Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship Summary

This is a 3D printed game piece from EBard Models.

The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were constructed during the 1910s. These were considered super-dreadnoughts and had superior in firepower, protection and speed to their predecessors and foreign rivals. The Queen Elizabeths were the first battleships to be armed with 15-inch (381 mm) guns.

They saw significant service in both world wars and survived a lot of damage with the Barham being the only ship to be sunk in combat.

During the First World War, four of the ships participated in the Battle of Jutland, damaging SMS Lützow and SMS Seydlitz and a number of other German warships. These battleships were able to engage German battlecruisers at a range of 19,000 yards (17,400 m), which was beyond the maximum range of the Germans' guns. Three of the Queen Elizabeths received hits from German warships during the engagement, yet they all returned home. Warspite was the most heavily damaged. Being hit by at least 15 heavy shells and with her rudder jammed, she coming close to foundering.

All were extensively modernized between the wars. The ships received substantial upgrades, including new machinery, small-tube boilers, deck armour upgrades, torpedo belt armour, trunked funnels, new secondary armament and anti-aircraft armament, and many improvements in gunlaying and electronics. Nonetheless, these ships were showing their age by WW2. Modern torpedoes outclassed their torpedo belt protection. In November 1941, Barham was torpedoed by a U-boat and sank in five minutes, then her magazines detonated, killing over 800 of her crew.

The other ships of the class also received battle damage. Warspite survived a direct hit and two near-misses by German glider bombs. She holds the most battle honours for an individual ship in the Royal Navy's history, with 15. Queen Elizabeth and Valiant were repaired and returned to service after being badly damaged by limpet mines placed by Italian frogmen during a raid at Alexandria Harbour in 1941. Valiant was later severely damaged when in port for repairs by the dock collapsing. The repairs were never finished. Malaya was damaged by a uboat torpedo in 1941. 

Ships of Class:

• Queen Elizabeth - Survived the war
• Warspite - Survived the war
• Valiant - Survived the war
• Barham - Sunk in 1941
• Malaya - Survived the war
• Agincourt - Cancelled

Insignia can be added to each deck decal to make it easier to identify ship nationality. Select from your choice of images.

National Roundel	Flag Roundel	FEC Roundel	SEAC Roundel

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