This is alist of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.

In 1907, before the revolution in design brought about byHMS Dreadnought of 1906, the United Kingdom had 62battleships incommission or building, a lead of 26 overFrance and 50 over theGerman Empire.^[1] The launch ofDreadnought in 1906 prompted an arms race with major strategic consequences, as countries built their owndreadnoughts. Possession of modern battleships was not only vital to naval power, but also represented a nation's standing in the world. Germany, France, theRussian Empire, Japan, Italy,Austria-Hungary, and the United States all began dreadnought programmes; second-rank powers including theOttoman Empire, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile commissioned dreadnoughts to be built in British and American shipyards.^[2]

TheRoyal Navy at the start of theFirst World War was the largest navy in the world due, in the most part, toThe Naval Defence Act 1889 formalising the adoption of the "two-power standard" which called for the navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies.^[3] The majority of the Royal Navy's strength was deployed at home in theGrand Fleet, with the primary aim of drawing theGerman High Seas Fleet into an engagement. The capital ships of the Royal Navy and theGerman Imperial Navy did come into contact on occasions, notably in theBattle of Jutland,^[4] but there was no decisive naval battle where one fleet came out the victor.

The inter-war period saw the battleship subjected to strict international limitations to prevent a costly arms race breaking out.^[5] Faced with the prospect of a naval arms race against Great Britain and Japan, which would in turn have led to a possible Pacific war, the United States was keen to conclude theWashington Naval Treaty of 1922. This treaty limited the number and size of battleships that each major nation could possess, and required Britain to accept parity with the U.S. and to abandon the British alliance with Japan.^[6] The Washington treaty was followed by a series of other naval treaties to limit warship size and numbers, concluding with theSecond London Naval Treaty in 1936. These treaties became effectively obsolete on 1 September 1939 at the beginning ofSecond World War.^[7]

The treaty limitations meant that fewer new battleships were launched from 1919–1939 than from 1905–1914. The treaties also inhibited development by putting maximum limits on the weights of ships and forced the Royal Navy into compromise designs for theNelson andKing George V classes. Designs like the projected BritishN3-class battleship continued the trend to larger ships with bigger guns and thicker armour, but never got off the drawing board. Those designs which were commissioned during this period were referred to astreaty battleships.^[8] After the Second World War, the Royal Navy's four survivingKing George V-class ships were scrapped in 1957 andVanguard followed in 1960.^[9] All other surviving British battleships had been sold or broken up by 1949.^[10]

HMSDreadnought was the firstdreadnought battleship, a classification to which she gave her name,^[11] and was born out of the minds ofVittorio Cuniberti andFirst Sea LordAdmiral Sir John Fisher and the results of theRusso-Japanese War.^[12] She was the first large warship to usesteam turbines,^[13] of whichDreadnought had two, from theParsons company. They supplied four shafts that all told gave the 527-foot (161 m) long warship a revolutionary top speed of 21.6knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph) in spite of her displacement of 18,120long tons (18,410 t).^[14][15]Dreadnought's primary armament was a suite of ten 45-calibreMk X 12-inch guns, arranged in such a way that only eight of her main guns could fire a broadside,^[16] and a secondary armament of ten 50-calibre12-pounder guns and five 18-inch (460 mm)torpedo tubes.^[17] Herbelt armour ranged from 4 inches (102 mm) to 11 inches (279 mm) ofKrupp armour.Dreadnought sparked a naval arms race that soon had all the world's major powers building new and bigger warships in her image.^[11] Although her concepts would be improved upon for decades,Dreadnought's construction set an unbeaten record of 15 months for the fastest construction of a battleship ever.^[18]

From 1907 until 1911,Dreadnought served as the flagship of theHome Fleet until being replaced byHMS Neptune (1909) in March 1911.Dreadnought was then assigned to the 1st Division of the Home Fleet, and was present at theFleet Review for the coronation KingGeorge V.^[19] In December 1912, the ship was transferred from the1st Battle Squadron and became the flagship of the4th Squadron until 10 December 1914.^[20] While patrolling theNorth Sea on 18 March 1915, she rammed and sankU-29, becoming the only battleship to have sunk a submarine.^[21][a]Dreadnought did not participate in theBattle of Jutland as she was undergoing a refit. Two years later, she resumed her role as flagship of the 4th Squadron, but was moved into the reserve in February 1920 and sold for scrap on 9 May 1921.^[23] She was broken up 2 January 1923.^[24]

