List of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy

In 1907, before the revolution in design brought about by HMS Dreadnought of 1906, the United Kingdom had 62 battleships in commission or building, a lead of 26 over France and 50 over the German Empire.

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.

The treaties also inhibited development by putting maximum limits on the weights of ships and forced the Royal Navy into compromise designs for the Nelson and King George V classes.

Designs like the projected British N3-class battleship continued the trend to larger ships with bigger guns and thicker armour, but never got off the drawing board.

The sisters retained much of HMS Dreadnought's design, such as her 45-calibre Mk X 12-inch (304.8 mm) guns and their arrangement,[27] but had changes like the relocation of the foremast behind the forward funnel and an improved secondary armament.

[45] Finally, the sisters were protected by a Krupp cemented armour belt 8–10 inches (203–254 mm) thick, as was the case for the Bellerophon class.

[48] After the battle, Collingwood and St Vincent joined their sister Vanguard in the 4th Squadron, who had been transferred there in April 1916,[47] and continued to serve with the Home Fleet until the end of the war.

Colossus was then returned to the list the following year, but was once again removed and hulked for use by the training establishment HMS Impregnable and was finally sold for scrap in August 1928, with Hercules having preceded her on 8 November 1921.

In addition to their bigger guns, they had Krupp armour 8–12 inches (203–305 mm) thick on the belt, were longer at 581 feet (177 m), and were heavier at a displacement of 21,900 long tons (22,300 t).

However, they retained the same means of propulsion, two Parsons steam turbines powering four shafts, their top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), and the 50-calibre Mk VII 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns of the previous battleships.

On 27 December 1914, Conqueror rammed her sister ship Monarch as the Grand Fleet was returning to Scapa Flow, damaging both vessels.

[96] On 27 October 1914, Audacious struck a mine while conducting a training mission off the coast of Ireland and sank with only one death, an officer from HMS Liverpool.

[98] The surviving sisters participated in a sortie that set out to engage Franz von Hipper's raiding force after its attack on three coastal British towns in December 1914, but did not see combat.

[100] The sisters participated in the Royal Navy's subsequent war time actions and were present at the surrender of the German fleet at Rosyth on 21 November 1918.

[110] As with previous British battleships, the Iron Duke-class sisters had four shafts powered by two Parsons steam turbines for a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph), but they possessed an improved secondary armament of twelve 45-calibre Mk VII 6-inch (150 mm) naval guns.

Marlborough eventually neutralised the Wiesbaden, sustaining extensive damage in the process, and also struck SMS Grosser Kurfürst three times with thirteen salvos.

Iron Duke remained in the Mediterranean and was present with HMS King George V for the Great fire of Smyrna and following Allied deliberations on Greece.

[141] The Brazilian government was not interested in purchasing her, so Agincourt was listed for disposal and then sold for scrap on 19 December 1922 in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty.

Unlike either the Orion or King George V-class battleships, Erin had four Parsons steam turbines driving four shafts for a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).

[146] On 29 July 1914, Reşadiye was seized under the orders of First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, and on the 31st it entered the Royal Navy as HMS Erin.

[85] From July to August 1920 Erin underwent a refit as a gunnery practice ship, but came to be in violation of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and was sold for scrap on 19 December 1922.

Four shafts were powered by two sets of Brown & Curtis and Parsons steam turbines gave Canada 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 purchased Almirante Latorre from Chile and christened her HMS Canada and undertook some minor alterations.

The two ships of the Nelson class were the only new battleships the Royal Navy were allowed to build under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

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.

[170] During the Second 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 45,000 long tons (46,000 t) and 16 in (406 mm) guns.

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 the Revenge 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.

Displacing 44,500 long tons (45,200 t), she was powered by four Parsons steam turbines, one shaft each, that gave her a top speed of 31.57 kn (58.47 km/h; 36.33 mph).