 Royal Sovereign atPhiladelphia, September 1943 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Revenge class |
| Builders | |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Queen Elizabeth class |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Built | 1913–1917 |
| In commission | 1916–1949 |
| Planned | 8 |
| Completed | 5 |
| Cancelled | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 620 ft 7 in (189.2 m) |
| Beam | 88 ft 6 in (27 m) |
| Draught | 33 ft 7 in (10.2 m) (Deep load) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 4 shafts; 2steam turbine sets |
| Speed | 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Range | 7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Crew | 940 (1917) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
TheRevenge class, sometimes referred to as theRoyal Sovereign class or theR class, consisted of fiveDreadnought battleships built for theRoyal Navy in the 1910s. All of the ships were completed to see service during theFirst World War. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming theRenown-classbattlecruisers, and another, which was to have been named HMSResistance, was cancelled outright. The design was based on that of the precedingQueen Elizabeth class, but with reductions in size and speed to make them more economical to build.
Two of the ships,Revenge andRoyal Oak, were completed in time to see action at theBattle of Jutland during theFirst World War, where they engaged German battlecruisers. The other three ships were completed after the battle, by which time the British and German fleets had adopted more cautious strategies, and as a result, the class saw no further substantial action. During the early 1920s, the ships were involved in theGreco-Turkish War and theRussian Civil War as part of theMediterranean Fleet. They typically operated as a unit during theinterwar period, including stints in theAtlantic Fleet. All five members of the class were modernised in the 1930s, particularly to strengthen their anti-aircraft defences andfire-control equipment.
The ships saw extensive action during theSecond World War, though they were no longer front-line units by this time and thus were frequently relegated to secondary duties such as convoy escort andnaval gunfire support.Royal Oak was sunk at her moorings inScapa Flow in October 1939 by a GermanU-boat, and two other ships of the class were torpedoed during the war;Resolution, hit by aVichy French submarine offDakar in 1940 andRamillies, attacked by a Japanese submarine in Madagascar in 1942; both survived.Royal Sovereign ended the war in service with theSoviet Navy asArkhangelsk, but she was returned in 1949, by which time her three survivingsister ships had beenbroken up forscrap. She, too, was dismantled that year.
In the early 1900s, Germany challenged Britain in anaval arms race under the direction of AdmiralAlfred von Tirpitz that was exacerbated by thedreadnought revolution. The Royal Navy embarked on a construction programme to out-build the Germans to maintain its dominance of the seas. Beginning with the launch ofDreadnought, the British had built orlaid down twenty-seven all-big-gun battleships to the Germans' seventeen built or building by 1913; to cement their lead, the British ordered another group of battleships for the 1913 Estimates.[1]
TheRevenge-class ships (sometimes referred to as the "Royal Sovereign class"[2] or the "R class"[3]) were designed as slightly smaller, slower, and more heavily protected versions of the precedingQueen Elizabeth-class battleships. The design staff, led byEustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt, theDirector of Naval Construction, had been charged by theBoard of Admiralty with developing a version of the earlierIron Duke class armed with the same battery of 15-inch (380 mm) guns used in theQueen Elizabeths, albeit with the same number as theIron Dukes—ten rather than the eight of theQueen Elizabeth design. As an economy measure they were intended to revert to the previous practice of using bothfuel oil and coal, butFirst Sea LordJackie Fisher rescinded the decision for coal in October 1914. Still under construction, the ships were redesigned to employ oil-firedboilers that increased the power of the engines by 9,000shaft horsepower (6,700 kW) over the original specification.[4]
The initial design completed by d'Eyncourt's team mounted only eight 15 in guns, despite the request from the Board, since he could not fit the fifth twin-gun turret in the specifieddisplacement limit. The Board suggested triple turrets to solve the weight problem, but d'Eyncourt pointed out that no suitable design existed, which would significantly delay construction. He was also opposed to the idea since a single hit on a turret would disable more guns. As a result, the Board approved d'Eyncourt's proposal on 31 March 1913.[5]