TheBellerophon-class battleships,HMS Bellerophon,HMS Superb, andHMS Temeraire, were the firstRoyal Navy dreadnoughts to be built afterDreadnought, from 1906–1909. The sisters retained much of HMSDreadnought's design, such as her 45-calibreMk X 12-inch (304.8 mm) guns and their arrangement,^[27] but had changes like the relocation of the foremast behind the forwardfunnel and an improved secondary armament.^[28][29] TheBellerophon sisters were 526-foot (160 m) long anddisplaced 18,596long tons (18,894 t) and retainedDreadnought's means of propulsion, twosteam turbines powering fourshafts, and her speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). The thickness of theBellerophon'sbelt armour, 10 inches (254 mm) at its thickest, was an inch thinner than that ofDreadnought's at her thickest.^[30]

Upon commissioning, all three ships were assigned to the 1st division of theHome Fleet, later the1st Battle Squadron, and took part in theCoronation Review forKing George V. From 17–20 July 1914, all three took part in the mobilisation and review of the Royal Navy during theJuly Crisis following the assassination ofArchduke Ferdinand.Bellerophon andSuperb joined the Home Fleet butTemeraire did not until 1915.^[31] All three ships participated in the Battle of Jutland, firing no more than 62 shells at the cruiserSMS Wiesbaden and the battle cruiserSMS Derfflinger, but without success.^[32] Later,Bellerophon served as thejuniorflagship of the4th Squadron from June to September 1917 while its usual flagship (HMS Colossus) was being refitted.^[33]Superb andTemeraire were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, whereSuperb served as fleet flagship until the armistice.^[34] After the war, the now obsolete ships were placed in reserve.Temeraire became a training vessel until decommissioned and scrapped in 1921,^[35]Bellerophon was made a gunnery ship in March 1919 atThe Nore and was sold for scrap 8 November 1921 and broken up 14 September 1922, andSuperb relievedBellerophon as a gunnery training vessel and then served briefly as a target ship before sold for scrapping in December 1923.^[36]

TheSt Vincent-class was a line of three, originally four,^[b] dreadnought battleships,HMS St Vincent,HMS Collingwood, andHMS Vanguard. With the exception of their more powerful 50-calibreMk XI (305 mm) main guns and twenty 50-calibreMk VII (102 mm) secondaries, theSt Vincent class closely followed the design of theBellerophon class.^[43][44] Two sets ofParsonssteam turbines and the fourshafts they powered gave the 536-foot (163 m) long sisters a top speed of 21.7knots (40.2 km/h; 25.0 mph) despite adisplacement of 19,700long tons (20,000 t).^[45] Finally, the sisters were protected by aKrupp cementedarmour belt 8–10 inches (203–254 mm) thick, as was the case for theBellerophon class.^[46]

Upon commissioning, theSt Vincent-class battleships were all assigned to the1st Battle Squadron of theHome Fleet. The ships were present at theCoronation Review ofKing George V on 24 June 1911 and HMSCollingwood became theflagship of the 1st Squadron two days later. After a lengthy refit in mid-1914, the sisters participated in the mobilisation and British responses to theJuly Crisis and joined the Home Fleet atScapa Flow on 22 July 1914.^[47] All three sisters participated in theBattle of Jutland and fired uponSMS Wiesbaden;Collingwood andVanguard also fired atSMS Moltke andSMS Derfflinger. The three sisters inflicted little damage, despite firing 98 shots during the battle.^[48] After the battle,Collingwood andSt Vincent joined their sisterVanguard in the4th Squadron, who had been transferred there in April 1916,^[47] and continued to serve with the Home Fleet until the end of the war.^[49] On 9 July 1917, one ofVanguard's magazines exploded, killing 840 of her crew and twoAustralian sailors aboardHMAS Sydney.^[50] After the war,St Vincent became a gunnery training ship March 1919, before being made the flagship of theReserve Fleet in June. In December, she was relieved and then sold for scrap 1 December 1921.^[49]Collingwood was also assigned to the Reserve Fleet, briefly served as a training vessel, and then was also sold for scrap 12 December 1922.^[51]

