The concept of a line of battle ship is really old -depends maybe on how you define weaponry. There were big ships with slingshots and trebuchets in ancient times. The first one matching the modern type was HMS Dreadnought in 1905, and the last was HMS Vanguard in 1945.
Development was really about deterrence more than anything, but then the planes came.
As for accuracy, the record for a hit at longest range is shared by Warspite and Scharnhorst, both hitting a target at 15 miles, also while steaming at high speed.
![[OC] Projectile ring for ammunition inside the 16 inch main gun of the USS North Carolina](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b54e0d3c-047a-4cd3-b73f-aaaff9c09feb.jpeg){kind=link}
The concept of a line of battle ship is really old -depends maybe on how you define weaponry. There were big ships with slingshots and trebuchets in ancient times. The first one matching the modern type was HMS Dreadnought in 1905, and the last was HMS Vanguard in 1945.
Development was really about deterrence more than anything, but then the planes came.
As for accuracy, the record for a hit at longest range is shared by Warspite and Scharnhorst, both hitting a target at 15 miles, also while steaming at high speed.