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The ships of theRevenge class were 580 feet 3 inches (176.9 m)long between perpendiculars, 614 ft 6 in (187.3 m)long at the waterline, and had alength overall of 620 ft 7 in (189.2 m). They had abeam of 88 feet 6 inches (27 m) (which was increased to approximately 101 ft 6 in (30.9 m) with the addition ofanti-torpedo bulges) and a deepdraught of 30 feet 9 inches (9.4 m) fully loaded without a bulge[6][7] and 29 feet 8 inches (9 m) with a bulge. They had a normaldisplacement without a bulge of approximately 28,000long tons (28,449 t) and 31,200 long tons (31,700 t) atdeep load. Equivalent figures for those ships fitted with a bulge were about 30,000 long tons (30,481 t) or 32,800 long tons (33,326 t), depending on the type of bulge fitted.[8] The ships'metacentric height was 3.4 feet (1.0 m) at deep load without a bulge fitted[6][7] and 5.1 feet (1.6 m) with a bulge.[8]
Their crew numbered between 909 and 940 officers andratings in 1917; by the early 1920s, the number of crew had grown to 1,012 to 1,240. Each battleship carried a number of smaller boats, including a variety of steam and sailpinnaces, steamlaunches,cutters,whalers,dinghies, andrafts. These were handled by five boatderricks. The ships were fitted with eightsearchlights, four on thebridge, two at the base of thefunnel and two on the aftersuperstructure.[9]
They were powered by two sets ofParsonssteam turbines, each driving two shafts with 3-bladedscrews, using steam provided by eighteenBabcock & Wilcox boilers at a working pressure of 235 psi (1,620 kPa; 17 kgf/cm2) in all butResolution andRoyal Oak, which received boilers manufactured byYarrow. The boilers were ducted into a singlefunnel. The turbines were divided into three watertight compartments arranged side by side; the low-pressure turbines driving the inner pair of shafts were in the centre engine room together, while the high-pressure outboard turbines were in the rooms on either side.[10]
The turbines were rated at 40,000shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) and intended to give the ships a maximum speed of 23knots (43 km/h; 26 mph), althoughRevenge only reached a top speed of 21.9 knots (40.6 km/h; 25.2 mph) from 41,938 shp (31,273 kW) during hersea trials on 24 March 1916. The other members of the class had similar performance, with onlyRoyal Oak making 22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph) on trials.[11] The bulgedRamillies reached 21.4 knots (39.6 km/h; 24.6 mph) from 42,383 shp (31,605 kW) during her sea trials on 20 September 1917, less than half a knot slower than the unbulged ships.[12] Fuel storage amounted to 900 long tons (910 t) of fuel oil and 3,400 long tons (3,500 t) of coal as designed, but on conversion to only oil-fired boilers, the storage capacity was 3,400 long tons of oil. This enabled the ships to steam for 7,000nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), which fell to 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 km; 3,100 mi) at full speed.[11]
TheRevenge class was equipped with eightbreech-loading (BL)15-inch (381 mm) Mk I guns in four twin-gun turrets, in twosuperfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. The guns were initially supplied with eighty shells per gun, but themagazines were later modified to allow for up to one hundred shells per gun.[13] The ships carried the guns in Mk I turrets that allowed forelevation to 20 degrees and depression to -5 degrees. The guns could be loaded at any angle, but the crews typically returned to +5 degrees, since the guns could be cleared faster that way. They fired 1,929-pound (875 kg) projectiles at amuzzle velocity of 2,450 ft/s (750 m/s) to a range of 24,423 yards (22,332 m). Their designedrate of fire was one shot every 36 seconds.[14]
The ships'secondary battery consisted of fourteenBL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns, twelve of which were mounted incasemates along thebroadside of the vesselamidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the shelter deck and were protected bygun shields. The casemate guns were moved further aft from the bow to reduce the tendency of thegun ports to ship water in heavy seas, a problem encountered with both theIron Duke andQueen Elizabeth classes. The guns had a muzzle velocity of 2,825 ft/s (861 m/s) from their 100-pound (45 kg) projectiles. At their maximum elevation of 15 degrees, they had a range of 13,600 yd (12,400 m).[15][16]
