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In front of the forward gun turrets and aft of the stern gun turrets, a transverse armoured bulkhead ran athwartships, right across the ship from one side of the hull to the other. This transverse armour bulkhead connected the ends of the vertical main armour belts on both sides of the ship to form the rectangular framework of the citadel.

The deck over the smaller rapid fire casemate guns that lined either side of the beam of a dreadnought was armoured, and there was a further horizontal armour deck deep within the ship, designed to protect the machinery and magazines at the very bottom of the ship. In all, some 35–40 per cent of the weight of a battleship was made up of armour.

When the first generations of dreadnoughts were developed, the less powerful guns of the day fired in a relatively flat trajectory from relatively close range. Until 1905, normal battle range for capital ships was about 6,000 yards (3–4 miles) with long-range engagements perhaps out to 10,000 yards, or 6 miles. At both these ranges, the shell of a high-velocity gun would strike its target’s side. For this reason, a capital ship’s armour was concentrated on its vertical main belt along the hull side at the waterline and designed to protect the ship’s vital areas, such as magazines, boilers and turbines.