Dreadnaut (sometimes spelled Dreadnaught or Dreadnought and known as Dreadnaut XP-1 in Series 4) was a competitor robot that fought in the first four series of Robot Wars. It failed to progress beyond the heats in any of its series, losing at the Arena Semi-Final stage in Series 1-2 and the second round in Series 4, but reached the Heat Final in Series 3, where it lost to Trident.
During Robot Wars' hiatus, Dreadnaut XP-1 was bought by Team Cookie Monsters, builders of Chompalot, but without its internal components. It is currently on loan to the Derby Silk Mill museum.
Robot History[]
Series 1[]
In the First Wars, Dreadnaut fought in Heat C. Despite the robot only having a top speed of 5 mph, Dreadnaut zoomed through the Gauntlet and completed its run superbly, placing it second on the leaderboard overall. However, it then caught fire after slamming the arena barrier at the end of the run. There was debate about whether or not Dreadnaut would be able to continue, and Plunderbird 1 would be reinstated, but Dreadnaut recovered just before the Trial stage was ready to commence and Plunderbird 1 was eliminated from the competition.
In the trial, which for this heat was Football, Dreadnaut started very sluggishly, and couldn't reach the ball to gain possession at all. Then, as Robot The Bruce scored the first goal, Dreadnaut suddenly became immobilised again, in the middle of the arena. Dreadnaut had the ball run into it, thanks to the lack of control from the remaining robots. After Wedgehog scored, W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G. madly drove into the post of the goal, with both W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G. and Dreadnaut immobilised, Cruella was left to score with ease. With the last two robots left, both being immobilised, cease was called and the judges had to choose which robot should go through. Despite being immobilised for longer, Dreadnaut was put through to the arena stage of the heat as it had more possession of the ball, even though this was mainly due to other robots hitting Dreadnaut with the ball.
In the Heat semi-final, Dreadnaut was put up against Wedgehog. Dreadnaut had a huge weight advantage of almost 70kg, and would be assured victory if its motors remained cool. Both robots drove forward, and bumped into each other, not attacking properly. Dreadnaut rammed Wedgehog and crumpled its side armour, whilst Sergeant Bash attempted to intervene, but his saw snapped off just as it did against Killertron. Meanwhile, Dreadnaut had skewered itself to its foe, and attempted to finish the match by pushing it onto a grille. It succeeded, but could not release it. Shunt pushed Dreadnaut away, dragging Wedgehog to safety in the process. After intervention from Matilda, Wedgehog pulled free, but Dreadnaut had broken down, notable from smoke billowing out of it. Cease was called and Dreadnaut, who had broken down for a third time, was finally eliminated.
Series 2[]
An upgraded Dreadnaut returned for the Second Wars, again competing in Heat C. It started its Gauntlet run by charging into the wall, but only managed to dislodge one brick, but after a further strike it managed to knock most of the wall down. Dreadnaut then turned and took the house robot route, neatly dodging Shunt and then Sergeant Bash. Dreadnaut then managed to drive around Matilda and with a burst of speed made it to the end zone.
Dreadnaut then went into the Trial, which was the Joust. Dreadnaut quickly drove up the ramp and got to the centre before Matilda, both robots came together and Dreadnaut was almost pushed off the platform. Matilda reversed and shoved Dreadnaut off the platform, but it had covered enough ground to go through to the Arena, where it faced newcomers Oblivion.
Unfortunately, whilst putting Dreadnaut's shell back on, the team accidentally knocked out the robot's removable link, which was later found lying on the arena floor. Dreadnaut therefore failed to move at all, with Oblivion getting underneath it and the House Robots immediately attacking Dreadnaut as soon as its immobility became known. Dreadnaut was burned, flipped and axed, with Sir Killalot breaking a piece of armour off and cutting the bars for its lifting forks in half with his jaws.
Series 3[]
Dreadnaut appeared in the final heat of the third series, meeting Psychokiller first. Until Psychokiller lost its weapon the robots didn't make much contact, but pushing it onto the flame pit was enough to immobilise it.
In the second round it was drawn against another new robot to the competition, Rattus Rattus. However, most likely due to the damage sustained in its previous battle, it broke down right at the start of the fight and didn't move at all. Dreadnaut pushed it around the arena with its lifting forks, before leaving it at the mercy of the House Robots.
However, in its final battle it encountered problems of its own, and though Trident's axe failed to cause much damage against the fibreglass shell, Dreadnaut gradually slowed down, before breaking down about halfway into the battle. Ironically however, while Dreadnaut sat immobile, the House Robots ignored it and began to attack Trident's gleaming armour instead, until cease was called.
Series 4[]
Dreadnaut XP-1, the number 29th seed, participated in Heat G. Its first round melee pitted it against newcomers Warhog and returning team Darke Destroyer 2. Despite having its forks buckled, Dreadnaut XP-1 survived the clash with Warhog, who broke down and was eliminated. However, after Warhog was immobilised, Sir Killalot then grabbed Dreadnaut XP-1 in its pincers again, swinging it around and causing its entire armour shell to come off.
In the second round, Dreadnaut was almost immediately flipped over by Thermidor 2 and almost Out of the Arena within the initial charge. Dreadnaut couldn't self-right and was promptly set upon by all of the house robots, suffering major damage to its armour and underside from Shunt and Matilda in the process. After this battle, Dreadnaut was retired.
Results[]
| Series | Event | Round | Opponent(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Robot Wars Series 1 | Heat C | Gauntlet | N/A | Completed (2nd) Qualified |
| Football | Wedgehog Cruella Robot the Bruce WYSIWYG |
(4th) Qualified | ||
| Semi-Final | Wedgehog | Lost | ||
| UK Robot Wars Series 2 | Heat C | Gauntlet | N/A | Completed (1st) Qualified |
| Joust | Matilda | 5.4m (3rd) Qualified | ||
| Semi-Final | Oblivion | Lost | ||
| UK Robot Wars Series 3 | Heat P | Round 1 | Psychokiller | Won |
| Round 2 | Rattus Rattus | Won | ||
| Round 3 | Trident | Lost | ||
| UK Robot Wars Series 4 Seeded 29th |
Heat G | Eliminator | Darke Destroyer 2 Warhog |
Qualified |
| Round 2 | Thermidor 2 | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 7
- Losses: 4
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