HMSNeptune, the only ship of her class, was the only battleship constructed during the 1908–1909 Naval Programme, and was the first British battleship to usesuperfiring gun turrets.^[54] She retained the 50-calibreMk XI (305 mm) guns of theSt Vincent class, 10-inch (250 mm)belt armour, and the top speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) and the twoParsonssteam turbines and their fourshafts that produced that speed.Neptune, however, was longer at 546 feet (166 m) anddisplaced 19,680long tons (20,000 t), 20 less than theSt Vincent class.^[55] Her secondary weapons also made her unique from the preceding class, as her 50-calibreMk VII 4-inch (100 mm) secondary guns did not have shielding in thesuperstructure, a first for British dreadnoughts.^[56]

HMSNeptune was commissioned on 19 January 1909. She replacedHMS Dreadnought as the flagship of theHome Fleet and of the1st Division 25 March 1909, two weeks after the completion of sea trials.Neptune then participated in theCoronation review ofKing George V, was replaced as the Home Fleet's flagship byHMS Iron Duke 10 March 1914,^[57] and then participated in the British naval response to theJuly Crisis from 17–20 July 1914.^[58] She participated in many Royal Navy actions until theBattle of Jutland, at which she fired 48 main battery shells, scoring several ineffectual or unconfirmed hits ofSMS Wiesbaden andSMS Derfflinger and an assortment of German destroyers.^[59] After Jutland, she was transferred to the4th Battle Squadron and never again saw combat.Neptune was placed in the reserve 1 February 1919 and sold for scrap in September 1922.^[57]

The twoColossus-class battleships were the final members of the first generation of British dreadnoughts.HMS Colossus andHMS Hercules were part of the first Naval Programme of 1909–1910 and improved upon the precedingHMS Neptune.^[62] TheColossus class retained the same twoParsonssteam turbines and their fourshafts and the top speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) they produced and the same ten 50-calibreMk XI 12-inch (305 mm) main guns and 50-calibreMk VII 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns of the previous classes of British dreadnoughts. The changes were: the number of engine rooms (now three instead of two (the first ships in the world to have this many)); the length (now one foot shorter than the precedingHMS Neptune at 545 feet (166 m)); thebelt armour (now one inch thicker at 11 inches (279 mm)); and thedisplacement (now up to 20,030long tons (20,350 t)).^[63][64]

Upon commission,Colossus andHercules were both assigned to the 2nd Division, renamed the2nd Battle Squadron 1 May 1912, of theHome Fleet andHercules became its flagship.Colossus was transferred to the1st Squadron by the end of the year, andHercules temporarily became aprivate ship in 1913 but later also joined the 1st Squadron.^[65] Before theFirst World War,Hercules had a collision with a merchant ship inPortland Harbour.^[66] After a long period of drilling and relative inactivity for theGrand Fleet, in whichColossus became the flagship of the 1st Squadron's 5th Division, both ships participated in theBattle of Jutland, firing a total of no more than 98 shells each atSMS Wiesbaden,SMS Seydlitz, andSMS Derfflinger, and were able to hit them without inflicting much damage as well as various German destroyers that neither ship managed to hit.^[67] After the battle, both ships were transferred into the4th Squadron,Colossus becomingsecond-in-command,^[68] and entered another period of relative inactivity. Both ships were present at the surrender of the German fleet atRosyth,Scotland on 21 November, andHercules took the Allied Naval Armistice Commission toKiel,Germany, then joined theReserve Fleet in February 1919 a month after her sister ship had briefly become flagship.Colossus was for a time listed for scrapping, but was then made a boys' training vessel in September 1921 and was refitted.Colossus was then returned to the list the following year, but was once again removed and hulked for use by the training establishment HMSImpregnable and was finally sold for scrap in August 1928, withHercules having preceded her on 8 November 1921.^[69]

