Britain's army, navy, and air force were fighting over military appropriations, and the Holy Roman Empire was no exception. Outsiders did not know Rome's specifications, but Vienna Government's top officials certainly did!
Displacement: 20,100 tons
Length: 169.6 m
Beam: 26.3 m
Draft: 8.7 m
Speed: 20.5 knots
Range: 6,500 nautical miles at 10 knots
Engines: 2 geared steam turbine sets / 4 shafts
Main Boilers: 18 mixed-fuel water-tube boilers
Power: 23,000 horsepower
Armament: 6 twin 305 mm 45-caliber gun turrets (one fore and one aft, two on each broadside, arranged in a hexagon), 16 single 120 mm 45-caliber guns, 2 submerged 450 mm torpedo tubes
Armor: 255 mm belt, 76 mm deck, 230 mm barbettes, 280 mm turret fronts, 280 mm conning tower
Crew: 863 men
Compared to the traditional battleships of the past, Rome's firepower was vastly greater. In the era of big guns and giant ships, superior firepower meant superior combat strength.
Having finally gained the advantage on the track, the Admiralty naturally had no intention of letting the British overtake them again. To widen this advantage, the Admiralty proposed an ambitious rearmament plan.
Namely: within five years, build twenty-five super-battleships similar to Rome and seize maritime supremacy from the Royal Navy.
There was theoretically nothing wrong with that. Twenty-five Dreadnoughts truly could sweep aside the current Royal Navy. Even half that number would have sufficed.
The prerequisite was "current." The British were not fools; they could not possibly sit by and watch themselves be surpassed. They would certainly take corresponding measures.
The birth of the Dreadnought was not a revolutionary leap in technology so much as a breakthrough in concept.
The Holy Roman Empire did hold an advantage in emerging technological fields, but shipbuilding technology was not among them.
The Royal Navy's annual appropriations had not