ABSTRACT
The sailing battleship was the linchpin of an entire way of life, an existence so stable that it seemed virtually immutable. The dreadnought battleship is a particularly appropriate candidate to be studied in that light, for its capabilities as an engine of destruction were far exceeded by its appeal. One day in the spring of 1921 a battleship surrendered to the American Navy by the vanquished German High Seas Fleet swung placidly at anchor in the middle of Chesapeake Bay. For beneath the metallic flanks of that and every modern battleship beat the heart of a sailing ship-of-the-line. The battleship concept was an exercise in tunnel vision. In fact, the possible applications of technology to naval warfare were far broader than those defined by the simple interaction of big guns, armor plate, and steam propulsion, so in wartime the fate of the battleship would be that of tactical underachiever and victim.