The fourOrion-classdreadnought battleships,HMS Orion,HMS Monarch,HMS Conqueror, andHMS Thunderer, were the first Britishsuper-dreadnoughts.^[76] TheOrion class was the first to use a larger caliber main battery, with ten 45-calibreMk V 13.5-inch (340 mm) main guns on the centreline insuperfiringgun turrets, an idea taken from theAmericanSouth Carolina-class battleships.^[77][78] The sisters were larger and more powerful than the first generation of British dreadnoughts. In addition to their bigger guns, they hadKrupp armour 8–12 inches (203–305 mm) thick on thebelt, were longer at 581 feet (177 m), and were heavier at adisplacement of 21,900long tons (22,300 t). However, they retained the same means of propulsion, twoParsonssteam turbines powering fourshafts, their top speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), and the 50-calibreMk VII 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns of the previous battleships.^[79][80]

All four sister ships were assigned to the2nd Battle Squadron of theHome Fleet upon commission andOrion was named its flagship. The sisters then participated in theFleet review atSpithead on 9 July 1914 and in themobilisation of the Royal Navy during theJuly Crisis and following assembly atScapa Flow.^[81][c] The sisters were four of the six dreadnoughts assigned to intercept the German fleet responsible for the16 December raid on the northeast English coast. On 27 December 1914,Conqueror rammed her sister shipMonarch as the Grand Fleet was returning to Scapa Flow, damaging both vessels.^[82] All four warships were present at theBattle of Jutland.Conqueror andThunderer made no hits, whileMonarch andOrion struckSMS König andSMS Markgraf once each andSMS Lützow five times between them; none of the four fired more than 57 of their primary shells during the entire battle.^[83] When on 21 November 1918 the German fleet surrendered atRosyth,Scotland, the sisters were present.^[84] In February 1919, they were transferred to the3rd Squadron andOrion retained her status as squadron flagship.^[85] By the end of 1919 the sisters were all transferred into theReserve Fleet, butMonarch was transferred to Portsmouth in early 1920.^[86] In the summer of that year,Thunderer andMonarch were recommissioned to ferry troops to and from theMediterranean Sea, andOrion joinedMonarch at Portsmouth later in the year and became the flagship of the Reserve Fleet before being relieved in this duty byConqueror in mid-1921 to once again ferry troops. In 1921,Thunderer andOrion were transformed into training vessels and were sold for scrap the following year in accordance with theWashington Naval Treaty.Monarch washulked and used for weapons testing until finally sunk in 1925.Thunderer, the last of the sisters, was sold for scrap in 1926.^[81][87]

TheKing George V-class battleships,HMS King George V,HMS Centurion,HMS Audacious, andHMS Ajax, were larger variants of the precedingOrion-class "super-dreadnought." The four sisters used the same primary and secondary armament of the Orions, ten 45-calibreMk V 13.5-inch (340 mm) main guns and 16 50-calibreMk VII 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns, and 12-inch (305 mm)-thickbelt armour, but were longer at 597 feet 9 inches (182 m) anddisplaced 25,420long tons (25,830 t). In addition, although theKing George V class again retained the twoParsonssteam turbines and their fourshafts, they were faster than previous British battleships with a top speed of 22.9 kn (42.4 km/h; 26.4 mph) and enjoyed much-needed corrections in the arrangement of itsfunnels that made the spotting tops much easier to use.^[93][94]

