Revenge class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Revenge class battleships (listed as Royal Sovereign Class in Jane's Fighting Ships, 1931 edition) were five battleship
s of the Royal Navy
, ordered as World War I
loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the Renown class
battlecruiser
s, while the other, which was to have been named HMS Resistance, was cancelled.
battleships. Despite sometimes being referred to as the "Royal Sovereign class", official documents from World War I clearly state that the class was known as the Revenge class .
battleships. At that time, oil could only be obtained from overseas sources, while high-quality coal was readily available in the British Isles, and there seemed to be a possibility that oil supplies might not be able to be maintained during wartime, thus placing crippling restrictions on the usefulness of the five Queen Elizabeths. The unusual design of the Revenge class was a response to these concerns.
They were also designed to be cheaper than the Queen Elizabeths. This was achieved by reducing their size and using lower power engines—their slim single funnel design makes them easy to distinguish from the Queen Elizabeths, which had twin funnels (or thick trunked funnels after being rebuilt during the interwar years).
Anti-torpedo bulges were included, which provided superb protection against attacks by torpedo for its time, but due to the increasing power of torpedo
warheads, proved to be not enough for Royal Oak when she was torpedoed in 1939.
and Queen Elizabeth class battleships.
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Only two ships of the class, Revenge
and Royal Oak, were ready in time for the Battle of Jutland
on 31 May 1916. During the engagement, neither ship suffered damage nor casualties.
Unlike Queen Elizabeths, the Revenges were not given major reconstructions between the two World Wars. In fact, apart from some minor upgrades, they remained very much unchanged until the Second World War began. Partly this was because of the expense involved in giving them a thorough modernization; what money the Royal Navy received for this purpose was better spent on the Queen Elizabeths which, because of their higher speed and better adaptability, had retained better fighting value. Moreover, the Revenges were scheduled to be replaced by the new Lion class
capital ships as they came into service. However, the coming of the Second World War resulted in the cancellation of the Lions, leaving the Revenges to remain in service despite their limited value in the face of advances in naval technology.
All ships of the class were reduced to subsidiary roles during World War II
, with some becoming bombardment ships, taking part in the Normandy Landings, and even the hunt for the battleship Bismarck
. The demise of the Revenge class and others soon after the war showed the advent of the aircraft carrier
as the new queen of the seas; though it must be said, the contribution the dreadnoughts made to the Royal Navy's history was immense. Churchill
writes that they were a constant anxiety, and he witnessed the Admiralty keep as many thousands of miles between them and the enemy as possible. However, they were valuable as second-class battleships, performing escort and other routine duties that freed up the front-line ships.
The Revenge class brought to a close the tale of Royal Navy World War I battleship construction. For subsequent British capital ships, see Renown
class battlecruisers that fought in World War I, HMS Hood
which was laid down during World War I, the Nelson class
battleships laid down in 1922, the King George V class
battleships built before World War II, and the world's last battleship, HMS Vanguard. For other battleships that were acquired as "war purchases", see HMS Erin, HMS Canada, and HMS Agincourt
.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, ordered as World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916. There were originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the Renown class
Renown class battlecruiser
The Renown class consisted of a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the s. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner...
battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s, while the other, which was to have been named HMS Resistance, was cancelled.
Design
The ships of the class were slower and smaller than the preceding Queen Elizabeth classQueen Elizabeth class battleship
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a class of five super-dreadnoughts of the Royal Navy. The lead ship was named after Elizabeth I of England...
battleships. Despite sometimes being referred to as the "Royal Sovereign class", official documents from World War I clearly state that the class was known as the Revenge class .
Propulsion
They were designed to be able to use both coal and oil as its fuel source. This was partially due to fears over the total reliance of the Queen Elizabeth class on oil as their fuel source, which was a first for a British class of dreadnoughtDreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
battleships. At that time, oil could only be obtained from overseas sources, while high-quality coal was readily available in the British Isles, and there seemed to be a possibility that oil supplies might not be able to be maintained during wartime, thus placing crippling restrictions on the usefulness of the five Queen Elizabeths. The unusual design of the Revenge class was a response to these concerns.
