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fighting ships of the world

ROYAL NAVY (UNITED KINGDOM)

CAPITAL SHIPS & MONITORS

REVENGE battleships

Revenge 1915

Royal Oak 1939

Royal Sovereign 1944

Ship project history: New class was a development of the design of the outstanding predecessors, battleships of Queen Elizabeth class. New quintuple of 15`` dreadnoughts differed a smaller length, other arrangement of secondary artillery, moderate velocity and some the improved protection. Assumed coal heating of boilers has changed with the oil already during a building.

Protection:  Plates of the main belt had equal thickness (330mm) on all height (as against plates on Queen Elizabeth class, to narrowed to top and bottom edges). This belt, 3.89m in height, lasted between "A" & "Y" barbettes. Fwd and aft from it thickness of a belt consistently decreased up to 152mm, and then up to 102mm. In 10.4m from stem and approximately in 4m from stern the belt closed by 102mm bulkheads. Above the main belt between barbettes "A" & "Y" there was a 152mm upper belt, closed by the bulkheads of the same thickness.

    The main change in deck protection became rise of the main armored deck on one level upwards because of what its slopes fell to the bottom edge of an armored belt on a waterline under a much more angle, than on Queen Elizabeth class. It had identical 51mm thickness on flat part and on slopes. There were no slopes over engine rooms, and the armored deck reached the top edge of the main belt. Fwd and aft from "A" & "Y" barbettes the main armored deck was carried out flat, its thickness decreased to 25mm. Aft from barbette "Y" and up to aft bulkhead under the main deck, there was a middle deck with 25mm thickness, this thickness consecutive raised up to 76 and 102mm from aft bulkhead to aft part over steering gear. Fwd from barbette "A" at a level of an intermediate deck there was a lower armored deck with 25mm thickness, adjoining to the bottom edge of a belt on a waterline. Its thickness raised up to 63mm between fore bulkhead and stem. There was a 38-25mm upper deck, adjoining to the top edge of the upper belt. At last, the battery of 152mm guns was closed by 25mm deck.

    Underwater protection has consisted from 25 - 37mm longitudinal bulkhead, lasting between barbettes "A" & "Y" and covering machinery, magazines and torpedo rooms. Underwater Protection in general repeated accepted one on Queen Elizabeth class, but because of smaller thickness was estimated as weaker.

Modernizations: 1918, all: + flying-off platforms on turrets "B" & "X"

2/1918, Revenge; 5/1918, Resolution: bulges fitted, beam was 30.9m, draught was 8.30m, full displacement was 32526ts

5/1924, Royal Oak: bulges fitted, beam: 31.1m, full displacement: 32100ts

10/1924, Royal Sovereign: bulges fitted, beam: 31.0m, full displacement: 32474ts

1927, Ramillies: new bulges fitted, beam decreased to 31.1m

late 1928, all: - 2 x 1 - 152/45, 2 x 1 - 76/45, + 4 x 1 - 102/45 QF Mk V HA

1931, Resolution: - 1 x 1 - 102/45; + 1 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVII

1931 - 1934, all: - 2 - 533 TT, + 2 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 2 x 4 - 12.7/62

1934, Ramillies: + 1 catapult (1 seaplane)

8/1936, Royal Oak: main deck increased to 127mm over magazines and 89mm over engines. - 2 - 533 TT; + 4 - 533 TT aw. Deep draught: 9.60m, displacement: 29950/33240ts.

1936 - 1939, all but Resolution: - 4 x 1 - 102/45; + 4 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVI

1936, Resolution: + 1 catapult E-III-T (1 seaplane)

1936, Royal Oak: + 1 catapult S-II-T (1 seaplane)

1938, Resolution: - 1 x 2 - 102/45, 3 x 1 - 102/45; + 4 x 2 - 102/45 QF Mk XVI

1938 - 1939, all but Royal Oak: - 2 - 533 TT

1939, Ramillies: - 1 catapult, 1 seaplane

6/1941, Royal Sovereign: - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62; + 10 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

9/1941, Resolution: - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62; + 9 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 279, 2x 285 radars

11/1941, Ramillies, Revenge: - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62; + 2 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, 10 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 279 radar

10/1941, Royal Sovereign: 51mm plates added to main deck over magazines; + 2 x 4 - 40/39 pompom

10/1941, Resolution: 51mm plates added to main deck over magazines; + 2 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, 1 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 273, 284 radars.

late 1941 - mid-1942, Royal Sovereign: + type 273, 279, 284, 2x 285 radars.

1942, Revenge: + type 273, 284, 2x 285 radars

1943, Resolution: - 2 x 1 - 152/45

1943, Revenge: - 4 x 1 - 152/45

6/1943, Ramillies: - 4 x 1 - 152/45; + 10 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon. At this time there were type 273, 279, 2x 282, 284B, 2x 285 radars.

10/1943, Royal Sovereign: - 4 x 1 - 152/45, type 284 radar; + 6 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon, 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, 2x type 282, 284B radars. displacement: 29950/34836ts.

1944, Royal Sovereign: - 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

1944, Resolution: - 1 catapult (1 seaplane), full displacement: 34700 t

1944, Ramillies: + 3 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 650 jammer, full displacement: 35390 t

Naval service: Royal Oak was the first battleship which was lost in the Second World War. She was sunk 14/10/1939 in Scapa Flow by three torpedoes from German submarine U47. Resolution during of an operation against Dakar has received torpedo hit from French submarine Beveziérs 24/7/1940 and has been hard damaged. She was under repair more than a year. Ramillies  was damaged by a torpedo from Japanese midget submarine at Madagascar in May, 942 and has gone out from service till June, 1943. Revenge, Resolution and Ramillies are laid up in 1944. Royal Sovereign was transferred to the USSR on account of reparations from Italy.

Resolution 1924

Resolution 1940s

 

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© Ivan Gogin, 2009