The ships also mounted four3-pounder (47-millimetre (1.9 in)) guns. Theiranti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of twoquick-firing (QF)3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns. They were fitted with four submerged 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes, two on each broadside. Each ship was supplied with a total of twenty-onetorpedoes of the Mk II, Mk IV, and MK IVHB types.[17]
TheRevenge-class ships were completed with twofire-control directors fitted with 15-foot (4.6 m)rangefinders. One was mounted above theconning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was aloft on thetripod mast. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. The main armament could be controlled by 'X' turret as well.[18] The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the compass platform on the foremast once they began to be fitted in March 1917.[19] A torpedo-control director with a 9-foot (2.7 m) rangefinder was mounted at the aft end of the superstructure.[17] The rangefinders in 'B' and 'X' turrets were replaced by 30-foot (9.1 m) models between 1919 and 1922.[20]
Flying-off platforms were fitted on all the ships on the roofs of 'B' and 'X' turrets in 1918. Between them the ships carried two fighters and eightreconnaissance aircraft. These platforms were removed as the ships were refitted in the early 1930s.Resolution was briefly fitted with anaircraft catapult on thequarterdeck in early 1930 andRoyal Sovereign had one in 1933–1936. All of the ships exceptRevenge andRoyal Sovereign were equipped with a catapult atop 'X' turret in the mid-1930s.Resolution kept hers until late 1942 or early 1943.[21]
The ships'waterline belt consisted ofKrupp cemented armour (KC) that was 13 inches (330 mm) thick between 'A' and 'Y'barbettes and thinned to 4 to 6 inches (102 to 152 mm) towards the ships' ends, but did not reach either the bow or the stern. Above this was astrake of armour 6 inches thick that extended between 'A' and 'X' barbettes. Transversebulkheads 4 to 6 inches thick ran at an angle from the ends of the thickest part of the waterline belt to 'A' and 'Y' barbettes. The gun turrets were protected by 11 to 13 inches (279 to 330 mm) of KC armour, except for the turret roofs which were 4.75–5 inches (121–127 mm) thick. The barbettes ranged in thickness from 6–10 inches (152–254 mm) above the upper deck, but were only 4 to 6 inches thick below it. TheRevenge-class ships had multiple armoured decks that ranged from 1 to 4 inches (25 to 102 mm) in thickness. The main conning tower had 11 inches of armour on the sides with a 3-inch roof. The torpedo director in the rear superstructure had 6 inches of armour protecting it. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over themagazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines.[22][23]
Ramillies was the least advanced in construction when the Director of Naval Construction decided to fit bulges to the ship to improve her survivability againstnaval mines and torpedoes in March 1915, making her the firstcapital ship in the world to be bulged.[24] Testing had revealed that a bulge filled with hollow tubes substantially reduced the effectiveness of a torpedowarhead. The bulge scabbed ontoRamillies's hull was 220 feet (67.1 m) long and 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) high; it was divided into twowatertight compartments with the upper and lower inner compartments filled with 9-inch (22.9 cm) steel "crush" tubes with their ends plugged by woodenbungs. They were intended to absorb the force of an underwater detonation and prevent splinters and debris from penetrating the innertorpedo bulkhead. The watertight outer compartment was also divided longitudinally, but it was empty to allow the force of the detonation to disperse. The form of the bulge increased the ship's beam to 102 feet 6 inches (31.2 m), decreased her draught by about 1 foot (30.5 cm) and increased her displacement by 2,500 long tons (2,500 t).[25][26]
Resolution andRevenge were fitted with a different form of bulge in 1917–1918 that was intended to improve their stability as well as protect them against underwater threats. This discarded the crushing tubes to save weight and was only a single watertight compartment deep. It was divided into upper and lower compartments, of which the upper was filled with a mixture of concrete and scrap wood while the lower was empty. The bulge increased their beam to about 101 feet 5 inches (30.9 m), reduced their draught by 16 inches (41 cm) and increased their displacement by 1,526 long tons (1,550 t).[25][26]
