Huge and expensive battleships represented the most sophisticated technology available to the Western powers. Nations competed to create the biggest and strongest fleet of such craft, especially of the 'Dreadnought' class. This maritime rivalry was one of the major causes of the First World War. It also fuelled the Second World War and the Cold War, during which nuclear submarines, rather than battleships, were the most powerful expressions of seapower. Seapower today is largely measured in the nuclear capacity of national fleets and in their ability to strike swiftly and strategically.
Fleets are smaller but carry far more fire-power than in the past.
This replica aft-torpedo compartment is virtually full scale, only the length has been forshortened by a metre. The torpedo itself has been slightly reduced in length too but everything else is full size. Although British s eapower is no longer supreme, it is still considerable. Our prosperity continues to depend on trade and the free passage of goods by sea. The Merchant Navy still plays an important defence role, providing a reserve of skilled men and seaworthy ships.