All four of theKing George V-class ships were assigned to the2nd Battle Squadron oncommission,King George V becoming the Squadron'sflagship by 18 February 1913, butCenturion began her career early, accidentally ramming and sinking an Italian steamer with all hands.^[95] From 17 to 20 July 1914 the sister ships participated in theJuly Crisis test mobilisation and were shortly thereafter ordered to join theHome Fleet, soon theGrand Fleet, atScapa Flow.^[96] On 27 October 1914,Audacious struck amine while conducting a training mission off the coast ofIreland and sank with only one death, an officer fromHMS Liverpool.^[97]King George V also went out of service for a brief time beginning in November 1914 because of acondenser malfunction.^[98] The surviving sisters participated in a sortie that set out to engageFranz von Hipper's raiding force afterits attack on three coastal British towns in December 1914, but did not see combat.^[99] At theBattle of Jutland nearly two years later, the sisters did see combat but none of them fired more than 19 shells, all without effect due to poor visibility.^[100] The sisters participated in the Royal Navy's subsequent war time actions and were present at the surrender of the German fleet atRosyth on 21 November 1918. Into early 1919, the sisters remained with the 2nd Squadron, untilKing George V was moved to the3rd Squadron and then became the flagship of the Reserve Fleet until 1920 when the 3rd Squadron was disbanded. She was refitted and reassigned to the4th Squadron the same year, then in 1923 became a gunnery training vessel before finally being sold for scrap in December 1926.Ajax met the same fate, but was sold for scrap on 9 November 1926. The last of theKing George V-class ships,Centurion was converted into a target ship, but was remilitarised in 1941 with light weapons and dummy main guns. On 9 June 1944, she was sunk as ablock ship to defend amulberry harbor established onOmaha Beach.^[101]

The fourIron Duke-class battleships,HMS Iron Duke,HMS Marlborough,HMS Benbow, andHMS Emperor of India, were the third line of British super-dreadnoughts. In design the sisters were nearly identical to theKing George V class, bearing the same tenMk V 13.5-inch (340 mm)main battery guns and 12-inch (300 mm)Krupp armour of theKing George V class, but were 25 feet longer at 622 feet 9 inches (190 m) long anddisplaced 25,000long tons (25,000 t).^[110] As with previous British battleships, theIron Duke-class sisters had fourshafts powered by twoParsonssteam turbines for a top speed of 21.5knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph), but they possessed an improved secondary armament of twelve 45-calibreMk VII 6-inch (150 mm) naval guns.^[111]

New for British dreadnoughts, the fourIron Duke-class sisters were fairly separated from each other in their careers. On completion,Iron Duke joined theRoyal Navy'sHome Fleet as its newflagship,^[112]Marlborough followed her into the Home Fleet as the flagship ofLewis Bayly.^[113] Both ships were completed within two months before the start ofWorld War I and were soon reorganized into theGrand Fleet, of whichIron Duke remained the flagship whileMarlborough was assigned to the1st Battle Squadron as AdmiralJohn Jellicoe's flagship.^[112] At this time,Benbow andEmperor of India were completed and assigned to the4th Battle Squadron, the latter as the flagship of the second division and the former of the whole squadron, and the sisters all had their casemates sealed and rearmost secondary guns removed.^[114][115] All the sisters butEmperor of India, in dock for refits,^[116] were present for the Battle of Jutland and fought with distinction.Iron Duke, surviving a near-miss as she entered combat, opened fire onSMS König, and scored seven hits.Marlborough andBenbow struggled with poor visibility, the former firing seven salvos at a group ofKaiser-class battleships and the latter firing six salvos, both without effect. When fighting aroundSMS Wiesbaden resumed, all three sisters participated but without any hits on the torpedo boats around the disabled cruiser.Marlborough eventually neutralised theWiesbaden, sustaining extensive damage in the process, and also struckSMS Grosser Kurfürst three times with thirteen salvos. After the battle,Marlborough underwent three months of repairs and received increased armour plating,^[117][118] andEmperor of India rejoined the Home Fleet in the1st Battle Squadron. In March 1919, theIron Duke-class sisters were assigned to the 4th Battle Squadron with theMediterranean Fleet to participate in theAllied intervention in the Russian Civil War in theBlack Sea,^[119][112]Marlborough even carryingMaria Feodorovna,Grand Duke Nicholas, andPrince Yusupov,^[120] and then the sisters served in theGreco-Turkish War until Greece's defeat in the war in 1922,^[121] at which pointMarlborough,Benbow, andEmperor of India underwent refitting at different ports.Iron Duke remained in the Mediterranean and was present withHMS King George V for theGreat fire of Smyrna and following Allied deliberations on Greece.^[122][123]Benbow relievedIron Duke for a major refit of her own in May 1928, then was decommissioned and sold for scrap in March 1931.^[124]Marlborough andEmperor of India followed her the next year after being used as target ships, sold for scrap in February and June 1932, respectively.^{[125][126][127]}Iron Duke survived intoWorld War II, serving atScapa Flow as a floating anti-aircraft battery and was twice attacked and heavily damaged byLuftwaffeJunkers Ju 88s, and was refloated after the war and then sold for scrap in March 1946.^[128][129]

