List of Dreadnought Battleships of The Royal Navy - King George V Class (1939)

King George V Class (1939)

The King George V class of ships were criticised for having 14 inch main guns (the preceding Nelson class having 16 inch). In October 1935, the decision was made to use 14-inch guns. At the time, the United Kingdom was negotiating for a continuation of the Naval Treaties with the other parties of the London Treaty. The British Government favoured a reduction in the maximum calibre of battleship gun to 14 inches and in early October, the government learned that the United States of America would support this position if the Japanese could also be persuaded to do so. Since the large naval guns needed to be ordered by the end of the year, the British Admiralty decided on 14-inch guns for the King George V-class. The guns were arranged in three turrets, two with four and one with two guns. Secondary armament was sixteen 5.25 inch guns, four eight barrelled 2 pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft mountings (King George V and Prince of Wales the others all had six mountings). Anson and Howe had eighteen Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and the Duke of York six. They were all fitted with amidships catapults for the three Walrus aircraft they carried. The King George V class were designed to reach a speed of over 27 knots, this and the smaller size of their main armament left them slower and with a smaller broadside, than foreign battleships that were being produced at the same time. However, their main armour belt was thicker than that of contemporary foreign battleships, with the exception of the Japanese Yamato class.