“In view of the mobility of modern torpedo craft, and considering the special chances of torpedo attack toward the end of the action, it was considered necessary to separate the anti-torpedo boat guns as widely as possible from one another, so that the whole of them should not be disabled by one or two heavy shells. This consideration led the committee to recommend the numerous and yet widely distributed armament of 12-pounder quick-firing guns of a new design and greater power than those hitherto carried for use against torpedo craft. In order to give the ship sea-going qualities and to increase the command of her forward guns a forecastle is provided giving the ship a freeboard forward of 28 feet, a higher freeboard than has been given to any modern battleship. The main armoured belt has a maximum thickness of 11 inches, tapering to 6 inches at the forward and 4 inches at the after extremity of the vessel; the redoubt armour varies in thickness from 11 inches to 8 inches; the turrets and fore conning tower are 11 inches thick, and the after conning tower is 8 inches thick. The protective deck varies from 1¾ inches to 2¾ inches in thickness. Special attention has been given to safeguarding the ship from destruction by under-water explosion. All the main transverse bulkheads below the main deck--which will be 9 feet above the water-line--are unpierced except for the purpose of leading pipes or wires conveying power. Lifts and other special arrangements are provided and give access to various compartments. Mobility of force is of prime necessity in war. The greater the mobility the greater the chance of obtaining a strategic advantage. This mobility is represented by speed and fuel endurance. Superior speed also gives the power of choosing the range. To gain this advantage the speed designed for the _Dreadnought_ is twenty-one knots.”