HMSAgincourt was laid down inNewcastle upon Tyne in 1911 as theBrazilianbattleshipRio de Janeiro,^[132] but was sold to theOttoman Empire in December 1913, namedSultân Osmân-ı Evvel, and was seized by the British government and given her final name when Turkey entered theFirst World War for theCentral Powers.^[133]Agincourt, 671 feet 6 inches (205 m) long anddisplacing 27,850long tons (28,300 t), was powered by four Parsons steam turbines andshafts for a top speed of 22knots (41 km/h; 25 mph).^[134] She was armed with fourteen 45-calibreMk XIII 12-inch (305 mm) main guns,^[135] and eighteen 50-calibreMk XIII 6-inch (152 mm) naval guns for its secondaries, and was protected bybelt armour 9 inches (229 mm) thick.^[134]

After being commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7 August 1914,Agincourt joined the Grand Fleet's4th Battle Squadron on 7 September 1914 but was reassigned to the1st Battle Squadron on 31 May 1916, just in time for the Battle of Jutland.^[136][137] She engaged a Germanbattlecruiser anddestroyers and aKaiser-class battleship with her main and secondary guns,^[138][139] firing a total of 144 of hermain battery shells and secondary shells, but is not known to have hit any enemy ship.^[136]Agincourt's participation in the Royal Navy's sorties after Jutland is not well explored, but she did sortie once withHMS Hercules fromScapa Flow to protect merchant convoys fromNorway to the United Kingdom on 23 April 1918.^[140] After being transferred to the2nd Battle Squadron,^[136]Agincourt was present for the surrender of the High Seas Fleet and was then placed in reserve in March 1919.^[141] The Brazilian government was not interested in purchasing her, soAgincourt was listed for disposal and thensold for scrap on 19 December 1922 in accordance with theWashington Naval Treaty.^[142]

HMSErin, originally the Turkish battleshipReşadiye, was one of two battleships being built for theOttoman Empire (the other beingHMS Agincourt) and was derived from theKing George V class. She hadKrupp 12-inch (300 mm)armour belt and was equipped with ten 45-calibreMk VI 13.5-inch (340 mm) guns, similar to theKing George V class's main guns, but had theOrion class's sixteen 50-calibreMk XVI 6-inch (150 mm) secondary guns. She was shorter in length at 559 feet 6 inches (171 m) anddisplaced 22,780long tons (23,150 t). Unlike either theOrion orKing George V-class battleships,Erin had four Parsons steam turbines driving fourshafts for a top speed of 21knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).^[146]

On 29 July 1914,Reşadiye was seized under the orders ofFirst Lord of the AdmiraltyWinston Churchill, and on the 31st it entered theRoyal Navy as HMSErin.^[147] She joined the Grand Fleet's4th Battle Squadron on 5 September of the same year and participated in the fleet's early war sorties and drills, most importantly in response to the Germanattack on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby.^[148] At some point from September to December 1915,Erin was transferred to the2nd Battle Squadron.^[149][150] She participated in theBattle of Jutland, but was hindered by poor visibility and was the only British capital ship to not fire hermain battery guns and only fired six 6-inch shells.^[151] After Jutland,Erin returned to active participation in the Grand Fleet'sNorth Sea operations, sortieing againstHigh Seas Fleet raids on merchant convoys and at the end of war was present for the surrender of the High Seas Fleet atRosyth,Scotland on 21 November 1918.^[152][153] On 1 May 1919,Erin was assigned to theHome Fleet's3rd Battle Squadron, but entered the reserves atPortland Harbour in October at theNore.^[85] From July to August 1920Erin underwent a refit as a gunnery practice ship, but came to be in violation of theWashington Naval Treaty of 1922 and was sold for scrap on 19 December 1922.^[154][155]

