During 1905 Admiral Sir John A. Fisher designed the first all-big- gun warship, the H.M.S  Dreadnought, which gave its name to the modern battleship.   When launched in 1906,  Dreadnought  made all other battleships immediately obsolete.  The armament of ten 12-inch, long-range guns meant that the Dreadnought could sink its foes from a greater range and with a heavier weight of metal, but only if accurately aimed.  

In 1912 Sir Percy Scott introduced director firing to the Royal Navy. This system allowed a single officer, high above the smoke-shrouded decks, to fire all the guns on the ship electrically. Using  salvo firing, a battleship could demolish any ship with shorter range guns.

Although early dreadnoughts and battle cruisers burned coal, the advantages of oil for speed and efficiency soon mandated oil-burning designs and conversion of older coal burners.   In the shipyards, all Dreadnoughts and Battle Cruisers require oil, not coal.