This table lists all battleships throughout history, from approximately 1399 onward.
There are always ships which don't fit neatly into the categories of "battleship", "cruiser" etc.
The lists will include all galleons, carracks, ships of the line, turret/barbette ships, pre-dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts, pocket battleships and coastal battleships.
For over 500 years battleships were the main instrument of naval warfare, particularly in Europe where they allowed nations such as the Netherlands, Spain, and particularly Britain, to create and maintain trade empires.
The main battleship nations during this period were Britain, France and Russia, plus newcomers Germany, Austria and Italy, while Turkey and Spain built small numbers of armored frigates and cruisers, and Sweden and the Netherlands built smaller "coastal battleships" of up to 5,000 tons.
Battleships had also played a major role in the Battle of Cape Matapan, 27-29 March 1941, when three Italian heavy cruisers were surpised and overwhelmed by a British battleship force near Crete.
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