HMS Dreadnought, 1914
HMS Dreadnought as she appeared in late 1914.
Several sets of alterations were made to the ship to prepare her for war. The first priority was to improve Dreadnought’s fire control. The awkwardly mounted amidships rangefinder, unable to look forward or aft, was removed. Director control for the main armament was fitted, with the director tower mounted over the fore control top. A rangefinder was also added on the bridge.
Additionally, the 12 pdr secondary armament—which was considered barely adequate even in 1906—was clearly incapable of engaging contemporary destroyers by 1914. The troublesome twin 12 pdr mount on the fore turret was removed, and all 12 pdr guns were removed from the superstructure save the upper pair of the forward superstructure. The 12 pdr guns mounted on the quarterdeck were replaced by four 12 pdr AA guns (capable of high elevation fire). A pair was mounted aft on deck, with the second pair flanking the aft tripod.
The area around the forward conning tower was also cleared to improve visibility from the armored tower in battle. The bridge wings were removed, and the 36 in searchlights previously mounted there were moved to platforms on the forward legs of the main tripod. The wheelhouse was also set back, with supports added to extend the navigating platform forward. The final change to her appearance was the removal of the anti-torpedo nets.
At the end of 1914, Dreadnought was relieved as flagship of the 4th BS by HMS Benbow, remaining in the 4th BS as a private ship. On Feb 18, 1915, while returning to port following exercises with the Grand Fleet, Dreadnought spotted German U-boat U29 and gave chase, despite not being equipped with any anti-submarine armament. Dreadnought rammed the submarine, cutting her in two and becoming the only battleship in history to ever sink a submarine.