battleship. In destructive power it had no equal. Produced for Channel 4 The Battleships in four epic programmes unveils the dramatic saga of power international politics and one-upmanship that led to the titanic wars of the twentieth century. It is a story involving rulers warlords and admirals who all became intoxicated by the grandeur majesty and sheer power of these floating fortresses.Enriched with eyewitness accounts and contributions from naval experts around the globe the series explores the rapid evolution of firepower and battleship design from canvas to steam timber to steel muzzle-loading cannon to 18-inch guns and beyond to rocket launchers and missiles. As the spearhead of colonial expansion and in defence of the great empires the battleship reigned supreme. In the decade leading up to World War I Britain and Germany became embroiled in an unprecedented arms race for domination of the seas.It was a period when the battleship reigned supreme a reign however that could not keep pace with the technological advancements taking place that would effect the way wars would be fought in the future. In the face of submarines and air warfare the battleship would have a real fight on its hands to survive as the ultimate weapon of naval warfare. Destruction by aerial bombing and torpedo attacks during World War II became turning points in the story of the battleship. With the major powers rethinking their arsenals only the four US Iowa Class battleships would survive to play a significant role in the wars of the latter part of the twentieth century. -- A Thirst for Blood and IronFor centuries in the era of sail the wind and the elements were dominant factors in war at sea. Even Admiral Nelsons brilliant defeat of the French at the Battle of Trafalgar was seen as more a mark of the man than of Britains fleet of wooden sailing ships. When the industrial revolution ushered in the era of steam propulsion the British naval establishment resisted change fearing it would make its massive fleet of wooden sailing men-of-war obsolete overnight. The French with less to lose embraced the new technology and produced the worlds first armour plated ironclad GLOIRE. Britain forced to follow replied with two revolutionary iron hulled steam powered fighting ships WARRIOR and BLACK PRINCE.On the other side of the Atlantic the American Civil War tested a brazen new weapon the turret gun. Its success plus the rapid development of naval guns steam technology and the use of steel armour plate and steel for hull construction changed the entire concept of designing and building all future ships-of-war.The late 19th century saw bold new fleets emerge those of Italy the United States Russia and Japan. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 gave Japan its first major naval victory in the Battle of Tsushima making its emergence as a powerful maritime nation.By the turn of the century it was Germany that Britain had to fear. Kaiser Wilhelm II deliberately set about building a navy that could rival Britain for supremacy of the seas. The British countered introducing a stunning new design HMS DREADNOUGHT the largest fastest and deadliest battleship ever created. Rather than quell the opposition DREADNOUGHT started an arms race of global proportions a race that would finally contribute to the outbreak of the war to end all wars World War I.

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Documentary, History, War