ABSTRACT

Joseph Moretz's innovative work focuses on what battleships actually did in the inter-war years and what its designed war role in fact was. In doing so, the book tells us much about British naval policy and planning of the time. Drawing heavily on official Admiralty records and private papers of leading officers, the author examines the navy's operational experience and the evolution of its tactical doctrine during the interwar period. He argues that operational experience, combined with assumptions about the nature of a future naval war, were more important in keeping the battleship afloat than conservatism in Navy.

chapter 1|31 pages

The Experience of the Late War

chapter 4|55 pages

The Evolution of the Capital Ship

chapter 5|29 pages

British Interwar Naval Strategy

chapter 7|41 pages

The Development of Battlefleet Tactics

chapter 8|4 pages

Reconsideration