Britain At Sea

Lord West looks at how a revolution in naval technology transformed ideas of warfare, contributed to the arms race and laid the foundations for victory in the First World War. During the early years of the twentieth century, one man dominated the Royal Navy. Admiral Sir 'Jacky' Fisher revitalised the Mediterranean fleet, pressed for social reform and promoted the introduction of torpedoes and submarines. And in 1904 Fisher finally achieved a lifelong ambition, becoming First Sea Lord and professional head of the Royal Navy. Now he was able to develop new technology even faster. His crowning achievement was HMS Dreadnought, a battleship so powerful that it effectively made every other warship in every other navy redundant. With Britain's navy pre-eminent, to level the playing field like this was dangerous. And it was to play a part in the pre-war arms race, but Britain's victory in that arms race would also make possible victory in the war which followed. Lord West discusses Fisher's contributions, not lea