Naval Innovations between the Period of World War I and World War II - Essay Example

NAVAL HISTORY Similarities between Naval Innovations between the United s and Great Britain between the Period of World War I and World War II During World War I and World War II, many countries focused on constructions of sophisticated weapons in order to improve their chances of becoming victorious in the war. However, it occurred that a significant number of the weapons that were used exhibited a high level of similarity. Taking into consideration the United States and the Great Britain with regard to the use of Naval Weapons, the two countries had significant similarities on their Naval Innovations if not many. The first similarity is that, both the United States and the Great Britain applied the use of large Battleships. The Great Britain in a competition to match German Naval Power, constructed large battleship referred as HMS Dreadnoughts; this battleship was the dominant naval technology in the 20th century. People had a strong impression on this ship and many countries, specifically Germans were uneasy with British dominancy on Naval Space.1 The United States also constructed a more sophisticated Battleship referred as the HMS Agamemnon; this ship was constructed under President Roosevelt’s regime in the early 1902. The HMS Agamemnon was characterized by high-firing gun caliber. Before construction of the Agamemnon, the United States of America had also constructed HMS Dreadnoughts. Another similarity in relation to naval innovation between in the United States of America and the Great Britain was exhibited in the manner by, which the battleships were constructed. The HMS Dreadnoughts constructed by the United States of America and that constructed by the British, were fitted with Long Range Gunnery, however, they could only fire within a short period of time. The Idea of the fitting HMS Dreadnoughts with Long Range Gunneries was emulated by the United States in 1903, after the Yalu River Battle with Japanese: These long range gunneries were referred as Torpedoes. Similarly, the British Navy also saw the need to engage their opponent from long ranges of approximately 6000ft when using HMS Dreadnoughts. 2 Additionally, the use of Sub-Marines was an idea that was emulated by the United States as well as the Great Britain in the First and the Second World War. The use submarines to undertake naval warfare in the early 1900’s was perceived as a crude approach towards war both in the United States and the Great Britain. However, submarine as a naval technology was also subject to change and improvement and both the nations emulated the use of different classes of submarines i.e. the United States used the U-class models among other models, while the United States began by using the K-class models.3 Differences between Naval Innovations of the United States and Great Britain between the Period of World War I and World War II In as much as the two countries exhibited a significant number of similarities on their naval innovation between the period of World War I and World II, historical documentation has also show quite a number of differences that were occurred on these innovations. The first difference that existed with regard to naval innovations of the US and the Great Britain between the period of World War I and World War II was evident in the construction of battleships: While the Great Britain, considered a pioneer in constructing the HMS Dreadnoughts, their mode of developing battleship guns appeared different from those of the United States. That is, the Great Britain majorly focused on developing battleships fitted with gun of shorter firing power. On the other hand, the United States constructed battleships, the HMS Agamemnon, characterized by long range firing power machines. 4 Additionally, both the nations emulated the use of submarines in their naval warfare, however, it imperative to note that the United States began using submarines years later after the Great Britain had already launched a sophisticated class of submarine. Specifically, the technologies that were used by the Great Britain and the United States on their submarines were also different. The British Navy used the sophisticated submarine known as the U-Class; on the other hand, the United States began with a less sophisticated class of submarine referred as the K-class, but later improved their submarine technology to other more sophisticated classes such as, the S-class, the R-class. Historical records show that the United States used most of their sophisticated submarines in the Second World War. 5 While the United States focused on development of different classes of submarines i.e. the USS-class, the R and the S classes, salmon-class, Sargo-class among other during the period leading to the Second World War, the Great Britain focused on modifying the U-class submarine, categorizing it into different sub-classes such as: The HMS Unity, the HMS Udine, the Ursula among others. 6 The Dichotomy of the Naval Technologies of the US and Great Britain Both the United States and the Great Britain used submarines and battleships in the period between the First and the Second World War. However, it is apparent that there were significant differences in the technologies used on these battleships and submarines for example; the Great Britain focused on modifying the HMS series and the U-class submarines into more sophisticated sub-classes, while the United States focused on developing new and more sophisticated submarines rather than modifying the existing ones. The development of the battleships between the two countries also exhibited a high sense of difference, with the United States developing the HMS Agamemnon, fitted with high firing power, while the Great Britain focused on modifying the HMS dreadnoughts. The major cause of these different dimensions of modification was triggered by the desire to appear superior in relation to weaponry among the major countries. Additionally, availability of resource i.e. financial resources was a major contributing factor towards advancement in naval technology. 7 In relation to the similarities between the naval technologies used by the United States and the Great Britain between World War I and World War II, it is apparent that much technical knowledge emerging from research and innovation is a factor shared by the two periods. The current naval technologies are subject to tremendous changes majorly due to innovation and availability of resources. This is also similar to the naval technologies that were used between First and Second World Wars by the two countries; each country focused on improving its naval technology, driven by the desire to appear superior, availability of resources as well as research and innovation. Bibliography Brien, Phillips Payson. Technology and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013. Friedman, Norman. Naval Firepower Battleship Guns and Gunnery in the Dreadnought Era.. Havertown: Seaforth Publishing, 2013. Lambert, Andrew D.. Naval history 1850-present. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Read More