They were also designed to be cheaper than the Queen Elizabeths. This was achieved by reducing their size and using lower power engines—their slim single funnel design makes them easy to distinguish from the Queen Elizabeths, which had twin funnels (or thick trunked funnels after being rebuilt during the interwar years).
Armour protection
The armour was very different to that of the Queen Elizabeths : the armoured deck was raised much higher in the ship, and the side armour was much more extensive at its full thickness of 13 inches (330 mm). This scheme was chosen since, at the time the Revenges were being designed, it was still believed that any major fleet-to-fleet engagement would take place at relatively close ranges such that the principal danger would be direct fire striking the sides of the ship, rather than plunging fire striking the deck. Additionally, this change in the armour layout was a cost-saving measure. The Queen Elizabeths had plates that tapered at the top and bottom of the armour belt, and tapered armour was extremely expensive to produce. Overall, it was probably an effective armouring scheme which was made obsolescent by developments in naval gunnery and tactics that, unfortunately, occurred almost immediately after the ships entered service and that, ultimately, did not lend itself to the upgrades necessitated by World War II-era weapons.Anti-torpedo bulges were included, which provided superb protection against attacks by torpedo for its time, but due to the increasing power of torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
warheads, proved to be not enough for Royal Oak when she was torpedoed in 1939.
Armament
In accordance with contemporary practice, the Revenges were fitted with 6 inch secondary batteries. The heavier guns were intended to combat the larger classes of destroyers entering service but in practice proved to be somewhat too heavy to be of practical use against light craft. Additionally, their low positioning made them largely unworkable in heavy seas—a flaw shared with the similarly equipped Iron DukeIron Duke class battleship
The Iron Duke-class was a group of four dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy before the First World War. The class comprised four ships: , , , and...
and Queen Elizabeth class battleships.
Seakeeping
The major flaw in the class was the deliberately reduced stability to give the ships a slow rolling motion to make gunnery easier. This made it almost impossible to update them. In addition, it was not economically possible to fit more powerful machinery later in their lives.Accommodation
Due to their smaller size, at 624 ft (190 m) conditions were decidedly more cramped for the crew of a Revenge-class battleship compared to the Queen Elizabeths.Service
HMS Revenge (06)
HMS Revenge was the lead ship of the Revenge class of battleships of the Royal Navy, the ninth to bear the name. She was launched during World War I in 1915. Though the class is often referred to as the Royal Sovereign class, official documents of 1914–1918 refer to the class as the Revenge class...
and Royal Oak, were ready in time for the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
on 31 May 1916. During the engagement, neither ship suffered damage nor casualties.
Unlike Queen Elizabeths, the Revenges were not given major reconstructions between the two World Wars. In fact, apart from some minor upgrades, they remained very much unchanged until the Second World War began. Partly this was because of the expense involved in giving them a thorough modernization; what money the Royal Navy received for this purpose was better spent on the Queen Elizabeths which, because of their higher speed and better adaptability, had retained better fighting value. Moreover, the Revenges were scheduled to be replaced by the new Lion class
Lion class battleship
The Lion class battleships were a class of six fast battleships designed for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. They were a larger, improved version of the King George V class with guns. Only two ships were laid down before World War II began in September 1939 and a third was ordered during the...
capital ships as they came into service. However, the coming of the Second World War resulted in the cancellation of the Lions, leaving the Revenges to remain in service despite their limited value in the face of advances in naval technology.
All ships of the class were reduced to subsidiary roles during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with some becoming bombardment ships, taking part in the Normandy Landings, and even the hunt for the battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
. The demise of the Revenge class and others soon after the war showed the advent of the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
as the new queen of the seas; though it must be said, the contribution the dreadnoughts made to the Royal Navy's history was immense. Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
writes that they were a constant anxiety, and he witnessed the Admiralty keep as many thousands of miles between them and the enemy as possible. However, they were valuable as second-class battleships, performing escort and other routine duties that freed up the front-line ships.