In 1911,Chile ordered two battleships,Almirante Latorre andAlmirante Cochrane (laterHMS Eagle) from theArmstrong Whitworth company.^[159]Canada resembled the BritishIron Duke-class battleships, but had changes in its above-deck structures and was longer at 625 feet (191 m). She was also more heavily armed, sporting ten 45-calibre14-inch (360 mm) main guns and sixteen 50-calibreMk XI 6-inch (150 mm) secondary guns, but lightly armoured with only 9 inches (230 mm) on herbelt, making her an oddity in theRoyal Navy. Her propulsion means was also unusual for British battleships. Fourshafts were powered by two sets ofBrown & Curtis andParsonssteam turbines gaveCanada a top speed of 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph), making her one of the Royal Navy's fastest battleships.^[160]

On 9 September 1914, the British government purchasedAlmirante Latorre from Chile and christened her HMSCanada and undertook some minor alterations.^[161] She was commissioned on 15 October 1915, and assigned to the4th Battle Squadron. She participated in theBattle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, firing a totality of 42 shells from her main guns and 109 secondary shells atSMS Wiesbaden, an unspecified German capital ship, and severaldestroyers, but did not make or receive any hits.^[162][163]Canada was transferred to the1st Battle Squadron on 12 June 1916 and subsequently underwent more modification, and was placed in the reserves in March 1919. In April of the next year, she was sold back to Chile and resumed her original name.^[162]

TheQueen Elizabeth-classsuper-dreadnoughts,HMS Queen Elizabeth,HMS Warspite,HMS Valiant,HMS Barham, andHMS Malaya, were a line of five, originally six,battleships.^[e] They had a main armament of eight15-inch (381 mm) guns arranged in four twin turrets. The new calibre guns were intended to still give the Royal Navy an advantage in range over newer American and Japanese ships which the Admiralty expected were to be armed with 14-inch guns. The initial design was for a five turret ship, but was reduced to four when it was found that even just four turrets of the new 15 inch guns would still provide greater broadside hitting power (15,000 pounds (6,800 kg)) compared to the previousIron Duke-class (14,000 pounds (6,400 kg)). Secondary armament was fourteen 6-inch, two 3-inch anti-aircraft and four 21-inch torpedoes tubes. The space saved by the reduction of one turret was used to house additional boilers which gave the ships a speed of 24–25 knots (44–46 km/h; 28–29 mph).

TheRevenge class (sometimes known as theRoyal Sovereign class) were designed as a cheaper alternative to theQueen Elizabeth class. Plans had initially been for a class of eight ships, but, at the start of theFirst World War, work stopped on all new capital ships and the last three planned ships of the class -Renown,Repulse andResistance - were cancelled. (The first two of these were eventually redesigned asbattlecruisers.) During design they were planned to have a maximum speed of just over 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) and had reverted to coal- and oil-fuelled propulsion. However, in 1915, this was changed and they became oil-fuelled only. Secondary armament was fourteen 6-inch, two 3-inch anti-aircraft, four 3-pounder guns and four 21-inch torpedoes. BothRevenge andRoyal Oak were completed in time to take part in theBattle of Jutland.Royal Oak was torpedoed at anchor in the supposedly safe harbour ofScapa Flow soon after the start ofSecond World War.

The N3-class, like the contemporaryG3-class battlecruiser design, was planned in response to other nations' intentions to build superior navies. The design concentrated the main guns forward of the bridge to save weight (while still allowing thick enough armour over the critical parts) by shortening the length of thearmoured citadel - although, they still would've been about twice the displacement of their predecessors. The design was approved in late 1921, but, in early 1922 the major naval powers signed theWashington Naval Treaty, limiting the size and number of warships in their respective navies and thus resulting in the design's cancellation. (The treaty set an upper limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t)displacement and 16-inch guns.) The ships had not been ordered nor had construction been started when they were canceled.

