revenge class battleship

History

The Revenge class was a five ship class of dreadnoughts, built just as WWI loomed on the horizon. There was originally to have been eight of the class, but two were later redesigned, becoming the Renown-class battlecruisers and the other, which was to have been named Resistance, was cancelled. The class was a smaller version of the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship. Despite sometimes being referred to as the Royal Sovereign-class, official documents from WWI clearly state that the class was known as the Revenge-class. They were envisaged due to fears of the Queen Elizabeths total reliance on oil as its fuel source, which was a first for a British dreadnought class. So, the Revenge class was designed to be able to use both coal and oil as its fuel source. They were designed to be cheaper - this was achieved by reducing their size and using lower power engines. The armour was very different - the armourned deck was raised much higher in the ship, and the side armour was much more extensive at it's full thickness of 13 inches (330 mm). Ironically, this was largely a cost saving measure - the Queen Elizabeth-class had plates that tapered at the top and bottom of the armour belt. Tapered armour was extremely expensive to produce. The major flaw in the class was the deliberately reduced stability - reduced so as 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 possible to fit more powerful machinery later in their lives. Anti-torpedo bulges were included, which provided superb protection against attacks by torpedo, though sadly this was not enough for Royal Oak in 1939 due to the increasing power of torpedo warheads. Due to its smaller size, at 624 ft (190 m), which still dwarfed anything rival navies had, conditions were decidedly more cramped for the crew of a Revenge class battleship compared to the Queen Elizabeths, not to mention the successor battleships. Only two ships of the class, the nameship and Royal Oak, were ready in time for the Battle of Jutland. During the engagement, Revenge suffered no damage or casualties, a truly astonishing achievement - though probably due to the fact that the German fleet retreated as soon as it was realised that they were fighting the entire British Grand Fleet. All ships of the class were reduced to more minor roles during WWII, with some becoming bombardment ships, taking part in the Normandy Landings. 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.

Ships of the class

Ramillies - She took part in the Battle of Cape Teudada in WWII. Ramillies was also torpedoed by a Japanese minisub in 1942, receiving only minor damage. She took part in the bombardment of German positions during the Normandy Landings. She was scrapped in 1948. One dual 15-in gun was preserved and is now on show at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Resolution - She took part in convoy duty early in WWII. Was torpedoed by a Vichy French submarine, receiving little damage. She then joined the Far East Fleet, before becoming a training ship in late 1944. She was scrapped in 1948. One dual 15-in gun was preserved upon scrapping and takes pride of place, along with the gun from Ramillies, at the Imperial War Museum.
Revenge - Took part in the Battle of Jutland, sustaining no damage and receiving no casualties. In WWII, Revenge undertook a number of operations, though by 1944 she become a training ship. She was scrapped in 1948.
Royal Oak - Fought at the Battle of Jutland in WWI. In 1939, during WWII, 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 Sovereign - Had a relatively quiet career, missing the Battle of Jutland. She took part in convoy duty in the early part of WWII. She was loaned to the USSR and renamed Arkhangelsk, escorting convoys for the duration of the war. Scrapped in 1949 in the UK.

Revenge class statistics

Displacement: 28,000 tons standard/ 31,000 tons full load
Length: 624 ft (190 m)
Beam: 88.5 ft (27.0 m)
Draught: 28.6 ft (8.7 m)
Complement: 997
Armament:

8 x 15 in guns (381 mm)
14 x 6 in guns (152 mm)
2 x 3 in guns (76 mm)
4 x 47 mm guns
4 x 21 in (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes

Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)
Propulsion: steam turbines, 24 boilers, 26,500 shp (20 MW)