The Revenge class brought to a close the tale of Royal Navy World War I battleship construction. For subsequent British capital ships, see Renown
Renown class battlecruiser
The Renown class consisted of a pair of battlecruisers built during the First World War for the Royal Navy. They were originally laid down as improved versions of the s. Their construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds they would not be ready in a timely manner...
class battlecruisers that fought in World War I, HMS Hood
HMS Hood (51)
HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
which was laid down during World War I, the Nelson class
Nelson class battleship
The Nelson class was a class of two battleships of the British Royal Navy, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922...
battleships laid down in 1922, the King George V class
King George V class battleship (1939)
The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were built and commissioned: King George V , Prince of Wales , Duke of York , Howe , and Anson .The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limiting all of the number,...
battleships built before World War II, and the world's last battleship, HMS Vanguard. For other battleships that were acquired as "war purchases", see HMS Erin, HMS Canada, and HMS Agincourt
HMS Agincourt (1913)
HMS Agincourt was a dreadnought built in the early 1910s. The ship was originally ordered by Brazil, but the collapse of the rubber boom plus a lessening of the rivalry with Argentina led to her resale while still under construction to the Ottoman Empire who renamed her as Sultan Osman I...
.
Ships in class
- RamilliesHMS Ramillies (07)HMS Ramillies was a Revenge-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after the Battle of Ramillies. The ship is notable for having served in both the First and Second World Wars...
took part in the Battle of Cape SpartiventoBattle of Cape SpartiventoThe Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War...
in World War II. She was torpedoed by a Japanese mini-submarine after the Battle of MadagascarBattle of MadagascarThe Battle of Madagascar was the Allied campaign to capture Vichy-French-controlled Madagascar during World War II. It began on 5 May 1942. Fighting did not cease until 6 November.-Geo-political:...
in 1942. She took part in the bombardment of German positions during the Normandy Landings. She was scrapped in 1948. One 15 inch gun was preserved and is now on show at the Imperial War MuseumImperial War MuseumImperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
- Resolution took part in convoyConvoyA convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
duty early in World War II. She was torpedoed by a Vichy French submarine in 1940 during the Battle of DakarBattle of DakarThe Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
, receiving little damage. She then joined the Far East FleetBritish Eastern FleetThe British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
, before becoming a training ship in late 1944. She was scrapped in 1948. One 15 inch gun was preserved upon scrapping and takes pride of place, along with the aforementioned gun from Ramillies, at the Imperial War Museum.
- RevengeHMS Revenge (06)HMS Revenge was the lead ship of the Revenge class of battleships of the Royal Navy, the ninth to bear the name. She was launched during World War I in 1915. Though the class is often referred to as the Royal Sovereign class, official documents of 1914–1918 refer to the class as the Revenge class...
took part in the Battle of JutlandBattle of JutlandThe Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, sustaining no damage and receiving no casualties. In World War II, Revenge undertook a number of operations, though by 1944 she became a training ship. She was scrapped in 1948.
- Royal Oak fought at the Battle of Jutland. In 1939, during World War II, Royal Oak was sunk by three torpedoes from U-47, with the loss of 833 of her crew. She is now an official war grave.
- Royal SovereignHMS Royal Sovereign (05)HMS Royal Sovereign was a Revenge-class battleship of the Royal Navy displacing and armed with eight guns in four twin turrets...
had a relatively quiet career, missing the Battle of Jutland. She took part in convoy duty in the early part of World War II. She was loaned to the USSRSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1944 and renamed Arkhangelsk, escorting Arctic convoys for the remainder of the war. Returned after the war, she was scrapped in 1949 in the UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
See also
- List of battleships of the Royal Navy
- William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork: Baltic offensive plans: Project Catherine
- Project CatherineProject CatherineOperation Catherine was the name of a proposed Baltic Sea offensive by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom to be undertaken in the spring of 1940. It aimed at interdicting German seaborne commerce with the Soviet Union, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia...
External links
- World War II magazine Article describing Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's plan to convert Revenge class battleships into "armoured turtles" to invade the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
in 1940. - Dreadnought Project Technical material on the weaponry and fire control for the ships