The two ships of theNelson class were the only new battleships the Royal Navy were allowed to build under the terms of theWashington Naval Treaty. The layout was based on that of the N3 battleship and G3 battlecruiser but further reduced to come under the weight limit. NineBL 16 inch Mk I guns – the same as were to have been used on the G3 battlecruisers – were carried in three forward turrets. Secondary armament was twelve 6-inch guns mounted in six turrets at the rear of the ship, six 4.7 inches (119 mm) anti-aircraft guns, seven eight-barrelled 2-pounder "pompom" mountings, four quadruple40 mm Bofors guns and sixty five20 mm Oerlikon cannon.

TheKing George V class of ships were criticized for having 14-inch main guns (the precedingNelson class had larger, though relatively lighter 16 inch guns). The decision to use 14-inch guns was taken in October 1935, while theUnited Kingdom was negotiating for a continuation of the Naval Treaties with the other parties to the London Treaty. TheBritish Government favoured a reduction in the maximum gun calibre to 14 inches and, in early October, the government learned that the United States would support this position if the Japanese could also be persuaded to do so. Since the large guns needed to be ordered by the end of the year in order for ships to enter service on time, theBritish Admiralty decided on 14-inch guns for theKing George V class. The guns were arranged in three turrets, two with four and one (behind and above the forward turret) with two guns. Secondary armament was sixteenQF 5.25-inch Mk I guns, four eight-barrelled2-pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft mountings (King George V andPrince of Wales the later ships all had six mountings).Anson andHowe had eighteenOerlikon 20 mm cannon and theDuke of York six. They were all fitted with amidships catapults for the threeSupermarine Walrus spotter/patrol aircraft they carried. TheKing George V class were designed to reach a speed of over 27 knots. As the treaty negotiations collapsed, this lack of speed and the smaller size of their main armament left them slower and with a lesser broadside than foreign battleships that were being produced around the same time. However, their main armour belt was thicker than others, with the exception of the two very large ships of theYamato class from Japan.^[170]

During theSecond London Naval Treaty of 1936, the upper limit for battleships was agreed by the powers attending but an escalator clause allowed for increases if parties defaulted. By 1938 concerns about the Japanese prompted Britain and the United States to raise the limits allowed to 45,000long tons (46,000 t) and 16 in (406 mm) guns. The Admiralty had planned to scrap the ineffectiveRevenge class when theKing George V ships entered service. These plans were soon changed, the Admiralty's new ambition was to raise a battle fleet of 20 ships, 15 of them to match the new standard, keeping theRevenge class until at least 1942. To meet this target the navy wanted three battleships added to the 1938 plans, but in the end only two were given the go ahead and even then they had to use reserve slipways, normally only used in emergencies.^[172] At the same time it was identified that unless the 1938 ships were completed by 1942, the Royal Navy between 1940 and 1943 would be at a disadvantage with only twelve modern and eight older battleships against a combined German–Japanese fleet of twenty modern ships.^[173] Construction work was halted at start of war so that resources could be diverted to more important production and although design was revised during war no further work took place.

HMS Vanguard was the finalRoyal Navy battleship. She was armed with eight 42-calibre15-inch (380 mm) main guns, taken from theCourageous-classbattlecruisers, and sixteen 50-calibredual-purpose5.25-inch (133 mm) secondary guns. 4.5–14 inches (114–356 mm) ofKrupp armour made up thewaterlinebelt protected 814-foot-4-inch (248.21 m)-longVanguard.Displacing 44,500long tons (45,200 t), she was powered by fourParsonssteam turbines, oneshaft each, that gave her a top speed of 31.57 kn (58.47 km/h; 36.33 mph).^[174]

• List of battleships
• List of ironclads of the Royal Navy
• List of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy
• List of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy

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• Lists of Royal Navy ships by type
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