Background

In 1906 the british launched one of the most revolutionary ships ever build - The HMS Dreadnought.  Besides being a big ship powered by turbines the ship was constructed with all big guns. That ment that the earlier battleship wass equiped with typical 4 main guns intended to engage other battleships plus an additional number of midsized guns to engage cruisers. The Dradnought was equiped only with 10 12inch guns making its brioasides twice as powerfull than any other capital ship in the world. The design effectivetly rendered all other battleships obsolete.

This ship launched a naval shipbuilding race between the politcal powers. which consumed a huge amount of the nations industrial capacity up to and during WWI.

In 1913 the british launched the HMS Queen Elizabeth which was often described as Super Dreadnoughts. They where bigger, faster, heavyer armoured and heavyer armed than any other ship. The following years 4 more ships where launched. All ships served with houner in both world wars.

Warspite is properly the most distinguished ship ever in the Royal Navy.             

 

Pre-dreadnought             Dreadnought

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Laid down:	21st October, 1912
Launched:	October 16, 1913
Commissioned:	1915
Decommissioned:	1948
Fate:	Scrapped, 1948

HMS Warspite

Laid down:	October 31, 1912
Launched:	November 26, 1913
Commissioned:	March 8, 1915
Decommissioned:	February 1, 1945
Fate:	Scrapped, 1947

HMS Valiant

Laid down:	January 31, 1913
Launched:	November 4, 1914
Commissioned:	February 19, 1916
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Scrapped, 1948

HMS Barham

Laid down:	24 February 1913
Launched:	31 October 1914
Commissioned:	19 October 1915
Fate:	Sunk 25 November 1941

HMS Malya

Laid down:	October 20, 1913
Launched:	March 18, 1915
Commissioned:	February 1, 1916
Decommissioned:	1944
Fate:	Scrapped,  April 12, 1948