Yet another form of bulge was installed aboardRoyal Sovereign during her 1920–1924 refit. Based on the preceding form, the upper compartment was enlarged so that it extended above the waterline and crush tubes replaced the concrete and wood mixture. This weighed 1,474 long tons (1,498 t). Reports had been received from the bulged ships of excessiverolling and theAdmiralty Experiment Works conducted experiments to determine the best form of a bulge to eliminate the problem in conjunction with improvedbilge keels.Royal Oak was the only ship of the class lacking a bulge by this time. When fitted during her 1922–1924 refit, her bulges were mostly empty, although their lower compartments were partially filled with water. They also extended much further up the side of the ship. This form of the bulge increased her metacentric height to 5.5 feet (1.7 m).Ramillies's bulges were modified during her 1926–1927 to a form much like those ofRoyal Oak; all of her crush tubes were removed, except those abreast of the magazines.Resolution had the concrete and wood mixture removed from her bulge and the lower compartment partially filled with water during her 1929–1931 refit; the same was done forRevenge during her 1931 refit.[27][26]
| Name | Pennant | Builder[28] | Laid down[28] | Launched[28] | Commissioned[28] | Fate[29] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenge (ex-Renown) | 06 | Vickers | 22 December 1913 | 29 May 1915 | 1 February 1916 | Broken up atInverkeithing, 1948 |
| Resolution | 09 | Palmers | 29 November 1913 | 14 January 1915 | 30 December 1916 | Broken up atFaslane, 1949 |
| Royal Oak | 08 | HM Dockyard, Devonport | 15 January 1914 | 17 November 1914 | 1 May 1916 | Sunk at Scapa Flow, October 1939 |
| Royal Sovereign | 05 | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | 29 April 1915 | 18 April 1916 | Transferred to theSoviet Navy asArkhangelsk 1944–1949; Broken up at Inverkeithing, 1949 | |
| Ramillies | 07 | W. Beardmore | 12 November 1913 | 12 June 1916 | 1 September 1917 | Broken up atTroon, 1949 |
| Resistance | — | HM Dockyard, Devonport | — | — | — | Cancelled, August 1914 |
| Renown | — | Redesigned as aRenown-class battlecruiser | ||||
| Repulse | Redesigned as aRenown-class battlecruiser |
Three members of the class entered service by May 1916:Revenge,Royal Sovereign, andRoyal Oak.Revenge was assigned to the 6th Division of the1st Battle Squadron (BS),Grand Fleet, whileRoyal Oak initially served with the 3rd Division,4th Battle Squadron.[30]Royal Sovereign was left in port when the fleet sortied to meet the GermanHigh Seas Fleet off the coast ofJutland in late May, as her crew had not fully worked up by that time.[31] During the ensuingBattle of Jutland, bothRevenge andRoyal Oak engaged Germanbattlecruisers,Revenge damaging two of them—SMS Derfflinger andSMS Von der Tann—whileRoyal Oak scored a hit on a third—SMS Seydlitz.Revenge was forced to turn away to avoid torpedoes that damaged her squadron flagship and caused her squadron to lose contact with the rest of the fleet.Royal Oak remained with the main fleet for the duration of the action. Both ships emerged from the battle unscathed.[32]
All three ships were present for theaction of 19 August 1916, but the British and German fleets both withdrew before engaging each other directly, the British having lost a pair oflight cruisers to GermanU-boats and the Germans having had one battleship damaged by a Britishsubmarine. By the end of the year,Resolution had joined the fleet, which was by that time reduced to patrolling the northern North Sea as both sides turned to positional warfare since the threat of underwater weapons was too great to risk another major fleet action like Jutland.[33]Ramillies did not enter service until late 1917, as she had been badly damaged during herlaunching ceremony, which slowed her completion significantly. But during the lengthy period of repairs andfitting-out, the navy decided to experiment with the installation of anti-torpedo bulges to improve her ability to resist underwater damage. The bulges proved to be a success, not only increasing her defensive characteristics but also improving stability, while not having a significant negative impact on her speed; as a result, they were later added to the other members of the class during refits after the war.[34]
After German forces began raiding British convoys to Norway in late 1917, the Grand Fleet began sending a battle squadron to cover them, prompting the Germans to attempt to ambush and destroy the isolated squadron in April 1918. German radio silence prevented the British from learning of the operation in advance, as they had at Jutland, though faulty German intelligence did not provide the correct date of the convoy. By the time the British realized the Germans were at sea, the High Seas Fleet had withdrawn far enough south so that the Grand Fleet could not catch them.[35][36] On 21 November, following theArmistice, the entire Grand Fleet left port to escort the surrendered German fleet into internment at Scapa Flow.[37]
