The Naval Revolution: Triumph and Disaster
Dan Snow's History Hit

The Naval Revolution: Triumph and Disaster

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 10, 202636 min
  • Interview
  • History

A deafening impact, a shattered destroyer, and a legacy that completely revolutionised warfare at sea. When HMS Tiger sank beneath the waves one dark night in 1908, over half of her crew were lost to the depths, and the nation went into mourning. But this was more than a tragic, peacetime accident. It was a warning that the age of steam, steel and speed had transformed warfare faster than navies could adapt. And the sinking of HMS Tiger revealed the hidden dangers and profound upheavals of this naval revolution. Today we're joined by expert...

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The night is almost completely black. Somewhere off the southern coast of the Isle of Wight,

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navigation light has been extinguished. The hulking battleships and cruisers are little

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0:30

The night is almost completely black. Somewhere off the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, the ships of the Royal Navy's home fleet are moving silently through the darkness. Every navigation light has been extinguished. The hulking battleships and cruisers are little more than shadows on the water. Their presence betrayed perhaps by the faint glow, the churn

1:05

of their propellers leaving behind the speck of foamy water and the sound of the deep rhythmic beat of the steam engines propelling those thousands of tons of steel through the night. This isn't a war, but it's meant to feel as close to one as possible. Hidden somewhere Ahead are the attackers, a handful of fast-agile torpedo boat destroyers.

1:33

Their task is to launch one of the newest and most terrifying weapons of war at sea. They're going to slip through the fleet screen, evade detection, and launch a simulated torpedo attack, and then try and escape before the heavy ships can respond. It's a dangerous game of cat and mouse, played at speed, in darkness, with almost

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