Revenge Class Battleship - Service

Service

Only two ships of the class, Revenge and Royal Oak, were ready in time for the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. During the engagement, neither ship suffered damage nor casualties.

Unlike Queen Elizabeths, the Revenges were not given major reconstructions between the two World Wars. In fact, apart from some minor upgrades, they remained very much unchanged until the Second World War began. Partly this was because of the expense involved in giving them a thorough modernization; what money the Royal Navy received for this purpose was better spent on the Queen Elizabeths which, because of their higher speed and better adaptability, had retained better fighting value. Moreover, the Revenges were scheduled to be replaced by the new Lion class capital ships as they came into service. However, the coming of the Second World War resulted in the cancellation of the Lions, leaving the Revenges to remain in service despite their limited value in the face of advances in naval technology.

All ships of the class were reduced to subsidiary roles during World War II, with some becoming bombardment ships, taking part in the Normandy Landings, and even the hunt for the battleship Bismarck. 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 powerful dreadnoughts made to the Royal Navy's history was immense. Churchill writes that they were a constant anxiety, and he witnessed the Admiralty keep as many thousands of miles between them and the enemy as possible. However, they were valuable as second-class battleships, performing escort and other routine duties that freed up the front-line ships.

The Revenge class brought to a close the tale of Royal Navy World War I battleship construction. For subsequent British capital ships, see Renown class battlecruisers that fought in World War I, HMS Hood which was laid down during World War I, the Nelson class battleships laid down in 1922, the King George V class battleships built before World War II, and the world's last battleship, HMS Vanguard. For other battleships that were acquired as "war purchases", see HMS Erin, HMS Canada, and HMS Agincourt.