Through the 1920s and 1930s, theRevenge-class battleships operated as a unit, alternating between theAtlantic Fleet and theMediterranean Fleet, typically trading places with the fiveQueen Elizabeth-class ships. While serving in the Mediterranean Fleet in the early 1920s, the ships were involved in theGreco-Turkish War and theRussian Civil War. Four of the ships (all butResolution) landedRoyal Marines to take part in theoccupation of Constantinople in March 1920. Throughout June and July, the ships participated in the fighting in the collapsing Ottoman Empire;Ramillies andRevenge shelled Turkish troops aroundIsmid in June and both ships, joined byRoyal Sovereign, assisted with Greek landings elsewhere in Turkey. Also in July,Royal Sovereign assisted in the escape ofWhite émigrés fleeing from the SovietRed Army.[38][39][40] During this period,Resolution primarily operated in theBlack Sea, including a period atBatumi in southern Russia.[41]
As theRevenges were refitted during the 1920s, theirforecastle-deck six-inch guns were removed and they exchanged their pair of three-inch AA guns forQF four-inch (102 mm) Mk V guns, another pair of Mk V guns was added later. Each ship received an anti-aircraft control position with a 12-foot (3.7 m) rangefinder on its foremast, except forRevenge which was fitted with an anti-aircraftdirectorHACS Mk I system instead. In addition the torpedo-control arrangements were improved and equipped with 12-foot rangefinders.[42]
After a stint in the Atlantic Fleet in 1921, the ships briefly returned to the Mediterranean in September 1922 during a crisis inSmyrna that culminated in theGreat fire of Smyrna as the Greco-Turkish War came to its conclusion. The ships returned to the Atlantic Fleet in November.[43] In 1924,Resolution accidentally rammed and sank the submarineHMS L24 during training exercises, killing all aboard.[44]Royal Oak was involved in the so-called "Royal Oak Mutiny", between her commander, CaptainKenneth Dewar and Commander Henry Daniel, also an officer aboard the ship and Rear-AdmiralBernard Collard, the commander of the 1st Battle Squadron. The situation was ultimately resolved by AdmiralSir Roger Keyes removing all three from their posts.[45]
The ships remained in the Atlantic until 1927, when they once again transferred to the Mediterranean. TheRevenges andQueen Elizabeths again traded places in 1935, and the fiveRevenge-class ships were present for theCoronation Review forGeorge VI on 20 May 1937.[46] Throughout this period, the ships underwent repeated refits as anti-aircraft suites were upgraded so that each ship had a pair of HACS Mk III systems in lieu of their anti-aircraft control positions, except forRamillies which received Mk I directors, andQF four-inch Mk XVI AA guns in twin mounts replaced the single Mk V guns. They also received light AA guns for the first time in the form of two octupletwo-pounder (40 mm (1.6 in)) Mk VIII "pom-pom" mounts, each with their own directors, and a pair of quadrupleVickers 0.5 in (12.7 mm)AA machinegun mounts. The submerged torpedo tubes were removed as was all of the torpedo-control equipment.Royal Oak was the exception as she had her submerged tubes replaced by above-water tubes. She was also the only ship to receive additional armour when 4-inch plates were added to the deck over her magazines and 2.5-inch (64 mm) over her engine rooms. This armour increased her displacement by 900 long tons (910 t).[47] TheRoyal Sovereigns did not, however, receive the same extensive reconstructions that some of theQueen Elizabeth-class ships underwent, as the modernization program was interrupted by the outbreak of theSecond World War in 1939.[48] The war also forced the cancellation of a plan to add the same armour toRoyal Sovereign andRamillies.[49]
With the start of war in August 1939,Revenge andResolution were assigned to the Channel Force, based inPortland, whileRoyal Sovereign served with theHome Fleet.Ramillies was by this time atAlexandria, Egypt, where she remained until early October, when she was sent to search for the Germanheavy cruiserAdmiral Graf Spee in the Indian Ocean. At the same time,Resolution andRevenge were sent to the South Atlantic Command to participate in the hunt forAdmiral Graf Spee, but before they arrived they were sent to the North Atlantic Escort Force to coverconvoys from Canada to Britain. They carriedgold bullion to Canada to safeguard it during the war during this period.Royal Oak remained inScapa Flow during this period, and on 14 October, the U-boatU-47 broke through the harbour defences and torpedoedRoyal Oak, sinking her at her mooring and killing 833.[50][51]Ramillies covered troop convoys from Australia to Egypt, including those that carried the2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and theSecond Australian Imperial Force in late 1939 and early 1940.[52]
