The Monitor foundered in a storm later that year and the Virginia was burned at Norfolk when the Confederates had to abandon the town. The German parliament passes its first Navy Bill calling for a doubling of its fleet in seven years. The Russo-Japanese War, fought largely at sea and ending in unexpected defeat for Russia at the Battle of Tsushima. 1905-6 Construction of HMS Dreadnought , Portsmouth. 1914-18 First World War.
Submarines first prove their effectiveness in combat.
1936 Expiry of international naval treaties is followed by rearmament. 1939-45 Second World War. Air power changes the nature of war at sea, while the tried and tested convoy system again proves its worth in limiting loss of merchant ships to submarines. The USA drops two atomic bombs on Japan, ending the war in the East. 1954 Launch of USS Nautilus , the first nuclear-powered submarine.