This is for all you predreadnought fans out there. The time before February 10, 1906 was a fascinating period of technological development and experimentation. It saw the introduction of modern armor, guns, and torpedoes. Yet it was also a period of stagnation, where ship size only increased slowly, and primary armaments quickly settled upon two twin turrets with large-caliber guns. Naval engagements migrated from hundreds of yards up to thousands of yards, up to ten thousand yards. Ships grew from 10,000 tons (or less) up to a massive 16,000 tons, and armor evolved from wrought or cast iron to compound, then homogenous steel, Harvey steel, and finally Krupp steel.
The stage is set, now time for the question: If you could build one predreadnought battleship and one armored cruiser from every major naval power (Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, USA), which ships would you choose? In other words, what would you consider to be the definitive battleship and/or armored cruiser for each major naval power?