Resolution took part in theNorwegian Campaign, seeing action at theBattles of Narvik in April 1940.[53] The following month she was struck by a German bomb, but was not seriously damaged.[54] Also in May,Ramillies was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in anticipation of Italy's entry into the war. The following month,Resolution had joinedForce H, and on 3 July she participated in thedestruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Following the Italian declaration of war,Ramillies bombarded Italian positions inItalian Libya in mid-August. In September,Resolution steamed south toDakar with Force H to neutralise French warships there, but during theBattle of Dakar, she was torpedoed and badly damaged by a French submarine. In October,Revenge bombarded the port ofCherbourg in occupied France to destroy German supplies being assembled for the planned invasion of Britain,Operation Sealion.Ramillies was present with the convoy that was attacked by Italian warships during theBattle of Cape Spartivento in late November but she was not involved in the battle.[50][55][56]
Wartime changes to the battleships were generally limited to augmenting their deck armour, their anti-aircraft suites and the addition of radars. Each ship received a pair of quadruple two-pounder mounts and anywhere from 10 (Revenge andResolution) to 42 (Royal Sovereign)20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon guns. Radars were added beginning in 1941, includingearly-warning,search andfire-control systems. Armour plates 2 inches (51 mm) thick were added over the magazines onResolution,Royal Sovereign and, partially, inRamillies in 1941–1942. To increase the accommodation available for the greatly-enlarged wartime crew, the four forward six-inch guns were removed from each ship in 1943, except forResolution, which only lost two guns.[57]
In late 1940,Revenge andRoyal Sovereign returned to convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic, andRamillies joined them in January 1941 after completing a refit. During this period,Ramillies discouraged the two GermanScharnhorst-class battleships from attacking a convoy she escorted.Revenge andRamillies were at sea duringOperation Rheinübung, the sortie of the German battleshipBismarck in May and they joined the hunt for the ship, but did not locate her.[50][58]Resolution spent much of 1941 under repair, first inFreetown, West Africa and then the United States.[56] Late in the year, the Admiralty decided to deploy the fourRevenge-class ships to theFar East as the3rd Battle Squadron in anticipation of war with Japan. They arrived in early 1942, by which time the Japanese had already declared war and inflicted a string of defeats on the Allied countries in the region. The ships fled in advance of the JapaneseIndian Ocean raid, as they were no match for theaircraft carriers of the powerful1st Air Fleet. The battleships thereafter primarily operated off the coast of Africa, escorting troop convoys.[50][59][60]Ramillies was present during theBattle of Madagascar in May, where she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. She was repaired first inDurban, South Africa, and thenDevonport.[61]
In late 1943,Revenge andResolution were recalled to Britain, owing to their poor condition; the former carried Prime MinisterWinston Churchill part of the way to the Tehran Conference in November and December while the latter underwent a refit. Both ships were then decommissioned and assigned to the Portsmouth Command;Resolution joined the training establishmentHMS Imperieuse, whileRevenge remained out of service. In January 1944,Royal Sovereign andRamillies were also recalled;Ramillies was refitted and assigned to the fire support force for theinvasion of Normandy;Revenge andResolution were disarmed to provide spare barrels for this work.Royal Sovereign was transferred to theSoviet Navy asArkhangelsk to reinforce the fleet covering convoys to the Soviet Union in the Arctic Ocean.Revenge andResolution were sold forscrap in 1948 and were dismantled atInverkeithing andFaslane, respectively.Ramillies went to thebreakers' yard atCairnryan, also in 1948.[50][62]Royal Sovereign was returned to Britain in 1949 in poor condition as a result of being poorly maintained in Soviet service; her turrets were jammed and much of her equipment was unusable. The last surviving member of the class, she was sold for scrap that year and broken up at Inverkeithing.[38][63]
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